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How many multi-meters do you need???

big tee

big tee

Well-known Member
We live about 40 mi. from the nearest Harbor Freight store-Waterloo, Ia. so we don't go very often-But I do use their FREE coupons when I can. I have heavy duty tape measures, industrial strength blue tarps, super bright led flashlights and other FREE stuff that most I will never use. But I guess I am a sucker for their multi-meters. I gathered them up in put them in the drawer and is 5 enough? I always tear out the yellow HF coupon page that are in the back of almost any mag. we get. I see I have saved 7 from the mags. we got in the last 2 weeks. NO multi-meter coupons though. I have 6 Grandkids ages 1 to 22-4 girls and 2 boys so I was thinking about giving the meters as stocking stuffers. Can you imagine them squealing with delight on Christmas morning when they open their present from Grandpa and see it is a multi-meter!!! But I need 1 more. Last time we were there the wife and I picked out the cheapest thing I could find in the store I think- a 49 cent paint brush-used our 20% off coupons and each got a $14.95 meter-no questions asked! HOW DO THEY STAY IN BUSNESS?---Tee
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I think I have 3 of the multimeters and also 2 of the free 25 foot tapes in each truck. I do buy some other stuff so I guess they come out on me lol.
 
You cannot beat free. I recently bought 30 of them direct from China. 95 cents each. The catch was - no batteries included. Buying 9 volt batteries locally added to the price

I wish we had a walk-in HF store around, but we do not.

By the way - I recently checked my battery bank voltage with four of those HF multimeters. All new and each one read a different voltage. Highest read 14.1 volts and lowest read 13.4 volts. Not very accurate. Well, maybe one of them is - but I wonder which?
 
1 Fluke auto meter. Farmers love them because there is 3 settings, Voltage, amperage,ohms. Set the dial to 1 of the 3 settings. AC/DC is automatic and read from 0-600v. They do cost about 120.00 dollars but are very user friendly and accurate
 
It is pretty rare for me not to have a free coupon with me when I go the HF. So far I have been through 3 meters,one 115v test and the magic smoke falls out. I'll just keep using my old Dayton. Their free screw drivers are pretty good too.
 
Up here, our version of HF is Princess Auto. Maybe HF is up in Canada too, not sure? I always find that the real inexpensive stuff they sell (like free multimeters maybe) fall into the same category as their el-cheapo tire pressure gauges. They all "work" but the readings you get from them are never the same. But Free is Free so I don't blame you for collecting them. Make good Christmas presents.
 

Anyone here know what a wiggie is? I got ahold of one that still works. Haven’t seen one in many years.
Elmo
 
I think I have more than that. They would quit working so I would just get another. One day I found the time to change the batteries and now I have more than I need. I figured they operated off one of those wafer batteries but they use a 9v.
 
Can never have to many multi meters at that price one time cal ranch had some on clearance at 75 cents each looked just like these only yellow I couldn?t help myself I bought all 9 they had not bad considering two weeks before that they wanted 13$ each . Just make sure If those have batteries that you take em apart and take the batteries out because they will leak and ruin the meter
 
I wish I had splurged on a Fluke.

Back in the early '90s I bought a rather inexpensive little multi-meter at a local store in Houston. Took it to the wizards at Compaq's Test Engineering Dept and they were pretty amazed at how accurate that little thing was. It led a very useful life of about 25 years before crapping out. Bought an electrical 'set' that stored in a pouch....found out just how crappy the Chinese could make things! I could probably guess more accurately than this thing worked.

Finally had to go online and do a little research for a better one, but money was REAL tight at the time. Ended up getting another Chinese unit, but this one is much better quality than the "pouch pixie" unit! Sadly, it still has its drawbacks. Will probably fork up the money for a decent Fluke in the future, but just not at that point yet.

One thing I'll say is, the top-level engineers that checked out my unit at Compaq said one of the most important things to do with ANY multi-meter is to throw away the leads and buy/build some top-of-the-line leads. I didn't buy separate leads for this multi-meter, so will probably try that before buying a Fluke.

By the way, that "pouch pixie" meter that I hated so much looks amazingly like the same model that Tee got at HF. I hope you have better luck with yours!!
 
I have a stack of those in the top of my toolbox. Probably at least 6. Have a couple open ones. I have given a few away to the neighbors too. I have a Fluke that is my go to meter. I'll use a cheapie if I don't have it handy though.
 
Many many years ago my Radio Shack meter took a dump after many years. So the company told me to go down the block and buy a new meter at tge electrical supply outlet. I went whole hog and got a Fluke 179!! Twenty years ago that baby was $300.oo plus. Still have her and is a wonderful tool. Still has the protective film on the screen. Bought it becaus3 it measures temperature and frequency. Have us3d the frequency readout many times and goes out to two places on wall current.
 
