I want a DMM. It will be a kind of sub-hobby, as I’m terribly unknowledgable electrically. My newly found modding hobby is leading me by the nose towards this purchase. I don’t want to pay $30 and find what I bought is sub par, and have to buy another. Right now I am looking at This one. Any advice or guidance would be appreciated.
Fairly recent buyer's guide video:
i do have the UT61E, a very popular China-made DMM. got it for 24€ from the dinos.
Are there Walmarts in Canada?
I’m sure you’ve seen this, but here’s a video review:
It measures many values, including capacitance, and temperature, so I think it’s versatile.
One thing I have a problem with is the fact that the white LCD is only visible with the backlight on. I found out about this fact in an Amazon review. It probably will chew through the 2xAA batteries, so watch out for the runtime.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Equus-3320-Innova-Auto-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter/14644666
I think that’s one of the best multimeter made for the money. Everybody told me that you can’t buy one for under $50 that will touch it.
I don’t have time to further elaborate, but to save you some cash, I’d avoid that one.
Reasons:
Milwaukee is a complete unknown in the DMM world. It would be like buying an IBM dish-washer. Big name company, for sure, just not in dish washers…
I’m sure others will chime in with answers, but $150ish is a good amount of coin. If you’re looking for a good basic meter, you can get one for far less. If you’re looking for a good meter, I’d spend a few bucks more and get a Fluke/Agilent/Hioki/etc.
PPtk
Here’s what a guy said about the Equus Inova 3320 at Amazon.
5.0 out of 5 stars I completly Love this Meter!!, March 17, 2011
By Networker (Denver, CO) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
This review is from: Equus 3320 Auto-Ranging Digital Multimeter (Tools & Home Improvement)
This little meter is outstanding! I own a Fluke DMM 179 and of course that meter is top of the line. But would you believe this Equus 3320 is 99% spot on with it’s readings when compared to a recently calibrated Fluke 179!! I compared measurements with the Equus 3320 and the Fluke 179, in AC Voltage, DC Voltage, Resistance, and DC voltage for the Equus in the Battery test modes. It had literally almost identical readings to the Fluke! The circuit board appears to use mostly prime spec electrical components, so I suspect it will remain accurate for a long time as long as it’s not abused.
This meter sells on Amazon for less than $20, and has auto ranging. This means instead of having to dial in the max value manually the meter figures out what DCV range to use (if you were measuring DC voltage for example). It’s the same deal for other measurements like resistance, AC Voltage, etc, just set to that measurement type and the meter figures out the correct max range. Most auto ranging meters below $99 have slow auto ranging acquisition speed (this is the time it takes for the meter to figure out what range to use). Many of the cheaper auto ranging meters take several seconds to figure out the correct range and then display the measurement. Not the $19 Equus 3320, it was just as fast as the Fluke 179, which is a second or less in the voltage measurements, and under 2 seconds for resistance (resistance auto ranging takes slightly longer on all meters because the meter must send a small amount of current across the device under test first before trying to acquire the range).
The battery test function (which my Fluke 179 does not have) is the main reason I purchased this meter. The battery test goes beyond just measuring the voltage of the battery any cheap meter can do that all day long. The battery test function in the 3320 puts the battery under a current load (10 Milli amps for both 1.5v and 9v batteries) and then measures the voltage. This gives you a much better idea of if the battery is really good or not and will really perform in your devices. Some batteries on a bare voltage test show good voltage, but that good voltage will quickly drop to unusable levels once the battery is put under load. So testing batteries with a meter that has a battery test function is far superior to just checking it’s voltage. This feature alone makes the $19 price for this meter well worth it!
As a few other reviewers have said, it can only measure 200 Milli Amps of current in AC (whereas DC can measure up to 10 Amps). Most other multimeters can measure 10 amps of DC or AC current. So if you are looking to measure any substantial AC current this is the wrong meter. In fact for any current measurements I recommend a current clamp like the ExTech 623 or ExTech 380942 since you can clamp right over a live insulated wire (while the circuit is operating) and take your measurement. With any standard multimeter (like the 3320) you have to wire it in line with the circuit first (with the circuit powered off) and then you can take your measurement. But if you are looking for a compact, accurate multimeter for your garage or home (where you will not need AC current measurements) then look no further you cannot beat the accuracy, auto ranging speed, and the price of the Equus 3320.
