pretty much anything these days is good enough! As for batteries Ive changed my 9v in both my meters about once every 5 years...

unless you need something specific, yeah, just about anything these days is fine, they all use the same internal chips and stuff until you get to higher end stuff.

BloodyCactus wrote on 2024-04-06, 21:37:

pretty much anything these days is good enough! As for batteries Ive changed my 9v in both my meters about once every 5 years...

unless you need something specific, yeah, just about anything these days is fine, they all use the same internal chips and stuff until you get to higher end stuff.

Even those as cheep as $15

Dunno man. I had one of the cheapest, and it always had a ~1 second delay in continuity mode. That is, you need to hold the probes for over 1 second to make it beep. Was very happy when I got rid of it and went for something a little bit better for about 30$ USD:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B071JL6LLL?psc= … ob_b_asin_title

It didn't come with thin needle probes, but I had those from before, bought separately as part of a probe kit.

wbahnassi wrote on 2024-04-07, 09:50:

Dunno man. I had one of the cheapest, and it always had a ~1 second delay in continuity mode. That is, you need to hold the probes for over 1 second to make it beep. Was very happy when I got rid of it and went for something a little bit better for about 30$ USD:

I agree, this is a very important feature, especially if you want to trace signals by just brushing over candidate pins and listening for a beep. This can be a very effective method to find out how RAM is connected to a memory controller chip, for example. Alas, there is no direct relation between meter price and "instant beeping", even some expensive multimeters beep based on the display contents, which only updates 3 to 5 times a second.

If that feature is relevant to you, I recommend watching youtube meter recommendation videos, e.g. by Dave Jones on the EEVblog channel, as this feature is often mentioned in them.

BloodyCactus wrote on 2024-04-06, 21:37:

pretty much anything these days is good enough!

I'd say a lot depends on how you define "good enough".

Yes, you can still do a lot even with the cheapest, nastiest of multimeters... though that will certainly vary with how far one's knowledge on electronics troubleshooting stretches. I personally don't recommend "cheap-n-cheasy" multimeters to beginners, despite starting my electronics repair journey with one (a regular "830" -based one, manual-ranging of course.) Primary reason for this is simply because these often have or quickly develop "small" issues (over time) - issues such as the dial not always making proper contact or the probes falling apart and/or loosing a connection internally. This can result in the multimeter displaying readings that are inconsistent, random, or just not giving any readings at all. Any of these mentioned issues can pose a danger to beginners, with the worst case probably being when checking for the presence of high-voltage (particularly large caps that might still be charged.) A crappy multimeter with such an issue might indicate the cap is discharged when in reality it isn't. Then you go to handle the device in question only to find out what you measured wasn't true (ask me how I know this. 😁 ) It also doesn't help if the meter is displaying inconsistent or "off" results - that can make one go hunt for "ghost" problems on a device.

With all of that said, there's been quite an improvement over the years in terms of what you can get for your money. Of course, it helps to know what to look for. You can get a very respectable "unbranded" multimeter that has both a rich feature set and is decently built... for no more than $15-20. Or, you can also still get a garbage, bottom-of-the-barrel & outdated 830 -based design for the same price (the red Harbor Freight meters or certain Amazon and eBay e-stores still carry these.) They are functional, but they are just not as nice or as easy to use (I own three of the red Harbor Freight MMs - they were freebies after all.)

For starters, don't go with anything less than an auto-ranging multimeter. Manual-ranging ones, I'll still take if I find them for free or for very cheap in person (i.e. under $3 - they are not worth paying shipping for.)

Here are a few respectable "unbranded" ones off of eBay (not to self: look up Vici VC835 for quicker results):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/125982203689
https://www.ebay.com/itm/315277416196
https://www.ebay.com/itm/314614098089

And here is the type of meters to AVOID (note: I am not making an anti-advertisement against the seller of this particular listing, but rather just the type of product sold.):
https://www.ebay.com/itm/355591204473

Also, I notice lately that there's been quite a few touchscreen / button-less ("smart") multimeters popping up. Not sure how good these are or if they are better than the tried-and-true dial-based ones. But going to link to an example of a few I found, just to show what's currently available.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202518315961
https://www.ebay.com/itm/115871606818

Anyways, once you find a meter that you like, see if there are any (legit) reviews of it online (like EEVlog or similar) to see if there may be anything that you might not like about the meter. In regards to what was said above about not all meters beeping quickly in continuity mode, I also find this to be semi-annoying, though probably not as much as others (I tend to be patient for some things like this.) What I find interesting is that some of the really cheap meters (particularly like the one mentioned to avoid above) can sometimes have really quick continuity ("beep") response. But that alone doesn't make up for the lack of their cheapness, IMO. Also, some of the really really cheap ones (like the red HF ones I have) don't even have a buzzer built-in, so they don't beep at all on continuity/diode check mode. So indeed what you can get for your money can vary quite a bit.

This is the last multimeter I've bought
BSIDE S30 https://www.ebay.com/itm/314955167654
I've bought it in AE because it was discounted there, until now I'm fairly happy with it for its prize. The biggest problem is the battery, it has a big screen and the battery doesn't last long, and you can't use it wile it's charging, but there's an easy and cheap mod to solve that.
It is faster than others in the auto mode, and it gives a solid felling touching it, it doesn't fell like cheap plastic.
I based my decision in a lot of good reviews I've seen on YouTube, because I'm not that good at electronics. 😀

Thank you all for comments.
@momaka you are 100% correct. I did have such issues with my meter. Probe cable broke, brake in contact, etc. So you messure some voltage and it says zero volts, when you move the probe a bit, not a zero anymore. 😒

I will consider everyone's suggestions.

