DMM

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1

I wasn’t exactly sure where to put this…

I’m looking for a nice cheap and yet accurate DMM. Which would you suggest?

Thanks!

2

DMM UNI-T UT61E

http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20UNI-T%20UT61E%20UK.html

Clamp Meter Uni-T UT210E with 1ma DC resolution.

John.

3

Hey mate Seeing as where you live. Maybe you get an amprobe meter from Amazon cheapish. They are highly regarded. I wanted to buy one but couldn’t find one here.

4

The UT61 is a nice meter for sure. After a LOT of research I settled on the UT139C though as it is cheaper, better made and fixes a few issues that the ut61 had.

I love the UT139C, I spent $36 on it delivered and it is super accurate, I tested it with a few reference voltages and it was spot on every time.

I would replace the probes on any cheap meter though, the stock ones suck in basically all cases. I got some nice ones for $7 off ebay that are gold plated, nice silicone leads and have a very fine / sharp point. There are other options as well for around that price point.

Bang for the buck, I could not find anything better. It is also a 6000 count meter so that means that in the voltages we deal with it reads down to the .001v.

5

At the current time Brymen is one of the best brand for a high quality and not too expensive meter.
They do also deliver OEM meters to many other brands.

6

I've got an Etekcity MSR-U1000 which appears to be similar to the above UNI-T one. It was about $30.

Tested using an LM4040 voltage reference board, it is spot on accurate. Tested using an AD584LH board, it is about 0.2% off.

Also have the Uni-T clamp meter mentioned above for measuring higher currents. It's not very accurate for low currents.

7

Ive been a bit unsettled with my meter lately as well. Its a fine meter, but ive been thinking more about a logging meter. Ive found my homemade 10awg test leads measure current pretty accurately under 10amps. But im handling some higher powered triples now, so it would also be nice to have a clamp meter.

8

I use a current shunt for tailcap amp tests. The way I use it it is very accurate and offers very little resistance. Plus there is no worry about shorting out your meter and popping the fuse or forgetting to put it back in voltage mode before the next time you use it and shorting out your project.

9

I know this is a little OT, but can you explain how to use a current shunt for tailcap amp tests?

10

I explain how I did it here:

11

???

Did you forget to include a link?

12

Forget a link? No never, why would you ask such a thing? Check the post, it was there all along, I did not just edit it to add it in, nope, didn’t do that. :innocent:

13

A shunt is a resistor, for example 0.1Ohm, put leads on it
and a second tunable resistor 100-500 tines bigger to calibrate the resistor plus wires, to match exactly 0.1Ohm

Here I measured with 1kOhm calibrated shunt to measure standby drain

My 1Ohm shunt
The wires add resistance, which le the parallel tunable resistor compensates that

14

I have written some general advice on using a DMM here: Measurement on Flashlight

It includes both clamp meter and using a resistor for current measurement.

15

I also have a UT139C and i love it! I have accidentally put 25amps thru it and it lived fine! it is the one of the only UNI-T meters with proper input protection. Its should be able to handle around 4kv below giving way!

The AMprobes are highly regarded and will cost about the same price as the UT139C most of the same features. Plus you will get a warranty on it.