Question about multimeters - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Greyersting
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 11:37:27 pm
content: What is the difference between a $100 multimeter from Home Depot and a $1500 multimeter?

author: deth502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 11:40:01 pm
content: about $1400, by my calculations.

author: Greyersting
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 11:40:56 pm
content: Quote from: deth502 on October 09, 2013, 11:40:01 pmI knew I would get a response like this...

author: walshms
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 09, 2013, 11:43:03 pm
content: Look at specifications, construction and safety. You'll find the reasons for the differences.

author: AG6QR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 12:07:17 am
content: What $1500 meter are you talking about? Regardless, A $1500 meter is a specialized piece of kit. It's got some unusual feature set that a few people just have to have. It might have data logging, extreme precision, or something like that. I'm guessing your $1500 example is probably a bench meter, and probably features several more digits of precision than the $100.00 meter you're comparing it to.General purpose portable multimeters tend to top out at around $400, maybe $500 or so. Beyond that, the special features may involve compromises in things like battery life, safety protection, portability, etc. You start getting into an area where you're paying for specialization, not for general across-the-board improvements in all aspects of operation.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 12:14:53 am
content: You likely aren't comparing apples with apples.AG6QR answered your broad question as best possible.Any more detailed discussion needs to involve specific examples.

author: Greyersting
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 12:15:59 am
content: Thanks guys. I wasn't referring to anything specific, just in general.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 12:49:56 am
content: Quote from: Greyersting on October 10, 2013, 12:15:59 amIf you compare say a $100 cheapie to a $500 name brand, with the same set of features and precision. Then generally what you are paying for is:a) The quality of construction and components usedb) The warranty and support the company offersc) The extra testing and QC involvedd) More careful consideration to the design and safety requirementse) The longevity of the instrument (when was the last time Fluke discontinued a meter range for example)

author: tony3d
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 05:00:51 am
content: If your looking at a Klein MM series meter's, they are actually pretty decent. I own the MM1000. They have the good ceramic fuses, come with very nice leads, seem to be well built, and solid for the money, and are accurate enough for the general hobbyist. I have no regrets buying mine.

author: deth502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 10:42:41 am
content: if you go to lowes RIGHT NOW, the ideal mm from dave's $100 shootout, if they have any, are clearanced for $60. they are still carrying them, but now they are all rebadged and store branded, so they are dumping all of the old ones.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 11:26:16 am
content: I have half a dozen or so throw away harbor freight multimeters. They wander around on resistance frequently the internal trim pot does nothing. My "nice" 90$ meter does actually work correctly and has a 10M impedeance so you can probe more low current things than a 1M meter. That and my cheap meters break the plastic in the probes and the wires are thin no safety rating etc.

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 02:06:50 pm
content: To add to Dave's summary because some Fluke DMM are made so well you can find excellent used ones on ebay over 2O years old between 50 and 200 dollars, delivered.

author: nemo000111
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 02:16:22 pm
content: You get a much getter TCO with a name brand higher end meters. They'll usually the last set of multimeters you'll need to buy (you need two to make sure you have an accurate reading). With the cheap meters, you'll be buying them rather frequently. To echo Saturation's comment, I got a second hand 1 year old fluke 87v with probes for $200 from craigslist.One last point that can't be understated. You have the potential to trust your life to this meter (mains testing, high amps, etc.). I, for one, won't trust a $50 meter with my life.

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 02:56:32 pm
content: I think I'd trust a $50 meter if I had a chance to open it and inspect it. Some are shit, but some are quite decent. I wouldn't go doing industrial electrical work with one, but I wouldn't go doing that anyway......What I would not trust is a $10 meter. I don't care how good it looks internally (it doesn't). Keep that away from the mains, TYVM.Some cheaper meters have some remarkably dumb and/or weird design choices. I have a $30 Mastech that uses a polyswitch as the low current fuse (and uses the probe as the high current fuse). I'm not sure what voltage it's rated for - it doesn't take much to blast through the average polyswitch...My use for more expensive meters is that I can trust them reasonably well to use as transfer standards. I will fairly regularly pick up old, broken meters (like the old Fluke bench meters, etc) and repair them. (I don't make much money off of it, but for some reason there's a part of me that just really likes bringing life back to old broken shit....) I have a HP 3468A that was calibrated semi-recently, and I always use that as a standard to adjust them against. The higher resolution (1uV) can be quite useful sometimes as well - e.g. I have used it to measure the behavior of a current sense amplifier with a tiny input voltage.

author: Stonent
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 10, 2013, 07:50:06 pm
content: Who's afraid of a couple hundred volts?