Fluke 17B on DX - Fake? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 10:02:08 pm
content: Hi, friends!I've ssen this Fluke 17B on DX:http://dx.com/p/fluke-17b-2-6-lcd-digital-multimeter-meter-2-aa-included-28659I'm in Brazil and every other option is more expensive because of the shipping costs.But the price also is like 5 to even 20% less than Ebay sellers. Is there a chance this is a fake Fluke?

author: Fsck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 10:08:12 pm
content: It's real, but it's intended for the chinese market.Why do you want a 17B? There are better options for that price

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 11:37:53 pm
content: I want a more reliable meter. 100 bucks including shipping sounded good to me for the tool. The problem is that I'm in Brazil, shipping is expensive and we have to pay 60% on taxes, so 100 dollars will cost me 160 dollars.Do you have suggestions? It would be good to have temperature and frequency.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 21, 2013, 11:50:40 pm
content: Wow, I thought Chile was bad for that. We pay 25% on importation. If we import something over $1000 USD then we need to get a customs agent involved and this will usually double the price in the end. For Dealextreme I have never had the items intercepted by customs so they arrive import tax free. Is this a possibility in Brazil?If you are going to pay the high price, then the 17B is not a bad meter for the price and has a good build. If you want to step up a bit in functionality then you might want to consider the Brymen BM257 which you can get from Franky here, iloveelectronics, for $135 shipped.

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 12:28:15 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on August 21, 2013, 11:50:40 pmIn Brazil if it's more than 50 dollars you can be taxed on 60% but DX sends by China Mail and 99% it is not intercepted. Fedex is 100% sure you'll be taxed.Quote from: Lightages on August 21, 2013, 11:50:40 pmIt seems a very good meter, but frequency is only up to 1 Mhz? 135 shipped to Brazil?

author: iloveelectronics
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 01:00:15 am
content: Quote from: ablacon64 on August 22, 2013, 12:28:15 amActually if you buy directly from me outside of eBay it's $130 shipped to Brazil ($128 + $2 for tracking)My eBay price is $135 + $2 for tracking for any country other than the USA.It's a very good quality meter. Dave has a brief look at it in this video:

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 01:17:21 am
content: Yes frequency only up to 1MHz. And yes $135 shipped world wide. PM iloveelectronics here on the forums for possibly a better price.. He is reliable and you can trust him. He has a ebay store:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brymen-BM257-Digital-Multimeter-6000-count-Brand-New-Fluke-alternative-/200922627340?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ec7ebfd0cI have one, along with a Brymen BM869 ($300 shipped from Europe) and a BM525 in the mail.I wouldn't keep buying these things without reason. I have complete confidence in these meters. Now would I also buy the Fluke 17B? Sure, but I think the Brymen BM257 is worth the extra bucks. It is TRMS, has higher rated accuracy, better build, higher count, bar graph, higher update rate, MIN/MAX recording, peak capture, back light, input jack alert for current jacks, fuses accessible with one screw for the batteries and fuses, auto mode for voltage and resistance, and an electric field detector to show you live wires without touching them. There are other nice touches on the BM257 but the above is enough to show what you get extra.If you buy from iloveelectronics, you will also get very nice silicone leads with gold plated probes. You can also buy a PC cable for data logging later if you need.No I am not saying that the 17B is not a good meter. Yes it is, and probably one of the better built meters in the $100 range. You can't go wrong with it either but I personally think the BM257 is well worth the extra money.

author: ablacon64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 04:07:02 am
content: How about this one?http://www.ebay.com/itm/Amprobe-AM-570-Industrial-Multimeter-/300952458823?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item46122a1647Price + shipping is almost the same and it seems a very complete meter. The 60 MHz frequency range is very good.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 22, 2013, 04:28:50 am
content: Yes the AM-530 and AM570 are good buys too. They have much less stated accuracy but have some other features. They seem to be built correctly for safety. I would say from what I have seen, but not experience, that it is a good meter. I have no idea of the update rates for the display.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/amprobe-am-530-a-peek-under-the-hood/The Amprobe AM-5X0 series seem to be made by Uni-Trend, but this is only speculation.