Best DMM for under $50?

[big_teee]

This has been beat on before, but since the choices change a lot, what do you think would be the best small DMM in the $30-$50 range?
Say for leaving in several places, not necessary for bench use?
Like in the truck, boat, or desk drawer?
Discuss away?
T

[alexradium]

Aneng 8008 or Q1

[big_teee]

Aneng 8008 or Q1

Found it.
https://www.amazon.com/Alloet-True-R.../dp/B072JMBLJS

[Chuck H]

Well a used Fluke 87, which is what I have, is a bit higher than that. But considering your requirements, which looks to include durability, I can attest that I don't think meters get any tougher than my 87. If the more affordable models are similarly built I might consider a used Fluke meter. Maybe other members here could comment on the viability of such models as the 77 II-III and 115, 116 etc. They go less than $50 on *bay all the time.

[big_teee]

I have a Fluke 89, leftover from my comm tech job.
More meter, than needed for working on cars, boats, etc.
I like cheapies, for knocking off of cars and boats, etc !

The Klein meter gets good reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Multimeter-Au...32&s=hi&sr=1-2

[Chuck H]

I have a Fluke 89, leftover from my comm tech job.
More meter, than needed for working on cars, boats, etc.
I like cheapies, for knocking off of cars and boats, etc !

The Klein meter gets good reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Multimeter-Au...32&s=hi&sr=1-2

Ah. I understand. There's a big difference between knocking a cheap meter off the gunwale and knocking a nice, used meter that you paid the same price for off the gunwale I don't know exactly why, but that's real.

[big_teee]

So where are all these used flukes for $50 or less, suitable for knocking off the boat?
T

[Chuck H]

So where are all these used flukes for $50 or less, suitable for knocking off the boat?
T

I thought the point we just made was that there's no such thing as a Fluke suitable for knocking off a boat. I actually wasn't being sarcastic when I said there's a difference (in my head) between ruining a cheap meter and ruining used Fluke of the same price.

But here you go. These are SOLD auctions so you're seeing the actual prices paid:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...ete=1&_fosrp=1

And here's what is for sale right now that you can bid on. It looks like Fluke may have a couple of "economy" models that I know nothing about. I was thinking along the lines of a used 77 or something:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ftr...cat=0&_fosrp=1

Both result lists used the criteria of "used" and "under $50"

[mozz]

Back a while ago , there were Fluke 27fm's on Ebay, used military meters, o-ring seals, true rms, etc. I bought 2 and want a 3rd but i don't the see the giant surplus of them anymore.

[big_teee]

I've never been that big on purchasing used stuff, I usually get someone elses problems.
I may try this one.
Has some features I like, and uses AA batteries, that I have an access of!
https://www.amazon.com/Tacklife-DM01...9192026&sr=8-4

[g1]

I like picking up the ultra-cheapies ($10 range) to leave everywhere I might need one, like family and friend's places where they are always asking 'do you know what might be wrong with...?'. So instead of asking 'do you have a meter' I can ask, 'where's that meter I left here?' So, yeah, that means I need one in all my vehicles too, just in case.
Typically the kind we find up here at Canadian Tire, or in the US I guess it would be the Harbour Freight ones Enzo often mentions.

The main things to look out for with these are the voltage ratings of the probes (usually I would not trust them for tube amp voltages), and the inability to measure AC on top of DC (like ripple but I wouldn't be doing this anyway due to the probe issue).

Other than that, for a real meter that I would use for everything, and not want to give away or lose, the Aheng mentioned earlier gets rave reviews. I might choose 8002 instead of 8008.

If I didn't already have a cap meter, the basic cap function on the Tacklife above would be helpful also.

[Mick Bailey]

I sometimes get involved in automotive troubleshooting (especially on bikes) when I visit friends and end up using whatever meters they have in their toolboxes. They're usually really cheap - the sort that get given away in promotions. It doesn't really matter if they're a digit out in accuracy or don't measure RMS - I can figure it out. The main thing is that I have a meter of any sort to measure the basics. So that usually works out ok, but if I were to spend my own money I'd want something a little better in terms of robustness and perhaps proper internal circuit protection. Many cheap DMMS just have a single fuse for the low ranges and (say) a 10A fuse for the high current range. No additional protection such as spark gaps, MOVS etc. which means that the meter can easily get fried by an inductive spike.

I don't believe the categories printed on many of these cheap meters. Would you trust any of them at 600v or 1000v? You want to be sure that the plug end of the leads is shrouded and secure. You don't want an unshrouded plug coming adrift from the meter when probing something that could shock you.

[Enzo]

I have a good meter, and want one around. But having said that, MOST of the time an accurate reading is not the issue. I usually don't have to worry if the 15v rail is 15.1 or 14.9 volts. What I usually need to know is if it is present or not. Is the B+ missing is more important that is the B+ 480 or 490. Is that diode open or shorted or showing roughly half a volt drop? Is that speaker open? Likely the speaker won't be "wrong".

[olddawg]

There are so many low cost useful ones out there today that it’s hard to say.. I can tell you I like one that has capacitor function (just for measuring value), a diode setting, and a continuity beep... maybe even a signal generator and a thermal probe. I do not like “auto-ranging” meters. I was consulted a while back to find out what was going on in a biotech production line situation application a while back. One of the problems was they had very expensive new Fluke lab spec multimeters. The damn techs couldn’t tell if they had one ohm or one meg resistance in their lead dress. I went to Frys and bought a $14 meter on sale that was not auto-ranging and had a continuity “beep” function. It immediately and simply stopped a whole set of problems.

[Helmholtz]

The damn techs couldn’t tell if they had one ohm or one meg

That's strange as auto-ranging meters typically display units.