Hi Mick, your right about all prices,shapes and sizes. To your list of desirable features I would add capacitance, very useful with single Phase motors if a starting issue occurs. The unit I have is a Metrix MX56C, quite expensive , but very good, even a second hand one might be worth thinking about if new is too dear. Good Luck Noel.

Whatever you finish up with, buy a cheapie off EBay. They are usually a bright yellow and cost around £7. Use this for any dirty jobs. I have two of these plus some top of the range multimeters. I often finish up using the cheapie! They are pretty accurate and no great loss if you happen to back the car over it! Several of my friends have them at my recommendation. All have proved trouble free.

Andrew.

I would suggest an analogue rather than digital one – for most things, you aren't measuring to a great level of accuracy so a nicely damped needle swinging across a scale is perfectly adequate. The rapidly changing figures on the digital ones are much harder to make sense of, particularly if you're upside down under a dashboard or somewhere like that.

I will admit to owning both types, though.

Rob

Beaten to it by SpeedyBuilder

Edited By Grindstone Cowboy on 07/09/2021 16:15:27

I have a 70 series Fluke handheld, that I have had since the mid 1980's. It is bulletproof in its rubber holder.
The only thing it lacks is capacitance. It gets used regularly. New Fluke pricing is eye watering though. I also have an analogue Avo, which hasn't been out of its case in well over 30 years.
Screwfix have a LAP model for less than a tenner, it lacks a continuity test buzzer but at that price….

I have a Fluke, it was being thrown out because the battery was flat. Was it up to me to tell them? It is very good, except that if you blow one of the fuses (on amps range) they are stunningly expensive. I've bodged a standard 1.25" glass one into mine, but it really is a bodge. For hobby use I think I'd struggle to justify the cost.

I also have an active analogue one that I made. 1 Mohm input impedance and an op amp. As others say, better for noticing trends, but the DVM gets a lot more use

Make sure it is heavy enough not to be scooted across the bench by the cheap not very flexible leads

I have a grey Fluke 77 series ll that I bought years ago second-hand from a large army surplus store in Nottingham – can't remember the store details, but you can probably find it – they sell tanks as well as surplus Fluke meters !. The '77 is pretty bomb-proof in its rubber/plastic protector and I keep it in its soft carrying case, and keep the screen protecting film on the display. I will admit to having purchased a pack of spare fuses from Fluke, but have only used one since I bought the meter.

It is auto-ranging with LCD display so the battery lasts for ever, and it has a level bar along the bottom to indicate trends, a bit like an analogue meter needle, as well as the four large sized display digits. The '77 has everything you probably need, except capacitance, and it can measure current up to 10A. It has diode test and continuity beeper. and a touch and hold facility. You can test transistors for go/no go with a diode tester of course.

Not quite sure why some recommend cheap equipment – surely here we understand quality, and we know quality costs money? Get decent test leads too, which are not semi-rigid, but nice and flexible.

By good quality gear, look after it properly and it will give superb performance and last a lifetime. 

Edited By John Doe 2 on 07/09/2021 18:37:14

My goodness! Buying "quality" to ensure reliability costs. RS will sell you a Fluke for no less than £459. or £500+ with a certificate No thank-you, but perhaps that's what the OP wants.

Can't remember when I bought my sub £10 cheapie, but more than 20 years ago I guess. I could buy 50 more for less than the cost of one Fluke. Those would last me to beyond 3021 AD.

Edited By Clive Brown 1 on 07/09/2021 19:17:47

I use a Neoteck 4000 I got from Amazon. About £20. Came with all the leads including a temperature probe. Measures pretty much everything including capacitance, and frequency (which I find handy – saves getting out the oscilloscope).

Has a rubber casing for protection and a soft case for it and all the leads.

I have several others but this is so handy I use it for almost everything.

Edited By Peter Cook 6 on 07/09/2021 19:45:24

Fluke for me. Anchor Trading at Notts used to sell ex army ones, but Anchor had a big fire a few years ago. Aldi and Lidl will do for most things. Forget the capacitance rang for motor Caps, as those caps should be tested at main work full voltage not 9 volts, and how often do those cap fail anyway. An Avo or similar is the best for testing the likes of diodes and transistor out of circuit testing. John

Yes, EEVBLOG
They have a list of meters that don't meet their safety specifications. Often because of cheap fuses .

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/a-list-of-multimeters-that-do-not-appear-to-meet-their-claimed-safety-specs/msg157700/#msg157700

Oh no, John has unleashed my hobby horse! I submit the word 'quality' has no place in engineering.

Engineers should start by identifying requirements and then select equipment to meet the requirement. The criteria are Fitness for Purpose and Value for Money, not 'quality'.

Spending money without justification is an engineering sin. You have to engage brain to define exactly what's meant by fit for purpose; for a one off, the answer might be the cheapest available. The very best might be essential in a professional setting.

Lasting a lifetime, whatever that means, is rarely a engineering requirement in the way Capacity, Frequency or Induction ranges might be. Does one really want to pay for expensive calibration, multiple channels and high accuracy?

For ordinary workshop purposes a cheap multimeter is more than good enough, and easily replaced if the worst happens. And the money saved could be spent on something useful like an oscilloscope.

Sky's the limit If quality is the only requirement. A £3636 Keithly isn't bad but you can spend more!

Dave

Spending money on 'quality'