So, I'm narrowing down my brand choice. I'm retired & living on a fixed income. I don't want to spend $400 on a Fluke meter.

All the MORE reason to start with a cheap (even free) Harbor Freight meter!

It will very likely be good enough for everything you will ever do!

Would you PLEASE explain WHY this is an unacceptable option to you.

 

The light appears to be getting brighter.
I've watched YouTube videos, & some meters have 9V batteries & some meters have 2 AAA or 2 AA batteries. The narrator says that 9V batteries don't last as long as 1.5V batteries. I would think that 9V batteries would last longer than 1.5V batteries. Is it just the opinion of the narrator that 9V batteries don't last as long? Is that something that I should look for? What is that the consensus of opinion of the moderators regarding 9V vs 1.5V?

AAA batteries are typically rated at about 1000 mAh.
AA batteries are typically rated at about 2500 mAh.
9V batteries are typically rated at about 500 mAh.

Energy wise, that works out to

AAA batteries nominally have 5.4 kJ of energy.
AA batteries nominally have 13.5 kJ of energy.
9V batteries nominally have 16.2 kJ of energy.

But you are talking about 2 AA batteries compared to 1 9V battery, so it is entirely reasonable to expect 2 AA batteries to outlast a 9V battery. If talking about 2 AAA batteries, then it depends on whether the circuits are drawing comparable current or comparable power.

 

I'm looking at the specifications of a particular DMM.
The function is DC voltage. Here are the specifications.
Range-400mV Resolution 0.1mV
Range 4V Resolution 0.001V
Range 40V Resolution 0.01V
Range 400V Resolution 0.1V
Range 1,000V Resolution 1V
Does that mean that this particular DMM has a total range for DC voltage from 0.1 mV to 1,000V ?
If I want to use this DMM to measure the voltage on a 1.5V battery, normally I'd put the range on 4V. However, if I put the range on 1,000V & since this DMM has a resolution of 1V at 1,000V, wouldn't the meter round the voltage up to 2 V?
Another AHA moment?

 

I'm looking at the specifications of a particular DMM.
The function is DC voltage. Here are the specifications.
Range-400mV Resolution 0.1mV
Range 4V Resolution 0.001V
Range 40V Resolution 0.01V
Range 400V Resolution 0.1V
Range 1,000V Resolution 1V
Does that mean that this particular DMM has a total range for DC voltage from 0.1 mV to 1,000V ?
If I want to use this DMM to measure the voltage on a 1.5V battery, normally I'd put the range on 4V. However, if I put the range on 1,000V & since this DMM has a resolution of 1V at 1,000V, wouldn't the meter round the voltage up to 2 V?
Another AHA moment?

I think you're going to be window shopping and kicking tires for a long, long time because you don't know what you need. Choosing a non-standard range like 40V when most meters will be 20V will eliminate a lot of very good equipment; even the $400 variety. Manufacturers like a 3 1/2 digit display. For 4 digits, you might as well go to 9999.

Think about the voltages you're most likely to measure: 15V, 12V, 9V, 5V, 3.3V, 1.5V, 1.2V. What are you going to do with the rest of that 40V range?

Personally, I think you're asking for far more than you'll ever use. Why would you need to measure 5V to 3 decimal places? Most parts and circuits have a tolerance. A 5V TTL device will operate at +/- 10%. Don't be one of those ninnies who thinks those extra decimal places mean anything. You're taught in math that they're significant, but in the real world, probably not so much...

 

This has long since gotten absolutely absurd. For more than two weeks you've been asking questions about minutia that you clearly do not understand even though it has been explained in detail by several people several times. The overwhelming recommendation has been to start with a cheap meter and see where it takes you. You could have easily done that two weeks ago and been on your way to exploring electronics, which was your stated intention. Instead, you've completely ignored those recommendations, though you won't say why, yet continue to hound the same people that you steadfastly ignore with an endless stream of the same questions.

So it would probably be best for you to forget about getting a meter at all. If you did get one you would have to have a month-long thread before you could decide what range to set it on to make a measurement, anyway. Forget about electronics. You will need to ask questions for a year before you can decide whether to use carbon film or metal film resistors in your project -- and that's after the three years that it will take you to decide what you should do for your first project.

