1 Aug
2009
1 Aug
'09
6:08 p.m.
--- On Fri, 7/31/09, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
actually use "tools" like
incidentally that gets drained crackly dry in all of about 12 minutes upon powering up.
Same w/their digital calipers.
> $2.99 at
Harborfreight
> Good price if there are no critical lethal issues
requiring
accuracy.
I find it unfathomable that people would this.
And that includes the battery. It depends--I've got a couple of these that
I'll toss into
a toolbox
if I'm looking for a quick reading or continuity
test. If it gets
dropped or eaten by a dog, no biggie.
Ick. That pooch you have be real scary.
The Fluke stays
home.
WONDERFUL. Where the dog has free access!
If someone needed only to take a few readings and
didn't
have a meter
of any kind, I'd have no problem with him using one of
these,
I do. I most certainly do. You can get a decent meter for 20$.
On the other hand, if a reliable bench tool was needed
for
frequent
use, the $3 DVM is clearly not up to the job.
The one I bought, to my eternal shame, wasn't up to much at all. It flaked out in
other ways, besides eating batteries.
After the Fluke, my next favorite DVM didn't cost
a dime--I
received
as a promotion with an order. It's a rubber-sheathed,
backlit auto-
off large-display DVM that will measure temperature,
capacitance and
frequency in addition to the usual A-V-O. I've
dropped it more than
a few times, and it still works fine with perfectly
acceptable
accuracy.
There's no moving parts. No reason it shouldn't. I drop my Nextel each and every
day. Sit on it. Still works.
Truth is I had a ball w/the old style unit I use to use, yer know, with the push buttons.
Was real scared of that style of meter until I realized how easy it was to *program*. I
actually liked having to think a bit before using it, sort of as a primer. Until the day I
done just though wrong and mixed up the setting. Oi. Only payed 15$ for it too. It worked
exceptionally well.
Personally, I have a bigger problem with people using
cheap
pliers,
screwdrivers and soldering irons than with cheap
DVMs. It's harder
to damage something with a DVM.
The point is there happens to be impressionable youth listening in on this conversation.
They may actually go out and attempt what some are advocating!