A bit of a specific DMM help request - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: homfencing
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 05, 2023, 07:19:24 am
content: Bear with me here.I am an armorer of the sport of fencing. One of our tasks at regional and national events is checking the gear for safety and functionality. One of those tests is on the lames (scoring jackets) for foil and sabre, which have a resistance limit of 5 ohms.I recently upgraded a Kolbalt mini multi meter from a disposable battery to a rechargeable one (vid at).The issue I may run into is the sampling rate, which may be too slow on this unit for the test it's intended for.As said in the vid, the storage bay for the meter I had intended to be used size limits the meter I now have to find (since he original meter is not available). The Kobalt measures roughly 4.25" tall, 2" wide, and 1.75" deep (including the battery, which is mounted on the back, outside the casing.Finding a multi meter of the correct dimensions is not the issue...it's that I can't find the sample rates. I think the Kobalt is 2 times/second, which IS slow. Other armorers would prefer 7-8/second, if not higher which makes it easier to ID dead or high-resistance spots as the probe drags across the material.To see the test I'm referring to, go to 18:35 athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je2iRZS-EE4&t=1120s...aftera bit you'll see the armorer doing the work put a probe on the lame and you'll see the response on his meter. (personal notes...1 -- the guy who owns the lame is now a three-peat veteran's world champ in men's sabre in his division -- veteran 60. I fenced him at Nationals last year. 2 -- I was part of the armor staff for this event)Any help in finding a meter close to the Kobalt's size (I DO have a little room on width and depth....not so much in height) with a higher sample rate wold be appreciated...I'm just not finding them with my weak search-fu.Thanks in advance...I hope!

author: CaptDon
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2023, 03:40:54 pm
content: I don't have any of the Fluke portable DMM's (the ones in the yellow rubberized case) but I recall in the resistance scales and maybe some other scale like diode you can turn on the beeper and when the reading is barely above dead short the beeper stops. I used them to test cables returned from the field as 'defective' and the beeper was so active it sounded like I was sending Morse code. Perhaps someone here can fool around with one of those Flukes and determine if it would fit your need? I don't know what the sample rate is but I would call the beeper 'real time'. I retired from the lab where there were about ten of those Flukes laying on the benches and there were a few different models. Can anyone do a real time test for the O.P.?

author: Antonio90
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 05, 2023, 05:12:27 pm
content: User @kripton203 made a project that might be useful for youhttp://kripton2035.free.fr/Projects/shorty-display.htmlIf you are into electronics it might be a useful project. Or maybe a simpler analog comparator with a buzzer? You can trim it for 5 Ohms with resistors and your other multimeter.If I remember when I'm back home I'll test a couple cheap Anengs. They are reasonably fast and accurate, quite small, and cheap as chips. I also have a Metrix and a Brymen, but no way those will fit.EDIT: I just found they do 3 readings/second. Not fast enough.

author: homfencing
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 05, 2023, 11:03:29 pm
content: Heh...unfortunately, while i DID train as an electronics tech in the Air Force, that was 40 years ago, and I've not worked in the field since, so I've forgotten about everything I was taught!Hence why I'm looking for an existing meter to do the job.One main prob I have is all I have to look at locally are Lowes, Home Depot, etc...no electronics stores that might have better options.

author: EPAIII
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2023, 02:11:19 am
content: You are going to have a hard time finding out about measurement/update rates at Lowes, Home Depot, etc. Actually you will be lucky to find an employee who can even direct you to the correct isle in those places.For a meter with a published measurement/update rate you are probably going to need to go to one of the better manufacturers like Flute, Greenlee, Klein, Brymen, Tenma, etc. And even then, that spec may be hidden in a lot of others and be quite hard to find. I recently purchased a Brymen that updates 5 times per second and it cost around $200. They do have lower cost models and I mention them because their meters seem to provide a lot of "bang for the buck". I am very impressed with mine.https://brymenmeter.com/brymen-bm869s-multimeter.htmlBut do look on other websites. Flute is one that is highly regarded, but their meters can be quite expensive because they have a lot of support behind them.https://www.fluke.com/en-us/products/electrical-testing/digital-multimetersI have tried to provide some well known brand names that may have what you want. There's a million DMMs on the internet, many with no brand name at all. Buying such a meter from an unknown manufacturer can be a real gamble.

author: homfencing
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 06, 2023, 05:19:18 pm
content: Quote from: EPAIII on December 06, 2023, 02:11:19 amThanks for the leads...considering the other 2 meters in my kit ran $250 and I was wanting a 3rd one, the prices I'm seeing from you aren't really out of line.

author: PCB.Wiz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 06, 2023, 08:57:28 pm
content: Google finds this toohttps://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fast-multimeter-suggestion/

author: homfencing
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 07, 2023, 04:48:44 am
content: Quote from: PCB.Wiz on December 06, 2023, 08:57:28 pmNice!