Hi,
My old fashioned friend is looking for a decent analogue multimeter to continue his electronic projects. The one he uses fell from the bench and is dead. The meter must read voltage, resistance, micro and milliamps etc.
Can someone recommend some decent highly accurate budget analogue multimeters. The Simpson multimeters are way out of my friends budget.
Many thanks in advance.

 

This Banggood device at only £13.00 must be worth a try?

 

Is there a reason it has to be analogue?

 

This Banggood device at only £13.00 must be worth a try?

Do you have that same meter? If so, what are you're experiences in terms of accuracy etc. Thanks.

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr....A0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=analogue+multimeter&_sacat=0

 

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr....A0.H0.TRS0&_nkw=analogue+multimeter&_sacat=0

But do you have one, that you specifically recommend from you're experiences.

 

No.

Edit: This is what I use.

https://www.amazon.com/Multimeter-R...id=1538952898&sr=8-2&keywords=vc99+multimeter

 

No.

Edit: This is what I use.

https://www.amazon.com/Multimeter-R...id=1538952898&sr=8-2&keywords=vc99+multimeter

Ok thanks.

 

Google Micronta multimeter on eBay. Lots to choose from.

 

I would recommend a Simpson model 260. This has been in production for literally decades, it is still in production. While the mirrored scale is best the non mirrored unit is on EBay used for around $40.

I got mine off EBay a few years back for very cheap as the seller noted it "as-is" since the ohms scale did not work. When I got it I cleaned the battery terminals, put in a fresh battery, and it worked perfectly since.

 

Is there a reason it has to be analogue?

Told my friend to get a digital multimeter but he refuses. Said he is not into the digital stuff. He said that digital multimeters don't respond as quick as analog does if signals vary.

 

Tell your friend that many old tube users use digital meters now. Tell him that below the digital read out display.....there is a real time bar graph. That bar graph is for the old radio users to be able to see the quick changes........and it works just as the needle did on old meters.

Tell him to purchase that meter that I recommended. It will make a new man out of him.

 

As another old-timer, I think he will be happier with the analogue; you really can watch some changes.

 

I am an old-timer and sometimes like to use my analog meter when I am testing capacitors. I can get a sense of the capacitance and leakage by looking at the rate of movement on the needle of the meter.

I also like to use an analog meter for peaking tuned circuits.

 

It is humans that are too slow, not digital meters. With changing values, it is a problem to try to read digital meters as fast as they update. The update rate is actually typically reduced to something that gives humans some vague hope of being able to follow along. Analog meters are typically quite heavily damped and their response lags well behind the signal. This can be seen when a voltage that will deflect the needle to full scale is applied suddenly - the needle lazily wanders upward. Without this damping, it would tend to overshoot the endpoint. With slow things such as charging in an RC circuit with a long time constant, it is easier to get a general idea of the trend with an analog meter. The damping also creates a low-pass filtering effect, so it is possible to approximate an average for a signal that wavers with an analog meter and often it's nearly impossible to do that with a digital. I have several digital meters and one analog. I used to use the analog every few years. But I would often use an oscilloscope where others might use a meter. Still, a meter grants impunity to put zero where it is convenient and a scope doesn't.

Analog multimeter accuracy is pretty dismal, even with an exceptionally good ones. Better than 2% accuracy on DC would be quite exceptional - and, like many instruments, the accuracy is spec'd as a function of full scale for the range. This could mean that at half scale the error might be ±4% if the accuracy at full-scale is ±2%, though rarely is it as bad as that. Because they measure resistance by using a fixed voltage, mean old Mr. Ohm forces resistance into the denominator so the scale is a reciprocal function. You're lucky if you can read a high resistance value to accuracy of a few tens of percent. Inexpensive digital meters can give a false impression of accuracy because of resolution. The resolution can lead novices to fuss about things that don't matter. Sometimes resolution is more important than absolute accuracy and analog meters just aren't directly readable to high resolution.

 

Thank you all. Yes analog and digital have their own specific uses.I will ask him to reconsider using a digital multimeter. Maybe he can buy a budget digital, as i did and an analog all together, to make working easier. I'll post him your recommendations for the analogue meters. Thanks again.

 

Analog meters are still quite useable for voltage and current - despite less accurate than a digital model, they have enough accuracy for a vast majority of day-to-day measurements. Also, the ability to see the continuous variations in very slow signals is quite nicer than a cheap digital multimeter without a bargraph. (digital entry-level multimeters with a properly designed bargraph such as Fluke 115 or Keysight U1231, as well as a Brymen BM257 or the Uni-T UT61E are equally nice).

However, the most eye opening feature that an analog multimeter falls terribly behind a digital model is resistance (as mentioned by ebp as well). Resistance measurements on analog meters are absolutely garbage when compared to digital ones.

Another massive advantages are the ability to use the meter in reverse polarity and do not worry about the range - some meters allow you to switch polarity with a button or have a centered position, but it is quite liberating never have to be scared when you connect the probes and the needle hits hard the left limiter - similarly, when the needle zips through the scale to hit the right limiter.

Anyways, these are just my two cents.

 

How accurate is the Simpson model 260? https://simpsonelectric.com/images/File/datasheets/2608.pdf

 

I have a few older Simpson 260 meters and an old Simpson 269 which all work just fine for their intended use. A relatively good Simpson 260 can be had on Craig's List or Ebay for about $40 to $50 USD or even less. Buck for buck the Simpson meters like the ancient 260 series are hard to beat. They do what they are supposed to do and as mentioned can be found for a good price point. Years ago before someone dragged it away I had an old Micronta marketed by Radio Shack. It was OK but not among the better analog meters but today likely could be had for about $5 or $10 USD. Given a choice I would rather have the more expensive Simpson meters.

As to the Digital it depends on what someone wants and what they are willing to pay for. I have a few Fluke 87 I like and at work I used an Agilent (HP) I really liked but like a Fluke 87 hardly an inexpensive DMM. I also have a little Omegaette cheapie I got as part of a promotion I got. There is even an old Fluke 8060A which is a very good meter with the true RMS feature. That oldie is about 30 years old. So with digital, much like analogue it depends on what you want and what you want to pay for.

Ron

 

Back in the 60's and 70's, Simpson was the gold standard for field techs, in the States.