If you're looking to measure with an accuracy of under 0.05V (50mV) you need a specialist LAB-style meter. The accuracy shown by all those meters (on voltage range) is more than adequate for 90%+ of users in any situation. Rather than pay $100's for a Fluke I'd have two (or three) cheaper versions so I can do volt/current measurements simultaneously (and/or have a 'spare' when necessary).
With those cheap meters you should only measure low voltage because of their protection. If you want to measure 120v/240v you HAVE to buy a good one. Brymen for example
Good analysis. When one of my old meters died 3 yrs ago, I researched and chose the Triplett MM350. It was $40 (now 46) on Amazon. I chose this model because it has DC AND AC milliamp & microamp ranges. It has performed well for home DIY use. Many multimeters have only DC milliamp/microamp ranges. Also NIST traceable calibrated version for $104.
I'm an Electrical Engineer and been using the $10 special from Mouser for like 10 years now lol. It's accurate enough for most automotive applications, and the applications where it's not we bust out the Oscilloscope. Also agreed with comments above on tip over test. Like maybe it's more for home electrician thing but I've never found that to matter lol
1) Lead length - not important, I buy and make leads as I need them, but more important is that they have high flexibility, silicone insulation and high strand count, pure copper wire of a reasonably low gauge, and well formed jackets on the plugs. 2) Durability. Bigger because it has a more protective, thicker and groove jointed casing, and outer cover. If I drop one and it breaks, what good was the small size? Also factored in is display size/legibility, and the prop design on the back to allow it to stand up. At the same time, nothing is bullet proof and I'd feel more of a loss dropping a $200 meter than a $20 meter, obviously, and if you work around other people on a jobsite, the $200 meter is more at risk for theft, and/or more of a loss than the $20 meter if stolen. Accuracy, meh if you are into certain kinds of electronics then it is quite important but for most uses, being off even 5% isn't a big deal, and many of the better meters also have an adjustment pot inside to calibrate if you really care to bother. Also now that the chinese brands are getting cheaper, many casual users are moving towards getting a clamp ammeter multimeter, as they hardly ever need measurements besides voltage and current. This can also be handy as a 2nd meter, because sometimes you want to measure two things simultaneously and need a 2nd meter typically for voltage or current.
You dont buy or MAKE leads for a cheap meter, wtf 😂 But youre right when you say that the leads are crap and you would invest MORE money for good leads that you did for a cheap meter, which is unsafe when handling more than 12v on your car…
I used to have a modestly priced meter with permanently mounted wires. I needed to be able to swap out the leads for testing wires in tiny connectors, so I switched to the Fluke 101. Size was also an issue since I fly with my tools and have to put them in my checked baggage. Since the 101 doesn't have current measurement, that made me pause, but when I thought about it, all I ever use is voltage and resistance/continuity. I added a magnet on a strap in order to hang it on things. Pretty happy with it.
I own12 DMM's and 7 analog Multi-Meters. From a bare basic $5 from Harbor Freight to a Fluke 87V. A simple $35 DMM is more than good enough for 98% of an electrician's work (and 100% of "handyman"/DYI work). p.s. Now compare the Fluke 1587 insulation meter to the Klein! 🤪
It's too bad the the last 2% of your job is to not die working on mains voltage. You don't have to get a 300$ fluke but make sure it has the appropriate safety ratings and actually meets those specifications. If you open a lot of the cheaper meters up you'll see they're not very safe even though they say CAT III.
