The Harbor freight meter can be had on sale for $19.95. I have one and
it is ok. The other functions, capacitor, frequency etc. are almost
useless though. The sensitivity and range for those functions are poor.
But for a general dvm it is not bad. They do have a cheap one that they
sell on sale for $2.95 ! It also has a transistor test function that
works pretty well. That meter is just as accurate as any of the others.
A great buy.
The fluke RF probe is limited to 30 arms and 200 vdc. Have to be
careful on a boat anchor.
I have been buying several dvm's lately. Kind of went overboard. Got
some expensive fluke and HP stuff (all used).
The best buy I have found for a bench meter at a low price is the fluke
8050A. It is very accurate, 4 1/2 digits and has some nice features like
db ranges and one button offset. These can be had for $20.00 to $40.00.
They are true rms on AC also. The only thing it doesn't have is auto
range. You have to manually select the range. The 8050A is much more
accurate than any of the handheld series that they now make, under $300.00
Another sleeper that is very nice is the HP 3466A, or 3465A same thing
different case. It is an auto range meter with similar specs to the
fluke 8050A but no db range or offset button. (used, not made anymore)
I also have a fluke 87-3 which is a 3 1/2 digit meter or a 4 1/2 digit
meter in the high resolution position. Trouble is that it is +- 10
counts, which is 3 1/2 digit accuracy. The 8050A is true 4 1/2 digit at
.03%.
O well, enough on that.
My other favorite in low cost would be the HP 410B. You can't hurt the
rf probe on a boat anchor with the high voltages. If an RF probe for a
boat anchor is what you want the HP 410B or C would be the choice.
73
Gary K4FMX
James M. Walker wrote:
Well,
You could go to Harbor freight and buy their high end digital voltmeter,
which does
AC and DC volts, measures inductance, and capacitance as well as resistance
for
39.95. Then buy the Fluke RF-80 probe for around the same cost and there you
have a
fully functional test device.
Jim
WB2FCN
----- Original Message -----
From: "Merz Donald S" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Discussion of AM Radio" <amradio@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 10:21 AM
Subject: RE: [AMRadio] Test Equipment Recommendation
Really? Is this the best recommendation that we can come up with? Every one
of these that I see is awfully beat up after 30-50 years. And these were not
especially high quality units to begin with.
On the other hand, I don't know what else to recommend. I am using an old
Radio Shack Micronta VTVM, probably from 1970. I've had a Simpson 303 (these
do not age well--to be avoided) and the RCA VoltOhmyst in several different
flavors, plus several other brands. The Micronta has delivered the most
reliable, accurate service of any of them. But I can't really recommend that
because nobody could ever find one.
Given the advanced age of the VTVMs that survive today, this actually is a
harder question than it first seems.
73, Don Merz, N3RHT
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Edward B Richards
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 11:27 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; amradio@mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [AMRadio] Test Equipment Recommendation
Bill;
Go to that auction place and buy a Heathkit VTVM. There are usually a lot
of them listed. All are 11 megohm input impedance. Then buy an RF probe.
The later VTVM's have a phone jack input and so do most RF probes. Also
known a demodulator or scope demodulator. Good luck
73, Ed Richards K6UUZ
On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 19:30:22 -0600 (GMT-06:00) Bill Pancake
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Would appreciate a recommendation as to make and model of a VTVM that
will come with an rf probe that is suitable for using when working
on boatanchor gear. I just need an idea of what to look for.
Thanks, Bill, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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