Society of Robots - Robot Forum
Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: BANE on December 27, 2010, 12:34:50 PM
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Hello all,
So my piece-of-crap multimeter from radioshack gave up the ghost yesterday and i'm looking good one this time. I would like to get one with temp and usb for data logging. My budget is around $120. Anybody have any recommendations? I really want fluk but i cant seem to touch the one i want for under $300 :O
thnx in advance
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Flukes are the best of course . . .
I have a BK Precision Test Bench 390A which I really like:
http://www.bkprecision.com/products/model/390A/test-bench-dmm-with-protective-rubberized-case-and-usb-interface.html (http://www.bkprecision.com/products/model/390A/test-bench-dmm-with-protective-rubberized-case-and-usb-interface.html)
$175 with 3 year warranty
If you want a quality multi-meter, make sure it has frequency and capacitance capabilities. The above one also has a built in thermometer which is great for measuring overheating of electronics and motors.
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thanks admin,
I haven't heard of this brand but it looks pretty good. I'm trying to get a fluke from a guy on craigslist which is going to be awesome if everything goes through. Just out of curiosity, does anybody really need the usb feature? After looking into it I think an O-scope is much better.
Bane
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Hi,
Just out of curiosity, does anybody really need the usb feature? After looking into it I think an O-scope is much better.
If you have to make a lot of measures to be recorded for documentation or similar, it may be helpful, but in all other situations, it's fairly useless.
My idea of quality in a DMM is not some kind of circus horse with all kind of gizmos, but a clean meter with just what's needed, i.e. V (AC and DC), A (AC and DC) and Ohm ranges and nothing else. Then it's useful for what it's for. That's why I got me a Fluke 77 for hand held jobs.
Leave all other functions to dedicated meters that can deliver good measurement ranges in their respective categories.
A Swiss Army Knife may seem useful with a complete toolkit, USB memory and what not, but it's not very handy if you just need to cut something (and neither if you need to fasten a screw, open a can of food or whatever).
The extras you get in DMM's, like frequency, inductance or capacitance ranges may sound all that, but they're severely limited compared to dedicated meters nd will just be clutter in daily use.
All that said, you won't make better circuits using the best of DMM's than with the cheapest $4..$5 meter, so you might wanna go for something entirely different, like other types of instruments, tools or perhaps a lab power supply.
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I agree with the others. Several years ago, I was in the position of needing a new meter and I got the advice to get a good one and I ended up with a Metex M-3890D, which I see you can still get (http://www.tequipment.net/MetexM-3890D.html (http://www.tequipment.net/MetexM-3890D.html))
It has lots of features, but I personally only use it to measure Volts(Ac/Dc), Ohms(with or without continuity beep), and sometimes Amps... I never use the USB interface.
Good Luck
Kurt
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The only real use the USB interface on a multimeter would have for you is to data log so you can plot it in excel.
But you can rig up any microcontroller to do that, too, with little effort. For example the SoR Scope for the Axon.
I use the frequency measurement setting on my MM quite often . . .
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I use the frequency measurement setting on my MM quite often . . .
I did that a few timers earlier, but I now use my Logic Analyzer instead...
Kurt