I myself have the astro ai AM33D, and I honestly don't like the high latency of continuity. And yes it offers quite a few settings and is compact, I guess by your review, it can be off by a few milla ohms or milla volts. Perhaps in the future, I'll consider what you found to be the best preforming meter
James, just stumbled on you channel and watched my first vid. Wow. A multimeter takes on a new understanding for me! I have a question-I'll keep it brief. My car's a/c compressor is being called on at all times with my ignition on. I've printed wiring schematics and have identified a 'grey' wire that goes from the ecu to the relay. I am told by my mechanic friend I need to see if the ecu is grounding it or, is it grounding on the frame somewhere. I have gained access to the wire under the fuse box. Using my volt meter, how can I tell where the ground is coming from-the ecu or a chassis short? I hope this makes sense and I hope you can help
You know my cheap $5 to $6 multimeter from china, almost stand for a decade. Maybe 8 or 9 years ago since I bought it online, and still functioning until now. But yeah, I am not really sure about the accuracy of the voltage, current and ohms, because I don't have any accurate voltage sources or resistor to test it. But when I test the USB voltage that should be 5V, it is pretty near 5.0V, not really off. Maybe it should off a little bit, I am not really sure. But for hobbyist like me, it is no problem.
This is the truth about why we buy fluke. When it comes to making sure the meter is above reproach fluke or feildpeice say it's likely a good reading. I use a t6 1000 pro most every day and I could get away with a cheaper offshore special for what I do. In the end saying "it's a fluke it's correct" Is worth every penny. In a professional setting it's gotta be certifiable. Any home gamer feel free to use what you want and your budget allows even the cheapest of meters works well enough. That 101 i own too and it commonly goes on sale for 20ish dollars.
For the average homeowner, there are countless $15 meters that are great deals. I'm an industrial electrician, and I refuse to use anything besides fluke. They are stupid expensive compared to other brands, but when you're waist deep in unspeakable nastiness, trying to diagnose a fault so you can go home, waiting for a $60 meter to auto-range is unacceptable. Training is needed on any meter, but I trust my flukes with my life sometimes on a daily basis. PS someone at fluke needs locked up for the pvc leads that come with $200-500 meters
Not testing anything from Brymen is a waste. Also you need to use the SAME probes on all the devices to really make sure you're testing meters and not whatever crappy probes might have been bundled with the cheaper meters. Most of this data is useless because of that.
The cables on the probes bundled with my multimeter were very stiff and cumbersome. I replaced them with a set of Probe Master probes. Problem solved! I also noticed a faster response time for continuity treating. I realize probes are not the subject of this video, but you do a great job and would love to see you test/compare probes.
@@LatvianVideo Many people do buy new probes, various clips, extensions, etc. However I do think it was fair to test with the included probes because that's what most people would use for most tasks.
There is no such thing as the best multimeter, Rather decide what features you need, a budget and then on what you want to spend the budget, being accuracy, features, range, durability, quality. It is no use to spend the entire budget on a lower end Fluke and then lack features you need or want. I have several high end Flukes and no they do not do general things better than a high end Uni T, voltage is voltage on any multimeter, extreme accuracy matters much less than you think and almost all major brand digital meters are much more accurate than you would ever need.
I have a cheap multimeter I can not use, because I can not read the display. The smaller print like ac or dc or other notations make it useless. It could be the most accurate meter but to me it is no good. I only use a meter once in a blue moon. So clarity of what it is displaying is vital.
11:31 From the years of buying multimeters for work we found out the best way to find out what is low tier and high tier is using diode mode. Almost all top tier multimeter has a beep sound on DIODE mode NOT only continuity mode. Cheap ones do not beep on diode mode. Don't need to do these unnecessary tests just do this check and you're all good.
@@jackipiegg No i am not mistaken. Currently, i am using uni-t ut60bt. It is a cheap meter(35usd). It beeps on diode mod. You can find cheaper meters beeps on diode mode if you search.
It was important to me from personal experience, woking on ladders, roofs, up on boxes, and an array of uneven surfaces, i found it difficult to keep some meter upright.
Ok excelente comparación y pruebas, pero no viste el tema de seguridad y sus protección sobre transitorio y algún corto o error humano que se puso en una medida incorrecta. Eso no veo en este multimetro
Para mi , este tipo de comparaciones no estan bien.... Primero, cada usuario de un multimetro es diferente, hay Electricistas, electronicos, electrónicos industriales, tecnicos instrumentistas, electricista/electrónico automotriz y el usuario comun , que solo se compra un multimetro para medir si hay voltaje en su casa o medir la batería del auto etc etc etc...... cada uno tiene necesidades diferentes en un multimetro, y para lo que a uno es importante, para otro NO.... Por eso existe una amplia gama desde los mas sencillos multimetros hasta los mas especificos y costosos.. Todos sirven para cada proposito, por eso este tipo de comparaciones NO sirven. Cada usuario sabe exactamente que multimetro le sera util y cual no.
