Multimeter for hobbyist - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: beatle
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 05:05:31 pm
content: I am an amateur electronics hobbyist and I am looking for a new multimeter and was hopping that you could help me with suggestions. From this terrific forum I have an impression that the UT61E is a good choice for mid range hobbyist tool, but I wonder if it is still the optimal choice and what are better (or even cheaper if such exist) alternatives.My current situation to allow you to judge better:Of other instruments of any note I basically have only my Owon SDS7102V DSO that I acquired last year. Besides that I only have total crap no name little multimeter and mains plug soldering iron (decent soldering station is next in my list, but it is hard to buy one cheaply where I live). I have no other measurement instruments and would like to be able to take all measurements with my new multimeter for the foreseeable time, although I plan to buy dedicated temperature meter so temperature measurement is not a requirement.My budget is rather limited. I would buy a UT61E for ~ $60 but that is about as high as I can go.I have a long standing interest in electronics but my project portfolio and practical experience is low. I don't plan to work with woltages over the mains or very high power/current. Target projects would be low voltage, audio, micro controllers, sensors, RC toys, diy PSU's and dummy loads and such.If you have any suggestions or advices, I will be very happy to hear them! Thank you!

author: PetaVolt
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 08:38:36 pm
content: Have a look at Dave's $50 meter shootout:http://youtu.be/ZoeUgMFLyAwSpencer

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 08:58:31 pm
content: If you can swing it the Amprobe AM-270 is under $100 US and will probably do almost everything you need a DMM to do.I think it's the best buy in a true RMS DMM for under $100 in the U.S.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 04, 2013, 11:49:29 pm
content: I would agree that a UT-61E is a good buy and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an accurate useful meter. But....It has no back light and no temperature measurement. It also has a questionable CAT rating. I would refrain from using it on anything more than 250V. Other than those caveats it is a great buy.If you want to step it up a bit and get something you can trust for almost any use, then get the Amprobe AM-270. IMHO this is a best buy in multimeters. It has a lower count than the UT61E, and has a bit less accuracy, but it is safe and better made.

author: iloveelectronics
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 03:48:02 am
content: Martin did a review of the UT61E on YouTube in case you haven't watched yet.

author: RCD
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 04:30:00 am
content: +1 for the AM-270. It is one of my staple lab meters. Love it, though the "dim blotch illumination" feature was a definite afterthought

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 05:39:44 am
content: "I would buy a UT61E for ~ $60 but that is about as high as I can go."I would be surprised if you can find something better than the UT61E for 60$. It is definitely a 'Best Buy' at that price point.The meter lacks some features, but will handle most basic tasks with ease and reliability.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 06:54:56 am
content: Quote from: beatle on January 04, 2013, 05:05:31 pmiloveelectronics, aka Franky, sells it for $55 + free shipping. While I didn't buy a UT61E from him, I got other stuff and can say his service is excellent. Others on the forum will also vouch for him.I have no financial gain or kickbacks for recommending Franky.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 07:40:36 am
content: Yes, i buy from him too, good service and always a pleasure. He often will source stuff if you ask.

author: beatle
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 12:20:12 pm
content: Thank you all for your replies!Quote from: PetaVolt on January 04, 2013, 08:38:36 pmYes, I have watched it (and the $100 one) with great interest and I rather liked the Amprobe offering but was still asking mainly because of two reasons. Firstly, some time has already passed and I was wondering about any new developments in this market. And, secondly, as I live in Europe (I updated my profile info), locally these meters cost (I kid you not!) more than 4 times as much (!) so I need to buy on ebay or similar but the Amproe offerings there are comparably few.Quote from: iloveelectronics on January 05, 2013, 03:48:02 amI haven't seen it, thanks! And I like your store. Some other items there that I am interested in too.RCD, Lightages, SLJThe AM-270 looks very nice, I will look in to it to see if the price difference is worth it for me.Wytnucls, retiredcaps, SeanBThank you for your recommendations!

author: darrylp
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 01:24:38 pm
content: I'm very happy with my UT61E, deffo an outstanding meter in the price range.as OP mentioned, no high power use likely, and so I'd have no worries saying go for it.after the OP has used for a while adding a backlight is easy, using the way to disable the RS232 output strema allows the meter to auto power down at the same time with one of the internet listed mods for a backlight.I personally also swapped the peak button to give me the min / max rather than peak min and peak max, as I do very little work with AC circuits, the min and max feature work better watching the DC limits of a signal source.

author: beatle
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 04:44:52 pm
content: I watched the 4 part review of the UT61E and I ma really impressed! The overshoot, slow update and possibly the accuracy worry me a bit, but, as I understand it, at this price range one has to sacrifice something.It seems to me that the AM-270, although very nice meter and I otherwise like it, trades features that I rather like in the UT61E (like the resolution) for features that I don't have much use for (like the better input protection as I don't plan to work with anything higher that the mains for now) so I will go for the UT61E. Theiloveelectronicsoffer on ebay looks really good.Thank you all for your help!

author: iloveelectronics
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 05:53:03 pm
content: Quote from: beatle on January 05, 2013, 04:44:52 pmIf you're interested in the offer please make sure you contact me here directly either in the for sale thread or private message. I can only offer the discount for private deals done outside of eBay because I don't have to pay their fees that way, and the savings are passed directly to you as a discount.

author: beatle
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 10:20:45 pm
content: Quote from: iloveelectronics on January 05, 2013, 05:53:03 pmPM sent!

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 05, 2013, 10:49:43 pm
content: Well you can't go wrong with the UT61E, just keep in mind its limitations, mainly its CAT rating being false.I would still stretch it for an AM-270 if you can. You will never regret buying quality.