Multimeter advice - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: salongaopm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 02:31:28 am
content: any suggestion for a multimeter at around $50 price? should I go for a new ex3320 or a $50 used fluke 117 ? i will be using the multimeter for trouble shooting TV's or other electronics as a hobby.thanks for any help.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 02:42:41 am
content: Welcome to the forum.I suggest you put your country flag in your profile for a local recommendation.The Fluke 15B, 17B, and 117 are all good sound meters.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 03:13:14 am
content: It looks like it is time to bump the recommended list of meters to the top and add recently available ones.

author: salongaopm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 03:54:03 am
content: reading fluke 117 descriptions it says "Electricians True RMS Multimeter". will there be limitations when using it in electronics like TV's?

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 04:02:01 am
content: Have a look at this:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-list-of-multimeters-that-do-not-appear-to-meet-their-claimed-safety-specs/This:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/multimeter-spreadsheet/And this:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/a-list-of-recommended-multimeters/and the 117 does not have any millamp nor microamp range and these are needed for electronics. There are much better buys than the Fluke 11X series.

author: salongaopm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 04:18:21 am
content: thanks for the reply. I will look at the links you've provided.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 04:21:51 am
content: Quote from: salongaopm on March 12, 2015, 02:31:28 amIf you are just getting a multimeter for troubleshooting TVs, an used Fluke 117 for $50 is a good price.Troubleshooting TVs mainly involves measuring DC voltage and resistance 99% of the time. You rarely need to measure AC voltage and/or current.This channel shows a lot of TV repairs using a Fluke 115https://www.youtube.com/user/norcal715/videos?flow=grid&view=0

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 12, 2015, 05:20:41 am
content: I forgot to mention that Dave did a video on the 117 way back in #60

author: salongaopm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 03:17:31 am
content: Quote from: retiredcaps on March 12, 2015, 04:21:51 amAre you saying that I will be okay using a used fluke 117 for tv rapairs? I 've been reading a lot from the links provided above. At first, I had my eyes set on the UTI UT61E or UT61D because of the price and the video review by Dave. But after reading more I am now having second thought about it. Too many choices...hard to decide.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 04:17:18 am
content: Quote from: salongaopm on March 13, 2015, 03:17:31 amIt certainly doesn't help when you get conflicting opinions. It is certainly possible to do many kinds of work without mA/uA ranges, but many will tell you that they are necessary for an electronics multimeter. I personally would never buy a Fluke 11X series. They are oriented to industrial electricians. In your price range you can get a brand new Uni-T UT139C shipped to your door. It will do everything you really need.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 06:29:15 am
content: Quote from: salongaopm on March 13, 2015, 03:17:31 amYes. I have been participating at the badcaps.net forum for the last 5 years. Despite its name, most of the TV troubleshooting today is not due to bad capacitors. Over 5 years of participation and helping hundreds of people, I haveneverasked anyone to measure current or AC voltage.If the main fuse is good with a simple resistance check, you can automatically assume your wall outlet is outputting 120V AC. Thus, there is no need to measure AC voltage. In addition, most TVs today have the fuse ratings marked right on the pcb or service manual. So you rarely need to measure current. In the rare case you need to measure current, the current rating for a TV is typically in the 3A to 5A range so you don't need mA or uA.If you are interested in tv repair, you should joinwww.badcaps.netand take a look at what the regulars are saying and how they help others diagnose TV problems. By my estimation, the majority of people asking for help have never used a multimeter or have just a cheap Harbor Freight $3 DMM.I personally wouldn't recommend a cheap $3 DMM for troubleshooting since the hot side of the SMPS could be as high as 400V DC. If you have an "oops" moment, your $3 DMM isn't likely to survive and may fail in unexpected and dangerous ways.PS. I only recommend and comment on meters that I own or have used. I have no financial gain, unlike others, if you choose the 117 or some other meter. It is up to you.edit: typos/grammar

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 06:35:10 am
content: Quote from: retiredcaps on March 13, 2015, 06:29:15 amIs that an accusation?

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 06:43:21 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on March 13, 2015, 06:35:10 amRelax. Not at all. Plus you are recommending the UT-139C which you are not selling.I'm just telling the OP that some people recommend things because they have some sort of "conflict of interest".I'm just stating to the OP that I have no financial gain because 99% of the eevblog people here will wonder why I'm recommending a meter with no mA/uA range. As I tried to explain, in the context of repairing TVsonly, the 117 is a good fit especially for $50.

author: Lightages
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 06:48:00 am
content: OK, just checking because of the context. I agree the 117 is a good well built multimeter, but I sincerely think that not having mA/uA is a severe limitation forotheruses than TV repair, which he stated he wants.

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 07:07:12 am
content: Quote from: Lightages on March 13, 2015, 06:35:10 amBTW, my comment above was more of a response to the OP's comment below regarding getting information overload.Quote from: salongaopm on March 13, 2015, 03:17:31 am

author: salongaopm
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: March 13, 2015, 07:09:21 am
content: Thanks for all the input. After reading several pages of post in the forum and watching youtube reviews since last night, I finally decided to place an order for a UT139C. I might still buy the fluke 117 since the price is very reasonable.To retiredcaps, I am currently a member of badcaps.net and I've been reading a lot of your post there and I found them very helpful. I was able to fix several lcd and plasma tv because of them. Thanks!

author: Fat
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2015, 05:05:29 am
content: I've had two Fluke meters, and both have been stolen. Nice meters though. I currently have a Home Depot manual digital meter that's great for firing diodes and doing house wire. I also have a 50 dollar SouthWire DMM that, while it has it's draw backs is actually a pretty good meter. I felt I needed a better meter so I bought a highend Extech, this has been an ok meter for me, but I'm still not satisfied. The next meeter will be a high-grade Brymen. Maybe then I'll have nearly the functionality of my Flukes and no one will steal them.Fat