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Fluke is a brand with a lot of recognition, especially among electricians. I own a number of Fluke meters, as well as other brands. They do different things but all are working quite well.
1) one is a digital clamp meter with inrush current/peak hold capability, which also has inputs for probes and can do AC/DC voltage, resistance, and a couple other things (maybe Hz as well) - Fluke 337, now out of production, but has been replaced with a new model. This allows me among other things to check for starting current of split phase motors and heaters, to trace nuisance breaker trips. Without the clamp there's really no practical way to measure current except in the milliamp range, but residential and industrial work is too much current to measure without a clamp. I'll never be without a clamp meter again.
2) Analog meter - allows you to judge fluctuating quantities, where a digital meter just bounces around. Very helpful in things like automotive. This one is a Radio Shack knockoff of a Simpson, from 1984.
I also have a full function Fluke (model 87???) which adds capacitance (have never used) and both peak and min. hold capabilities, which is great in checking motor starts, because you can use the clamp meter with peak hold to measure the max. starting current; and simultaneously use the min. hold capability of the other Fluke to measure the minimum line voltage during the motor start.
I also have an old old Fluke with the buttons down the side to select the function rather than the dial in the middle, plus of course a dwell-tach and timing light.
I would recommend #1 and #2 above to anyone who contemplates doing any significant electrical work (though I'd buy a Simpson for an analog these days).
I have a $10 model I got off Amazon that I use to test resistance, continuity and voltage and it works perfectly. It successfully identified some ungrounded boxes/outlets in my basement, the fuse on my drier etc.
My first multimeter was a Radio Shack analog model. I eventually replaced it with a Radio Shack digital multimeter. After decades of use, it was becoming unreliable. Radio Shack did not make a multimeter with the features I wanted, so I had to look elsewhere. I bought an Etekcity MSR-A1000. Since I am not a professional, I could not justify the price of a Fluke.
My first multimeter was a Radio Shack analog model. I eventually replaced it with a Radio Shack digital multimeter. After decades of use, it was becoming unreliable. Radio Shack did not make a multimeter with the features I wanted, so I had to look elsewhere. I bought an Etekcity MSR-A1000. Since I am not a professional, I could not justify the price of a Fluke.
Fluke makes numerous multimeters and models. The price of each model depends on what features you want. For example, the most accurate ones (regardless of brand), usually cost more than the ones with an average range of accuracy. Also, if you want one with more features than another, more than likely this one would cost more. The same if you want one to use at a lab, or in some field of science, then you pay the most because you want the best and most accurate there is.
Then an off-brand device can be a lot cheaper than Fluke and other multimeter brand. The bottomline is that you pay for what you want, or what you need.
I use a Fluke 83. It covers 100% of any electrical metering I need. Got it free. A guy at work swore it wasn’t working right. He just threw it at me said I can have it. After replacing the leads it’s been working fine for 14 years. My previous meter which I still have was a Greenlee version of the Fluke 83. I has that for 18 years.
Both of these would run about $2-300 new. I got the Greenlee on Ebay for $80.
Unless you need some oscilloscope meter most meters today will be perfectly sufficient for 99% of people’s uses.
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