Multimeter

[LX-Dave]

Hi All, I'm looking to invest in my first multimeter :blink: and am looking for suggestions for a decent model for my budget. (Around £30 at most).

 

I'd like it to be as reliable and accurate as possible (obviously) although I guess it will be mostly used for continuity and resistance tests on cables.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Dave

[KevinE]

Gosh there's thousands of them courtesy of our Chinese friends; pick one that you like the colour of!!

 

Seriously though, probably better with an autoranging one, (less switch-fiddling and possible mistake). Pick one with lots of rubber around it in case you drop it, dont be tempted to get one with a huge screen because they are easily scratched, cracked and generally more fragile at this sort of price.

 

I bought my brother an LG one from CPC years ago for around £18, expecting him to drop it and break it (he's a tractor engineer) and 10 years on it's still in every day use.

 

Get one from a reputable outlet so you can be reasonably sure it wont go bang or explode prematurely due to lack of fusing or shoddy assembly....the probes are awfully close to your fingers!

[Jivemaster]

You are NOT goint to get true RMS readings, accredited callibration and possibly not AC current at that sort of price but for $5 sometimes Maplin have OK meters on BOGOF!!! They work, but I wouldnt compare them with a fully callibrated name brand, and I wouldnt be as sad if it was broken.

 

For toolbag use there are hundreds of meters under £30 in the workshop maybe something better and callibrated but maybe having to pay £3000 or more.

 

Your choice,

[Bryson]

I don't know of anything in your price range, but I really do strongly suggest upping the budget and getting a Fluke multimeter. More expense now, but it'll last you forever. Mine here is 15 years old and looks like it's new.

 

If you shop around you can pick up a Fluke 114 for about 75UKP.

[Doug Siddons]

FWIW Having read what you want the meter for, it might be a better idea to buy a dedicated cable tester than a multimeter; because if, as you say, you want it mainly to test cables, it is far easior to test cables by plugging them into the appropriate hole on a cable tester than holding the probes of a multimeter to the ends of an XLR cable for instance.

[musht]

Behringer CT100 and couple of XLR 3 to 5 adapters in budget.

 

Cheapo Cat5 tester and RJ45 to croc clip adapter is handy for multis.

 

Multimeters have a fewf Maplin, 2 for a fiver deal ones lying about, unti you get to Fluke level they all dissapear in a puff of smoke when you try and measure the resitance of the mains ;-)

[dbuckley]

Yonkits ago I bought a low cost RS Iso-tech meter, which has been thrown around from pillar to post, and is still my go to multimeter.

 

I suspect that it is similar to this model, though mine is bright yellow, priced at £37+VAT. In safety terms, it's a Cat III rated meter up to 600V, so safeish to go prodding 400V with. I seem to remember that it was categorised as an electricians meter, and that's just what it is and does.

 

Edited: SPaG.

[Bobbsy]

If it was me, I'd buy one of the £5. Maplin specials--and put the other £25 into the bank and start saving for a decent Fluke at some point in the future.

 

Indeed, that's what I have. In the tool kit that goes with me to the theatre I have a cheapie that does 99% of what I need there (and that nobody wants to steal) and I have a good but ancient Fluke in my "shop". Okay--truth in advertising--in the spare room that's everything from home studio to shop to sewing room.

 

Bob

[greenalien]

Another option is the Millennium MCT-10 Cable Tester from Thomann - half the price of the Behringer tester, and possibly even more versatile, as it has a set of probes included, handy for checking fuses, which is something else you really need a meter for!.

[daifuse]

I'd go with Bryson and Bobbsy - my Fluke is 18 years old and has seen plenty of accidental rough treatment and is still 100%. (I get the calibration checked occasionally) :blink:

[Martin]

It's worth looking at the Fluke T100 Series (or other manufacturers equivalents). These are simple voltage and continuity testers and I use one 90% of the time over a full multimeter. They are in your price range and are smaller than a normal multimeter. Also the probes are long and are great for testing ceeform sockets where most multimeter probes aren't long enough.

[dbuckley]

If it was me, I'd buy one of the £5. Maplin specials--and put the other £25 into the bank and start saving for a decent Fluke at some point in the future.

Just worth pointing out that most of the ultra low cost meters I've seen don't have a Cat III rating, and as such I'd not recommend using them for measuring mains voltage.

 

I had a Maplins cheapie meter go bang on me whilst measuring three phase, and it was not the most pleasurable of experiences. My one and only gripe with Maplins was over this meter - they said I must have changed ranges whilst performing the measurement. Dickheads.

[LX-Dave]

Hi guys

 

thanks for all the replies.

 

I've settled on a maplin one, with included light meter, as I was also looking for a lightmeter for film work, and combining them seemed good for a reasonable price.

 

 

Thanks

[AndyLoudon]

Just adding a quick extra in case anyone looks back at this topic.

 

I bought one of those Millenium testers as it was the only one I could find at a resonable price that had the speakon sockets. While the unit is very solid and is so simple a dog could use it, it weighs a ton! Also, the switch on the top sticks out a lot more than the picture suggests, making it awkward to store anywhere. Don't think it would break, but it makes it a silly shape.

 

Oh, and the battery lid broke, but I could fix that if I wasn't so lazy...