http://search.harborfreight.co...d=MULTIMETER&Submit=Go[/L]
Get one & use Wikipedia & Utube to teach yourself
how to use it . ...also , clever Chinese WIRE STRIPPER
$1.99 , this cheapie will amaze you , its so simple !
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Originally posted by: Dsorgnzd1
If you get on their email list, they'll send you a 20% off (for one item) coupon every couple of weeks. (This week's email included a "15% off your total purchase" coupon.)
Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
My bench meter is a Simpson 260 that I've had for a couple of decades (it replaced a Simpson 240 that had a rough life for a couple of decades itself). Can't see me using a cheap meter.
Originally posted by: KPACOTKA
Any analog meters for a similar price? I hate digital when I need just ring wires.
Originally posted by: Gillbot
I have a couple of these, I got them when they were $1.99. If you accept it's a $2-3 meter, it does fine for what it is. Anyone that expects an EXACT measurement from a sub-$5 meter is sadly mistaken. If you need accuracy, get a good high end fluke or simpson.
Originally posted by: mindless1
Originally posted by: Gillbot
I have a couple of these, I got them when they were $1.99. If you accept it's a $2-3 meter, it does fine for what it is. Anyone that expects an EXACT measurement from a sub-$5 meter is sadly mistaken. If you need accuracy, get a good high end fluke or simpson.
This is mostly untrue. You do not need to pick (nor is a contrast reasonable) between a junk $2 meter and a $150+ professional meter. There is a huge difference in quality merely going from a $2 meter to a $15 meter, and once you get to about $70 you have little to no benefit picking a Fluke or Simpson UNLESS you continually recalibrate it... which makes the TCO much much higher. Those have other desirable features of course, whether it be autoranging, more measurement abilities, durability, standard batteries, bettery probes and jacks, higher voltage, safety, etc, but for measurement accuracy alone today's fast ICs do rather well once it is (IF it is) calibrated from the factory.
Funny thing about some of these Harbor Freight meters. Their current measurement is calibrated at the factory by a wire-cutter type tool half cutting through a loop of thick wire inside. Some don't even have a proper battery holder, bare wire leads are cellophane TAPED to the battery contacts. LOL, I blinked twice in disbelief when I first saw that... too cheap to even have wires soldered onto a 1/4 cent piece of plated PCB, let alone the normal spring terminals for the battery.
I'm not knocking their meters but there is a sane middle ground between the lowest end junk possible and the premium priced meters.
As for the Harbor Freight $2 meters, if you only need to measure voltage once, find a good meter and measure an alkaline battery at rest, at room temp. Take the battery with you (keeping it at room temp) and compare the Harbor Freight meter reading before you leave the store. At least then you know it's in the ballpark for the short time you need to use it.