Unfortunately, that's not necessarily true anymore...my Fluke 117 was imported. :shrug:Fluke is the Surefire of the instrumentation world. Made in USA, excellent in every way for the most part.
I may be wrong but I believe that most reputable multimeters can be sent back to the company to be calibrated.
Edit: Yep they do - Calibration and Repair Services
[...]However when you're at home checking battery voltages, functionality of a power outlet, or continuity of a switch or circuit, most cheapie multimeters will be more than adequate.[...]
You can easily build one yourself. E.g. with something like the LM4040 (0.1% accuracy), you only need 2 resistors in addition to the LM itself.Is the 5.000 Volt (DC) reference the one from voltagestandard ?
I haven't seen any others.
For most people, I would think the money spent on a voltage reference, would be better spent towards a higher quality meter. Then check it against a meter that is calibrated annually once in a while, if possible. For most of us, it wouldn't need to be checked all that often.
The biggest problem with obtaining a voltage reference is that they are only good once you receive them, for 6 months to a year. Just like DMMs, they have to be checked/calibrated occasionally.
If you buy a reference you will also know what is most precise: The DMM or the reference. The reference is much more precise than any cheap DMM.
With two DMM's you do not really know which one is correct.
The calibration fee for the reference is only 5 - 7,5 $ , depending on which model you have. plus additional 3 dollars for shipping within the US , overseas a little more off course.
Before I retired , we all had Flukes issued and our measurements section used to check them against a calibrated standard every year ... Mostly they were OK but some did have to go back to Fluke to be re-calibrated ... When I retired , I kept my Fluke as that one was only about three years old ... Less than three years after retirement , the Flukes display started to fail as some of the segments died ... At less than six years old , it was thrown out ... I now buy the cheap DMMs and I check them against a very accurate 5.000 Volt (DC) reference ... So far I have only given away one meter though it was still good enough for general domestic use ... It is obvious that the cheap meters are not as well made as the Flukes , but I don't mind that ... Nowadays , I only need real accuracy when measuring my Li-Ion batteries.
If you need a meter to measure frequency and temperature as well as voltage , then the Fluke is great ... Having been retired now for eighteen years , I simply can't justify the cost of a Fluke ... These two cheapies have lasted so far for about three years and are still very accurate when checked against my reference.
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