If I were buying a budget meter now, the auto-ranging kind do look tempting as they appear faster than they were. Screen visibility issue is a definite no. Backlight LED eat power, and cheap meters don’t work well on low batteries.
The meters I have are possibly the cheapest meter (not those compact kind) and have 0.03 and 0.04 ohm internal resistance. But I think they are fine for hobby level tinkering. Would I buy another Uni-T now? Possibly, if it had some more features like temperature and continuity beep.
If I bought a Fluke or similar I would feel bad if I didn’t calibrate it regularly and didn’t have a use for the greater resolution/precision.
Edit - With some modification the meter you got could be turned into one to just measure voltage drop and resistance (replace the probes, though I can’t see sockets so you would need to solder them).
It’s more fun I think, from a learning point of view, if you have more than one meter.
Hi,
What about this one:
Equus 3300
It’s about 1/2 the price, at $12+, but seems similar (and also from Walmart)?
Jim
Edit: Is the only difference between the 3300 and the 3320 auto-ranging? If so, at least for me, I prefer non-auto-ranging meters.
Also, if anyone knows, do both the 3300 and 3320 have backlighting?
What about auto-power off?
Thanks,
Jim
I'd buy a used fluke ..
That's what I did a long time ago .. It's like a rock
Where I work, it is far cheaper to toss Flukes than to get them recalibrated. As in the recalibration costs more than the meter did.
OK, these are not high end meters, but calibration round here is too expensive to be practical.
According to what I read, Milwaukee is either made by the same factory as fluke or the engineers that designed the meter come from fluke. I don’t know which one but their is a connection somewhere.
Like PilotPTK said, they are not well field tested like a fluke yet. They may prove to be good meters but only time will tell.
PilotPTK made some good suggestions. If I only wanted to buy one meter, I would go with a fluke or Agilent. They last forever and simply work when you need them, that’s been proven.
If you can spend a $100 or more you might try ebay getting a used or new fluke 15b, 17b or 117. Sometimes you can get really good deals there, if your patient. If you don’t want to spend that much, they are several good suggestions in this thread.
Oh wow! 
Seems so wasteful. :_( But then, how useful would one of these Flukes be to a hobbyist? Calibrate to an affordable reference voltage bought online?
I don’t need job site indestructibility. This will be my hobby DMM. Although I don’t really know how everything works (electronically) I’m a fast learner.
I find that by physically copying what the more enlightened do in the threads, things start making sense, fast.
That’s why I want a good, reliable and accurate hobby DMM. I want to get it right the first time. Good leads…etc. Like I said, accurate, and reliable, without the need for construction site armor plating.
Legal requirements - I work in a hospital where they have to get very, very paranoid about such things. I'm using an old Fluke I got for 30 quid off eBay. Long out of calibration but just keeps going. The UK MoD sold off a whole lot of Fluke 15s last year - they were all over eBay for little to no money.
I don't actually know how easy or otherwise it would be to recalibrate them. It's probably pretty straightforward unless you want to measure large currents all the time - but HKJ has tips for that. If sixty545 is around, he used to design electronic test gear so would also be worth listening to.
Thanks, Don. I am going to start scouring Ebay. I don’t really need the high resolution but I do want something that will last, without having to fork out to maintain it.
When I began this flashlight madness, like an idiot, I didn't discover my newly purchased $40 DMM wouldn't measure normal flashlight current. Bought a $30 meter that would, then bought a used Sinometer for $20.
I don't like any of them and I'm tired of apologizing/defending (to myself) these almost-good-enough meters. When the oportunity to buy a 77 for $100 came along, I took it. With little effort, a decent used Agilent, Fluke or whatever with HRC fuses can be had for near the price of a box full of glass fused wanabes.
onetoolforlifeFoy
The one kreisler recommended above is worth a look. HKJ reviewed it here. I have a UT-61B and like it a lot.
Worth considering is what you want it for. If you're an electrician or perhaps a TV repair person, then you will be dealing with high voltage and therefore good input protection is a must. If it is for hobby use and you'll only be dealing with flashlights and thus low voltage electronics, then one of the Uni-T or similar products may work well for you.
Fasttech has a couple of the Uni-T meters.
Exactly. I don’t want to go overboard, but I don’t want to make three bad selections before I get one that suits my needs.