Is this an ok DMM for home/hobby use? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Elektronix
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 02:26:32 am
content: HiI'm in England & for various reasons have found myself needing a better DMM.1 of my hobbies is classic arcade video games & lately I've been tinkering with a few Wells Gardner/Zenith 19" K7000 monitors.I'm looking for a half decent DMM for checking capacitors, resistors, diodes, voltages, continuity etc that gives readings I can trust & £50 is about the budget at the moment.I have a cheapo XL-830L (think it was about £4) but it's not up to the task surprisinglyIn a shop just up the road from where I live, they have this DMM for £50, most places on-line seem to have it for about £100 so it seems like it might be a bargain.Greenlee DM-210Ahttp://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/ce/en/product/127166/Handheld-multimeter-digital-Greenlee-DM-210A-CAT-II-1000-V-CAT-III-600-V-Display-counts-6000?ref=searchDetailAfter doing some research it seems to be exactly the same as aBrymen 252, but the Greenlee has a Backlit LCD. Do you think it's a good buy for £50?Another one that caught my eye on-line is theOWON B35Tfrom gearbest for £38 it has True RMS and bluetooth etc but I'm not sure I'll need that.http://www.gearbest.com/multimeters-fitting/pp_402378.html?wid=21Any input would be much appreciated, as I'm thinking of buying it in the next day or 2.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 02:31:02 am
content: Welcome to the forum.Any of those would be OK for a basic DMM that you don't want to stress but the holy grail of info on DMM's is this thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/hear-kitty-kitty-kitty-nope-not-that-kind-of-cat/Joe's tested all of those so check out his vids and comments.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 02:32:24 am
content: Quote from: Elektronix on March 13, 2017, 02:26:32 amI have the Greenlee DM200A. Teardown pics athttp://mrmodemhead.com/blog/gallery/dm200a/I got it for about $20 USD used. A great bargain at that price. I like the large digits.Brymen make good meters. Dave's current meter is a Brymen rebranded meter.

author: Elektronix
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 03:07:21 am
content: Thanks for the welcome tautech, I'll check out that thread for sure, time for a pot of coffeeInteresting pics retiredcaps, thanks very much. It looks fairly well made, decent fuses & input protection etc.I think I'm leaning towards the Greenlee for the build quality and the UL listing & it seems like it will do everything I need.Apologies for the newbie question but, with your DM-200A, when measuring resistors are you able to touch the probes together and press a button to zero out the display?On my cheapo meter I'm always having to make a mental note of the probe leads resistance (which seems to change every 10 minutes & fluctuates between 1 & 5 ohms) and then subtract that from the final value, it's a real ball ache.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 03:14:19 am
content: Quote from: Elektronix on March 13, 2017, 03:07:21 amYes, that is what the "REL" button does on the 200A.QuoteIf your cheapo meter is always fluctuating between 1 and 5 ohms, either the probes are bad/worn or the input jacks are poorly soldered onto the pcb. In addition, 1 to 5 ohms with probes shorted is very high. It should easily be under 1 ohm.The 200A with probes shorted show a consistent 0.1 ohms.

author: Elektronix
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 03:24:07 am
content: Great, thanks again RC

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 03:37:44 am
content: Quote from: retiredcaps on March 13, 2017, 02:32:24 amYes, Brymen make good meters, can't go wrong.

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 05:12:38 am
content: Quote from: Elektronix on March 13, 2017, 02:26:32 amFluke 101(yeah, it doesn't do current but you probably don't measure amps very often and you can use your XL-830L for that)

author: Fungus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 05:31:15 am
content: Quote from: Elektronix on March 13, 2017, 03:07:21 amRemember that robustness isn't theonlyfeature in a multimeter.(Yes, I know Joe tests other features, too...)Quote from: EEVblog on March 13, 2017, 03:37:44 amBut not for 50 bucks.

author: ProBang2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2017, 05:50:25 am
content: "But not for 50 bucks."Ahemm... - look at the first posting:Quote from: Elektronix on March 13, 2017, 02:26:32 amThe thread-opener has obviously an offer. Really a bargain. If it is new, then I would take it immediatly.Without any further hesitation.