MULTIMETER , 7-function Digital $2.99

dodger2020

Senior member
Mar 6, 2009
256
1
76
Just be aware that you get what you pay for. Harbor Freight has a store down the road from where I work so we bought a few of these for use at work. Even with fresh batteries all three showed different values when measuring the same voltages. In addition they had quite a bit of fluctuation on those values - they wouldn't settle. There's a small potentiometer on the inside which you can use to adjust them so you can get it close but they still would fluctuate.

Not dogging harbor freight as I buy other tools there all the time. But these 1.99 - 3.99 multimeters (price changes every few weeks) are junk. Occasionally they'll have a slightly better looking model (the 4.99 one in the OP's link) for a few bucks more but I haven't checked those.
 

mikeb693

Member
Dec 4, 2004
35
0
0
Which wire stripper were you referring to?
There are two for $1.99 each, the small one or the large one.
I want to make sure I purchase the correct one.
I have a bunch of wires to strip.
 

frostedflakes

Diamond Member
Mar 1, 2005
7,925
1
81
I don't know about the $3 one, but I've had that $25 DMM for many years and it's pretty nice. Very durable as well.
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
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.
 

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
475
126
It's a good thing to have along with a cheap air compressor and some wrenches in a car.

Ill probably pick up one of those composite digital calipers for $5.99 and a heat gun for $7.99. My last HF heat gun uh overheated and the rear bearing on the motor melted the plastic housing. Lasted a few years.
 

CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
5,401
2
0
Something like this is perfect for testing if a resistor is blown (infinite resistance) or if you're getting any current at a point. Even if the readings aren't accurate, it's still useful. As PottedMeat said, it's a good idea to throw one in your trunk.
 

Dsorgnzd1

Junior Member
Jan 19, 2006
15
0
0
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.)
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
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.)

i always get the 20% off single item, I haven't gotten a % off total purchase in a while now.
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
analog meters are somewhat difficult to find anymore, sadly. I still keep one since they are better at dealing with transients than a digital unit.
 

jackschmittusa

Diamond Member
Apr 16, 2003
5,972
1
0
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.
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
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.

I have a couple of Flukes and Simpson meters as my main units, but these are nice as in house quick checkers.
 

magreen

Golden Member
Dec 27, 2006
1,309
1
81
Originally posted by: KPACOTKA
Any analog meters for a similar price? I hate digital when I need just ring wires.

i bought a cheapo analog meter from dealextreme.com for a couple bucks and free shipping
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,542
1,653
126
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.
 

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
9,002
115
106
I've had one for quite a while now. Very useful. No, you might not want to do über-sensitive readings with them, but hey, its $2. Very few need anything more than that.
 

tomatom

Senior member
Jul 27, 2002
331
0
0

Now $1.99 with email coupon good till 7-19

Also $1.88 for Mechanics Stethoscope < I love these >
 

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
475
126
If you want something a little more interesting I saw a rebadged Mastech MS8229 multimeter at Harbor Freight for $39.99. I opened the box up and although the meter was relabeled 'Centech', the probes still had 'MASTECH' on them. It's a DMM + Lux Meter + Humidity Meter + Sound Level Meter + Thermometer ( Type-K I think it was ).

It's not on Harbor Freight's website for some reason, it was in their paper flyer.

http://www.p-mastech.com/products/04_dm/ms8229.html

If I didn't already have a Fluke, Simpson, LG, and Ratshack meters I'd pick one up.
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,542
1,653
126
If you haven't seen these in person, you might not realize how small they are. While it's a drawback in ergonomics, it allows you to cram it into an almost full toolbox or shirt pocket. If that is the need you can get even smaller (thinner particularly) meters, but not at this price.
 

Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
28,830
17
81
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.

I stand behind my statement, I'm not gonna bother with a rebuttal. If you want to risk your work (if you need the accuracy) on a $30-40 meter as opposed to a a much better suited industrial equivalent, have at it. I'll keep my calibrated Fluke where I need the accuracy and i'll use the $2 HF meter in the garage where it's ok if it's not calibrated or 100% accurate.
 

mindless1

Diamond Member
Aug 11, 2001
8,542
1,653
126
Well Gilbot, you included the detail I mentioned, calibrated. The Fluke will come from the factory with a certificate of calibration which puts it above anything without one automatically, but even for a casual hobbyist there is a reasonable benefit to something better than a $2 meter for many uses. I never suggested using a $30 meter for precision work, I am suggesting that as with most things in life the most expensive and least expensive are both niche products that the average user won't find best value in purchasing.
 

FrankSchwab

Senior member
Nov 8, 2002
218
0
0
We build small devices for the PC market where power is a premium. Our die has three on-board regulators each generating 1.2V from a regulated 3.3V input which comes from a 5V USB cable. For each of those voltages, we need to know the current draw in a range of up to about 30 milliamps with a resolution of about 10 microamps. Our solution? Most engineers have 6 or 8 of these meters mounted on a small rack each measuring a different parameter - and they work marvelously. When we ESD test our product, we don't put a $150 Fluke in line to measure current draw; we put a $3 HF unit inline and we've never blown one up (even testing up to 30KV). We've probably bought 100 of these meters over the last several years for various engineering activities. Heck, when the 9V battery in them dies, it's more expensive to replace the battery than the meter!

These units are remarkably accurate (for a $3 meter). The hardware engineers characterizing our silicon use these meters most of the time; there are occasions when a measurement requires a higher quality meter, and they use them then. But those occasions are much rarer than you might think. They have certainly proven their worth.