Fluke 87 V - toughness, counterfeits and bat. life questions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: lhc
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2010, 07:11:36 pm
content: Hi allI can buy Fluke 87 V for a good price (actually for a normal US price, here in Europe it costs like more than 500$, atleast in my country), some guy is selling a new sealed unit. I have some questions:1. Are there any counterfeit Fluke 87 V multimeters? Is there any option of getting a counterfeit instead the real thing and not being able to tell the difference visually?2. Is it true that this meter can withstand connecting lets say 230V AC to the wrong range (Ohms, diode, buzzer etc.) without any damage?3. How long does it work on a standard alkaline 9V battery? Someone on youtube was saying that it's eating batteries rather quickly.Thanks for the help

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2010, 08:36:03 pm
content: Welcome in the forumI am not aware about replicated Flukes ...As far I know , Fluke cooperates with "Amprobe" in some parts ... or anyway they have an relation ,that I did not bothered to find details about it.http://www.amprobe.eu/en_GB/products/67/Multimeter/I also just got my 87V (5) , from ebay at sweet price as 212$ + 25 shipped to Greece .Yes I am from Euroland too.About battery issues , you are the first worldwide , that reports such an info .Any device with back light , if this function gets over used , the battery life will become shorter..And thats called as "a normal thing " to happen ..For Gods name its an instrument not a flash light ..If you have any video links , share them with us ...

author: lhc
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2010, 09:03:04 pm
content: EEVblog #10 Part 2 of 2 - Fluke 87 V Multimeter ReviewSome random guy "kenryder" just asks about battery lifetime but it's related to his 87 III series meter. I was just asking from curiosity and in no way stating that 87 V eats batteriesThanks for the info. I was searching and it seems that there are no counterfeits.I'm still curious about point 2 because Dave was making this sort of test with other multimeter (german brand) and it was OK after this test. He suggests that Fluke is also able to withstand this test. It would make it indestructible if trueI'm able to buy it for about 300$ with shipping and that is still more than 200$ cheaper than in any store here.

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2010, 09:23:34 pm
content: Quote from: lhc on April 09, 2010, 09:03:04 pmI think that the battery drain is related to carbon (instead of gold plated) tracks used for range switching. Read about it here:http://www.eevblog.com/2010/02/08/eevblog-60-fluke-117-multimeter-review-and-teardown/#comment-5956As for point 2, I'm sure that any decent meter will survive such abuse. Me though, I'm not going to try it with my meters

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 09, 2010, 10:21:58 pm
content: Quote from: lhc on April 09, 2010, 09:03:04 pmIs it a secret the place to you are staying ?

author: lhc
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2010, 04:43:03 am
content: I'm from PolandPrices of Fluke equipment are here so high that everyone buys from ebay etc. Probably a combination of VAT, customs and cosmic profit margins for distributors.@armandasSo the 87 V meters have now metal contacts?

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2010, 08:35:56 am
content: lhc, unfortunately I haven't seen the insides of 87 V.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 10, 2010, 12:33:12 pm
content: Quote from: lhc on April 10, 2010, 04:43:03 amThe most unfortunates in the Euroland , are the Greeks ... and Germans as second best ..The 87V costs inGreecea whopping of 570 EUR !!!Germany... 480 EURUK.....357 Pounds with VAT or 400 EURWhen I am looking at my Paypal transaction details ,the price of €182.98 EUR , I think that I won the lotto ..Did you got it ? , so to give you my congrats !!