@14:50 Reaction of the Voltcraft VC-800 ( ua-cam.com/video/gVwDXI-WsUk/v-deo.html ) Line of Multimeters Owners: ua-cam.com/video/H6M1OF_E0IA/v-deo.html
Very nicely done video. On useless information.Your accuracy to decimal places does not correspond to accuracy of significant digits. Also, if a meter is 0.1% off it really has no "who haa" to me building a circuit board out with 5% resistors. But for the record, my OLD HP meter, thanks to the calibration lab at the university, has it's accuracy traceable back to NIST.
If you're looking to measure with an accuracy of under 0.05V (50mV) you need a specialist LAB-style meter. The accuracy shown by all those meters (on voltage range) is more than adequate for 90%+ of users in any situation. Rather than pay $100's for a Fluke I'd have two (or three) cheaper versions so I can do volt/current measurements simultaneously (and/or have a 'spare' when necessary).
You honestly didn't make any proper comparison arguments
I use an old American made fluke multimeter that's 7 years older than me. The plastic is holding on for dear life. Still works though
I don't see how this video can be made without including the model that everyone has - the often free Harbor Freight meter.
The small astro is a rebranded uni-t ut33d. A very good cheap meter. The larger Astro looks like a rebranded holdpeak.
Uni-T make good meters love my Uni-T multimeter with has a DC clamp amp function. Like my Own BT35 as well
With those cheap meters you should only measure low voltage because of their protection. If you want to measure 120v/240v you HAVE to buy a good one. Brymen for example
Good analysis. When one of my old meters died 3 yrs ago, I researched and chose the Triplett MM350. It was $40 (now 46) on Amazon. I chose this model because it has DC AND AC milliamp & microamp ranges. It has performed well for home DIY use. Many multimeters have only DC milliamp/microamp ranges. Also NIST traceable calibrated version for $104.
I'm an Electrical Engineer and been using the $10 special from Mouser for like 10 years now lol. It's accurate enough for most automotive applications, and the applications where it's not we bust out the Oscilloscope.
Also agreed with comments above on tip over test. Like maybe it's more for home electrician thing but I've never found that to matter lol
1) Lead length - not important, I buy and make leads as I need them, but more important is that they have high flexibility, silicone insulation and high strand count, pure copper wire of a reasonably low gauge, and well formed jackets on the plugs.
2) Durability. Bigger because it has a more protective, thicker and groove jointed casing, and outer cover. If I drop one and it breaks, what good was the small size? Also factored in is display size/legibility, and the prop design on the back to allow it to stand up.
At the same time, nothing is bullet proof and I'd feel more of a loss dropping a $200 meter than a $20 meter, obviously, and if you work around other people on a jobsite, the $200 meter is more at risk for theft, and/or more of a loss than the $20 meter if stolen.
Accuracy, meh if you are into certain kinds of electronics then it is quite important but for most uses, being off even 5% isn't a big deal, and many of the better meters also have an adjustment pot inside to calibrate if you really care to bother.
Also now that the chinese brands are getting cheaper, many casual users are moving towards getting a clamp ammeter multimeter, as they hardly ever need measurements besides voltage and current. This can also be handy as a 2nd meter, because sometimes you want to measure two things simultaneously and need a 2nd meter typically for voltage or current.
You dont buy or MAKE leads for a cheap meter, wtf 😂
But youre right when you say that the leads are crap and you would invest MORE money for good leads that you did for a cheap meter, which is unsafe when handling more than 12v on your car…
I used to have a modestly priced meter with permanently mounted wires. I needed to be able to swap out the leads for testing wires in tiny connectors, so I switched to the Fluke 101. Size was also an issue since I fly with my tools and have to put them in my checked baggage. Since the 101 doesn't have current measurement, that made me pause, but when I thought about it, all I ever use is voltage and resistance/continuity. I added a magnet on a strap in order to hang it on things. Pretty happy with it.
