Best multimeter?

[PoolcueTheFecker]

Hey guys!

Want to get a multimeter to pad out my repair kit but not sure what to go for! Eyeing up the Fluke 101 as apparently Fluke are the best and Adam Savage recommends it as well.

What do you guys reckon?

Cheers!

[TheBean]

I don't have that much experience in multimeters but EEVblog creates lots of electrical engineering content and he does have some good reviews. 

[PoolcueTheFecker]

7 hours ago, James Evens said:

You mean PC? mains voltage? other electronics? general purpose?

Mostly PC, potentially other household appliances and mains but I'll probably stay away from the latter

[PoolcueTheFecker]

10 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Fluke aren't the best but it is hard to argue about a $50 device from a reputable brand. 

Not the best bang for the buck but safe (don't buy a chapo like AN8008 if there is a chance it will be used on mains voltage) and cheap so go for it.

 

A thing which will drive you crazy on the Fluke 101 is the slow response time for continuity (beep).

Fair play! What would you recommend otherwise? Ideally under 100£ (or about 140USD)

[mariushm]

My main multimeter is a Uni-T UT61E ,,, great multimeter for the price, but a bit old (therefore there are quite a few multimeters more recently released with similar specs and quality at better price)

Uni-T meters have pretty good value for money, and they have some of the best lcd screens. Uni-T ut139c at around 45$ is another good model, with lots of reviews.

 

EEVBlog forums were already recommended, there's a long thread with discussions about multimeters so if you browse that you'll see various multimeters recommended at various price points ... There's also a big Excel spreadsheet with tons of multimeters and their specs and features compared.

 

For basic measurements on your pc, honestly you could use even a 5$ multimeter as most have less than 1-2% precision when measuring DC voltages, and whether your multimeter shows 12.00v  or 12.04v doesn't really matter that much.

 

[H713]

For what it costs, the UT139C is OK. It's not perfect, but it's about the best thing in its price class that I know of. Adequate input protection for what it's intended for. Logic circuits, audio equipment, mains, etc, it's fine. Don't go probing around 480 3-phase with a $40 meter. Build quality is, IMO, quite good. This was my "backpack" meter for a few years and it held up fine. I tend to shy away from meters like the 139C when probing tube power supplies with voltages above 350V, but the reality is that it would probably be fine and I don't recommend holding any meter in your hand when probing high voltage.

Another good option is an older Fluke- sometimes you can pick them up for pennies on the dollar. A while back I bought a bunch of Fluke 77s (mixture of Series I and Series II) for $17 each in decent condition. One of them took the place of the 139C as my backpack meter. 

[artuc]

I have an Agilent/Keysight U1272 , pricing a hell of a lot sharper than a comparable Fluke and they make good test bench and lab gear.

 

Don't use them myself but Hioki and Kyoritsu heard their DMMs are pretty good as well for another outside the box suggestion as a Fluke alternative.

 

Uni-T has been recommended to me before as a more budget/value option.

[H713]

I haven't used their handheld meters, but the HP / Agilent / Keysight bench meters are really awesome, and in my opinion they hit above the Flukes. They're not a Keithley, but they also don't charge Keithley prices. I use a 34405A at work almost every day and it's vastly superior to almost any handheld meter in most ways. It's also compatible with LabVIEW, which is pretty handy. Not something you'd want to put in a toolkit though.

 

As a warning about bench meters, however; many have vacuum fluorescent displays which can dim with age. In regular usage, this rarely happens. The problem you can run into, however, is that because a lot of these were bought for use as remote-controlled GPIB instruments, there are a lot of Fluke 8842As and HP 34401As on the used market that have been sitting in a rack, powered on, for the past 35 years. They work fine, but the displays can be very dim. 34401A displays seem to be semi-available. The same cannot be said about the 8842. 

[airborne spoon]

I have a Fluke 117 and a 323 they are both great and are very durable, Amazon sells them together now so you save like $159 if you buy them like that. but i love my 117 it has been through some tough times and survived more accidental drops than i care to mention