Multimeter for new IBEW apprentice?

[RichB]

I prefer my Fluke 87--but I think the T5 is probably a better all around everyday meter---and less expensive

 

[gadfly56]

i've had the fluke 12 go off the scissor lift 30' to the floor, and not suffer for it,
but i've also been using fluke 12's since about 1992. i admit it. i like them.

fluke, before they came out with the "meter a week" upsell
strategy, actually set down to make a DMM that would replace the wiggy.
that was the fluke 12. shunt voltage reading, autoranging, will show
temporary opens or closes, and do min/max voltage. it'll even timestamp
the max min values, altho somewhat primitively.

it'll do everything a journeyman wireman needs done, except ampacity.
save something for him to buy his second year of apprenticeship. his
primary meter is also his primary safety tool. you want something
durable.

clamp ons are all fine, but will probably get the minion told to
"put that damn thing back in your car...."

and if the clamp on takes a header, they usually don't behave
well after that. best the clamp on is the second meter.

local 640 doesn't seem to have a tool list posted online.
i've not worked there since 1998, but they didn't have a
tool list then.

but when i showed up with a plasma cutter, exception was taken.
i was asked to please put that back in the car.

Surely there is an interesting story here...

 

[Saturn_Europa]

Or a Fluke Tpro-plus.

Will a T+ Pro pick up phantom or induced voltage. I am looking for a meter that will only read "true" voltages.

 

[zbang]

Will a T+ Pro pick up phantom or induced voltage. I am looking for a meter that will only read "true" voltages.

It's another low-impedance meter; that's one of the reasons I like it. That and self-selecting between voltage and continuity. (Induced voltages are "real", they're just not useful for most purposes.)

 

[junkhound]

and now for somethng different

and now for somethng different

Test equipment always an interesting discussion !

have everything from bench Tektronix digital storage scopes down thru Fluke scopemeters, vintage GE clamp ons and Simpsons analog and multiple Fluke 17s and 77s.
Heck, even have 60 year old EICO VTVMs and MMs and Eico tube scope - which never get used.

Ya know what I end up using the most ? (other than dry fingers :roll: )

The little red or yellow 'free' harbor freight meters, must have 20 of them <G>
Surprisingly accurate, maybe some ridicule on job sites (but not from apprentices at habitat site to whom I give one), and no loss if a HF meter 'walks off' which is seldom; nor do they instill covetness from anyone.

Anyone who ever gets into troubleshooting that involves harmonics needs a scopemeter, with Digital FFT a plus also; hopefully no EC throws a difficult harmonic problem at a first year apprentice . :weeping:

 

[MD84]

I would recommend Cat III vs HF bomb.

 

[K8MHZ]

I would recommend Cat III vs HF bomb.

A REAL Cat III rating, not a fake one.

I wouldn't use one of those cheap HF meters for anything more than 15 volts. There is a video around of the Fluke company blowing one up.

 

[Johnnybob]

Interesting! I would have thought the 325 or 376 would be plenty durable enough for daily use on a jobsite. I have a 289 "lab accuracy piece" and even it seems at least as durable as my Klein and Ideal meters (I have an unreasonable collection of DMMs). I did notice that the 300 series doesn't have low-Z mode, so I'm sure it will show phantom voltages sometimes. I always figured that recognizing a real vs. phantom reading is just part of learning to use a DMM, since most still don't have low-Z.

I notice the first couple recommendations here are not for clamp-ons. Isn't that an important feature if you only have one meter?

My go-to meter is a fluke T-5 1000 small enough to fit in your pocket accurate enough unless you are working on analog stuff that requires mA readings and has a CT on the end
http://en-us.fluke.com/products/electrical-testers/fluke-t5-1000-electrical-tester.html

For solid state stuff, or fine tuning my fluke 177 works great, though the 179 has a temperature probe feature, or so I've heard.