21 Sep
2010
21 Sep
'10
1:02 p.m.
Personally I enjoy a big Simpson 260-dash-whatever.
The Triplett 630 is in the same league.
Both have been in production (in one variant or another) since before WWII.
OR over here the Avo Model 8 (which went out of production a couple of
months back, it's been around for 50 years or so).
But those are analogue instruemnts. And while I have no problem using one
(I do use an AVO model 8, and a cheapo analogue meter quite often), there
are things that hte digital meter does better. I really like having both
on my bench.
The RCA Senior Voltohmysts I love for their fashion
sense but unless I need=
VTVM class input impedances, I'd prefer the Simpson or Triplett.
In terms of used Flukes, I highly recommend any used 77-series unit. You ca=
n critique the designs because of what you saw as failings of your Fluke 85=
, but believe me, the LCD display on any Fluke LCD DMM will be far more dur=
able than the faceplate on my Simpson 260 or Triplett 630.
I don;t think mine failed because it was dropped or anything like that.
There is no evidence of damage ot the glass. I think the seal must have
failed from old age. Which could affect any old meter.
Baically, there are 3 things I don't like abotu the Fluke :
1 The self-tapping screws you have to remove the change the battery
(seems to be a 'cheap' mechanical design, and such penny-pinching in an
expensive instrument is a very good way to get me to go elsewhere)
2 The mode switch design was unreliable (IMHO a bad biece of electronic
design)
3 A lot of custom parts and spares are unobtainable.
If I picked up a FLuke 77 or 79, there is no gaurantee that I would be
able to get any spares for it. WHich considering the large number of
custom parts worries me.
At the very low end, in the $3 to $5 range there are "disposable" DMM's
ava=
ilable at discount stores here in the US. They are not a joy to use but the=
y do mostly work.
I've yet to see one witha fast enough continuity beeper. I want to be
able to stroke the probe along a row of pins at a reasonable speed and
have iot beep if there's a conneciton.
I looked at the chepa meters in a Maplin shop, and not one met my
requirements (even discounting the build quality).
-tony