# Decisions, decisions, or, cheap meters are not good.



## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

And good meters are not cheap.

However, after mulling over specs, features, and price, I've decided that I can't justify a Fluke meter for non-professional hobby use on my bench. I was going to purchase the Fluke 177 based on quality, lifetime warranty, and my personal experience with owning and using Fluke meters. I also thought back as to how many meters I've owned that ever needed service. The answer is zero. All the way from the Radioshack analog meter I still have from the late 70's that still works well, to my Fluke 8000A that is still a bench workhorse on my bench and all the meters in between.

Several years ago I needed a handheld portable digital meter for some light automotive work. I bought a $20 meter at Autozone that seemed to work OK. I still used that meter until I compared AC readings to it against the benchtop Fluke 8000A. There was a 3.3 VAC difference between the meters. There was a 1.5 V difference on DC. No telling what other errors this cheap handheld meter has given me in the past.

*I've decided on the Amprobe AM-570* based on a review from an electrical engineer that compared this meter with his work meter, a Fluke 87. Besides the warranty, the only real difference he stated was the responce time was slightly slower, but I'm not in that much of a hurry that I don't have an extra 1.5 seconds for the meter to capture a signal.

He also stated the NCV function did not work well except on energized exposed wiring. Measuring at a wall outlet was hit or miss at best. I've never had that function on a meter and haven't measured high voltage in the 480 volt range since I was in the Air Force, so the NCV option is a non-issue for me.

There are a few of the tests he performed side by side with his Fluke 87:

*Frequency measurement sensitivity (measured with sinusoidal waveform input):
Frequency Range>Sensitivity:
60 Hz>150mVp-p. 600 Hz>150mVp-p. 6kHz>150mVp-p. 60kHz>170mVp-p.
600kHz>200 to 400mVp-p. 6.0MHz>400 to 500mVp-p. 10MHz>600mVp-p.
Unfortunately function generator only went up to 10 MHz.

Duty Cycle Sensitivity (for ±2% error):
4 Hz to 3kHz > 400mVp-p
3kHz to 10kHz > 400mV to 1.5Vp-p
10kHz to 60kHz > 1.5 to 2.2Vp-p
60kHz to 600kHz > 2.2 to 3.9Vp-p
600kHz to 1MHz > 3.9 to 5.0Vp-p
Error started to be >2% above 1MHz
Unfortunately the function generator's duty cycle range was from 20% to 80%.
So I didn't get to test the full range of the AM-570.

Response times:

Vdc: Auto: ~0.5 sec. Manual: ~0.25 sec.
Vac: Auto: ~1.0 sec (1.5 sec to stabilize). Manual: About the same.
Idc (10A): ~0.25 sec.
Idc (mA): Auto: ~0.5 sec. Manual: ~0.25 sec.
Iac (10A): Not tested.
Iac (mA): Auto and Manual: 1 sec (2 sec to stabilize).
Resistance (until reading stable): Auto and Manual: 1 to 3 sec (depending on value).
Analog scale is very fast (20/s) and is useful in catching faster transit signals. 
*

He stated that for the serious hobbyist, this meter should suffice for all but the most precise work when designing or engineering circuits.

I'm satisfied that this will be fine for my new handheld meter.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks fine to me. I have a bunch of meters scattered around, including cheap and not so cheap. My go-to meter around the shop is typically the Fluke 117, I think I paid around $170 a couple years ago for it. It replaced a Fluke 77 that I had for twenty years, it finally developed an issue with the ohms calibration. It would cost more to calibrate the Fluke 77 than to buy a new meter, so that's the way I went. I have a bench meter, a couple of MUSTOOL meters, several of the free Harbor Freight models, and one ancient Radio Shack analog one that still works.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I ordered the Amprobe a few minutes ago. I think it will be fine for what I do. I don't design or engineer and the Fluke was a bit overkill for my needs even though I have a Fluke 8000A on the bench. A bonus was the $20 coupon they sent me a few days ago and that brought the price of the Amprobe down to $127 and free shipping.

There was a seller on ebay about 15 years ago that had a lot of these 8000A meters all new in sealed boxes and was selling them for $35 each. I couldn't pass it up. I should have ordered two. This is the same meter I used in the field when I maintained the Minuteman II ICBM weapon system.

I still have my analog Radioshack meter from the late 70's too. They actually made decent stuff back then. Says made in Japan on the back.

I can't understand why it costs so much to have a meter recalibrated. It doesn't take that long to perform the task and if it won't calibrate correctly, you're done.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I don't know why calibration is so expensive, I checked a couple of places, and $140-150 was the going rate for the Fluke 77. I figured to cut my losses and just buy a new meter.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

The recently late DCC guru over at MR, Randy Rinker, was an electronics engineer. He always suggested to people looking for a low-cost, but good, digital meter that they look no further than Harbor Freight.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I wanted something a little better than good and while I might buy a hammer or a bench vise from HF, I wouldn't be tempted to buy a no-name meter from them.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

I think one of my first meters was an Eico kit. I also have one of the first Radio Shack digital meters (Realistic brand). At school we used Triplett analog meters, probably because Bluffton, Ohio was just north of where I went (Ohio Northern).


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

My RS analog meter also has Realistic as the brand. In addition to the Fluke 8000A, we also used the Simpson 260 for launch control system troubleshooting.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I double checked that analog meter I have and is a Micronta meter, not Realistic. This may be older than I thought, like around early to mid-70's. I got it after my Dad passed away in '97.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Somewhere in a box here I still have the Simpson 260, that was the standard of the industry for many years.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

They still make them too.


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