I changed my mind about spending $200 on a multimeter

For years I used the same $30 multimeter I got at a hardware store. I figured it was good enough for checking continuity and basic voltage. Then I spent a day helping a guy who had the Fluke 117, and the difference was honestly shocking. He found a failing compressor start capacitor in about 30 seconds that would have taken me ten minutes of guessing. The auto-ranging and the way it filters out ghost voltages just made everything clear. After that, I ordered one the same afternoon. Has anyone else had a tool upgrade that actually changed how you troubleshoot?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_lewis9212h agoTop Commenter

Yeah that "shocking" difference is a good way to put it. I had a similar moment with a clamp meter that could read DC amps. I spent years just guessing if a DC motor was pulling too much current by feeling how hot the wires got. Then I borrowed a buddy's meter and found out in two seconds that the motor was drawing double what it should. Money well spent when you stop burning stuff up with guesswork.

grace9264h ago

My dad had a Fluke clamp meter from the 80s that only did AC, so I just assumed that's all they could do. It was like finding out your car can actually fly when I saw a buddy check DC amps on his EV project last month. Now I'm looking at getting a Uni-T one that does both (after reading some reviews, obviously). Thanks @joseph_lewis92 for the push - my tired old sense of touch is gonna get a break.