Question about multimeter - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 12:58:21 am
content: Hi guys im looking to replace my mastech my-99, what would be the best multimiter on the market that has amoled display or normal one,data logging,5000 counts,backlit display has to be sharp display,trendcapture, autorange.I know that fluke 280 is good, but is there other brands with similar features?thanks in advance

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 01:49:03 am
content: It would be helpful to know where you live, and what you are willing to spend.

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 02:02:45 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on July 15, 2013, 01:49:03 ami live in europe and i am willing to spend around 700 euros , around 900 dollars

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 03:13:07 am
content: Well you are out of my experience with that price range. You probably don't need to spend that kind of money for a replacement for a Mastech!

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 03:43:47 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on July 15, 2013, 03:13:07 ami dont mind if u know cheaper models because i think that fluke 289 is tad expensive, but as long as cheap model has those features that i look for i wouldnt mind buying cheaper one

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 04:17:26 am
content: Quote from: electric on July 15, 2013, 12:58:21 amGoogle has nothing on that model number?QuoteOLED displayandbacklight? That does not compute.The choice of OLED vs backlit LCD is a big one, it drives your choice of meter and the resultant battery life. There are very few OLED models on the market.

author: iloveelectronics
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 04:21:23 am
content: Try a search for "Brymen multimeter" on YouTube and you'll find a few reviews of their rather reasonably priced multimeters. They may not have the on-screen trendcapture the Fluke 289 offers but they do have data logging capability via a PC (or internal data logging as well on the BM-520's series).Quote from: electric on July 15, 2013, 03:43:47 am

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 04:28:11 am
content: Well for much less money there is the Brymen BM525. It does not do trend capture but has 87000 data point logging at up to 20 time per second and is CATIV 1000V rated.http://www.tme.eu/en/details/bm525/portable-digital-multimeters/brymen/#Then there is the Metrix or AEMCline of weird meters that cost a lot and do many things like you want but have less clear displays:http://www.chauvin-arnoux.com/produit/Famille_detail.asp?idFam=1962&idPole=1The Fluke 289 does what you want but reportedly has a very low contrast display.Sorry I couldn't be more help

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 04:46:32 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on July 15, 2013, 04:17:26 amhttp://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-shipping-AC-DC-750-1000V-10A-40M-ohm-200uF-30MHz-duty-cycle-autorange-digital-multimeter/581017714.html

author: opablo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 07:41:30 am
content: With that kind of money I think you can enjoy the pleasure of using any of the Agilent U1270 Serieshttp://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5990-6425EN.pdfI would pick the oled one (U1273A) because I have a pletora of Sony CycleEnergy rechargable batteries and I always have replacement batteries available so I think I would be able to enjoy that pornographic display

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 03:52:34 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on July 15, 2013, 04:17:26 amwell i found a pic of it on google kinda weird that u didnt but anyways here the pic, and reason why i want to replace it lcd panel died

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 10:29:33 pm
content: what do you guys think of flukes 179 model is it a good multimeter for small electrical stuff/industrial?

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 10:40:59 pm
content: May I ask what the intended use of this meter is for?

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 10:58:14 pm
content: Quote from: Stonent on July 15, 2013, 10:40:59 pmi need it for school stuff

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 11:39:52 pm
content: Quote from: electric on July 15, 2013, 10:29:33 pmIt doesn't have data logging, so doesn't meet your original specs, but it's an excellent quality general purpose meter. Very nice ergonomics, Fluke ruggedness, fast-reading bargraph, backlight, latching continuity beep, quality safe protection circuitry, lifetime Fluke warranty. I've owned one and used it for about 3 years. The next serious step up in Fluke's lineup would probably be an 87-V.One nice thing about a 179 that you won't find in most data logging meters is that the 179 has very long battery life. A single ordinary 9V transistor radio battery will power it for 200 hours, and with its auto-off circuitry, that works out to well more than a year of my occasional use. You won't find that kind of battery life on most OLED displays or most graphical matrix displays. And the 179's backlit LCD display is extremely readable under a wide variety of conditions, better than most graphical matrix displays, but not as pretty as OLED. This characteristic of long battery life and good display readability isn't unique to the 179, it's mostly a characteristic of the conventional segmented LCD display.Compared to the 87-V, the 179 lacks a microamp range, but the microamp range on the 87-V has such high impedance (burden voltage) that it's not good for much in general electronics work anyway. It's good for appliance technicians when they need to diagnose flame detection circuits in gas burning appliances, though. For general electronics microamps, one of Dave's microcurrent adapters is better than any general purpose multimeter's microamp range.The 179 also lacks the low-pass filtering of the 87-V, which would be useful for industrial motor drives, but I don't work with those.The 179 is probably more than most people would need for school, but it's a durable high quality instrument that will serve you well for a very long time.

author: electric
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 15, 2013, 11:58:39 pm
content: Quote from: AG6QR on July 15, 2013, 11:39:52 pmThanks for your advice, i dont think that im gonna for on industrial motors anytime soon and i can live without data logging and oled display because flukes display is pretty crisp and in future if im gonna need data logging i can always buy second multimeter.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 16, 2013, 12:44:04 am
content: Hmmm, electric:It is a bit frustrating to spend the time to offer help to people who keep moving their target. The Fluke 179 is definitely not the best meter for the money but it is your money, have fun.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2013, 03:25:53 am
content: Quote from: AG6QR on July 15, 2013, 11:39:52 pmA very good summary and a small correction. According to the Fluke 17x manual, the battery life is 400 hours with an akaline. I believe 200 hours is for a zinc battery.

author: Electro Fan
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2013, 09:07:40 pm
content: Quote from: electric on July 15, 2013, 11:58:39 pm

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2013, 09:24:12 pm
content: I've worked with Fluke 83 V and 87 V multimeters. If you can afford them, they're pretty much one of the gold standards for hand-held DMMs, and should serve you well for years.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 17, 2013, 10:50:37 pm
content: Quote from: Phaedrus on July 17, 2013, 09:24:12 pmFor robustness I'd say yes, as they have a track record of decade(s). For most other specs and features I'd say the Brymen 869 trounces the Fluke 87V