Members Belva Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 I've had good luck with my Craftsman that I got a bazillion years ago. The Harbor Freight ones are junque IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 Originally Posted by Mike LX-R thought you don't bother biasing but yeah, I got that one too and the probe dealie. The harbor freight one looks just like what Eurotubes sells (as Raf already mentioned). Dolf, buy the HF multimeter and buy that bias probe from Eurotubes and you're set. Yeah I don't for the most part... the only times I check bias on an amp is if either there is something REALLY wrong with the sound ( almost never happens) OR before I sell it. If I going to sell an amp I want to make sure the tubes can still hold bias at the correct range or if they can't, I have disclose it to the buyer. Even though I don't personally care, I wouldn't pass something to a buyer without testing everything beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 If somebody wanted to get me a cheap pocket sized DMM I would wantthis one:It's fine for automotive work, appliances...really anything that isn't connected directly to the mains.I've used low end Amprobe/Meterman stuff in the past and it kicks the {censored} out of those 20.00 meters you would find at radio shack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Norton666 Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 Originally Posted by Dolf that's what I would have thought until I read the dozens and dozens of good reviews of that one online. At that price I can buy a couple in case one {censored}s the bed. With meters , its not really a case of "if it {censored}s the bed replace it" . You have to take into account quite a few things. Ive got a $200 Fluke that I use for high voltage AC work , but I also have a Klein MM200 that I love. They are around $40 , accurate , thick removable leads and will last you a lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 Originally Posted by Norton666 With meters , its not really a case of "if it {censored}s the bed replace it" . You have to take into account quite a few things. Ive got a $200 Fluke that I use for high voltage AC work , but I also have a Klein MM200 that I love. They are around $40 , accurate , thick removable leads and will last you a lifetime. Yes, If a meter {censored}s the bed measuing the voltage on a 9V battery it's Meh.If a meter {censored}s the bed measuring voltage in a live switchboard it's agonising pain & multile skin grafts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 Originally Posted by scratchie Yes, If a meter {censored}s the bed measuing the voltage on a 9V battery it's Meh.If a meter {censored}s the bed measuring voltage in a live switchboard it's agonising pain & multile skin grafts. yeah.. that's my take-- they warn you up and down about poop meters in e70 training.. they apparently just explode. glad to say, i haven't seen it happen.. but they don't meet any domestic standard at harbor freight... so that sketches me out. if you're not building amps or putting much voltage across the terminals, i'd still go with something rated.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted December 7, 2012 Members Share Posted December 7, 2012 A good friend gave me this Craftsman DVM. I use it more than my 300.00 Fluke. I just like better http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=30-94849770-2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted December 8, 2012 Members Share Posted December 8, 2012 Originally Posted by newholland yeah.. that's my take-- they warn you up and down about poop meters in e70 training.. they apparently just explode. glad to say, i haven't seen it happen.. but they don't meet any domestic standard at harbor freight... so that sketches me out. if you're not building amps or putting much voltage across the terminals, i'd still go with something rated.. The reason they explode is the meter isn't designed to handle the high currents that can pass through the meter from cross arcing or from transients.The meter acts like a fuse and vaporizes. If you work in power generation like I do, the odds you will see this happen are pretty goddamn high so you're going to be very picky with the meters you use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted December 8, 2012 Members Share Posted December 8, 2012 Originally Posted by Pepi A good friend gave me this Craftsman DVM. I use it more than my 300.00 Fluke. I just like better http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=30-94849770-2 Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted December 8, 2012 Members Share Posted December 8, 2012 For some reason I don't like the auto range on the Fluke. I used a Beckman for years and the Craftsman reminds me of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scratchie Posted December 8, 2012 Members Share Posted December 8, 2012 Originally Posted by Pepi For some reason I don't like the auto range on the Fluke. I used a Beckman for years and the Craftsman reminds me of it Yeah, there have been times I wish I could disable the autorange function, but I have an old Kiethly 197 that I can use when I need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wayne2 Posted December 8, 2012 Members Share Posted December 8, 2012 I've got the yellow GE digital one from Walmart. It was around $10 or $15. So far when I have measured components the meter seems to be very accurate. I kind of wish it did capacitance though. I'm pretty sure unless you get into the Flukes and real high end stuff, all you're paying for with better ones is more plastic and ruggedizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PurpleTrails Posted December 8, 2012 Members Share Posted December 8, 2012 Originally Posted by newholland this'n looks like fluke made it (a good thing)-- and it's $63 bux. http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-...1#.UMJfEYJAIwgit's even got capacitance, which is great for measuring .. well.. capacitors. i make good use of one pretty similar, and the fluke equivalent is over a hunnert bux. I've got one of those, though I think I picked it up at Fry's for under $50. It works, and is more rugged and easier to use than the el cheapo from Harbor Freight. You can get good deals on multimeters from Amazon, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.