I have had good luck with the really cheap ones from Harbor Freight. Sometimes free with coupon. No, it's not a Fluke. But they last forever. Accuracy is good enough.
I agree about quality tools. I rarely buy items from Harbor Freight because I don't like to have cheap things laying around. I agree there are some tools that you will rarely use and therefore don't need the best, but if it is something you will use more often it pays to buy a better quality product.
Fluke is like the Apple of meters. Lots of fanboys. Lots of biased nonsense. In terms of measurement the cheap meters are good enough. I have a more expensive meter but don't use it. What you really get for more $$$ is ruggedness and other non-measure-related stuff.
Thinking the Hioki (Hee-o-kee) DT4221 will do it for me. Would not have found it were it not for CPF member Schermann. Thanks!
This looks like a great and simple unit Schermanm. I already ordered another unit unfortunately. I'll pick this one up if the other unit doesn't work for me. I agree about quality tools. I rarely buy items from Harbor Freight because I don't like to have cheap things laying around. I agree there are some tools that you will rarely use and therefore don't need the best, but if it is something you will use more often it pays to buy a better quality product.
Thanks for the heads up on the AN8008, I have a similar model under a different brand (Autool DM201) that is a 6000 count meter that makes a good loaner for low dc work. I like that it takes 2 AAA rather than 9V or button cell. The 9999 count is a nice step up. I suspect the same meters sold with 6000 and lower counts may be hackable to 9999 count, but at their price points it makes more sense to just get the 9999 count meter. I typically try to stay away from AAA cells, if I can, but in this case they are a bonus for many usages. This line of meters is great for small projects, and a great first meter for young experimenters. Your analysis of this meter shows it is even better than I expected in terms of accuracy and build. At this price you can keep one stashed in the car, or other places and not worry about it.......
I have being reviewing a couple of multimeters, you can find the list here: http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/DMMReviews.html (If you use a computer with a mouse there are two popup's for each line: Large picture and specifications).
A nice cheap multimeter is the Aneng AN8008/AN8009
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Thanks for the heads up on the AN8008