Multi-meters.....

[Andy665 0]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced electrical multi-meter - just thought it would be handy to have one in the garage ready for use

[Supercharged 2]

Maplins do some for a fiver from time to time... they also do an automotive one which has a few more features but it depends what you need it to do - the cheapo one will probably surfice...

 

Or, if you want to spend a bit more have a look out for FLUKE ones - very good quality kit (I was lucky to get one free from my dads company)

[dr_mat 0]

Not necessarily going to help you right now, but I got one in a french hypermarket this summer for believe it or not EUR 3.00 ...

I think it's the same basic design as the el cheapo ones in Maplins in the UK, but the probe cables are better quality!

[coolrado 0]

if you can, try and get one with an analogue (needle) display as well as the digital display, digital displays are generally very slow to react to changes in voltage or resistance and you can often miss surges in a power supply from a faulty regulator or other electrical gremlins, you can also check for injector pulses more easily with a needle type display.

 

one of the best meters i used was an AVO 8 about the size of a breeze block and just as heavy, i think it used to cost about £300 to callibrate though.

[Tempest 0]

Yes, the old AVO's, sturdy bits of kit, that my former Uni still has a few flying about (today's modern kiddie students wouldn't know what to do with them anyway :lol:), and I tend to get one on loan, if I need some serious and accurate kit.

 

Other than that I use a 25 quid Tandy unit (I know, they don't exist anymore, the multimeter is getting on a bit, but still does everything I want it to do: V, A, Ohms, Continuity, Frequency, Capacitance, only thing it doesn't have that would be handy for me for my Mk1 would be duty cycle).

 

Apart from that I also got a cheapo analogue multimeter from maplins to get display any trends, as digital mulitmeters are indeed slow to refresh their display, well mine anyway :lol:

 

Tempest

[Andy665 0]

Looks like a trip to Maplins for me then - cheers

[coolrado 0]

many uni's and tech's still use the avo 7&8, when i did my s**tty and guilds 2240 parts 1,2&3 we had to use them as there are certain tests that could only be done with an old moving coil meter and avo where about as accurate as you could and still can get.

 

certainly not cheap though new avo 8

[Stan 24v 0]

if you want to spend a bit more have a look out for FLUKE ones - very good quality kit (I was lucky to get one free from my dads company)

 

Thats what we use on aircraft in the RAF, would hate to see the price tag for the ones we use though, and the mark up is probably 1000% too :lol:

 

They dont have a slow refresh rate either, you can see everything thats going on with one of those bad boys!!

[Foggystorm 0]

we use flukes in the army too. From experience of using them and looking for one that is multi-functional and easy to use I would go for one of these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fluke-25-multimet ... dZViewItem

[coolrado 0]

Andy665, if you do get a meter and its just going to be sitting in a cold garage for months at a time occasionally being used, take the batteries out of it, if you leave them in there too long they will probably leak and ruin the meter, and if you get an el cheapo meter the batteries are also likely to be cheap and more likely to leak.

[Andy665 0]

Managed to get a Fluke 25 multimeter, excellent condition, in rigid case, probes and full instructions - seems really heavy duty - £29 off E-Bay which seemed like a good deal, seems to have a steady stream of them, link for anyone whos interested in buying one

 

http://url.the-corrado.net/cef37d

[Guest]

always used Fluke, but as said above, uber expensive for a home user

[Stan 24v 0]

Managed to get a Fluke 25 multimeter, excellent condition, in rigid case, probes and full instructions - seems really heavy duty - £29 off E-Bay which seemed like a good deal, seems to have a steady stream of them, link for anyone whos interested in buying one

 

http://url.the-corrado.net/cef37d

 

Have a look for any etched writing on it, that seems very "militaire" to me ;)

[Andy665 0]

It certainly has the look and feel of being military - I don't mind as long as its not French, Italian or German military :D

[Goldie 2]

Just so all three services get a mention here these are used by the Navy also.

 

Theyve all recently been updated and are used in all ships, submarines and probably in quite a few matelots homes as well.

[Stan 24v 0]

Theyre all yellow now arent they? they were at my last unit anyway.

 

Andy let us know if there is any etching on it, we can probably figure out where it came from :lol:

[Goldie 2]

Yeah they are, i think the more recent ones have a few extra functions on them now.

 

We generally use these or the BM80 if we need to put a voltage through something.

[coolrado 0]

those fluke 25's are the ones i used in tech college and secondary school the college used to have hundreds of them, they only upgraded to the new model when the store room and fire door where left unlocked one night and someone nicked the lot, they left all the avo's behind though, they where probably too heavy.

[Foggystorm 0]

we use the new yellow ones now, but up till 3 months ago we used the fluke 25's, the one u bought is definatley an ex british military one (I bet it even has an NSN (nato stock number) on the back (looks like 5856-99-234-2345) (and it is the one I pasted the link for recommending u buy that you bought :-)) If u need a hand with any function give me a shout. Did it come with instructions? if not I can probably get u a set even if it is a photocopy