New Multimeter

[Ed]

I wanted another MM so I could keep one at home and one at the shop. So, cheap bastard that I am, I bought a $13 AstroAI. My free HF unit was what I've been using for the last 10 years and I assumed it fairly accurate until I compared a 12V battery reading to the new AstroAI. HF read 13.0V and Astro read 13.2V. OCD kicked in and I was compelled to get a not so cheap Fluke to determine which was going into the trash. Fortunately, the AstroAI proved to be accurate.

I highly recommend using an accurate MM for lithium batteries if you want them to last as long as possible. The best storage voltage range is narrow.

AstroAI AM33D
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ISAMUA6

Fluke 115 (+/- 0.5% accuracy)
https://www.amazon.com/Fluke-115-Compact-True-RMS-Multimeter/dp/B000OCFFMW

 

[R. J.]

I still have and use my 1985 FLUKE 77 MultiMeter that I got from Lockheed Martin. I check accuracy on all my meters using my DeVry University Design Console.

 

[Ed]

I'll try not to use the Fluke too much in order for it to stay more accurate over time. Not sure if it works that way but hopefully, it does and I can use it to check accuracy of other MMs.

Next, I'd like to get a known accurate tire pressure gauge to check my old, trusty, no-name pencil guage I got off the Snap-on truck 40 years ago. A rough calculation tells me it's got at least 30,000 motorcycle tires worth of use on it from doing set-ups all those years. I check it against expensive (but well-used) Snap-on guages occassionally and it's real close.

 

[wuputt]

I depend on my 30+ yr. old Tenma. I have a 10 yr. old Fluke but normally grab the old guy!

 

[87kawzl]

$225 for a meter! I'm not working on circuit boards daily.

I have a couple including a few freebies from HF. I go with the closest one that turns on when I need one (sometimes they don't get turned off and dead battery) but will reach for the old ones first. Usually only use it for automotive diagnostics and most of the time a $2 test light gets me what I need.

 

[Ed]

Had I known the AstroAI was accurate, I wouldn't have bought the Fluke but I'm glad I did because I have a lot of 18650 high density cells that are far less tolerant than the safer LiFePO4 cells found in all the common devices we use everyday. They're a little larger than a AA cell and good for 10A. I use 2 in series to power my DIY 65W, 7000 lumen LED flashlights. Needless to say they're much brighter than most automotive high beams and become a serious fire hazard if left on high for more than a minute.

 

[87kawzl]

I've noticed Ed that you do like your electronic gadgetry

 

[Ed]

I was into R/C cars then planes and helicopters. Got too expensive so I started building LED flashlights. There's a story involving a small settlement I had with Eveready why I chose to build my first flashlight but basically it's because of the low quality you get with off the shelf LED flashlights. Nothing inside my lights are Chinese, just Japanese cells and American made electronics.

I don't how some of these companies get away with making outrageous claims of higher lumen output than the LED is capable of producing. 9,700 lumens is the most a single LED can put out but it wouldn't last long. My 7,000 lumen lights use that LED and they aren't cheap.