Recommended Multimeters. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: josh132
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2021, 07:07:48 pm
content: I bought a cheap multimeter from amazon and it crapped out on its first try. Im kind of new to electronics, im not looking to do high end stuff like measuring fast voltage changes or something like that. Just low end stuff like measuring voltage on Arduinos and resistance checking. What im looking for in a meter is a meter with a decent accuracy in voltage, resistance and capacitance and current, but that is pretty much all i need for a meter. I found this meter on amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/AstroAI-Multimeter-Resistance-Transistors-Temperature/dp/B07FDBW1PT/ref=sr_1_22?dchild=1&keywords=multimeter&qid=1613069653&sr=8-22It looks pretty decent, and looking at other reviews, it does have movs. Im not really good at choosing good stuff. My budget is up to $50 on multimeters. Any suggestions?

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2021, 07:22:23 pm
content: Define “crapped out on the first try”... many a beginner has blown the amps range fuse when first trying a multimeter, not realizing how current measurements must be wired. (Including me: I was about 9 years old and had no idea what I was doing, so I quickly blew the fuse.)As for what to buy, first look for existing threads. This topic has been covered extensively, and the recommendations haven’t really changed much for years.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 11, 2021, 07:50:14 pm
content: For all inexpensive meters, don't believe the CAT ratings and don't use them on mains!That said, I have the Aneng AN8008 and it's a pretty nice meter. Dave did a review.https://www.amazon.com/ANENG-AN8008-Multimeter-Resistance-Capacitance/dp/B076GZK62BI also have the ZT-X which has a very bright display with very large numbers. Perfect for an old guy but I think Dave hates it. It's the first meter I reach for.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JJ9MR3LI also have an Fluke 189 for precision work but I seldom use it and I have both of the eevBlog meters but they're out of your price range. Nice meters... I'm knee deep in meters but I actually use the ZT-X (and, sometimes, the AN8008).https://www.eevblog.com/2018/06/24/eevblog-1095-is-a-38-multimeter-any-good-aneng-q1-review-4k/Here's the thing: You don't want to use these meters on mains because you can't count on the CAT rating. There are better tools for that kind of work. OTOH, for 100 years (plus or minus) we used Simpson 260 meters on mains and they were so old they had never even heard of CAT. They also didn't have shielded banana jacks. I'm not sure that all the really old variants were even fused.Somehow we lived through those years (decades, actually). I have a hard time getting interested in CAT ratings. They are intended for severe transient situations - like lightning hitting the pole outside your house while you stand in the rain measuring the incoming utility voltage.https://www.ecmweb.com/archive/article/20894241/what-you-need-to-know-about-category-ratingshttps://www.fluke.com/en-us/learn/blog/safety/multimeter-guideYou need 3 meters to play with transistors. You want to simultaneously measure base current, collector current and VCE. Search for 'w2aew transistor' and follow along. Since components have tolerances and Beta varies a lot, absolute accuracy isn't such a big deal. You do NOT need an 8 digit DMM that costs a bazillion dollars.

author: wizard69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 13, 2021, 02:16:02 am
content: Quote from: josh132 on February 11, 2021, 07:07:48 pmMy suggestion is to avoid amazon and try local. Your hardware store may have Greenlee or Klein DMM's in the price range you are looking at. In general I suggest buying a meter in the $50 ±25 range for uses like this. That is somebody starting out interested in low voltage electronics. You can go to Digikey, Mouser and other online vendors to get other brands in a similar price range if you don't like the hardware store offerings. The hardware store meters are oriented towards electricians but as long as they have reasonable DC and resistance ranges you should be OK. digikey has like two pages of meters out of the 400+ listed in this price range. One to consider is the B&K 2703C but there are cheaper /Tripletts, Flir, Amprobe and other name brand meters. There is a lot of choice when it comes to the low end but as advised make sure you are getting the functionality you need. As mentioned above pay particular attention to the DCV and resistance ranges.