[sdiy] getting started...

[Glen]

At 05:21 PM 6/10/03 , ryan wrote:

>i'm just getting started as well so maybe someone else can answer better.
>for multimeters, i think ebay is a good place. i just bought a new Fluke 73
>series III for about $60 (they are much more at the store). its not the most
>accurate meter and doesn't measure capacitance, but from what I've heard,
>fluke is the way to go. ebay seems to have several fluke meter auctions
>every day.

Fluke seems to be the most popular name in portable meters, but you might
also want to consider some the other name-brand meters available. For
example, I got my BK Precision multimeter off eBay for something like $20.
The fellow that sold it, had several on auction simultaneously. Many other
people got theirs for only $5. (For some reason, I always seem to attract
opposing bidders, as if I had an opposing-bidder-magnet stuck to my butt.)

My meter does capacitance, frequency, temperature, diode test, min/max/hold
measurements, as well as the standard things that all good DMM's do. It
even had a year-old calibration sticker on it, which made me feel like the
instrument had been properly taken care of by the previous owner.

My point  is, sometimes it pays to consider the second or third most
popular brand names, if you want a good bargain. Just pick a good-quality
brand and model, and don't worry if it isn't the most popular and trendy
thing on the planet. There are plenty of good-but-overlooked models,
because everyone else is trying to buy the "Flukes" of the world.


later,
Glen Berry