 

Just wait until he has to grapple with which way the current is flowing.

 

This has long since gotten absolutely absurd. For more than two weeks you've been asking questions about minutia that you clearly do not understand even though it has been explained in detail by several people several times. The overwhelming recommendation has been to start with a cheap meter and see where it takes you. You could have easily done that two weeks ago and been on your way to exploring electronics, which was your stated intention. Instead, you've completely ignored those recommendations, though you won't say why, yet continue to hound the same people that you steadfastly ignore with an endless stream of the same questions.

So it would probably be best for you to forget about getting a meter at all. If you did get one you would have to have a month-long thread before you could decide what range to set it on to make a measurement, anyway. Forget about electronics. You will need to ask questions for a year before you can decide whether to use carbon film or metal film resistors in your project -- and that's after the three years that it will take you to decide what you should do for your first project.

The TS should take up woodwork - at least they'd be pestering on a different forum.

 

Just wait until he has to grapple with which way the current is flowing.

I don't know if the internet has the bandwidth for that one.

 

I don't know if the internet has the bandwidth for that one.

Someone somewhere won't be able to stream next weeks episode of Constipation St.

 

OK, enough fun. Poor Guy's just confused. He was a board swapper before retiring, so he must know something about electronics. Just probably never had to buy a meter with his own money and doesn't want to make a mistake. But making mistakes is how we learn best...

 

OK, enough fun. Poor Guy's just confused. He was a board swapper before retiring, so he must know something about electronics. Just probably never had to buy a meter with his own money and doesn't want to make a mistake. But making mistakes is how we learn best...

The solution to crippling indecision is to make SOME decision and deal with it.

 

How hard is it to buy something that's free?

 

How hard is it to buy something that's free?

It's the OP's Made in America requirement...

 

I peel the "MADE IN CHINA" labels off of things. This leaves their origin in doubt and instantly doubles their perceived value.

 

Macnerd
You are beyond over thinking this. I call TIME!! Make your best guess and go forth and purchase a meter. It will be your duty to tell us what meter you choose. We want pictures, comments from you on why you bought it, and your first impressions.

 

There comes a point in the history of every project when it is time to shoot the engineers and begin production.

 

i have A Tool for about $ 10 What uses a 12v battery .
It has about two years and has original Battery.
among its functions there 's also a square wave generator .

 

OK this is a long thread with much good advice backed by many hundreds of years total of electronics experience.

So it is difficult to add anyhting but here goes.

I see only one comment ( from WBahn) about buying a couple of cheap meters.
This is a good idea if you want to connect one into a circuit you are building to monitor the current, whilst you poke around and measure voltages with the other.

Accuracy?
Well it doesn't matter for most purposes.
Many of your measurements will be relative. So if it is reading 1% low then all readings will be low.
For those readings that need 'absolute' acuracy a standard DMM will be more than adequate.

Say you read a 9 volt battery as 9.04 volts? and it should be 9.14 volts

What are you going to do?

A 9 volt battery starts off life at about 9.45 volts and ends at about 8,45 volts ( I gets down to about 6 volts in my wall clocks before they falter)

Then to the matter of sockets.

Many meters boast transistor testing.
These little extra plug in sockets are a waste of time.

Some multimeters have separate sockets for current and voltage testing. Some switch between current and voltage.
These are a nuisance as you have to keep switching leads.

Functions?
An amateur can have lots of fun and gain lots of experience building add units to measure all sorts of things, ph sound, light, temperature .... the list goes on and on.

Testing LEDs?

I have an LED tester that doesn't use any meter.
It has a set of plug in terminals that offer a series of preset currents.
If I also need the LED voltage I can measure this with a meter.

Safety and Use

Most of us will at some point have blown a meter inadvertantly trying to 'measure' the resistance of the mains.

Always start at the highest range and work down.
Make doubly and triply sure your meter is set to the appropriate function before you connect it.
It is good practice to return the meter to the off position after each use, rather than leaving it on. This way you are less likely to try to 'measure' voltage on the current range.

Good luck in your new hobby