Thank you all, once again

momaka wrote on 2024-04-07, 10:31:

BloodyCactus wrote on 2024-04-06, 21:37:

pretty much anything these days is good enough!

I'd say a lot depends on how you define "good enough".

of course, as long as it meets the persons needs. I have bench meters and handhelds and they all cost a pretty penny. but OP didnt say if they were measuring wall voltage and 100amps or just AA cell batteries, so not a lot to go on... "nothing fancy and not expensive" well... all the cheap meters are mostly the same chip inside so....

boby wrote on 2024-04-07, 11:30:

So you messure some voltage and it says zero volts, when you move the probe a bit, not a zero anymore. 😒

Yes, that can be a faulty probe... but beware this phenomenon could also be caused by leftover soldering flux on the PCB from when it was manufactured. Basically on some circuit boards, you have to "dig in" with the probes a little to make sure they make proper contact.

As for faulty probes on the really cheap meters, those usually allow the probe wires to rotate loosely inside the probe handle, so that's how they go bad over time. I learned this with my 1st cheapo meter. So when I got my freebie HF meters, I just put hot glue (silicone works too) on the probe cables right where they enter the probe handle. That gets rid of the issue pretty quickly. I have used my (fixed) meters for many years in LV circuits now and the probes are still doing good.

The rotary dial on the meters are still terrible, though. Have to clean them from time to time for them to make proper contact. One of my meters will often show up to 30-40 Ohms of resistance on the 200 Ohm scale with the probes shorted together when it has sat unused for a long time. Very annoying! When that happens, I have to either open the meter and clean the contacts or rotate the dial around a few times to clear the dirt/oxidation. (I typically do the latter, since I don't have the nerves to take the meter apart every time.) Works OK for a while... until it doesn't again. 😜

Oh, and don't try to push more than a few Amps of current through the probes of very cheap meters. The really cheesy ones will burn above 5-7 Amps of current. The cables on my red HF meters get nice and toasty with just 3-4 Amps and show plenty of voltage drop. 🤣 Interestingly enough, the HF meters themselves are perfectly capable of measuring up to their stated 10 Amps (now 5 Amps) rating if provided with good cables/probes.

BloodyCactus wrote on 2024-04-07, 13:21:

of course, as long as it meets the persons needs. I have bench meters and handhelds and they all cost a pretty penny. but OP didnt say if they were measuring wall voltage and 100amps or just AA cell batteries, so not a lot to go on... "nothing fancy and not expensive" well... all the cheap meters are mostly the same chip inside so....

Right, but the only reason I had to write my comments above is to make people aware that there are still a few exceptions when it comes to "good enough".

If you want something very cheap but good, I can suggest UNI-T: UT33+

It doesn't need to be the cheapest one there is.
Which brings me to one more feature I would like it to have, and that is that it has automatic value change. For example, if I set it to measure the resistance, it will automatically switch to micro Ohm, Ohm, or kilo Ohm depending on what the resistance is.
Need to investigate these that @momaka suggested.

boby wrote on 2024-04-08, 20:09:

Which brings me to one more feature I would like it to have, and that is that it has automatic value change.

The usual name of that feature is "autorange" or "automatic range selection".

mkarcher wrote on 2024-04-08, 20:17:

boby wrote on 2024-04-08, 20:09:

Which brings me to one more feature I would like it to have, and that is that it has automatic value change.

The usual name of that feature is "autorange" or "automatic range selection".

Yes, thank you! Couldn't remember the word, so I tried to explain it 😁

boby wrote on 2024-04-08, 21:03:

mkarcher wrote on 2024-04-08, 20:17:

boby wrote on 2024-04-08, 20:09:

Which brings me to one more feature I would like it to have, and that is that it has automatic value change.

The usual name of that feature is "autorange" or "automatic range selection".

Yes, thank you! Couldn't remember the word, so I tried to explain it 😁

Then probably UT33A+ will be more suitable for you 😀 https://meters.uni-trend.com/product/ut33plus … #Specifications
I'm not affiliated with UNI-Trend in any way, I just have a UT33C+ and so far I'm satisfied (although unfortunately there is no auto-range option).
BTW. I also have their UT203+ clamp meter to measure current (DC and AC) without plugging into the circuit).

I have also heard that the Aneng AN870 is a very good (True RMS) multimeter at an affordable price, but I have not had a chance to test it yet.

Fluke is my recommendation.

I got an AstroAI TRMS 6000 based on this exchange

TY @Horun

Re: PSU Voltage Concerns

That's the one I have too. Works great, enjoy!

midicollector wrote on 2024-04-09, 00:21:

Fluke is my recommendation.

Definitely these if you want to poke around in CRTs and PSUs, you wanna know the voltage isolation and protection is real instead of just something the marketing guy made up because it sounded good, or was cut and pasted from a competitor.

BitWrangler wrote on 2024-04-09, 04:09:

midicollector wrote on 2024-04-09, 00:21:

Fluke is my recommendation.

Definitely these if you want to poke around in CRTs and PSUs, you wanna know the voltage isolation and protection is real instead of just something the marketing guy made up because it sounded good, or was cut and pasted from a competitor.

Yup, sound advice to go with a reputable brand that builds products with safety features and regulatory compliance, if one wants to work with high voltage and/or current stuff.

Getting the meter from a distributor with a vetted supply chain to avoid counterfeits is a good idea as well, IMHO.