Xref: utzoo sci.electronics:9467 misc.consumers:16402
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!news
From: chuck@mitlns.mit.edu
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,misc.consumers
Subject: Re: DMM (Dig.Multi-Meter) Recommendations wanted
Message-ID: <1990Jan13.224731.5083@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 13 Jan 90 22:16:45 GMT
Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system)
Distribution: na
Organization: M.I.T. Lab for Nuclear Science
Lines: 29

-Message-Text-Follows-
In article <33065@cci632.UUCP>, jvz@cci632.UUCP (John V. Zambito) writes...
>In article <4114@orion.cf.uci.edu> jroersma@orion.oac.uci.edu (John Roersma) writes:
>>I am searching for a Digital Multi-Meter for general household
>>usage and electronics projects.  Does anyone have any recommendations
>>or warnings for certain brand names and/or models?  I am planning on
>>spending anywhere up to $200, and desire as many features (i.e.
>>Capactitance measurement, etc.) as possible.

 The new Fluke model 80's are good meters. Though they list at the top
of your price range. Lots of features (cap/hz/conductance). I havent needed
it but if I read the brouchure right the conductance measurent can allow 
you to measure resistances to 2000 giga-ohms. In particular the bargraph
feature works. The other meters (including the older flukes) just don't
update fast/clearly enough to make it useful. The cheap meters, do
work if you are careful, but from personal experience are much more
fragle. In particluar  we have a very low current hv supply we sometimes
look at with a meter. It puts out up to 3500v but only about 3-400 into a
10meg load, and has 2 nf of filter caps.  We plug our fluke in all
the time to test them and it works fine (even when we used 20nf caps).
The Metex? meter we got from blew out the first time it was tried
this way. Of course 3kv is way above the specs for both meters but
the fluke handles it, the other didn't.

   I want to get one of these flukes for home, does anybody know
of a place that has a good discount on them?


						Chuck Parsons
					CHUCK@MITLNS.MIT.EDU