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Old 03-14-2011, 10:54 AM
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Sunking Sunking is offline
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Default Good All Purpose Test Meters

I know this has been discussed before but what meter would you use for voltage and current?

For example a good DVM that measure DC voltage and current down to say as low as the 10 amp range. Problem I have ran into is measuring low value DC currents with Clamp-On Meters not being accurate with a 200 amp scale.

Amy good ones that can read low and high scale currents that do not break the bank?
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Old 03-16-2011, 05:36 AM
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Default Re: Good All Purpose Test Meters

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Originally Posted by Sunking View Post
For example a good DVM that measure DC voltage and current down to say as low as the 10 amp range. Problem I have ran into is measuring low value DC currents with Clamp-On Meters not being accurate with a 200 amp scale....
My trusty Fluke 337 is pretty accurate all the way down to 1A DC. Below that it suddenly turns unreliable (probably from using dithering in its ADC). It's a bit much for hobby/occasional use, but I consider it to be very reasonably priced.
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Old 03-16-2011, 09:22 PM
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Default Re: Good All Purpose Test Meters

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Originally Posted by Tesseract View Post
My trusty Fluke 337 is pretty accurate all the way down to 1A DC.
Being an EE for 30+ years I am very familar with FLUKE, they are great instruments for pros. However they do come with a hefty price tag.

I do a bit of solar PV designs for Telcos and operate a Solar Power Forum and looking for a good all purpose meter to suggest to homeowners to use on their systems

Does anyone use a Extech MA220? What do you think about it?

For $70 to $100 price point new, it seems to be a good fit for both Solar and EV. Am I missing something with this meter? Looks like a good fit.
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Old 03-17-2011, 08:24 AM
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Default Re: Good All Purpose Test Meters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunking View Post
Being an EE for 30+ years I am very familar with FLUKE, they are great instruments for pros. However they do come with a hefty price tag.

I do a bit of solar PV designs for Telcos and operate a Solar Power Forum and looking for a good all purpose meter to suggest to homeowners to use on their systems

Does anyone use a Extech MA220? What do you think about it?

For $70 to $100 price point new, it seems to be a good fit for both Solar and EV. Am I missing something with this meter? Looks like a good fit.
I've got a Wavetek meter that I've been using for about 10 years at home and it's never failed me. Much cheaper than fluke but still good. I use Flukes at work and other than the fancy expensive ones (87V, 189) I can't say I like or trust the "normal" flukes any more than my Wavetek. They've changed hands a few times in the past decade, being owned by Fluke/Meterman/Amprobe, however they made a solid product and I can only assume they are maintaining that level.
Check out eevblog.com for an entertaining video blog that often contains very honest reviews of multimeters.
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Old 03-17-2011, 09:16 PM
Lordwacky Lordwacky is offline
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Default Re: Good All Purpose Test Meters

I've had fairly good luck with Craftsmen meters, they aren't nearly as good as my fluke, but they aren't near the price either. I also have a small wavetek meter, it is decent.
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Old 03-16-2011, 07:18 AM
carambo46 carambo46 is offline
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Default Re: Good All Purpose Test Meters

I have a Klein Tools CL2000, (135.00 usd) Have not had it very long, but seems to work well. Checked it against a shut meter, and they were with in less then a amp of each other at 12 amps? For DC amps, you have to zero it in every time it's turned on. But all that is, a push of button for 2 sec.

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