[Noisebridge-discuss] New Multimeter needed....

[jim]

   my guess is it depends on whether the fuse blows 
before something inside fries. 


On Mon, 2011-01-24 at 13:29 -0800, Taylor Alexander wrote:
> If you break a meter by measuring current, doesn't that just pop a
> fuse?
> 
> 
> Also, I just remembered that these Sears meters are pretty decent for
> $15.
> 
> 
> http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482146000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=03482146000P
> 
> 
> No capacitance on that model and not Auto-ranging, but they're cheap
> and well-constructed. We have one at work for basic stuff.
> 
> 
> They have some nicer ones for $30. This one has capacitance, though it
> doesn't say how much it measures, or at least not with a quick look on
> the page.
> http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482344000P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=03482344000P
> 
> So maybe the Sears ones are a good cheap alternative to Fluke?
> 
> 
> -Taylor
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 12:15 PM, Dr. Jesus <j at hug.gs> wrote:
>         On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 11:06 AM, jim <jim at well.com> wrote:
>         >
>         >
>         
>         
>         >    Holy Moly! Thanks for the link to the $6 MPJA meter!
>         >
>         >    For me, el cheapos work great, but i do power supply
>         > and audio work where most of the measurements are
>         > discovering catastrophic failures and continuity.
>         >    I'd love to know detailed criteria for assessing a
>         > multimeter. One approach might be to point to the specs
>         > of a good model (fluke 17{5,7,9}, which i looked up).
>         >    But it'd be really helpful to understand the why of
>         > each criterion: in measuring capacitance, what are the
>         > use cases and acceptable tolerances? For me, if the RC
>         > figure allows, I can look to see if the "needle" moves
>         > to know if it's working (can't do that with pfs, of
>         > course); cap tolerances for me are +-50%, give or take....
>         >    Is there a need for a does-all meter or is it
>         > acceptably useful to have a reasonably good VOA meter
>         > along with separate cap and L measurement tools (maybe
>         > a frequency generator and scope...)?
>         >
>         >    As to "Why We Can't Have Nice Things at Noisebridge",
>         > that issue makes me furious!
>         >    It's horribly inconsiderate to take things away: I'm
>         > guessing mainly it's a sloppy, selfish mentality to the
>         > effect that "I'll just use it and bring it back after
>         > I'm done", which very often fails to "I'll just use it
>         > and let it sit around unused and forgotten somewhere at
>         > my house forever more after I'm done."
>         
>         
>         Sometimes people break meters at NB because they don't know
>         how
>         current sensing works.  Then they get thrown away.
>          Noisebridge's
>         mission is more about education than running a multimeter
>         farm, so
>         this doesn't bother me that much.
>         
>         I guess I'll make another poster showing how to use a
>         multimeter
>         without breaking something.  That might help.
>         
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>         
> 
>