Good Volt/ohm reader/ multimeter?

[Herzeleid14]

I had purchased the smok OmniTester, first one was DOA, second one worked for a week, now it way off on ohms and wont read any APV, and made my Mech mod battery get hot, so its out.
I would just like suggestions for a good quality, small, and accurate volt/ohm reader, or if its the best route a multimeter.

 

[State O' Flux]

I had purchased the smok OmniTester, first one was DOA, second one worked for a week, now it way off on ohms and wont read any APV, and made my Mech mod battery get hot, so its out.
I would just like suggestions for a good quality, small, and accurate volt/ohm reader, or if its the best route - a multimeter.

Anyone who uses unregulated mechs and RBAs should have a decent DMM. If you want a Ohm/build box as well, great... but a DMM should be first on the list. If you can't read voltage and continuity as well as point-to-point resistance... you are electrically blind.

It's almost impossible to recommend a meter... there are simply too many, with too broad a price range. I have Flukes... the same brand I've used for nearly 30 years... but I certainly can't expect everyone to rush out and buy a Fluke.
Something from a solid, well known company, preferably with US based warranty/tech support might be the most specific suggestion I can make.

Believe it or not - Radio Shack is a good place to go and "road test" meters... or electronics supply, or hobby shop that specializes in RC.

 

[anumber1]

Anyone who uses unregulated mechs and RBAs should have a decent DMM. If you want a Ohm/build box as well, great... but a DMM should be first on the list. If you can't read voltage and continuity as well as point-to-point resistance... you are electrically blind.

It's almost impossible to recommend a meter... there are simply too many, with too broad a price range. I have Flukes... the same brand I've used for nearly 30 years... but I certainly can't expect everyone to rush out and buy a Fluke.
Something from a solid, well known company, preferably with US based warranty/tech support might be the most specific suggestion I can make.

Believe it or not - Radio Shack is a good place to go and "road test" meters... or electronics supply, or hobby shop that specializes in RC.

Yep, go figure, rat shack has something of value still.

The super cheap harbor freight meters may or may not be ok. I have a fluke 289 and several lesser meters (craftsman hf and velleman).

The hf meter is ok for voltage but not so good with low resistance (0.8 variance from the fluke).

 

[ForeverDiving]

If you decide to use a conventional DMM, just make sure the leads are zeroable. I have a Chinese made one of a Mexican tool brand that is quite precise and zeroable by touching the probes together; beats having a substraction label on back. Also, I got fairly lucky with a $13 510 Ω/V meter from slowT that "only" errs by 0.15Ω above true. I have a very prominent label with the error next to the display.

 

[bluesbishop]

Only two meters I've ever trusted are Fluke and UEI...and with something I'm putting close to my face..I'm not gonna trust a $12 harbor freight meter

 

[69CamaroSS]

By the time you spend the money on several lesser DMMs, you'll have wasted enough $ to have just gotten yourself a Fluke in the first place. Buy quality the first time and save the hassle and $

 

[Paul.K]

Another vote for Fluke. Mine is about 20 years old and still going strong.

 

[yo han]

Using a Fluke 177 myself but for most people Fluke's prices may be way too high and they rather spend their cash on their umpteenth mod.
I usually recommend the Uni-T UT61E to those people.
It's a very nice and accurate meter with great resolution (22,000 count!) and very suitable to reliably measure Li-ion battery voltage as well. It can be found for less than $50!
Check Martin Lorton's extensive review (4 parts) on YouTube.

 

[Ed_C]

I've been looking at that Uni-T myself and it's been sitting in my Amazon cart for a while now. It's almost sounds too good to be true. I thought about watching the review, but it's close to 2 hours long!

I guess the "not too good to be true" part is that it has no US warranty. I was thinking about something like a Amprobe AM-220, but it's almost as much money and has no RMS and only a 4000 count.

 

[Baditude]

I would think if you are building sub-ohm coils you'd want the most accurate & precise meter you could buy, within a reasonable price range. I purchased an inexpensive $25 Radio Shack model when I was collecting tools for my first array into rebuildables. Knowing that I likely wouldn't be delving into sub-ohm range, I wasn't concerned about small variances of a couple tenths of an ohm accuracy.

Reading the product reviews for this particular model after the purchase (something I should have done BEFORE I went shopping), I find out it was only getting a 3 out of 5 stars from owners. No sweat in the long run. I found that my Provari read my ohms just fine and suits my needs well, and even shoots an error code when it detects a short. The Radio Shack meter went back into the box and I guess it will stay there.

 

[yo han]

Why the $%#^£¥+ do people post questions and not get back to check their own topics?
Topic starter was here for the last 3 days but didn't bother to reply, nor thank for all the responses.
I've had it here. I'm back to lurking and give up on trying to contribute.
So long guys.

 

[Ed_C]

Probably for the same reason people ask questions that have been asked over and over, ad infinitum. Sometimes on a tread that's sitting right next to their new post. I appreciated your response. That Uni-T looks like a great bang for your buck. I just wish it was a bit smaller. I was thinking I might get something like the Uni-T UT-33A, even though the specs aren't anywhere near as good.

 

[Herzeleid14]

Why the $%#^£¥+ do people post questions and not get back to check their own topics?
Topic starter was here for the last 3 days but didn't bother to reply, nor thank for all the responses.
I've had it here. I'm back to lurking and give up on trying to contribute.
So long guys.

Life is busy sometimes for some people. Sometimes there may not be time to thoroughly read and processes things online. I do appreciate the input of yourself and all others who have shared here.