Depending on your needs a budget meter might be fine for around the house type things but for any real technical stuff you’ll need something far better such as a fluke 87. My personal meter is a blue point 596a which I could not ask for more from. There is an insane deal on one on eBay right now, guy must not know what he has.
Interesting. I never heard of that brand before. No info online either.
There should be a ton of info on it. Try bluepoint with no space. It’s a snap-on brand.
i only depend on my two Fluke meters that work great.
Better than a $300 fluke? Absolutely not!
Found this review of the uni-t 61e here;
The video I posted above the Uni-t looked junk. So IDK…
A good review of mid priced multimeter’s, I’ve watched the video’s above and the that Aussie bloke irritates me.
I bought a Brymen BM257, not a budget meter but it’s nice.
^ Ya I just watched that. A great review no doubt. I am still on the fence as I will only use my MM for batteries and tube amps…
You don’t get what you don’t pay for but with technology marching onward good products can be made for less cost and better products for equal cost than what happened yesterday.
As much as I respect “Fluke” I also realize that it is possible for others to equal or better them. Sitting on your laurels like MagLite did is all it takes for the world to pass you by so while a brand name can mean something, that can change. And not all of us need 1% of the 8th digit accuracy or the costs that entails.
Phil
In addition to the eevblog reviews I watched several from mjlorton on youtube — including these:
I settled on the Brymen BM-251, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I did find it branded as the Greenlee DM-200A and decided to support and mjlorton and bought it from his shop.
http://astore.amazon.com/m0711-20/detail/B003JZB4EE
The Greenlee DM-210A looks like a good value too.
I use two budget meters that seem to work well for me, but that's just my personal preference.
The Mastech MAS830L is used strictly as an amp meter. I opened it up and soldered 12ga short leads directly into the unit, for reading amps from the 10 amp setting. That is all I use it for.
For volts and resistance, I use the AW Sperry DM210A.
Shopping around for those meters, you can usually get both for less than $40.
Like I say, they work for me, but as far as the most accurate meters? I would also have to go with the expensive line of Fluke meters. I just don't have the bucks for their top of the line stuff.
I use an Extech ex205t in my Electrical Technology homework projects and residential/commercial work. Only thing I’ve found myself wishing it had was ncv detection and possibly own frequency.
Cost me <$35.
Hey mate i just bought one of these UNI-T UT139C i decided on this model because it is meant to be safer then the other uni-t models some one on YouTube tested it and it survived up to 5000 volt transient test the flukes do a little better they usually fail at 7000+ volts! obviously if your not going to touch mains no need for a multi-meter to be built like a tank….
I think i will buy a fluke later on or a Japanese made multi-meter right now i have two cheap ones they work but some times they make me wonder!
Yes I like that UNI-T UT139C. I have been eyeing that model for the same reasons you described.
If I could send it to Australia I would have bought one of the AMprobes they have such good reviews and are cheap…
I guess the more you spend on a multi-meter the longer it will last.
http://www.amazon.com/Amprobe-AM-510-Commercial-Residential-Non-Contact/dp/B007FZFTZO/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&ref\_=s9_simh_awbw_d11_g328_i3
I’ve got a Mastech MS8268 for my cheapy, and a Fluke 179 for when I need true RMS. Haven’t had any issues with the Mastech. The backlit screen is nice too, although it only stays lit for 4 seconds or so per backlight button press.
Me too…. Me too.
I just looked at that Greenlee DM-200A. That looks like a fantastic deal at $82.
1dash1, I am curious. Who promoted you to moderator on a basically unmoderated forum? I have seen your statements on several threads that basically aggravate me because you act like you own this forum. Please desist.
Off-topic. PM sent.