Re: [MBZ] Flukes
Hmm... I did not know that the bar graph was just the last digit. I know the main display refreshes at 4Hz and the bar at 40Hz. -- John W Reames jwrea...@comcast.net Home: +14106646986 Mobile: +14437915905 On Mar 16, 2010, at 10:28, Jim Cathey wrote: The bar graph updates at 10x the speed of the digital display. Additionally, the digital display updates faster on 3,5 digit mode than 4.5 digit mode (at least that's what the manual on my fluke 89 says...) The _normal_ mode for the 83/85/87 is 3+ digit mode, not 4+ digits. You have to hold down a button when you turn it on to get the high accuracy (but slow) mode. (It's the backlight button, so my old 83 doesn't have that one.) From way back, a 1/2 digit specification was used when there was a most-significant "0/1" digit, they were calling the Fluke's 0-3 3/4 of a digit last I looked, though it's a lot closer to half. Maybe they renormalized? The bargraph is very different between the 83 and the 87. Normally I prefer the 83's where it's a growing bar from 0-4 representing the entire reading; the 87's is a moving segment that represents only one digit of the reading, but that was perfect for the oxygen sensor which has less than 1V output, so the digit it picked was the most significant varying one. (That is, the 83 throbbed along in the bottom 1/4 of the analog display, the 87 swept across nearly the whole thing. I find it useful to have both meters, and the 83 is my 'daily driver' because it's easier on the batteries and the display digits are fractionally larger. Besides, that's the one I paid retail for, I'm going to get my money's worth out of it!) I'm a bit surprised the analog bargraph display variation isn't a user-selectable mode, maybe it is on the later Series? (Mine are all original series---Mark nothing.) My only complaint is that the test leads have a nasty habit of developing a bad connection up inside the probes... I haven't had that yet. I do find that using the Fluke on the cars is hard on the probes. I've fried the tips off of the probes, and it turns out that the insulation isn't rated for exhaust manifold temperatures! I need more probes. Oh, and one of their Scopemeters to go along with! -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
[MBZ] Flukes
The bar graph updates at 10x the speed of the digital display. Additionally, the digital display updates faster on 3,5 digit mode than 4.5 digit mode (at least that's what the manual on my fluke 89 says...) The _normal_ mode for the 83/85/87 is 3+ digit mode, not 4+ digits. You have to hold down a button when you turn it on to get the high accuracy (but slow) mode. (It's the backlight button, so my old 83 doesn't have that one.) From way back, a 1/2 digit specification was used when there was a most-significant "0/1" digit, they were calling the Fluke's 0-3 3/4 of a digit last I looked, though it's a lot closer to half. Maybe they renormalized? The bargraph is very different between the 83 and the 87. Normally I prefer the 83's where it's a growing bar from 0-4 representing the entire reading; the 87's is a moving segment that represents only one digit of the reading, but that was perfect for the oxygen sensor which has less than 1V output, so the digit it picked was the most significant varying one. (That is, the 83 throbbed along in the bottom 1/4 of the analog display, the 87 swept across nearly the whole thing. I find it useful to have both meters, and the 83 is my 'daily driver' because it's easier on the batteries and the display digits are fractionally larger. Besides, that's the one I paid retail for, I'm going to get my money's worth out of it!) I'm a bit surprised the analog bargraph display variation isn't a user-selectable mode, maybe it is on the later Series? (Mine are all original series---Mark nothing.) My only complaint is that the test leads have a nasty habit of developing a bad connection up inside the probes... I haven't had that yet. I do find that using the Fluke on the cars is hard on the probes. I've fried the tips off of the probes, and it turns out that the insulation isn't rated for exhaust manifold temperatures! I need more probes. Oh, and one of their Scopemeters to go along with! -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Flukes
- Original Message - From: "Jim Cathey" To: "Mercedes Discussion List" Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 10:26 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] Flukes Since the Fluke will mainly be used for voltage, amperage, and resistance the more specialized functions won't really be needed. Accuracy is the main requirement. Think I'll look around for an 83. Thanks again, Jim. I believe they're all equally accurate, so far as working on cars is concerned. I'm not sure that newer series' display sizes match the original series, which is what I have, so if that's important to you check that carefully. There are times that the backlight of the 87 would be nice to have, bigger digits don't help in the dark. Honestly I think you'd probably be happy with _any_ 80-series Fluke that you ended up with, provided it wasn't broken. I am. I was trying to high-grade the 83 with the 87, but only after having both was I able to find that I still preferred the 83 fractionally for most of my uses. I only bought the 83 in the first place because it was cheaper, I couldn't justify the true-RMS feature which added something like $100 to the price. The 87 has a faster conversion time, which can be a factor in certain types of pulsed signal measurements such as when I was working on the boat ignition. (Which I'm just about to start doing again, boating season being upon us and all.) My only real complaint about the Flukes is the cost of the ammeter fuses. They're more than a Harbor Freight DMM! So be careful when measuring current. Meter leads don't last forever, btw. They're well out in harm's way. -- Jim I'll try not to blow any fuses, Jim, but BTDT. (o:] Thanks, Gerry ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] Flukes
Since the Fluke will mainly be used for voltage, amperage, and resistance the more specialized functions won't really be needed. Accuracy is the main requirement. Think I'll look around for an 83. Thanks again, Jim. I believe they're all equally accurate, so far as working on cars is concerned. I'm not sure that newer series' display sizes match the original series, which is what I have, so if that's important to you check that carefully. There are times that the backlight of the 87 would be nice to have, bigger digits don't help in the dark. Honestly I think you'd probably be happy with _any_ 80-series Fluke that you ended up with, provided it wasn't broken. I am. I was trying to high-grade the 83 with the 87, but only after having both was I able to find that I still preferred the 83 fractionally for most of my uses. I only bought the 83 in the first place because it was cheaper, I couldn't justify the true-RMS feature which added something like $100 to the price. The 87 has a faster conversion time, which can be a factor in certain types of pulsed signal measurements such as when I was working on the boat ignition. (Which I'm just about to start doing again, boating season being upon us and all.) My only real complaint about the Flukes is the cost of the ammeter fuses. They're more than a Harbor Freight DMM! So be careful when measuring current. Meter leads don't last forever, btw. They're well out in harm's way. -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
