DMM advice...

[xian13]

Iwas looking at DMM's at OSH the other day and noticed a Craftsman for $16.99. Anyone have a Craftsman DMM? Good or not so good? Your thoughts?

 

[bluecrow76]

My dad has a nice little Craftsman DMM that he bought in that price range last Christmas. They feel well built. I don't remember the measurement accuracy (hundredths, thousandths, whatever). It has the exact same options on the dial that the $3 Harbor Freight DMM's have though, so who knows if the guts are the same. I keep a hand full of the HF cheapies around (after I verify their proper operation), as well as a lab grade benchtop DMM that I bought off eBay a few years back. It's a BK Precision I bought from a company that was closing shop and selling all their gear.

 

[Helstar]

I use a Craftsman DMM, I am not an electrician or anything, mine was @29.99 on sale for $19.99. Works fine for me

 

[ltiu]

Craftman (from Sears) works good for me.

 

[Mr Happy]

Craftsman tools tend to be own label re-brands of offerings from other manufacturers. If you look around a bit you will probably find the equivalent item under its original label, and then maybe find a review of it.

 

[Light Sabre]

I have several of Radio Shacks Cat# 22-812's. They're $70 OTS and they have an RS-232 port on them and software so that you can do some data collecting. If the meter can measure it, you can get the results out of the RS-232 port. Collects data in the following increments 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60 seconds. Great for long term use where you can walk away and it will still be collecting data. You can them import the data into Excel and analyze it more there. For power it only uses a 9v battery, but that battery can run it for at least 2 weeks straight. Will work until the battery gets down to 4.5 volts. I looked at a different brand at a local electronics store and the software and cable came as accessories. By time you added it all up with the meter it came to $160.

 

[Resqueline]

I'm not familiar with the brands mentioned here, but if you have the option of testing it you can find out yourself if it's too simple or not.
Just set it to measure AC Volts and put it to a battery. If it says zero after a couple of seconds it's ok, but if it says 40% more han the actual battery voltage then it's much too cheap to be relied upon (imo). If it has the full DCV, ACV, DCA, ACA ranges then it bargains for good quality and ditto usefulness.

 

[Hitthespot]

Craftsman tools tend to be own label re-brands of offerings from other manufacturers. If you look around a bit you will probably find the equivalent item under its original label, and then maybe find a review of it.

Most of Craftsmans hand tools along with some other top brands used to be made by one of the companies under the Danaher Tool Group. Danaher is an American company that owns a number of different companies and Technologies. They have recently started buying companies in the medical field and are now going global. I believe they still produce Craftsman tools but I'm not sure.

Bill