RE: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
OK, Ok, smarty-pants, I'll spell it out ... Volts - ohms - amps. :-) LOL!~ - Keith KD1E - - K2 5411 - -Original Message- From: Dan Barker Wow! A meter that receives Voice Of America? Who'd a thought that? The meter does cap and freq measurements as well as V-O-A. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
Wow! A meter that receives Voice Of America? Who'd a thought that? Dan / WG4S / K2 #2456 The meter does cap and freq measurements as well as V-O-A. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
I needed (wanted) a new DMM a few months ago. Initially was leaning toward Fluke but didn't want to spend the money. I ended up buying an Extech off e-bay. It in the Mouser catalog for $200+. I got mine for about $90 or so, new in the box. I think it was a discontinued model as the seller had more than one. The meter does cap and freq measurements as well as V-O-A. It seems to work OK although it is not that fast in auto mode. I also find the backlight feature gives uneven lighting but it's better than nothing. Overall the meter does what I need, which isn't much, and it was certainly priced right! - Keith KD1E - - K2 5411 - -Original Message- From: Paul Neuman I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any recommendations of specific models. ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
John, WA8KNE wrote: Good point on the refresh time. I never liked tuning for a peak or dip using a digital meter. Guess my analog brain doesn't like living in a digital world. I've picked up old analog VTVMs for a buck or two at hamfests and converted them to FET op amps in place of the tubes. Zero drift/warm up and all the advantages of an analog meter that runs on a 9v battery. -- For peaking adjustments, even some of the cheap(er), slower DMMs like the Radio Shack I mentioned have a relative level scale - a row of dots below the numbers - that moves according to changes in the voltage or current level. That scale works quite fast to show a peak or dip even though the numeric display takes a few seconds to update. It's something I recommend one look for if they are going to rely on only their DMM for making adjustments. Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
Raj Good point on the refresh time. I never liked tuning for a peak or dip using a digital meter. Guess my analog brain doesn't like living in a digital world. I've picked up old analog VTVMs for a buck or two at hamfests and converted them to FET op amps in place of the tubes. Zero drift/warm up and all the advantages of an analog meter that runs on a 9v battery. If there is any interest I will write it up after I retire at the end of this year. Looking forward to more time for what I WANT to do. 73 John WA8KNE Rajiv Dewan, N2RD wrote: One of the characteristics I look for is response time / refresh time / time to read. It is much easier to make adjustments that depend on measured voltage or resistance if the meter quicks refreshes the readings. Some multimeters, especially some of the Flukes, are excellent in this regard. For example Fluke 170 series will detect open and short conditions as short as 250 micro seconds. It also has a loud beeper and I find it to be a great continuity checker. Regards, Raj, N2RD K2 #5613 ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
One of the characteristics I look for is response time / refresh time / time to read. It is much easier to make adjustments that depend on measured voltage or resistance if the meter quicks refreshes the readings. Some multimeters, especially some of the Flukes, are excellent in this regard. For example Fluke 170 series will detect open and short conditions as short as 250 micro seconds. It also has a loud beeper and I find it to be a great continuity checker. Regards, Raj, N2RD K2 #5613 John Young wrote: Paul I think meters are like shirts - one size does NOT fit all. I have my 20 year old Fluke 73, several $2.99 Harbor Freight DMMs and some in between. Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is almost cheaper to buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When you blow up a cheap meter you can just pull out a spare and get back to work. 73 John WA8KNE Paul Neuman wrote: I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my 3080 option. I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but I don't want to be buying one again in two months. No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance. Paul ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Fw: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
I purchaed a Sperry DM-4400A at Lowes for 50 dollars and for my applications fits the need. 73 john-n4dsp - Original Message - From: "Thom R LaCosta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "John Young" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: "Paul Neuman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Sent: Sunday, September 03, 2006 9:18 AM Subject: Re: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation On Sun, 3 Sep 2006, John Young wrote: Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is almost cheaper to buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When you blow up a cheap meter you can just pull out a spare and get back to work. Kinda like watches 73,Thom-k3hrn ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
On Sun, 3 Sep 2006, John Young wrote: Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is almost cheaper to buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When you blow up a cheap meter you can just pull out a spare and get back to work. Kinda like watches 73,Thom-k3hrn www.zerobeat.net Home of QRP Web Ring, Drakelist home page,Drake Web Ring, QRP IRC channel, Drake IRC Channel, Elecraft Owners Database www.tlchost.net/hosting/ *** Web Hosting as low as 3.49/month ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
Re: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
Paul I think meters are like shirts - one size does NOT fit all. I have my 20 year old Fluke 73, several $2.99 Harbor Freight DMMs and some in between. Each fills a need. In the case of the Harbor Freight it is almost cheaper to buy a new meter than replace the 9v battery. When you blow up a cheap meter you can just pull out a spare and get back to work. 73 John WA8KNE Paul Neuman wrote: I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my 3080 option. I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but I don't want to be buying one again in two months. No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance. Paul ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
RE: [Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
Paul, KD2MX, asked: I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my 3080 option. I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but I don't want to be buying one again in two months. No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance. - About 7 years ago my Fluke died temporarily. The Fluke was ten years old then and part of the button mechanism died. While waiting for a new part I swung by Radio Shack and bought a mult-function DMM from them for about $80. Seven years later I'm still using the RS meter. My Fluke is back in business but the RS does a few things the Fluke doesn't and I don't worry about hurting it as much. Indeed, running a temperature cycle test one time I put the whole meter in the environmental chamber forgot about it! The case warped on the RS meter, it got so hot (around 100C). I've dropped it, banged it and done everything but hook it across the mains in Ohms mode, but it's still tickin' and still matches the Fluke's accuracy within 1% or so. I feel a little guilty about how I've abused the RS meter. Been thinking of ordering a new case to replace the battered, warped one it now has. So I'm surprised that you've had RS meters "blow up" on you! What exactly did they do? There is an obvious difference between the Fluke and Radio Shack meter. The Fluke displays values much faster. The Fluke is virtually instantaneous. The RS meter takes about two or three seconds although it's "relative level" bargraph for peaking adjustments is plenty fast. In my experience, that is one of the big differences in DMM's these days. It all comes down to the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) the DMM uses. Fluke, Radio Shack, etc., all get them from various chip manufacturers, and the faster chips apparently cost more. At least the meters they go into do! Of course, the other differences are in the number of digits in the display (and my RS has one more digit than my Fluke, which I find very handy at times) and in the number of operations they perform. One thing that keeps my RS meter on the bench is the ability to put any old junque box transistor in a socket on the front of it and it reports the Base, Emitter and Collector connections and the current gain (hFe) in a moment. As a tinkerer with a messy junque box, that's very handy! As much as I paid for the Fluke meter, if I had to let go of one of them today, I'd keep the RS meter. The specific model I bought has been replaced, but they always keep a model that has the same features and which sells in the $80 - $100 range. Ron AC7AC ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
[Elecraft] DMM Recommendation
I looking to purchase a decent DMM and would appreciate any recommendations of specific models. I've had two crappy Radio Shack DMMs blow up on me. Each time I bought one, I promised myself it was only until I could get something good ordered and then promptly put it off. Well now I'm DMM-less again and I'm in the middle of installing my 3080 option. I'm looking through the Mouser catalog and there are so many choices. I guess I can't go wrong with a Fluke. Would like something for <$100 but I don't want to be buying one again in two months. No HV or special requirements. Thanks in advance. Paul ___ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
