Hi, I am an electronics newbie and owing to my own
stupidity I need a new fuse for my multimeter.

Maplins say they are waiting for the right fuses
to arrive from the Far East.

My question is, do I really need the specific fuse
they recommend, or can I use another one instead?

The meter is a UT-70A (digital) by Unitrend.

The manual says get an "identical" fuse, then gives
a colon, and specifies 250V and 500mA. It also says
phi5X20(mm), which I assume just means 5mm in diameter
and 20mm long.

Maplins say the only fuse that will do is the one
with their product code N65CA.

I would be grateful if someone could tell me
whether another fuse would be OK - i.e. one that
I might actually get hold of tomorrow rather
than waiting for indefinitely!

I only use the meter for hobby electronics, so
if the fuse blows at 400mA instead of 500mA, that
would be OK with me. But I don't know what other
specifications it might be stupid to ignore.
Especially given that only a small number of fuses
appear to be recommended for use in multimeters.

Many thanks,

Chris