I own12 DMM's and 7 analog Multi-Meters. From a bare basic $5 from Harbor Freight to a Fluke 87V. A simple $35 DMM is more than good enough for 98% of an electrician's work (and 100% of "handyman"/DYI work).
p.s. Now compare the Fluke 1587 insulation meter to the Klein! 🤪
It's too bad the the last 2% of your job is to not die working on mains voltage. You don't have to get a 300$ fluke but make sure it has the appropriate safety ratings and actually meets those specifications. If you open a lot of the cheaper meters up you'll see they're not very safe even though they say CAT III.
@@arrx7668 No the 2% is for the power testing guys.
I myself have the astro ai AM33D, and I honestly don't like the high latency of continuity. And yes it offers quite a few settings and is compact, I guess by your review, it can be off by a few milla ohms or milla volts. Perhaps in the future, I'll consider what you found to be the best preforming meter
Biggest problem with cheap meters is lack of safty with „high“ voltage. If you measure your car, a 10$ meter is fine. But its NOT on 120v/240v
James, just stumbled on you channel and watched my first vid. Wow. A multimeter takes on a new understanding for me! I have a question-I'll keep it brief. My car's a/c compressor is being called on at all times with my ignition on. I've printed wiring schematics and have identified a 'grey' wire that goes from the ecu to the relay. I am told by my mechanic friend I need to see if the ecu is grounding it or, is it grounding on the frame somewhere. I have gained access to the wire under the fuse box. Using my volt meter, how can I tell where the ground is coming from-the ecu or a chassis short? I hope this makes sense and I hope you can help
You know my cheap $5 to $6 multimeter from china, almost stand for a decade. Maybe 8 or 9 years ago since I bought it online, and still functioning until now. But yeah, I am not really sure about the accuracy of the voltage, current and ohms, because I don't have any accurate voltage sources or resistor to test it. But when I test the USB voltage that should be 5V, it is pretty near 5.0V, not really off. Maybe it should off a little bit, I am not really sure. But for hobbyist like me, it is no problem.
I like how your toolbox almost says UREA
This is the truth about why we buy fluke. When it comes to making sure the meter is above reproach fluke or feildpeice say it's likely a good reading. I use a t6 1000 pro most every day and I could get away with a cheaper offshore special for what I do. In the end saying "it's a fluke it's correct" Is worth every penny. In a professional setting it's gotta be certifiable. Any home gamer feel free to use what you want and your budget allows even the cheapest of meters works well enough. That 101 i own too and it commonly goes on sale for 20ish dollars.
Diode, capacitance and current are important too even for a non pro user
For the average homeowner, there are countless $15 meters that are great deals. I'm an industrial electrician, and I refuse to use anything besides fluke. They are stupid expensive compared to other brands, but when you're waist deep in unspeakable nastiness, trying to diagnose a fault so you can go home, waiting for a $60 meter to auto-range is unacceptable. Training is needed on any meter, but I trust my flukes with my life sometimes on a daily basis. PS someone at fluke needs locked up for the pvc leads that come with $200-500 meters
You forgot to compare the time of each multimeter to reach the correct reading of components at the time the probe touches.
El problema son los cables, los baratos tienen mucha resistencia y son buenos si los cambias
I have a Uni-T multimeter, and it's pretty accurate
However all these meters look pretty good 😊
Not testing anything from Brymen is a waste. Also you need to use the SAME probes on all the devices to really make sure you're testing meters and not whatever crappy probes might have been bundled with the cheaper meters. Most of this data is useless because of that.
but on the other hand, who buys new probes? As i certainly dont.
The cables on the probes bundled with my multimeter were very stiff and cumbersome. I replaced them with a set of Probe Master probes. Problem solved! I also noticed a faster response time for continuity treating.
