Important Multimeter functions?

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manuka

Senior Member
Inglewoodpete: Good point! However almost all decent DMMs have auto-power-off, although I certainly agree it's important. FWIW those dirt cheap red DSE ones don't have it, BUT their current drain is so low that the little 12V battery within lasts a good year under typical use.

I am a great fan of RS-232 DMM connectivity, if only for BIG DIGITS, & use it often on my swag of Jaycar DM1538s & cheap laptops. Autopower off is suspended under such serial linking by the way. Stan
 
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Andrew Cowan

Senior Member
Nice big screen, looks easy to use.

You may find it annoying that if you want to measure resistances under 30mohms there is no way to turn the buzzer off, but this wouldn't influence my choice.

Looks good - the accuracy is not great, but then again, I never care if my battery is within 0.04V of what it should be.

I say buy it. Good price, too.

Andrew
 
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manuka

Senior Member
Mmm -reading the Maplin DMM fine print shows it's actually using RS-232 with 2400 bps output. The USB feature must hence mean an adapter is included ! Since these alone are worth a bit- & could be used perhaps with USB laptops for PICAXE work - the price seems particularly attractive.

In fact this meter looks a revamp of the just discontinued "Digitech" Jaycar QM1538 unit I swear by, so I half expect them to soon pop up in Aus/NZ as well.
 
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priscilla

New Member
I find that Capacitance is a great feature to have on a
Multimeter, you don’t need to measure high values, it’s the low
Values that are more important like that junk box full of
Ceramic disc capacitors and MKT Polyester as well as Tag
Tantalum types where the value printed on the capacitor might
Be hard to read.
A typical ceramic disc capacitor can be from 5% to 20% of the
Value printed on it so you’re just trying to get an indication
of the value.
So I would make this feature a must have on my list.
 
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LizzieB

Senior Member
manuka said:
Mmm -reading the Maplin DMM fine print shows it's actually using RS-232 with 2400 bps output. The USB feature must hence mean an adapter is included ! Since these alone are worth a bit- & could be used perhaps with USB laptops for PICAXE work - the price seems particularly attractive.
Click to expand...
From the webpage:

"Q) Are there any updated drivers that work with the MSCOMM ActiveX control? - Craig

A) Yes, these can be found at the following address: https://www.silabs.com/Support Documents/Software/CP210x_VCP_Win2K_XP_S2K3.zip "


The CP210x are USB/Serial adaptor chips. Sometimes (Davis weather stations for instance) those chips are added to an existing serial design to make it into "USB" version but the application software interface is still serial to the silabs driver which does the translation to the USB port. So, it doesn't have to be a USB serial cable, it could be a serial DMM with a serial/USB chip on board.
 
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manuka

Senior Member
LizzieB: Thanks for that headup- I know these Silabs ICs OK but hadn't considered they'd turn up in such a budget DMM. The Maplins DMM hence looks even better if they in fact do.
 
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rmeldo

Senior Member
It is Maplin's own make

Hi all,

I just found out that the meter

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=222041

is Maplin's own make.

No chance of looking at the manual other than popping into the shop (I will and probably photograph it).

And even then no assurance of being allowed to (I am sure they will).

How is Maplin's technical support?

thanks

Riccardo
 
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BeanieBots

Moderator
rmeldo said:
I just found out that the meter is Maplin's own make.

How is Maplin's technical support?
Riccardo
Click to expand...
I'm quite sure Maplin don't MAKE anything.
They just re-brand products.
As for technical help, it's luck of the draw. Similar to Tesco's technical help.
 
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eclectic

Moderator
Riccardo.
For that very low price, in my opinion,
just buy it.

I own a older, less capable version, with serial interface.
It's not as good as my Fluke meter, but it cost a lot less
and it's perfectly adequate.

If your meter's faulty, Maplin will replace it.

If you want very high quality in all respects, buy a Fluke.
But it'll cost a lot more than £30.

e
 
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rmeldo

Senior Member
I am coming to that conclusion too.

To get similar performance from a branded name the price must be doubled (at least).

In terms of reliability I am not planning to throw it on the street and have it run over by a car, as I understand every FLUKE owner normally does when first buying one, so I should be OK.

So, I will drive to Maplin, read the manual and part with the cash

Riccardo
 
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rmeldo

Senior Member
The specs at the bottom of the webpage say "autoranging/manual", I will have to check this when I go there.

Pekari, do you know as a fact that is not manual ranging?
 
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westaust55

Moderator
BeanieBots said:
Fuses: These cost £5 for a reason. They are ULTRA fast. They save the meter when applied to volts on current setting. Fit a 20A car fuse (as suggested in one post) and the current sense resistor will evaporate long before the fuse even notices it is over-current. It is possible to 'modify' the fuse holder to take smaller (physically) fuses which are a bit cheaper but make sure you use the correct type.
Click to expand...
The fuses should be ceramic High Rupture Capacity (HRC) so that when they do act (on an overload) the energy is contained within the fuse body and does not blow the meter apart and your hand off. Thats a prime reason why they are expensive compared to glass AG3 type fuses.
 
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moxhamj

New Member
Re Manuka "FWIW those dirt cheap red DSE ones don't have it, BUT their current drain is so low that the little 12V battery within lasts a good year under typical use."

You Jinxed me! Haven't been to the shed for a few days and went out there today and I had left the multimeter on. He no work no more.

Is this how dementia starts?

Yep - auto turn off is now high on the list for my next multimeter!
 
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rmeldo

Senior Member
Very Good

Thanks for the link Manuka.

I just emailed the company requesting the manual.

Hopefully by tomorrow.....
 
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rmeldo

Senior Member
People might be interested in this comparison table.

the models, prices and specs are from Maplin.

I was going to put in the Amprobe meters from digikey but it became quickly clear that the EM6000 was a good contender so I stopped.

The file is in PDF which is in fact useless. If you want theXLS version I will either need the permission from the forum owner to upload the file (best option) or I can do direct emailing if necessary.

Riccardo
 

Attachments

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Wendelspanswick

New Member
I have had the Meter you have been looking at at Maplins for about six months and have been very pleased with it, if you have any questions about it just ask.
John
 
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Wendelspanswick

New Member
Just on the autoranging point, it autoranges on scale but you have to select AC or DC with a button push. The Max/Min is a good feature.
 
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rmeldo

Senior Member
Good to know you like it.

Is the manual in electronic form, uploadable or email-ablein some way?

Does the temperature measurement function work OK?

Thanks

Riccardo
 
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Wendelspanswick

New Member
rmeldo said:
Good to know you like it.

Is the manual in electronic form, uploadable or email-ablein some way?

Does the temperature measurement function work OK?

Thanks

Riccardo
Click to expand...
Its a paper manual, not very big but informative. The temperature probe that comes with the meter has an upper working limit of about 400 C from memory and it does work, in the last six months I have replaced the thermostat on the fridge and the heating element/doorseal on the oven and both times I used the meter to test the results. Higher temperature probes are available.
A good cheap accessory are the crocodile clips that slide onto the meter probes, only about a £1 from memory.
The PC software is useful for logging results as you go.
 
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