I Need Advice on the purchase of a Multimeter

[nephilim33]

Hi i am new to the forum and new to electronics, i am attempting to fix my first monitor and i want to purchase a multimeter that will do the job.

Could anyone give me some suggestions on a multimeter that i can use for testing components. I would like to know what functions i am looking for in a multimeter for doing general work on boards. I would like to purchase a meter of ebay (convenient) that is in the low to mid range.

So if anyone could let me know what type of meters there are to buy and what there pros and cons are it would be appreciated.

A cheap meter would be ideal atm ( under 50$ ) but if its not going to be good for the jobs ahead ill spend more.

[nephilim33]

Re: I Need Advice on the purchase of a Multimeter

oops wrong subforum my bad

[nephilim33]

Re: I Need Advice on the purchase of a Multimeter

delete this thread

[walking]

Re: I Need Advice on the purchase of a Multimeter

I've been using a freebie bag stuffer shirt pocket meter from an Introduction to Electronics seminar I got 3 years ago. I used to see these at the flea market for $2.

Unless you're going to later "fix" heart monitors or passenger aircraft systems don't spend more than $20.

Now if you're going to get into soldering/desoldering much. Spend the $ and get a good used station or better yet a vacuum station.

[scampo77]

Re: I Need Advice on the purchase of a Multimeter

im sure this question is fine posted here. its such a general question im sure it could be posted anywhere.

i bought my meter off of ebay used for around 50$ it is a fluke that i carry around with me most places it is easy to find fun clamps and probe leads for because it is a name brand.

you need to look for 2 things fixing monitors. for the meter you need to find is a true RMS meter. these are far more accurate and far more stable. when measuring a voltage regulator that is +- 10% and it is 1.8v the difference between 1.86v and 1.78v can really help you when diagnosing these things.

the second thing is a ESR meter. these are usually cheaper to buy seperatly from a digital volt meter. most meters come with a cap check in the form of F (farreds). although this will tell you what the cap can "hold" it needs to be out of circuit to get an accurate reading and it doesnt "load up" the cap. also most cap checks only go to 100 uF (there abouts). its not uncommon to come across ultra low ESR caps of 6-10,000 uF in modern monitors rendering the cap check on the VOM useless.

hope this helps

[retiredcaps]

Re: I Need Advice on the purchase of a Multimeter

Replies to this thread were here

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21261

so let's close this one.

If you need to add something, add to the above URL.