On Monday, 9 March 2015 18:16:42 UTC, The Other Mike wrote:
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 07:18:12 -0700 (PDT), whisky-dave
wrote:
On Monday, 9 March 2015 12:48:17 UTC, The Other Mike wrote:
On Sat, 07 Mar 2015 16:01:18 +0000, ss wrote:
I think its about time I stopped using one of those screwdrivers that
light up to show a live wire and get myself a multimeter. I do very
little when it comes to electrical work unless pretty basic stuff will
probably be used to check for live wires and not much else. So, I just
want a cheap one that will do basics.
Anything in particular I should look out for or have on the multi meter?
Fluke 101 35.99 delivered on Ebay (UK stock)
But that's still a lot more than a simple meter.
That's meter where the bill of material cost is maybe ten quid where at least a
quid has been spent on protection, other safety measures and genuine
certification. A meter that is delivered from china for five quid leaves the
factory for about 50p and no protection and no certification.
It all depends on how cheap you are. There are no second chances.
yep but it does depend on what you'll be using it for too.
A manufacturer who actually designs the internals to genuinely meet safety
standards rather than just silk screening some random ****e on the case.
http://www.fluke.com/fluke/iden/digi....htm?PID=77003
If anyone is happy with testing anything on the mains either with a no name
chinglish brand or an analogue meter then they really want their heads
examining.
depeneds what you mean by no name, and remmeber a name can me little if yuo're ordering from ebay and teh stuff comes from china.
Many manufacturers, both long established western names with a reputation to
maintain and new far eastern ones manufacture in China to a very high quality
level, but there is an entry level, you can buy genuine quality from China and
price is not always everything but WTF would you choose ****e when under 36 quid
buys a meter with genuine quality from a manufacturer where reputation,
established over the past 60 years is everything.
Only if it did what I wanted.
I wouldn't spend a quid on a meter that didn't do what I wanted.
The last time I brought a meter I brought SIXTY of these.
http://www.rapidonline.com/Test-Meas...timeter-519310
came out at around £20 each I think.
I would have liked to buy flukes but the budget wasnt; high enough for that..
Our students aren't allowed to work on open mains or measure it and they mostly stick to below 60V. But I've used one to measure mains voltages without a problem. And I believe that in the hands of soneone that knows what they are doing they would be safe. I wouldn't use one to repair or mneasure the national grid.
It's like buying a jigsaw, you either buy ****e or you buy a Bosch blue/Festool,
the ****e will always be ****e. Whilst a cheap jigsaw is unlikely to kill you, a
cheap multimeter can.
if teh OP has managed to used a simple neon screwdriver to test mains I think they'd be OK with a cheapish meter.
I've a couple of 4.5 inch angle grinders in the shed, a
thirty quid Bosch has significantly less vibration than a fifteen quid Lidl one,
the Bosch one I could use on and off all day, the Lidl one I might drop on my
leg or foot after 10 minutes through fatigue.
So user error.
We're not talking a Fluke 87 V at 400 quid plus VAT from RS, just a cheap meter
that will be safe. IMHO the sooner the no name lets make up the certification
brands are banned the better.
Buying no name for anything can be risky.
There is some ****e out there that shouldn't be let loose on
anything but a single PP3
you leave my students out of this. ;-)
I blame the games culture, press a restart button and all wil be reset to how it
was 5 minutes ago.
http://ecmweb.com/arc-flash/case-deadly-arc-flash
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