Andrew Howard said:
I want to buy my first multimeter soon and I am thinking ofg getting one of
the autoranging ones. I was just wondering whether anyone has had any bad
experiences with this type of multimeter?(eg. bad readings, blowing up, etc)
I already know how to use a multimeter, so that ain't an issue....
Andrew Howard
Personally, I really disklike autoranging meters. If measuring between
2 high voltage points, the wait for it to cycle through the ranges is
annoying. Yes, I know they have a range hold feature but doesn't that
defeat the idea of 'auto'? I have 2 Fluke 8060s, an 8050, and an 8000.
The Flukes (at least the 8060s) are extremely tolerant of stupid
behavior like measuring 1200 volts when set to 200mv scale. Yeah, I've
done it. I use the dB feature a lot for setting up. analog audio
machines. WAY better than VU meters. The diode test mode reads the
voltage drop across the diode. On the 200 ohm scale you can track down
a shorted tantalum by running along the power bus until you get to the
lowest resistance. Heck, I had a 4 layer board with a ground plane and
an internal short on 1 of 2 holes 0.1 inch apart with a 10 mil trace
connecting them. The rate the 8060 settled identified the culprit.
You'll have to pry my Fluke from my cold dead fingers.
GG