Vom recommendations

[Steve in VA]

My ancient analog Micronta finally crashed. I'm looking for a replacement. I liked the analog and the audible continuity check. Analog are few and expensive.

There are so, so many.

I'm looking for a recommended buy/don't buy. I need a mid-level unit that is on the robust side but I'm not troubleshooting a Cray so....

 

[docmirror]

For a few bucks more than a Chinese junk that will last a few months, get a used Fluke 70 series from ebay. They are robust and accurate. Will last a long time, and use standard batteries which are replaceable. Although they are digital, there is an analog LCD bar across the bottom, but it has no scale, so can't really be used to read like an old needle movement. They do have the audible tone for dead short when turned to the diode function, it has a little image of a diode on it. Switch to that function, and touch the leads together to test the tone for a short.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/397255168300?loc_physical_ms=76588

Or similar. It will last you a long time, and be very durable.

 

[Steve in VA]

For a few bucks more than a Chinese junk that will last a few months, get a used Fluke 70 series from ebay. They are robust and accurate. Will last a long time, and use standard batteries which are replaceable. Although they are digital, there is an analog LCD bar across the bottom, but it has no scale, so can't really be used to read like an old needle movement. They do have the audible tone for dead short when turned to the diode function, it has a little image of a diode on it. Switch to that function, and touch the leads together to test the tone for a short.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/397255168300?loc_physical_ms=76588

Or similar. It will last you a long time, and be very durable.

That sounds the ticket. I'll track that. Thank you very much.

 

[Tony in SD]

I second the motion. Can't go wrong with a Fluke. It is the only meter my company uses for troubleshoot. Although we use a more expensive version that does more than this one. Sometimes we measure complex voltages that you would never see on a farm or mechaninc shop. So the one you are looking at will serve you well.

 

[joeysmith]

Im a fieldpiece fan but that mostly because they are the only ones that make on meter that has all the functions I need in one meter
Fluke is a solid brand

 

[olddavid]

The Fluke is still digital with the same delay in reading as any digital meter. I personally never found the analog bar graph very helpful. I like the instant response of an analog meter and the fact that if the voltage is cycling it will show it. It also forces you to choose the correct scale while an auto ranging digital one can lead one to the wrong conclusion at times. On the other hand, the Fluke will likely take more abuse than an analog meter and its readings will likely be more accurate and will have a continuity beeper.

 

[MarkB_MI]

I've been very happy with the Klein meter I picked up at HD that I keep in my RV. For around a hundred bucks it will do anything a three hundred dollar Fluke will. My main meter is a Fluke 77 from the early nineties; it's pretty much bulletproof but very dated in its capabilities. I recommend you get a meter with both capacitance and frequency ranges, so you can test motor capacitors and adjust the speed on your generator.

 

[Fred Werring]

I recommend you get a meter with both capacitance and frequency ranges, so you can test motor capacitors and adjust the speed on your generator.

This

 

[560Dennis]

I got a Innova sp. from AZ , good for house tractor and farm .

 

[scootergmc]

This

This x2.

I actually needed to test a capacitor this weekend and realized my old??? Fluke couldn't do it.

 

[miangus]

My son got me a FLUKE 117 with a clamp on 323 as a set which I like. I find the clamp on handy. I carry an inexpensive HF clamp on in my farm truck, I keep it in a nice Klien case, so I look like I know what I am doing.

 

[Jim in LA]

My ancient analog Micronta finally crashed. I'm looking for a replacement. I liked the analog and the audible continuity check. Analog are few and expensive.

There are so, so many.

I'm looking for a recommended buy/don't buy. I need a mid-level unit that is on the robust side but I'm not troubleshooting a Cray so....

Ebay Simpson 260 new and used. You can find good deals on digital meters too.