Looser101 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 Bought one too 'cause I like to blow shit up. Better "it" than my Fluke.
luvdunhill Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 you guys fail at letting guzziguy take one for the team
n_maher Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 The seller also has a similarly priced LCR meter that has me intrigued.
cetoole Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 The seller also has a similarly priced LCR meter that has me intrigued. I await upon your report, good sir.
n_maher Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 I await upon your report, good sir. Nah, I've been doing too much buying lately and need to step back.
Looser101 Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 Nah, I've been doing too much buying lately and need to step back. Unacceptable! Where is that Guzzyguy, guinea pig. Surely he doesn't need one, but he should take one for the team, this time round.
guzziguy Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 Hey, I ordered one first. I can't help it if all of you sheep had to do the same thing. Maybe we should buy one and ship it to ipodpj for review. After he states that it's the best DMM in existence, we'll all know we got good shit.
luvdunhill Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 Hey, I ordered one first. I can't help it if all of you sheep had to do the same thing. Maybe we should buy one and ship it to ipodpj for review. After he states that it's the best DMM in existence, we'll all know we got good shit. V99? V99? I mean, surely he could offer up some logo or branding design services for one.
cetoole Posted October 29, 2009 Report Posted October 29, 2009 Well yeah, if you want the 40 hours of work version, but it will sure cost you.
grenert Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 I have similar temptations. The VC99 looks quite nice. Also need an inductance meter (well, want), signal generator, and quite a bit of other test equipment. What could be better for a DIYer than a DIY LCRZ meter? M3 Digital LCRZ Meter Features I put one of these together and it is one of my favorite gadgets. I think the best features are the transformer measurments it can do, and the capacitor measurements (ESR, Q, dissipation factor). I also put together one of these LC meters: L/C Meter II, a digital inductance meter / capacitance meter. This one is cheaper, but has fewer features (the L measurment does not work on transformers, for example). I actually use it more often than the other meter for simple capacitance measurement because it is a two-lead instrument, so it's faster to use.
Les_Garten Posted October 30, 2009 Report Posted October 30, 2009 I don't know about the 179 specifically, but I have a 189 and absolutely love it. Would've probably gotten the 187, since I don't use the logging, but I found a good deal on a used 189 before I could find one on a 187. One thing I will suggest is getting a decent set of test leads, you wouldn't believe how much they can come in handy. I have ones that'll clip onto component leads so you can easily adjust trimpots and such, tips with a plastic guard that'll safely measure one pin on a DIP IC (like an opamp) without sliding off and shorting against the adjacent ones, ones with long sheathed extensions to measure in tight spots, etc. I really don't know how I got by with just regular test leads before. I'd probably rather use a more basic meter with good leads than a fancy meter with only standard leads, but maybe I'm just weird. Hi, Do you have a link to the Leads you are referring to here? I'm looking and have some leads similar to what you describe, but my leads are pretty cheap and I have no idea what Voltage they are rated for.
grenert Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 Hi, Do you have a link to the Leads you are referring to here? I'm looking and have some leads similar to what you describe, but my leads are pretty cheap and I have no idea what Voltage they are rated for. Not sure which leads Fitz uses, but I have most of these and they are versatile and high quality: Probemaster Inc. Most of the time, I only need one of the weird tips, so I actually bought a smaller set and a single of the less-used tips.
Les_Garten Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 Not sure which leads Fitz uses, but I have most of these and they are versatile and high quality: Probemaster Inc. Most of the time, I only need one of the weird tips, so I actually bought a smaller set and a single of the less-used tips. Thanx!
Fitz Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 I think the set I have is the Pomona 5677B, although I could be wrong.
Les_Garten Posted October 31, 2009 Report Posted October 31, 2009 I think the set I have is the Pomona 5677B, although I could be wrong. The Pamona and the ProbeMaster. Both of those sets are real nice. Thanx for the info.
regal Posted November 6, 2009 Report Posted November 6, 2009 The first time you take a HV reading with a cheap multimeter set on ohms and blow up 3 days worth of work and components you will buy a Fluke, any serious builder should own one.
Beefy Posted November 6, 2009 Report Posted November 6, 2009 The first time you take a HV reading with a cheap multimeter set on ohms and blow up 3 days worth of work and components you will buy a Fluke, any serious builder should own one. Or, perhaps serious builders are careful enough to not take HV measurement with their meter set on ohms?
Les_Garten Posted November 6, 2009 Report Posted November 6, 2009 Hi, I have a Fluke 87 and some cheap meter that came with a Battery for free. But I just read this last night and it was very interesting. Worth a read for any builder here as well as his electrical safety section. Meter Use
n_maher Posted November 6, 2009 Report Posted November 6, 2009 I'd stay away from the super cheap meters despite the results of that testing. My own personal experience is that my cheap $5 meter is often off by more than 10V when trying to measure line voltage. Example, LV on my Fluke = 122VAC, on the $5 Harbor Freight = 110VAC. Pretty shitty if you ask me. I use that meter as a fuse now, as in "I wonder if this measurement will blow up my meter".
ecclesand Posted November 6, 2009 Report Posted November 6, 2009 I use that meter as a fuse now, as in "I wonder if this measurement will blow up my meter". I have a couple dead meters laying around that served that purpose too. Although, I didn't intend them to serve that purpose.
Les_Garten Posted November 6, 2009 Report Posted November 6, 2009 I'd stay away from the super cheap meters despite the results of that testing. My own personal experience is that my cheap $5 meter is often off by more than 10V when trying to measure line voltage. Example, LV on my Fluke = 122VAC, on the $5 Harbor Freight = 110VAC. Pretty shitty if you ask me. I use that meter as a fuse now, as in "I wonder if this measurement will blow up my meter". I don't like the cheap Harbor Freight jobs either. But the Mastech looks like having a couple of those might be doable. One could test them for accuracy. Wish I had a box of Fluke 189s!! One can wish! Since I'm contemplating some HV stuff, I'm eyeing my leads with suspicion. The one's I bought off ebay and MPJA have got me skeered.
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