[sdiy] Multimeter advice?

[Tom Wiltshire]

Well, the multimeter snobs can laugh, but I've been using one of these for the last twenty years:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110611546527#ht_1034wt_1118

It was the Maplin Electronics house brand when I was younger. It didn't cost much when it was new, but it does everything I need, or I've got so used to it that it would never occur to me to want anything it doesn't do.
The capacitance ranges are the least-used feature since they required that a cap is out of circuit and also has reasonably long leads to fit in the testing slot. This mostly rules out stuff you've unsoldered from a board. It's occasionally been useful for sorting loose mixed caps.

It's had about 4 or 5 new batteries in it's life - so they last for ages. And as to reliability, I have had to resolder a broken battery connection wire once, but otherwise it's been fine.

Maplin still sell multimeters, but who knows whether they're still as good as this one has proved to be.

T.



On 13 Dec 2010, at 02:18, Paul Perry wrote:

> Haven't been doing any electronics for a while - and then suddenly
> I noticed that none of my multimeters were to hand.
> A few moments later, it occured to me that the sneak thief that
> crept upstairs & took 2 phones & 2 cameras and a set of very high end
> earphones must have taken my  multimeters as well.
> 
> Damn.
> 
> So, if anyone has advice on what I should get, for general analog
> pokery, I am all ears.
> particularly,
> 1. any good secondhand models to be found regularly on ebay?
> 2. any reasonably OK Chinese types?
> 3. Any amazing deals to be had?
> 
> I'm in Australia, which means it's going to come from somewhere more than 6000
> miles away, anyhow. At least the $Australia is high at the moment.
> 
> paul perry Melb Australia 
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