Best multimeter

[Jframpey]

Well, got what I paid for... I bought a Chinese $30 multi meter and a $45 clamp meter several years ago.the clamp meter worked 3 times! But I haven’t needed one til now. I dropped the multimeter yesterday - oops - 18 inches!!! It’s DRT (dead right there).

I’ve looked thru some past topics and find Fluke is everyone’s choice. I looked on amazon - and found a Fluke 117 multimeter and 323 clamp meter bundled. $235.

One question - the clamp meter only says it measures AC amps... I would like to be able to measure DC also... is it even possible to measure DC current using a clamp meter?

Should I get this set of meters? I’ll use it primarily for electrician type stuff and 12 volt RV.

[Harvey51]

I have a Uni-T UT204A DC clampmeter and UT55 multimeter. Both are excellent and reasonably priced. I am very pleased with the voltage accuracy (tested with voltage standard) and stability over temperature range -40C to 40C. The clampmeter measures current easily and accurately enough for vehicle parasitic draw.
Uni-T on ebay

[capeman]

Fluke!

[SoundGuy]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
I bought a Uni-T UT210E. Uni-T make several different models. Far from the best, but not the cheapest either !

Thanks for the reco - I just ordered one as there's nothing in it's price range available in our local stores and this Uni-T will certainly be sufficient for my needs. :B

[MEXICOWANDERER]

if you know the "index error", just apply that each time

And there's the rub...there's various ways to do that -- the meter I posted is the least expensive, least hassle way I have found to do that.

Or a person can purchase a Tektronix 5.5 digit (in calibration) bench meter like I have. You won't like the price but the .03% DC accuracy at full scale is nice.

The little meters are a snap to use. To adapt to the higher voltage scale twist the 2 red wires together and then twist the two black wires together.

"Usually" meters that have high accuracy in high ohms scales have acceptable accuracy in other functions.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Two TENTHS of a volt is not minor. But some folks have "people that do that for me". The 5 digit meter reads to 33.999 not 19.999 down to 1.0001

[w4phj]

I love my Fluke 336. It does everything I need very well.

[Bumpyroad]

out of curiosity, what normal reading related to RV maintenance really requires a precise reading? ego, rocket science? or dueling meters, "My meter is bigger than yours?" I'm trying to find that 480 volt source in my TT and can't locate it.
bumpy

[bucky]

I think that most of us on here could use a test light most times we reach for a MM. On DC related RV issues anyway.
As a result my favorite MM is the one I find first.

[mike-s]

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
If a person should reverse engineer some of these cheapo panel meters, they should find the same thing as I did, the comparator circuits are a world different between garden variety 2-1/2 - 3-3/4 digit meters and the 5.0 digit.

Which of those panel meters has a comparator? Op-amp(s) and A/D, sure, but what would those cheapo ones use a comparator for? They're certainly not doing A/D with discreet comparators. Most likely a cheap integrated 16 bit A/D.

It's not clear what you mean by "2-1/2 - 3-3/4 digit meters and the 5.0 digit" The meter you showed is a 4 3/4 digit one. What's a "5.0 digit" display?

[MEXICOWANDERER]

When I am pre-sorting resisance or voltage for power supplies "almost" doesn't cut it. You didn't ruffle any feathers, and I had hoped that I made it clear that seeking accuracy was my own personal objective - solely. You are quite correct about resolution versus comprehensibility by the user. I choose 5.0 digit meters for my customers. Then black out the least significant digit with an ultra-heavy duty marker whose medium actually melts the tint into the meter's plastic lens.

The value of hundredths?

If the voltage is creeping up in the hundredths scale, there is no guarantee it will not impact the tenths to as much as 1 or 2 tenths. Yes a person can stand by a meter for 15 minutes to hope the tenths will not trip, but by seeing the hundredths ascend (or not), there is no guesswork. And if the voltage is hunting, a person had better be interested in finding out why.

A meter that reads 13.96 volts rather than 14.2 is intrinsically tricky.

If a person should reverse engineer some of these cheapo panel meters, they should find the same thing as I did, the comparator circuits are a world different between garden variety 2-1/2 - 3-3/4 digit meters and the 5.0 digit.

RC racers are demanding LSD accuracy much greater than what the general market demands.

People with batteries can have at their fingertips a qualifier for voltage that costs disproportionately to its accuracy. I choose to use these meters for my power supply products because they simply do not cost but pennies more than lesser meters. And Magic Marker scrawls are worth a small fraction of a cent.

I have a 3-1/2 lb box of bad NEW meters that can your's for the asking. Simply pay postage 🙂

An aside: Late 1960's...
"Say, did you know your speedometer reads seven miles per hour slow?"

"Does not"

"I checked it against the 4 mile-markers last week and a mile takes a hair under 53 seconds" I didn't continue that his 20 mpg mileage did not work for me -- I got 14.

Several miles later, a siren. A half-hour on the shoulder, and a scowling acquaintance got in and slammed the door.

It turned out it was all my fault because I had brought up the subject. We continued on in silence.

Any argument should be taken up with the battery. I'm easy going -- it isn't...

[SaltiDawg]

Deleted by SaltiDawg as simply being of no value.

[BFL13]

What you want is a meter that may be off, but is consistent. You can use that with confidence. Doesn't matter what it says-- if you know the "index error", just apply that each time. What really matters is to observe any change from last time.

I have no problem with my cheapo hydrometer eg. It does not need to be accurate and temp compensated. It just has to tell me if anything is out of whack since the last reading.

Same thing with the multimeter. Only thing there is the battery getting low makes the voltage reading wrong. It happens slowly, so you can be fooled for a while until you catch on that it is the battery.

[mike-s]

SaltiDawg wrote:
However if you think that having a meter that is a) Calibrated and b) Displays to five decimals is accurate to five places - which presumably requires a round off for at least the final digit - you would be sadly mistaken.

Sometimes you want resolution for precision, not accuracy. e.g. relative measurements.

[SaltiDawg]

Deleted by SaltiDawg as not bringing added value and not being appropriate.