Dirt Cheap Meters Link Includes A FLUKE

I hasve bought a lot of 'stuff' from Banggood and have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of each purchase.

No test equipment, but dash cams, remote switches, and a really nifty USB borescope with a 7-meter cable.

Most of the items purchased come from Singapore in about a week and a half.

Oh, yeah, I got some really nice warm white 44-led square arrays for $.99 each! Brighter than the incandescent bulbs in the MoHo fixtures, and 400-mw.

One of the more discussed topics in the Tech Issues Forum is how to successfully "start" a given a/c unit with a given generator.

Continuous current measurements are of very little use in these discussions.

Surprised to see very little interest in an inrush current function to take the mystery out of the process. Yes, inrush current readings from one device to another will vary because of a lack of standardization. However, comparative readings using the same device are very useful.

Nice find. Heh heh heh now try and find a peak-to-peak analog or digital device less an oscilloscope.

BUT WAIT!!!

HF Peak Hold Version

This one claims Peak Hold and the reviews confirm it. At $16 on sale, it still isn't RMS, Capacitance, DC Amps and all those other things, but Peak Hold, and (based on reviews) a more accurate DVOM scale for precise lower value readings, the thing looks like a winner.

I'm blessed to have a Fluke 12 that'll do Capacitance, so peak AC Amps would round out my A/C troubleshooting "suite." it'd be nice to be able to go up on a roof with just one meter though, and there are several $50-$70 meters that'll do all that. If you're serious into RV handy-man-ing, then those meters'd be a good entry point.

Yeah, Harbor Fright. I have their bulkier one:
And was interested in a second one, considered this cute compact version:
Till I noticed the cutie uses three 3V Lithium Batteries that'll cost about the price of another meter to replace. The bulkier one uses a single 9-volt like a smoke detector.
I had an old Amprobe brand that I relied on till I found it was reading only about half the actual amps.
I am NOT aware that any of HF's offerings will measure DC Amps OR Peak Inrush on AC Amps. There's a "Hold" button, but that only freezes the display in case you reached in with the meter to clamp onto a cable where you can't see the reading. Peak Inrush is like an A/C compressor startup and the HF stuff, at least to my knowledge, cannot trap it. Some of the Mastec meters can do both DC and Peak Inrush (at least on AC) as well as Capacitance. I was impressed with the OP on an A/C thread being able to do all that so I asked what he was using as a meter.

:B

Or a reference current and voltage sources. Yee gad the hyper precision 1.00000000K resistor (exaggeraration) isn't that much of an exaggeration 4PPM precision. Seventy dollars. Whew. But @#$/\&! It's all two thousand miles from here.

Doing the external heatsinks on the BORG today. Massive. The parade of junctions for heat to pass through is a worry. But with external fans 60 watts worth, I'm doing all I can. I gotta find a way to get these images posted. The BORG is absurdity without parallel. Right up my alley :)

wa8yxm wrote:
Speaking of clamp on meters.. We are having power issues here in the park,, Looks like a faulty 400 amp breaker (It is getting very hot and the clamp ons's how around 30-50 amps flowing with my rig offline. With my rig online and the A/C cooling it's about 20 amps more.

Electrican working on it has a few Clamp On's Park's resident technician likewise, As do I (2 One Crafstman One HF) the amazing thing was my 10 buck HF was more accurate than his far more expensive industral strength menter (We hooked most all of em up and compared reading,,, Only that one was way off)

I'm thinking he needs a new battery in his meter.

THis is why it's nice to have a calibration feature on your clamp meter. My old Fluke clamper has this feature.

Speaking of clamp on meters.. We are having power issues here in the park,, Looks like a faulty 400 amp breaker (It is getting very hot and the clamp ons's how around 30-50 amps flowing with my rig offline. With my rig online and the A/C cooling it's about 20 amps more.

Electrican working on it has a few Clamp On's Park's resident technician likewise, As do I (2 One Crafstman One HF) the amazing thing was my 10 buck HF was more accurate than his far more expensive industral strength menter (We hooked most all of em up and compared reading,,, Only that one was way off)

I'm thinking he needs a new battery in his meter.

A tech buddy of mine recommended this Tenma meter. A few guys in his shop have started using them. For the RV sparker, this True RMS clamp meter would be a good choice, 400 A DC capable.

Lots of meters. What I linked listed is not a blanket endorsement. E Caveat Emptor is not meaningless Latin. I have had my share of outright fraud on eBay. How about a 17.76 charge from Red Flag1948 ? Numbers mean anything to you? 1948 was the year the communists took over China. EBray and PalPal both stuttered and stammered. I notified VISA through Wells Fargo and the ---- hit the fan. All it took was me sending VISA the eBray purchase history showing no purchase. Both eBray and PayPal sent injured emails claiming I really really didn't "have to" do the correction through VISA. Screwum they make millions upon millions annually by floating currency. Slow response to outright fraud means weeks of waiting for nothing. My Wells VISA protection is 1000% more effective against fraud.

Want misery? Price return postage to China. Most accept only DHL or FED EX. The cheapo link I posted has a USA shipping address. It pays to do a little research before plunking down payment.