Best value bench top multimeter

[TomCarlos]

JVM and Friends...

I have a Tenma 72-1015 Meter - got it from MCM Electronics. Under $200, True RMS, does the job.

I picked up an Instek GAG 810 Signal Generator from eBay, under $100, also does the job.

Tom

[jvm]

I have been eyeballing that very meter! Looks like it might be the one for me.

[TomCarlos]

Tenma equipment is a good value.

And for nostalgic reasons, I have an old HP400E. It works, you can find these on eBay. You do not get "precise" numbers but what you get should be "close enough" (assuming it is calibrated).

Tom

[jvm]

I appreciate all the info from everyone. I have a much better understanding of what I need now. Many thanks!

[audiopete]

I also have the Tenma and it is great for most everything. Tenma makes some good stuff for the price.

Heh heh I also have that HP 400E but I never use it. Same with my old Nixie tube Freq counter - I use the Tenma.

[Paleo Pete]

OK I've been wondering about this one anyway.

I have one that's not the quality you guys need I'm sure, but I've been wondering if it's even decent. I've used cheap digitals for years, hand held, they do OK for what little I do. I found a Micronta 22-201U at a resale shop for a buck a few years ago, had to replace a battery wire and it works fine. One AA battery. So is it a half decent hand held for general tinkering, or crap? I know it's not the kind of unit you guys need, and was the Radio Shack brand for years, probably decent at best...just wondering.

[km6xz]

Heh heh I also have that HP 400E but I never use it. Same with my old Nixie tube Freq counter - I use the Tenma.

A quality analog meter is really useful since the input is hard to kill, unlike the digitals and it shows trends faster and easier than a digital meter. Any time you are making adjustments of amplitude, the analog meter movement is better than digital than zeroing on the desired value, say, a peak for example in a range, or trend in gaining or lowering values. Visually averaging moving values like found in audio all the time is much easier to identify. Digital meters are good for determining the value of an unchanging parameter. They have good resolution but that is sometimes misleading since nothing in electronics except time is of value beyond 3 significant figures. I use a mix of meters, each for their best features in quickly diagnosing a problem. Just looking around my main bench, there are 8 analog meters and 11 digital displays and 3 units that show both graphs for analog and digits for display. All of them are great for what it needed from them. A scope with probe input digital readout coupled to the vertical amp is what I use most however, so information in amplitude and frequency domains can be read instantly. The newer cheap Chinese LCD scopes offer that in various forms plus calculated values so it is hard to get much better for such a low price. They have limited input voltage and are not great looking at signals in the noise like a good analog scope does but for $300 they are amazing. I don't have one but will probably pick one up in the not too distant future.
Don't sell that HP short, it tells you all you need and in a way the brain accepts very quickly instead of mentally differencing the one 4-6 digit long number from another to determining trend and pace of changing values. Besides it will also last longer than any of the digitals and handle static discharge much better. It was over $1000 when $1k was a lot of money, for good reason. Still the best way to measure tube amp level voltages is with analog VTVM's, like the HP410c or B. They handle 1500volts and can see and measure signals from DC to 700Mhz.

[g1]

I found a Micronta 22-201U at a resale shop for a buck a few years ago, had to replace a battery wire and it works fine. One AA battery. So is it a half decent hand held for general tinkering, or crap?

It's kind of crap. The test leads are a giveaway.
On the other hand, it's about 10,000 times better than not having a meter. When nothing else was available, I've used one for general tinkering and electrician work, and it does fine.
All depends on what your actual uses are.

[Paleo Pete]

Thanks that's about what I figured, I don't use it for anything critical, like checking voltages in my tube amps, usually just for continuity checks and such or to get a general reading of the ball park value of a resistor. For anything other than that I use my cheap but probably a little more accurate digital, which is most likely just a half step up from crap...

I mainly got it because I thought it would be pretty uncommon to find one of these from the 70's still in the original box and in almost mint condition. For a buck or two and a few minutes to solder in a new battery wire, it's a cool item to have around...Threw the box away though, it was pretty mangled up, not a corner on it still intact, all were ripped up the sides, worn and faded, Goodwill store price tag obliterated what was left of the original logo and so forth...I keep it in a hinged plastic case lined with foam so it stays in good condition and shouldn't get scratched up, especially since it's pulled out and used maybe twice every 3 years...Probably never will be worth more than 5 bucks, but how many of those do you see still in near mint condition? And with original users manual...