Which is the most appropriate Fluke for pedal and amp building?

[imsilly]

Time to get a proper multimeter.

So which is the most appropriate Fluke for pedal and amp building?

[Johan]

if you got the money, sure, why not...but the precicion you pay for when buying a Fluke is more than you will ever need for anything stompbox related..if you're going to poke around inside tubeamps, you probably want a multimeter capable of handling ~750-1000volt DC, but other than that, I would spend the money saved on a less expencive instrument on a good solderstation instead.
J

[defaced]

Agreed.  This is what I use (I'm a tube amp guy, just kinda getting into the 9v world):
http://www.lowes.com/pd_292768-12704-61-310_0__?productId=3095863&Ntt=multimeter&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dmultimeter
Here in the near future I'll have to get a 1000 VDC meter for some designs I'm working on, but for 90% of what's out there, this is just fine.  

[fpaul]

One feature I find usefull, which isn't found on most meters, is capacitance.  If you mix up capacitors you can sort them out without having to read and remember what those tiny markings say.  I agree you don't need an expensive meter.  I'd rather have two cheap ones myself, which I do.

[CynicalMan]

Buy a cheaper meter. You don't need a Fluke for pedal building and you can get a decent, accurate auto-ranging meter for $30 to $50 easily. With the extra money you can buy an LRC meter, and even one of these:
http://www.elechouse.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=713

You'll get a lot more use out of those tools than you will from the Fluke alone.

I use one of these:
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/3/HouseHome/2/Electrical/ElectricalTesters/PRD~0520052P/Autoranging%252BDigital%252BMultimeter.jsp?locale=en
Got it on sale for $20. 

[amptramp]

A lot of cheap (and some not so cheap) meters have a maximum ohms range of 2 megohms.  You will often find larger resistors than that in LFO's for tremolos, phasers and flangers.  Get at least 20 megohms and 30 megohms would be better since standard resistor values go to 22 megohms.  Other than that, cheap is OK.  A Fluke is a decent meter, but you can get the same performance from a meter costing half as much.  I have three Micronta (Radio Schlock) meters and a Canadian Tire meter as well as a few others I have acquired over the years and they seem to work OK.

One meter I got was a capacitance bridge that also does resistance and inductance.  I have another resistance - capacitance bridge that does transformer winding ratios, so if you have an unidentified transformer, you can at least determine the ratio of windings.

[HOTTUBES]

One feature I find usefull, which isn't found on most meters, is capacitance.  If you mix up capacitors you can sort them out without having to read and remember what those tiny markings say.  I agree you don't need an expensive meter.  I'd rather have two cheap ones myself, which I do.

This what i use at home on my work bench ! The capacitance feature is why i bought it , saves your bacon time after time !!
This meter was only 110 $ , thats more than most basic units , but imo it was worth it   .




At my day job i use one of these .....




*Note*

I do agree with many other's that you don't need a fluke to build pedals , other basic meters will do the trick !!

[davent]

A few years ago i was able to snare a Fluke 8050A which is a classic benchtop DMM for $30 on ebay so it's my gold standard when it's out of the drawer.  I usually end up using one of my cheapies, Canadian Tire, Micronta analogue etc. Just received this week for $12 shipped from China, one of these (as suggested by Taylor in another thread) but haven't had much opportunity to put it to use. (Great big readout but short crappy test leads.)

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/2-8-lcd-handheld-digital-multimeter-voltage-current-resistance-capacitance-1-6f22-48194

Thread  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=88119.0

dave

[greaser_au]

I have a $20 random brand MY68 http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=MY68 that I bought five or so years back, & this is my main meter...  seems they are not cheap any more     Even though I have a "big-F" '77 in my toolbox & an '87 on my bench at work, I still prefer the MY68,  it's fast & very readable.  I should note that I'm not out on the road much any more.

david

[tubelectron]

Hi,

I agree with HOTTUBES : If you want a serious DMM, FLUKE is a reference - reliable, precise and indestructibe.
I have a FL87III and FL87V to say that (amongst others, even cheap ones).
These DMM are able to make correct measurements in conditions where others are lost.
I usually work on tube amps, so that's the main reason why I have them, the 2nd reason being that I really dislike DMM behaving like random number generators or Game Boy consoles...

But if you're planning to work on stompboxes, a much more basic (and way cheaper) unit would be convenient - at least if you're starting.
Well, if you have the money, choose a FLUKE FL7x or 8x : it's an investment that you won't regret on the long term...

A+!

[Processaurus]

Consider using the fluke money to get an oscilloscope, one of those will revolutionize your pedal building.