Aaron, we meet again, heh heh. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Seems to me someone was just telling me about that Tpi 120 DMM. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Anyway, I had a couple recent threads on DMMs recently, one of which is
over here. You can look at things two ways. One is that most DMMs do a pretty good job for hobbyist purposes, so you could buy any reasonably cheap DMM and be happy.
Wingerr in the thread I linked above suggested
this unit. I bought it for $16 shipped ($6 of which was the shipping itself) and so far am pleased with it. Incidentally, Wingerr was absolutely right about the extremely fast continuity tests this little unit provides.
That said, I bought the above unit as an extra to have around for convenience.
Doug Owen (again in the thread I mentioned) uses the "buy many, put 'em everywhere" strategy, and had some other suggestions of inexpensive but decent DMMs.
If that was my extra, what did I do about my primary DMM? I bought a
Fluke 77 on ebay. Fantastic! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif It doesn't really stand head and shoulders above the cheaper units for accuracy, but there's something about it that inspires confidence. It's built solid, the controls feel sturdy, the probes are made with a better grade of insulation and are much longer... everything about it says "I am high quality," and based on the testimonials in the thread I mentioned, lots of people are getting their money's worth from Fluke DMMs.
Be careful, though! This stuff gets a little addictive, like flashlights themselves. I just bid one a Fluke 189, which is even higher-end... uh oh...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif
Two more things. If you want to buy one of my cheaper units (I now have a surplus), please send me a PM and we'll talk. Also, when measuring current flow, I found that you need to use the HIGHEST range that will give you acceptable accuracy, because the lower ranges apparently introduce excessive resistance into your circuit and distort your measurements. I may be explaining the concept wrong, but that's definitely what I've observed in practice. Now I usually plug into the "10A" socket for my current measurements...