When I briefly entered the electrician's union around 1970, everybody had a Wigginton solenoid voltmeter, i.e. a "Wiggy".
 
Not much on electrical, I only have one of those and don't know how to use it. But I have probably a dozen tape measures and flash lights. You can't beat free.
 

My first job out of high school was as an electrician at a tire plant. That was the only portable voltage checker then that I am familiar with.
Elmo
 
I've had a Fluke 77 since 1985 that still works great. Those Horror Freight "freebies" work okay, especially if you think there's a chance it might get stolen, buy don't trust your life on one of those, especially if the battery gets low.
 
I have a bunch also, but I cannot get anyone of them to work correctly on the 200 ohm scale, cannot zero out any of them, get anywhere 1.3 and 1.5 ohms.. Got a used Fluke 73III which measures the true RMS value like for my generator. Has no capability like a Triplett to zero out the ohms, but the Fluke reads between 0.0 and 0.1 with leads, good enough for my work.

To me the Centech unit is good for checking house and barn voltages
 
Yes, I know what a wiggie is.

Got one somewhere, I think.

Got to where I just use the Fluke digital.

I saw a wiggie explode once! A maintenance electrician was checking 480, first circuit he tested it blew up,
shattered the case. Didn't hurt him, maybe minor burns, but sure got his attention!
 
I have a couple my self. I also have a few of their tape measures. I have yet to have a tape brake. Not bad tape for free. When my company moved, and down sized we could buy our tool boxes for practically nothing, with all the tools. I gave my Fluke away, didn't think I needed it anymore. Bad move. Stan
 
I have at least ten, 3 tapes, 3 screw driver sets, 2 tarps and who knows how many flash lites! Spent around $250 on tools this month.
 
Got a couple of them in the shop & barn. Lots handier than a walk to the house for my good old Triplett that I've had for 40 years and good enough for rough measurements. I'll get the Triplett if I have something critical.
 
I've got (2) Fluke 77's. I've got a few of the cheapie ones stashed around in toolboxes and drawers but I ALWAYS know where my Fluke's are so I don't bother even looking for the cheap ones.
 
Hi:
I worked for many years at a Procter & Gamble manufacturing plant. All the electrical/instrument troubleshooters kept a wiggy on our tool belt. Good for quick checks on control circuits and some motors. A decent multi-meter is nice, but not rugged enough for tool belt use.

Dennis M. in W. Tenn.
 
(quoted from post at 10:46:33 11/26/17) Many many years ago my Radio Shack meter took a dump after many years. So the company told me to go down the block and buy a new meter at tge electrical supply outlet. I went whole hog and got a Fluke 179!! Twenty years ago that baby was $300.oo plus. Still have her and is a wonderful tool. Still has the protective film on the screen. Bought it becaus3 it measures temperature and frequency. Have us3d the frequency readout many times and goes out to two places on wall current.
Click to expand...

I still use my Radio Shack multi-meter....it has to be 40 years old! I also have one of those HF freebies here somewhere....
 
Need? Just one, my Fluke 87-V

Have? More than I need :)
Above-mentioned Fluke
Tektronix DMM254
Fluke 95 Scopemeter
Tektronix THM560
Radio Shack of some kind
and of course a couple of the HF freebies.

Yes, more than I need, but that could be said (and is said by the wife on occasion) about quite a few of my tools.
 
I'm a fan of HF but there are a few things I will not purchase there.
Multimeters are on that list.
Have had a Fluke for many years and prefer them to anything else.
My wiggie is in the toolbox but rarely makes an appearance anymore.
 
I have a Fluke 77, a Craftsman $10 meter circa 2005, and a old analog meter. The Craftsman is good enough for most things and if I smoke it I won't cry. The fluke is my normal go to for high accuracy jobs. I haven't used the analog meter in ages but it works and theres no point to getting rid of it.
 
One for house, cabin, barn, tractor shed, truck, garage, other truck, ..................
 
I have at least five of the cheap Centech meters. At least two have cracked cases from stepping on them. The lowest ohm setting on these is not that accurate and there is not null to zero it, but they are very useful for 98 percent of measurements. I have a more accurate meter that I reserve for very critical measurements such as setting reference voltages for power supplies and when matching components such as resistor pairs.
 
Got a few of those HF units could not figure out how to even turn on. Worthless. Only when was not a coupon for something that actually was worth something. And I do have a lot of HF power tools.
 
I bought a box of "stuff" at a farm sale and ended up with 4 or 5 meters to join the two I had already. If I recall they were all analog ones. Don't know how to use all the functions, put a battery in just the one that looked the simplest. I guess you can really not have too many!
 
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