This loosely relates to in car electronics!

My multimeter has died, it was never the most accurate but it did the job.

My old one was a cheapy one like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334189513101

If like to get one that is better but without spending a fortune. Perhaps £20 budget. They all seem to look the same though until you jump up into the mega expensive realm!

I mostly used for car electrics but sometimes do have a play around with other circuits on things like my 3D printer or small circuits to go in 3D printed projects. (RPI / Arduino etc)

Thanks!

I have a Kyoritsu 2046R DC clamp meter but it is heading towards the expensive end, but have found the DC clamp meter invaluable. You can get cheaper DC clamp meters.

Also have a few cheap meters from electronic stores bought decades ago & they work fine for the tasks I do. The dearer ones like a Kyoritsu 1062 are a lot more accurate, but they are expensive. It just boils down to how much accuracy you need or would like. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

Thanks, yes those are far too much for me!

I'm still looking at the cheap end but I was hoping for something that works better than the £4 one I've had for years! On the same note though, I don't want to just pay more and get something no better.

I'm currently looking at something like this...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B075L7PQ3...&psc=1

I like the idea of it being autoranging

As a spark my prefered brand is Fluke and my present one I've had since 1988.
Cost me £360 back then!!!

But from the sounds of what you're looking for, take a look in either Screwfix or Toolstation.
Both have a selection around the price range it sounds like you're willing to pay.

Lapp is the Screwfix own brand, I think from some of the other gear that they sell,
possibly all they have in their favour over others is the warranty. (That's only my opinion)

I would love a fluke, I was trained in using some type of fluke about 20 years ago when I did the Cisco CCNA course.

Anyway they are too much for me!

I have started looking at the di-log dl9206 though which seems to be highly recommended and often portrayed as being very much like a fluke without the cost.

About £45-£55 depending on the shop, which is more than I wanted to spend but it might be worth it.

The very cheap ones are 2.5 digit, better ones are 3.5 digit & the expensive ones are 4.5 digit.

Personally I would forget the 2.5 digit meters. If you think of the resolution you don't get much of an answer.

Read a spec sheet on one of the expensive meters to understand what the .5 resolution means. Then you will understand why 2.5 is useless. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

The Di-log one that I'm looking at is 6000 count which I believe is on the better end of the 3 and a half digits.

Take a look at the UNI-T range. Very well priced and come up surprisingly well in reviews and calibration tests against Fluke gear Current driveway contents:
2021 V60 Cross Country B5
2009 FL2 dog bus and shooting wagon

On Order: 2023 Fisker Ocean Ultra - deposit paid.

Lightwater wrote:

The very cheap ones are 2.5 digit, better ones are 3.5 digit & the expensive ones are 4.5 digit.

Personally I would forget the 2.5 digit meters. If you think of the resolution you don't get much of an answer.

Read a spec sheet on one of the expensive meters to understand what the .5 resolution means. Then you will understand why 2.5 is useless.

From my very newly acquired knowledge (last 24 hours!)

Most multimeters are sold with counts as the specification.

2000 counts
4000 counts
6000 counts etc.

These can then be translated into digits.

A 2.5 digit screen allows it to show 2 and a half digits on the screen. The half digits being in the first position allows it to be a 1 followed 2 full digits, so the screen can go up to 199.

The 2000 counts means it will go up to 1999 so it is a 3 and a half digits screen.

The Di-log m considering is a 6000 count, so goes up to 5999. Which confusingly still send to be called 3 and a half digits even though the first digit is 6/7ths complete. I guess technically it is then a 3 and 6/7ths screen.

So the more digits the greater the greater precision you can get, but I assume this is only actually any use if it is accurate.

The 3 meters I have bought decades apart as far as measuring DC voltage are the same. They could all be out by the same amount. Often all one needs is relative accuracy. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I still use this meter, which was issued to me by ICL Computers at least 40 years ago and is still working. We changed from using AVO (mechanical) meters as we needed higher internal resistance measuring devices, thus not interfering with the circuits (discrete component solid state - transistor) we were attempting to measure.

I have to admit that it's last calibration date is 19/4/90, about the the time I moved on from field engineering.



PS the more observant will notice that over that time I have lost the black crocodile clip, but the rest is there, including my original box. FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2010 2012-2017 (21k - 91k miles) (MY2011)
FL2 Metropolis SD4 Auto 2014 2017- (16k - 77k+ miles) (MY2015)
Metro in its 11th Year of (Extended) LR Warranty / Full LR Service History
(Expensive, but Trouble/Worry free - hopefully?)

AVO that takes me back lots of decades

Down under au$29.95 analogue multimeter.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/analog-movement-multimeter/p/QM1020 Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

I actually prefer an analogue meter (one with a needle and dial) you can see exactly what;s going on rather than see numbers flashing by. DVMs are great for measuring static values 3 x FL1 2 manual + 1 auto
5 x FL2 4 manual + 1 auto
Now Discovery Sport P250 MHEV SE