Cheap Multimeter review for you newbies

[DigitalGriffin]

Everyone who models trains with more than 1 track/turnout should have a multi-meter at his/her disposal.

For $5.00 you can't go wrong.

 

[richg1998]

Not bad. Lots of competition today. Never checked shipping cost though.

I bought my Harbor Freight meters some years ago when they were going for about two dollars each and have served me well. I have four.

I noticed all your PB pictures disappeared quite fast.

Rich

[kasskaboose]

The Harbor Freight ones didn't work well for me.  One probe even sparked when I tested it in the store.  With something electrical, I spent about $15 and got a more suitable (read non fire hazard) product from Amazon. 

[DigitalGriffin]

richg1998

I noticed all your PB pictures disappeared quite fast.

Rich

 

It's a shame too.  Because all of us lost the use of photobucket.  I'm sure a lot of good ideas and photos were lost.

 

[rrinker]

kass, most of the $15 meters are the same as the $5 HF one, they just charge you more. They are no more suitable for testing AC mains than the HF one - how did you get one to spark anyway? You aren;t going to get the built in battery to make the probes spark on ohms or continuity (unless in a very dark room) and that's a whopping 3V or so which can;t hurt you and any meter would do that.

 Dave Jones managed to be almost impressed with a $25 meter he found on Ali Express, it actually had fuses in it, and not even glass ones, but ceramic ones. However it has absolutely no other input protection except for one lone MOV he found later up by the main IC. Yet another cheap meter not suitable for testing anything outside of low voltage train stuff - which the free to $5 HF one does perfectly well! I know when I was getting free HF ones with the coupons, there was a seller at all the local trains hows selling one for $15 that was the exact same meter - it just had another Chinese name on it instead of Cen-Tech. $15, and it literally was the saem meter, same case, same color, same functions, same instruction sheet. 

                           --Randy

 

[RR_Mel]

I agree with Randy.

 

Most of the cheapo meters are made by Cen Tech, the ones that don’t have CE on the label are most likely relabeled by CE for resale.

 

I did go for the next up meter from the HF freebee meter off eBay about a year ago, I bought a A830L meter for $5 something with free shipping mainly for the backlit display and hold function.     

 

I have had very good luck with all my CE made meters (over a dozen).  I keep a meter within arms reach when I’m working on my layout or at my workbench.

 

I always check the cheapo meters against my Fluke and rarely are they off more than 1% which is fine for model railroading purposes.  As many have said here model railroading isn’t rocket science so super accuracy isn’t really necessary.

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

            

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.