Clamp on DC meters have issues with both accuracy and precision as well as drift. I like them but wish they had a true DC current shunt circuit inside too.
From: George Skorup Sent: Monday, January 18, 2016 9:01 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fw: OT Fluke 87 Yup, the guys use cheap meters for aligning links. And honestly, the only meter I really ever use in the field is my Craftsman AC/DC clamp-on ammeter. Good enough for me for measuring voltages and other basic stuff. On 1/18/2016 9:55 AM, Ken Hohhof wrote: One place where it makes sense to get a cheap DVM is for aligning licensed links using the voltage on the BNC connector. It only needs to do one thing, measure DC voltage, and the criteria are: - big display - LCD display so it is visible in bright sunlight - manual range settings so it doesn’t flip ranges while you are trying to align - cheap enough you won’t cry if it falls off a tower or gets lost I have one I got at a Sears tool outlet for around $20, the case is bright orange which helps it not get lost. My Fluke 87 rides around in the install van most of the time, but I don’t think I want it going up towers. From: Jaime Solorza Sent: Monday, January 18, 2016 9:15 AM To: Animal Farm Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Fw: OT Fluke 87 On SCADA job sites the instrumentation ,control and electricians techs use Fluke. I have seen Greenlees used by a few but rare... On Jan 18, 2016 7:47 AM, "Chuck McCown" <[email protected]> wrote: I had no idea there is a purposely confusing China Export mark that looks like the CE mark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#/media/File:Comparison_of_two_used_CE_marks.svg From: Chuck McCown Sent: Monday, January 18, 2016 7:44 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT Fluke 87 Excellent video. +1 From: Forrest Christian (List Account) Sent: Monday, January 18, 2016 4:58 AM To: af Subject: Re: [AFMUG] OT Fluke 87 Everyone who uses multimeters owes it to themselves to watch the video at https://youtu.be/OEoazQ1zuUM . The really interesting/useful part starts at about 1:25. I've been known to utilize an inexpensive multimeter now and again... but after watching this, I've become far more discriminating in my choice of multimeters. Especially in those situations where a lot of energy is available (ac mains, battery arrays (or even single car batteries)).
