A good multimeter???

[ntjedi]

What do you guys think would be a good multimeter for someone just starting out in the arcade machine hobby? From what I understand it will be a highly valuable tool.  

[tmasman]

The one I got from Rat-Shak is great! It was only $24 (down from $30)...
Here's a pic...



It's definately been a life saver... Well worth the $.

[ntjedi]

Yeah tmasman it was your posting that prompted me to ask.  I like how your looks and looking at the manual it seems that it will do everything that I will need it to.  Just wanted to make sure that I didnt miss anything.  Its always the worst when I jump on something then come to find out that if I just would have waited...  well you know.

[JustMichael]

The one I use isn't quite for the beginner but has great features for the price.   If anyone is looking for one cheap try the Velleman DVM850BL.

[Inaba]

I use a Fluke 89... but that's probably a bit pricey (around $450 if I recall) if you're just looking for a cheap continuity tester, but I love it

You can't go wrong buying a Fluke... They have some fairly cheap models and they will last you forever.

[Chris]

Multimeters are also available at Home Depot now.  I got mine, a Craftsman, at Sears.

Sears has this one on sale right now for $19.99, but the sale ends today:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=03482139000&tab=description#tablink

 If you're a beginner, make sure you get an autoranging multimeter.

You don't need to spend a lot of money; for building my cabinet, 95% of the time the meter was just used as a continuity tester.  

[soslo]

I got a cheap Craftsman ($10) at OSH...it doesn't do any of the fancy stuff, but it can test LEDs and tell me if the wires are hooked up properly...I decided to buy that and if I didn't like, go nuts and spend $200 on a Fluke. So far the $10 wuus-boy tester has been treating me right...go figure.

[Tailgunner]

I have two meters, a Fluke 87 for when I need an accurate measurement, and a $20 Lowe's special for when I don't wanna risk smoke checking my Fluke.

[grafixmonkey]

Well, if you're shopping for them, these are the important features:

* measures both AC and DC volts
* maximum voltage it can measure (some can't be used to test 110v outlets!)
* measures both AC and DC amps
* maximum amps it can measure, and if you can tell from the package, whether the fuse can be easily accessed and changed.
* measures ohms (pretty much all of them do)
* has a continuity tester that beeps (they usually do)

It's also nice if it has automatic range finding, so you don't have to mess with guessing where your measurement will be and shifting to the correct setting.  It looks like Tmasman's has a button you press to toggle between ranges until you get a measurement you can use.  It looks like Chris's Craftsman works the same way.  But, it's just a nicety, you don't need it.  You will want to be able to measure amps if you plan on using LEDs by yourself or want to know how much power something you built uses, but other than that you can get away without it.  It seems to be the first basic feature to be removed to bring cost down.

Checking for those features will carry you through almost anything you would do in this hobby.  But, if you want to play with anything more advanced:

diode tester  (dunno what it's good for)
capacitor measurement, handy if you use capacitors.
transistor tester  (?)  (never used one, but one of mine has it - think it tells you the transistor's current gain)
other nifty stuff you might find


Unfortunately I have lost my multimeter that has everything mentioned on it, or I would post a pic.  I'm stuck using my Fluke 12 with only volts and ohms and diode-tester until I find it.  

[paigeoliver]

The only thing I ever use my multimeter for is to check voltages on power supplies, and to test old microswitches so that I don't keep defective ones laying around.

[grafixmonkey]

yeah you can get away without amps quite a bit, unless you use LEDs or want to measure power consumption.  You won't find one without ohms at all, I don't think.  Ohms is good for testing wires and switches too...  sometimes the continuity tester will beep, but then you measure the resistance and find out it's a really poor connection at 200 or 300 ohms.

So the basic, basic features, any multimeter will have, and just look for one that finds the range automatically and can measure at least 120 volts.  Then, if you want more, look for amps.  Truthfully, I've only measured a capacitor twice, and never used the diode tester or transistor tester, but if you want everything those features are available.

[RandyT]

Don't think you need to spend loads of cash for a multi-meter, especially if all you need it for is general household/control panel purposes.

$40 will get you a multimeter that would have cost $150 no more than 5 years ago.  I even bought a little shirt-pocket size one (as a backup) for $7 that does everything you need for this kind of application.  It doesn't beep, which isn't as convenient, but you can still check continuity by setting the dial to ohms and look for it to zero out.  It also does capicitors, diodes, transistors, AC, DC, OHMS, and current.  Pretty amazing for the price.

Here is the $40 one that I use and am very happy with.

RandyT

[grafixmonkey]

That's a very, very nice one, randyT!  It has manual range selection, but that's just a minor convenience feature missing.  It measures extremely high voltages in both AC and DC, and even up to 20 amps current which is more than either of mine can measure.  I like the flip-up screen and the button you can push to latch a reading on the display even after you stop measuring.  It will even tell you the frequency of a signal.  I didn't even know you could buy one that did that.

Even has a thermocouple attachment.  Might be nice to have something besides my finger to test for rapidly overheating parts in my circuits.  I just might get that thing...   I don't think I'm very motivated to find my missing one anymore...    

[ntjedi]

Everyone, thank you for all the info.  I really appreciate it!  

[anthony691]

I have a pretty high end Fluke that I use as a multimeter, and an 500$ oscilloscope that I use... that I use for.... OK say I don't know how to us eit at all : (

[Lilwolf]

You sing into oscillascopes... and if you paid more then a b/w old tube tv for it... you overpaid  

But for building my cabinet I used the cheapest of the cheap...  small pocket one I've had for years.  It did fine.

And you will mainly use ohm checking.  So even the cheapest will do.  Infact the continuity testers will (but that sucks for other reasons).

But get a price you are willing to pay (25-50 is a good range) and get the best you want.  

You WILL use it... But you will use the basic features for building your cabinet.

[paigeoliver]

Oddly enough I can't ever recall using my multimeter at all for anything having to do with Mame. Every Mame cabinet I ever assembled came together without me ever having to use it.

However I have had to use it on almost all my real games, as power supplies are almost never correctly adjusted to 5.1 volts.

[grafixmonkey]

I've been needing an oscilloscope for years!  They're not very useful unless you're doing stuff with digital logic or radio signals though.

I use... that I use for.... OK say I don't know how to us eit at all : (

If you want to use it, I can give you some tips.  At least, I could get you to the point of singing into it to see your voice.    I had an ancient scope full of vacuum tubes connected to my stereo way back in the day, as a music visualization thingy.  It was nifty.  And then one day it didn't work anymore, and the very next year I actually needed it to work on a circuit in college.     Oh well, it wouldn't have fit in my room anyway.  The thing was 40x25x12 inches, had a 6" diameter screen, and weiged about 80 pounds.