Hi. I want to buy a new DMM. I like one whit autorange and being able to measure up to 1Kv and 10 amps

I´m going to use in a hobby lab. Of course Fluke is better, but this model ( FLUKE-15B+/EUR) in Spain costs 165USD while some UNI-T with similar performance (or at least it what they claim) cost
UNI-T UT60EU 43USD

I want precision and accuracy. But It is worth to pay almost 4 times the price to get that? I mean, it is a hobby lab.

Thank you.

best regards

 

Hi. I want to buy a new DMM. I like one whit autorange and being able to measure up to 1Kv and 10 amps

I´m going to use in a hobby lab. Of course Fluke is better, but this model in Spain costs 165USD while some UNI-T with similar performance (or at least it what they claim) cost
UNI-T UT60EU 43USD

I want precision and accuracy. But It is worth to pay almost 4 times the price to get that? I mean, it is a hobby lab.

Thank you.

best regards

You don't say which Fluke DMM you are talking about, so it's hard to tell if you are in the ballpark or are looking at huge overkill.

Saying that you want precision and accuracy doesn't tell us anything. Who doesn't want precision and accuracy? What matters is what level of precision and accuracy you NEED (as opposed to want)?

As you say, it's a hobby lab. Are you buying components that have 0.1% tolerances? If not, then does having the ability to make measurements to four sig figs get you anything of value?

One thing to consider is safety, since you say that you want to measure up to 1 kV (and it's kV, not Kv).

My understanding is that the newer UT60 meters have a pretty decent reputation for quality, particularly at their price point, and that they have better input protection for use in high-energy environments than older models in that same line, but you still should carefully consider the wisdom of using a budget meter in any risky environment.

 

Thanks for your answer. I put the fluke model on the title. I have edited the topic and included again in the text. Is the fluke 15B+/EUR.

So the UT60 will be OK to measure with reasonable precision for a hobby lab for example voltages around some millivolts or some microamps?

And of course working with any dangerous voltage, regardless of the safety construction of the device, I extreme precautions, for example usin alligator clips to attach the leads before energising the circuit. I mean, I don't touch any part, nor the DMK when dangerous voltages are involved

 

I just bought the FNIRSI 2C53T for my hobby lab and it's awesome, very fast and accurate, it has 20000 count resolution so is good for uV and uA, will measure up to 1000v and 10 amp, for the 90 dollar US price tag you also get an oscilloscope and a function generator built in, could be just what you need?

 

CERTAINLY that " FNIRSI 2C53T " has an impressive array of functions for the price. I havenot heard of that brand and so I have no clues as to accuracy or ruggedness. And with probes and a carry case. THAT is an amazing group of functions
The other consideration could be battery life and cost.
But the important question is if it will do what you need it to do, and do it well enough.
I have a tiny 3 1/2 digit probe style DMM (I think it is a CHECKUMATIC brand) that uses 4 button cells for power, which cost over a$1.25 each ten years ago, and a 4 1/2 digit BECKMAN HD 104 that uses a common snap contact 9 volt radio battery that costs $1.29 and lasts forever. That is the one I used for calibrating the test stands. The "checkumaticis what I use for checking circuits on my car and appliances..

 

I agree, the FNIRSI line might be the way to go if on a tight budget.
I picked up the double beam hand held scope (centre) for taking to remote spots etc.

(price in CAN$)

 

I just bought the FNIRSI 2C53T for my hobby lab and it's awesome, very fast and accurate, it has 20000 count resolution so is good for uV and uA, will measure up to 1000v and 10 amp, for the 90 dollar US price tag you also get an oscilloscope and a function generator built in, could be just what you need?

I've never used or even seen an FNIRSI product, but it was mentioned in a post a couple months ago and so I went looking. What I found were mixed reviews, so my best guess is that it's a legitimate product but a case of you get what you pay for. As a hobbyist, you don't need much and so it's hard to justify spending much. At the $100 price point (the cost of dinner for two at a fairly nice restaurant (and dinner for one at a really good restaurant)), you can't go too far wrong, even if it turns out to be crap and doesn't last long. If that turns out to be the case, shake it off and call it tuition for a valuable lesson learned. Most likely, you'll discover that it's not as nice as you had envisioned, but that it's serviceable and you will learn how to use it within its capabilities. There are actually advantages to working with less-capable measurement devices -- you learn how to make good measurements despite their limitations.

 

This has good feedback. 4.5 out of 5

 

in dept review with summary at around 40min mark

 

I like one whit autorange

Personally, I think autoranging is overrated. The time it takes to autorange is usually not worth the wait. I usually have it disabled on every meter I have that supports it.

The last DVM I bought was a Cen-Tech from Harbor Freight. It was a replacement for a similar model I had purchased 15-20 years earlier that developed an intermittent switch. It was $20 on clearance.

I still use the one with the intermittent switch. I usually leave it on the 20VDC scale.

 

Yes auto range is definitely worth it, my Fnirsi 2c53t is fully auto and extremely fast to select the needed range.

 

Personally, I think autoranging is overrated. The time it takes to autorange is usually not worth the wait. I usually have it disabled on every meter I have that supports it.

The last DVM I bought was a Cen-Tech from Harbor Freight. It was a replacement for a similar model I had purchased 15-20 years earlier that developed an intermittent switch. It was $20 on clearance.
View attachment 365810
I still use the one with the intermittent switch. I usually leave it on the 20VDC scale.

I, too, usually disable it and would actually prefer the meter not to have it. How hard is it to set the meter for the correct range? I do, of course, want adequate input protection so that I can't damage the meter by not having it on the correct range, but I don't know of any meters that don't have this (except, of course, on the infamous 10 A unfused setting). There are some meters that don't let you disable autoranging and I hate them. It's too easy to make a measurement that causes them to constantly switch back and forth between two ranges, making if nearly impossible to get a reading. For me, the only use case that would make sense is if the meter is being used for unattended data logging, but even then there's the issue of the pogoing.

 

I generally leave my Fluke on autoranging, don't really have a problem with it?

 

I had my first experience of range switching last night, had my meter set to auto because there is no manual setting and the DC voltage I was measuring varied to the point that the meter had to automatically change ranges to keep up, next time I will use a meter with a manual range setting.