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MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Feb 16, 2015

CHEEEEP! HAR! HAR! HAR!

Remember the ridiculously cheap eBay multimeter and D.C. / A.C. inductive meter I said I was about to purchase? I did. They arrived and I ran calibration and accuracy tests on them yesterday and today.

The digital multimeter agrees with my Fluke until it gets to around 30 megohms. Voltage at 20.00 D.C. is .04 different.

The digital ammeter is more correct than the Sears or Triplett EVER was as checked against a four hundred dollar N.I.S.T. lab Manganin shunt

Sorry. This fartsmone won't let me find my original post hence no links. I paid around half the amount total for both than I did for just the Triplett meter alone. Yeah both are a mere fraction of the price of a "Crapsman Sears" meter.

Wotta Hoot!

Many years ago I stumbled across a 100.004 ohm 10 watt ceramic resistor as measred with a four terminal Kelvin Bridge. I dipped the wire leads in 24kt molten gold. This has been my gold standard for checking ohm meters.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Feb 17, 2015
    Or buy expensive and get threaded. Tools like critical screwdrivers I insist on WiHa. But for risky work (like salt water) it is absurd to believe a Fluke can tolerate it any better than a Magnificent Golden Dragon. I Did drop the Fluke six years ago. It went to the Fluke hospital for three weeks and a hundred twenty dollars. Some things are worth the premium. It's a matter of VALUE not cost. Some folks get the two words confused.

    Laff-Top. A local offered me his "beee UUU tee full HP laptop". Starts right up when it's plugged-in. Never tried Windows VISTA before. Special deal only 350 dollars. Computers are stupidly expensive down here. Yes this was written on Niner's Fartsmone.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Feb 16, 2015
    I like the AC/DC CLAMP ON AMPMETER deal. I got the $60 SEARS version sometime back and have misplaced it around here somewhere. Haven't been able to locate it for a couple of years now. This came in a nice zip up case as well...


    Ball Park numbers are OK with me...

    I may have to pick one of your finds up myself... Even if I find the Craftsman model later on having a second unit would let me keep one in the truck tool box.

    Roy Ken
  • westernrvparkow's avatar
    westernrvparkow
    Explorer
    Feb 16, 2015
    smkettner wrote:
    It has been said a man with several watches will never know what time it is.
    And a broken clock is right twice a day. I have several cheap meters and they work fine for everyday issues, but I sure wouldn't rely on them if accuracy is critical, which it never is in the RV park business. But I sure wouldn't want an engineer at Boeing using one to calibrate a critical component to an aircraft. That brand of meter may be totally accurate, unit after unit or the OP maybe just got lucky. My guess, test a few hundred and the accuracy will vary much more than the accuracy of a Fluke or similar make.
  • westend's avatar
    westend
    Explorer
    Feb 16, 2015
    I'd suggest you wrap the exterior case of those meters with foam. My experience tells me that one or two drops will be the end of life for the cheapies. My Fluke meters, on the other hand, have been dropped from height and are still going strong.
    Definitely understand about tools playing possum, though. The amount of tears shed for a lost Craftsman is considerably less than a Snapon.
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Feb 16, 2015
    Separate answer...

    Yes, those are the two critters...

    Up to 20.00 amperes the inductive ammeter measures to two decimal points. I.e. 17.62 amperes. At lower amperage it drops to the thousandth. Oh golly gee...
  • MEXICOWANDERER's avatar
    MEXICOWANDERER
    Explorer
    Feb 16, 2015
    Well when they finally decide to play possum I won't shed as many tears.

    Think I'm gonna carry a five hundred dollar Fluke And three thousand dollar bench meter in a bobbing and pitching inflatible out to a sailboat on the hook. Ever see a Fluke disappear into whirling fan blades?

    Down here fifty dollars or five grand when an instrument quits...



    Now that I know they aren't junk the next order are going to be for the spares.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Feb 16, 2015
    It has been said a man with several watches will never know what time it is.

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