recommendations on DMM and RMS meter brands

[bostonkid92 10+ year member]

I'm looking to buy a nice DMM and RMS meter, unless there are some that do both. They will be to set my amp gains and to check how much power my amps are actually putting out. What do I look for when buying these? I've heard some need to be calibrated every now and then? I had no idea. If this is true, how often does it need to be done and what else needs to be done? Also, what brands have you had good experiences with (reliability, accuracy, etc?

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[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Fluke

 

[Joe89 10+ year member]

Fluke

x2

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

DMM, everyone's gonna say Fluke but not everyone can afford a $300 DMM. I've used Craftsman ($60) and Ryobi ($60) as well as Fluke, never had any issues with either. RMS meter I've only used Craftsman never tried Fluke.

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

My craftsman dmm works great, got it for 60% off on black friday, paid $10 for it and it retailed at $25

 

[smoka 10+ year member]

for car audio you can get away with cheap meters, just make sure the meter doesn't get a low batt or readings will be off. And don't plan on using the same cheap meter on your house wiring since the cheap ones don't have arc flash protection built in.

To measure the power you will need a clamp meter for current. Or you can get a shunt which you can install.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

I owned a Milwaukee AC clamp meter. It was decent for measuring AC current but it had a delay to it and wasn't nearly as responsive as a fluke or other high end meter. You can probably get a cheaper DMM but if you plan on getting an AC clamp meter do yourself a favor and get one of the nicer ones

 

[wone 10+ year member]

go check out my for sale thread i have a few ill make u a deal

 

[Flex68 10+ year member]

Fluke FTMFW......but u are able to get by with a lesser meter

 

[zener]

I use a fluke, but also have an old analog one for backup.

 

[bostonkid92 10+ year member]

thank you everyone for your responses. i was looking at fluke anyways but just wanted to see what everyone here had to say. thanks again!

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

Fluke, HP, Keithley. Cheap DMM's are OK for 50-60 Hz and DC/ohms.

 

[knightsdaze 10+ year member]

I live on the south shore.. (Pembroke) im about 30 miles south of Boston. If you want I have a brand new Steve Meade DD-1 and it was super user friendly and I was able to set my gains perfectly. Night and day difference. It ain't good for anything else, but it was the best $150 i ever spent. If you want to touch base I wont charge you a nickel, but I REALLY LIKE VODKA! Let me know via P.M. and we'll get ya set up in about 20 minutes. peace

 

[bostonkid92 10+ year member]

PM'd lol. one more question.. are there any reliable o-scopes that are reasonably priced or are they pretty much all $1000+?