Craftsman multimeters?

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Are craftsman multimeters any good?

At the local sears outlet store, i got a last-year's model 82022 multimeter for $28.

It does:

ac voltage to 750v

dc to 1000v

ac/dc amps to 20A

resistance to 40megaohms

temperature to 572 degrees/ -4 degrees

frequency to 400khz

capacitance to 400 microfarads

audible continuity test

diode test

duty cycle test

transistor hfe test, whatever that is

and it has auto ranging/range hold, data hold, has a relative display mode (to the held data), fused inputs, the input jacks light up to show you where to plug the probe (incase you're retarded) comes with nomal probes, alligator clips, and of course the thermocoupler

only things it doesn't do compared to other items i've looked at are battery load testing, it doesn't light up, and doesn't measure RMS.

wondering if this is a good buy, or could i do better for the monees? i honestly don't know anythign about these things, but want one that will work for audio AND general car electrical diagnostics.

Any input?

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[azbass 5,000+ posts]

my coworker has a pretty nifty dmm from craftsman. this thing can do anything. even puts out a 10 + hz tone . (can come in handy)

but they DO have problems with the leads breaking. hes on his 3rd set.

fluke > crafsman.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

leads are inexpensive, i'm mostly comparing this to other things in this pricerange

i'm trying to keep in mind that i'm only realistically going to be using it every now and again, so i don't want to get too carried away.

i'm comparing this to the $25 wal-mart special one, a $60 one made by actron that's specifically made for engine diagnostics, and others in the same pricerange.

Flukes have only the same features, but cost a lot more for durability, where i'm less concerned with durability, and more concerend with it just doing everything i need it to do

i just happened to see this was marked down to $31, and they were having a 10% off sale, so i picked it up, but i can return it if theres something better for the $

it only cost me $4 more than the one at walmart, but the one at walmart does battery load testing, and has a hand strap

 

[Shyne151 10+ year member]

fluke > crafsman.

ditto... but for someone who is just going to use it as a hobby, i'd say craftsman is great.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

my velleman o-scope does rms testing, but how important is rms and battery load testing on a multimeter?

 

[thatkidbob 10+ year member]

the craftsman will do everything you need except for RMS...

for 31 i'd take it over the walmart DMM.

But i love the hell outta fluke... my dad's got a 15 year old Fluke meter thats in great condition, and still reliable as ever...

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Ah, it does have RMS, it just doesn't say it at the top.

It says so in the manual. There's a normal/data hold/rms button.

It says 'true rms' so the only thing this doesn't have is the battery load test.

so.... WTF is a battery load test?