Any good multirange DMM (Digital Multimeter) with Sigrok connectivity and cheap? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: timofonic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 05:59:10 pm
content: Hello.I'm a dummy electronics student at a vocational training school. I'm ADHD and having studying issues, and procrastinating in some forums like this. Excuse me if my message is too stupid for engineers and other electronics/electric professionals, also my English is quite inaccurate.I lack of proper equipment. My DMM is a cheap one that is over 10 years old. It fails sometimes, so I need to reboot it. I changed the battery.I would like to get a MultiRange TRMS DMM, but it seems those are expensive. When I'm anxious (most of the time) I get messed with ranges and may waste a considerable amount of time. I already tried psychologists, they are damn expensive and a private tutor helpe me a lot more than them (and I'm waiting my scholarship to be able to pay it).I would like to measure for AC and DC, but I'm not going to test more than 240V in AC. I need to check current, voltage, capacitance... plus check transistors. I would like to be able to check frequency and use it as a poorman's osciloscope.Despite I'm a total n00b, I like to use things that connect to the computer. I would like to get one that's compatible with Sigrok software, so I can measure things in a geeky way and not mess with pen and paper (my enemy).I'm just a poor student, so I'm unable to pay for an expensive one. I would be able to get a second hand one if it's near 100 EUR, if it's something I would really need.I used the search function, but there's too much information to read. I even tried to process the spreadsheet, but it's damn big and I'm not used to most terms.I had hopes with Uni-T, but the very bad quality scares me. I already had too much problems with electricity in the past, I always experimented with electricity.I want to get other equipment, I'll ask about it later. Sorry for torturing you with my lack of smart question and bad English.Kind regards.

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 07:31:55 pm
content: Where are you located ??Have you had a look herehttp://www.sigrok.org/wiki/Supported_hardware#MultimetersRemember to include the "DMM to PC Adapter" in your budget , as you want PC connectivity via sigrok.The Brymens seems to be supported by sigrok , and are very popular here.The 257 ought to fit your budget , maybe even with a PC-Comms adapterIf you're lucky Franky will offer you a Brymen 257 for a nice price./BingoPs: Have you considered a qtdmm supported meter instead ?http://www.mtoussaint.de/qtdmm.htmlhttp://www.mtoussaint.de/qtdmm_multimeter.htmlNot that it might be better , but ie. the M9803R comes with a rs-232 port already included.http://www.p-mastech.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=20&category_id=3&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=29&vmcchk=1&Itemid=29www.p-mastech.com/images/Manual/m9803r%20english%20manual.pdfhttp://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~jmorris/ECE241/ECE241%20Winter%202008/ECE241L%20Labs/Instrum%20Multimeter%20-%20Mastech%20M9803R%20Guide.pdfI have one M9803R, and used it a lot until i got a HP 34401A.I still use it if i need to do a quick measure , as it powers on instantly.I haven't used it with QTDMM though.I found a schematic w. cal info once , attachedNote Mastech gets a serious beating in this thread:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/multimeter-24373/

author: timofonic
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2015, 08:15:04 pm
content: Hello.I'm from Spain.QtDMM is okay, but the original author seems "abandoned" the projected and relicensed it to GPLv3 for a merge with Sigrok. Despite the project is active, they lack manpower to merge the extra support. I really hope they manage to get more developers, the OSS EDA world is promising after CERN is making KiCAD an usable product. Those commercial EDA packages seems very insultingly expensive (with vendor lock-in, annoying DRM and very expensive maintenance as added value) and they need some competition!I'm still waiting for my scholarship, then I'll be able to buy itThanks for your reply!Regards.