Purchasing Fluke 87 V from craigslist! What should I look out for? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: qu3stionblah
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: November 16, 2013, 03:45:27 am
content: I'm going to be purchasing a Fluke 87 V from a person on craigslist for $130. I've used basic multimeter before and was just thinking about testing with resistors and some capacitors I have. The only voltage source I have to test it with is a 6V ac adapter. Any other things I should check with this multimeter before purchasing it?

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2013, 03:51:34 am
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/buying-a-fluke-87-v-today-for-$200/

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 16, 2013, 04:19:47 am
content: Great meters. Pretty much bullet proof. I bet ya just pop in a new battery and plug in some probes and you are off and running. Also the fuses may be blown, no biggie. Just grab a few on amazon. The displays and bezels are available from fluke and occasionally you will get display fade if somebody took it apart too many times. Its usually just the zebra connectors. If that is the case just put two layers of masking tape on the inside of the bezel to press a little harder on the display if some segments are weak or out, but i bet it will be fine. Get good quality probes too. Otherwise you are good. And remember, fluke does repair them if its just not right.Quick test. Continuity and make sure the meter beeps, then wet your fingers and measure your resistance. They are rarely out of CAL enough to matter unless you are doing really accurate stuff.

author: turbo!
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2013, 05:32:12 am
content: Quote from: qu3stionblah on November 16, 2013, 03:45:27 amCall the SN to the police and clear that it isn't hot. CL is where scumbags sells stolen goods cash only that they can't dump at pawn shops or eBay

author: calexanian
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2013, 07:29:57 pm
content: Quote from: turbo! on November 17, 2013, 05:32:12 amWhat a wonderful society we live in. Stealing a persons multimeter is as heinous a crime as stealing somebody air compressor! Special corner of hell there be for those offenders!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 17, 2013, 07:35:51 pm
content: My compressor nearly got stolen. Luckily the thing is so big that they could not push it down the street before the sleeping security guard across the road woke up and chased them off.

author: SLJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2013, 01:28:30 am
content: Take a battery and a resistor with you. Then you can test DC volts, resistance, AC (use power there) and continuity.

author: casinada
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2013, 06:54:04 am
content: I almost purchased the 87V last week at a pawn shop, it was listed for $100 and it looked filthy, I took my Little DMM Check plus to test it. The test probes were busted with a big melted chunk of metal on the probe tips, the battery cover was missing, none of the current ranges were working. They let me open the DMM to check the fuses ( they let me borrow a pawned Fluke 115 to test continuity), The high current fuse was blown and the low current fuse was OK but no current range was functional. Everything else worked and I probably could have gotten it for $60 but I didn't. Such a shame to see that DMM in such a bad shape. Make sure you take another DMM, a fresh battery and If you dont have a little DMM tester, at least you should have some resistors, diodes, capacitors ans some way to measure current. A good Functioning 87V is worth more than $100Good luck