Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2021 21:50:11 -0600
Reply-To: Tom Hargrave <thargrav@HIWAAY.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Tom Hargrave <thargrav@HIWAAY.NET>
Subject: Re: Multimeters
In-Reply-To: <CY4PR0801MB3731FACAA03B9C4230AA1E03A0839@CY4PR0801MB3731.namprd08.prod.outlook.com>
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Harbor Freight sells a decent low cost meter, just buy two so that when you don't trust the reading from one you can back it up with a second meter. Also, change the battery in both twice a year.
And by decent low cost I mean this one for a little over $22.00.
https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/multimeters-testers/11-function-digital-multimeter-with-audible-continuity-61593.html
Not this one for a little over $6.00.. This meter is a real piece of junk.
https://www.harborfreight.com/electrical/electrician-s-tools/multimeters-testers/7-function-digital-multimeter-63759.html
Also, more often than not 'bad meters' are caused by faulty meter leads. I'd even guess more than 75% of the time the real issue is meter leads. But no wonder, what do we do with the leads? We leave them plugged in and then we wrap them around the meter! It doesn't take long for the connections in the ends to loosen up when you store your meter this way.
Thanks, Tom Hargrave
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-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Dennis Haynes
Sent: Friday, February 19, 2021 10:10 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Multimeters
“Fluke” is amongst the higher respected lines. They also have a lot of choices including some more reasonable price options. For most we don’t need super high accuracy. For most side of road events a test light can often do the job. High current DC clamp meters and true RMS tend to bring the price up. Amazon is a great place to shop for variety of choices.
Dennis
From: Mike Miller <mwmiller6@att.net>
Sent: Friday, February 19, 2021 10:52 PM
To: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com; Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Multimeters
Good advice.
Right now, after the failure of my 3 or 4 meter, cheap and a little less cheap, I'd take a meter that works. My brother recommends Fluke, me too but he won't pay for it! Scum! Of course he's an electronics engineer so understands, and needs a lot of capability, and is willing and able to pay for it.
Still scum.
Mike
On Friday, February 19, 2021, 7:43:48 PM PST, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com<mailto:d23haynes57@hotmail.com>> wrote:
There are so many choices for "meters". You want to consider what types of measurements you are willing to take on. There are some measurements that you would want for automotive use that may not be needed for household use such as dwell duty cycle, DC amps, etc. For house use you are looking for higher voltage ranges and also safety considerations of being able to avoid damage or injury from high voltage failures. If looking to service inverters, generators, solar converters etc. you also need to consider that you are working with non-linear circuits and may need true RMS measurements. Of the features for some circuits you also need fast response so you can observe rapid changes. For digital meters look for an analogue bar graph. For charging and starting diagnostics a high range DC clamp ammeter becomes extremely valuable.
To become sufficient at electrical trouble shooting become familiar with some basics. For DC understanding ohm's and Kirchhoff's laws will enable to diagnose most circuits. Understanding inductive and capacitance along with impedance vs. resistance helps to move into the AC world.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com<mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>> On Behalf Of Anthony Egeln
Sent: Friday, February 19, 2021 7:55 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM<mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Subject: Multimeters
I’ve decided it is time to buy a multimeter. I’d like to get one that would be good for both van use and household use if that’s practical.
It appears that there are clamp meters and regular digital multimeters. Would one or the other be better for the uses as described?
Thanks, Anthony
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