On 30 Oct 2005 08:52:59 -0800, put finger to
keyboard and composed:

My second of two Fluke 8060A meters turned out to be crap(just like the
first), and it is becoming obvious that I just need to buy a cheap
meter with basic functions.

I have the same negative experience with Fluke stuff. One day when I
get sick of looking at my dead PM97 Scopemeter (AUD$2750) I'll take
out my frustrations by stomping on it.

Can I get recommendations?(Reliablilty being the number one criteria).

Buy a cheap meter, any cheap meter, and calibrate it to +-/0.02% with
a precision reference circuit costing ~$5.

You can build your own single-chip precision voltage reference using
Maxim's MAX6350 (5.0V), MAX6341 (4.096V), or MAX6325 (2.5V):
http://pdfserv.maxim-ic.com/en/ds/MAX6325-MAX6350.pdf

"The MAX6325/MAX6341/MAX6350 are low-noise, precision voltage
references with extremely low, 0.5ppm/°C typical temperature
coefficients and excellent, ±0.02% initial accuracy. These devices
feature buried-zener technology for lowest noise performance.
Load-regulation specifications are guaranteed for source and sink
currents up to 15mA. Excellent line and load regulation and low output
impedance at high frequencies make them ideal for high-resolution
data-conversion systems up to 16 bits."

-- Franc Zabkar

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