I realize probes are not the subject of this video, but you do a great job and would love to see you test/compare probes.
exactly what I was thinking too, I miss the Brymen....
@@LatvianVideo Many people do buy new probes, various clips, extensions, etc. However I do think it was fair to test with the included probes because that's what most people would use for most tasks.
There is no such thing as the best multimeter, Rather decide what features you need, a budget and then on what you want to spend the budget, being accuracy, features, range, durability, quality. It is no use to spend the entire budget on a lower end Fluke and then lack features you need or want. I have several high end Flukes and no they do not do general things better than a high end Uni T, voltage is voltage on any multimeter, extreme accuracy matters much less than you think and almost all major brand digital meters are much more accurate than you would ever need.
Thank you for the video. BUT PLEASE., holster those "goofy sound effects". I couldn't take it for long and left. Just saying
I have a cheap multimeter I can not use, because I can not read the display. The smaller print like ac or dc or other notations make it useless. It could be the most accurate meter but to me it is no good. I only use a meter once in a blue moon. So clarity of what it is displaying is vital.
11:31
From the years of buying multimeters for work we found out the best way to find out what is low tier and high tier is using diode mode. Almost all top tier multimeter has a beep sound on DIODE mode NOT only continuity mode. Cheap ones do not beep on diode mode. Don't need to do these unnecessary tests just do this check and you're all good.
Almost all new cheap multimeters beeps on diode mode.
@@ergunburak
You're mistaking continuity mode with diode mode lol. Continuity is resistance and beeps below 50ohms. Diode mode is well, diode mode.
@@jackipiegg No i am not mistaken. Currently, i am using uni-t ut60bt. It is a cheap meter(35usd). It beeps on diode mod. You can find cheaper meters beeps on diode mode if you search.
@@ergunburak
That's a hidden gem then. But the cheapo multimeter he showed were below $15, so $35 is mid range i guess
I use Benning and it is amazing
I’m confused at why it matters where it tips over…
It was important to me from personal experience, woking on ladders, roofs, up on boxes, and an array of uneven surfaces, i found it difficult to keep some meter upright.
@ thank you
Ok excelente comparación y pruebas, pero no viste el tema de seguridad y sus protección sobre transitorio y algún corto o error humano que se puso en una medida incorrecta. Eso no veo en este multimetro
I’ll stick with my harbor freight $6.99 Saturday night special and if you have a 30% coupon You only paid $4.89😉
Para mi , este tipo de comparaciones no estan bien....
Primero, cada usuario de un multimetro es diferente, hay Electricistas, electronicos, electrónicos industriales, tecnicos instrumentistas, electricista/electrónico automotriz y el usuario comun , que solo se compra un multimetro para medir si hay voltaje en su casa o medir la batería del auto etc etc etc......
cada uno tiene necesidades diferentes en un multimetro, y para lo que a uno es importante, para otro NO....
Por eso existe una amplia gama desde los mas sencillos multimetros hasta los mas especificos y costosos.. Todos sirven para cada proposito, por eso este tipo de comparaciones NO sirven.
Cada usuario sabe exactamente que multimetro le sera util y cual no.
La persona que tradujo no tenía idea de lo que estaba hablando
Milwaukee be like
Let's add a shit ton of numbers lol 😂
Beware the Fluke 101 does not have a current range!
where touch screen ?
El año 2004 me compré el Fluke 87V. Todavía funciona de manera impecable
Te falto sanwa
@14:50 Reaction of the Voltcraft VC-800 ( ua-cam.com/video/gVwDXI-WsUk/v-deo.html ) Line of Multimeters Owners: ua-cam.com/video/H6M1OF_E0IA/v-deo.html
Very nicely done video. On useless information.Your accuracy to decimal places does not correspond to accuracy of significant digits. Also, if a meter is 0.1% off it really has no "who haa" to me building a circuit board out with 5% resistors. But for the record, my OLD HP meter, thanks to the calibration lab at the university, has it's accuracy traceable back to NIST.
It's dubbed video