Looking for some recommendations for a new meter

My old Craftsman meter from the late 90's died. It wasn't too bad for $75 back then. It was pretty loaded with amp clamp, and most of secondary feature checks like diode, transistor, duty cycle, capacitance...etc.

My buddy said get a Fluke of course, but a Fluke with that lineup is $500+
If I was younger, I would buy it. Now I'm too old to make good use of a lifetime warranty.

So....whats good for a budget meter these days?

Unless you need serious accuracy or toughness, I think $50-75 will buy a good meter with loads of features. I've had several, 4 in the last 20 years or so. The last was $30 something, bought it for the built in clamp which isn't the best, so I'd spend more on that. The other 3 were Radio Shack. One died..... but I may have killed it.

It's been a few years... I imagine many now have usb/bluetooth/wifi for data logging and more with a pc or phone. One of mine has a serial port, but the software wasn't very good.

BTW, I also have digital storage scope that's about the size of credit card.

7CardBud said:

My old Craftsman meter from the late 90's died. It wasn't too bad for $75 back then. It was pretty loaded with amp clamp, and most of secondary feature checks like diode, transistor, duty cycle, capacitance...etc.

My buddy said get a Fluke of course, but a Fluke with that lineup is $500+
If I was younger, I would buy it. Now I'm too old to make good use of a lifetime warranty.

So....whats good for a budget meter these days?

Click to expand...

Klein makes a good one for under $200 that is durable for the hobbyist.

I recently got a Fluke 117 for under $200-
It has most if not all of those features

Bongoloid said:

Klein makes a good one for under $200 that is durable for the hobbyist.

Click to expand...

I second Klein Tools if your on a budget but want something reliable.

Don’t overlook pawnshops for your meter. I bought a Fluke IR thermometer for pennies on the dollar compared to new price. Most good shops provide a 30 day warranty.

Bud man 43 said:

I recently got a Fluke 117 for under $200-
It has most if not all of those features

Click to expand...

I bought a micron from radio shack 30 years ago and it still works,it even has continuity buzzer,glass fused protection for when your working underneath and need both hands. If you're not a pro or do it for a living a lot of the features will be irrelevant on some meters. I used mine mostly for 12 volt dc troubleshooting ,I let a pro do it if it's more than replacing wires,receptacles or breakers with ac,saves me getting electrocuted.

Extech makes high end meters.. They are often overlooked and are real cheap on the used market.

Greenlee also makes good meters, as well as fluke and Klein. The DM-45 is a good all around meter for under $100 and has a lifetime warranty as well.

Thanks for the input fellas, went with the Klein CL700. Should be fine for my hobby level shennanigans.