Multimeter

[gtr2]

Any suggestions for a good multimeter that won't break the bank.  My old sears one is no longer functioning properly.  I'd prefer it to read capacitance as well. 

[oldhousescott]

I bought mine from Weber. It's the 9805A model at the top of this page: https://amptechtools.powweb.com/meter.htm It works fine for what I need it for.

There are plenty of cheap Chinese units that will do the job on eBay. If you want something better, look for a used Fluke or Beckman.

[eniacmike]

I have two and I use both.

http://www.triplett.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=33
this one is great because it is really small. I keep it in my gig bag and I take it to electronics stores to test stuff out. The autoranging is really fast and makes it really easy. the cons are it doesn't test everything (hfe) and the leads are permanently attached so you cant replace them.
really cheap I got it for $18.99 at frys

http://www.triplett.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=128
this one is cool becuase it has a section up to to test HFE two rows one for pnp and one npn and it accomodates different pinouts.

[CRBMoA]

I have two multimeters and a cap tester I built from a kit on my bench.

[maysink]

You got any info on that cap testing kit? Does it perform well enuf for your needs? No viagra jokes, please...

[CRBMoA]

The price has risen since I bought this, (from $10.00 to about $15.00/shipped from China) but it is worth it all day long.

Auto-ranging, and accurate to with +/- 1%.

Mine looks like this. I boxed it in a cheap Rat Shack enclosure, and routed out a hole for the display.

Clickable Thumbs





You will need to fab up a reverse polarity adapter of some kind, because it runs on a positive center DC jack. Or, you could build it a little different than the instructions, but it was easier for me to just knock out an adapter.

Cheers!

[gtr2]

That's cool!  Looks like they possibly changed the power supply to a standard dc jack?

[CRBMoA]

I did. The actually project is just a board and components. It does come with a standard 3.1mm DC board mounted jack, but the polarity is Positive Center. I took an inexpensive and lightweight Rat Shack enclosure, and the power comes from a variable power supply I built.

[gtr2]

It seems I was the one not functioning properly

I borrowed a multimeter from work and I got the same readings I thought were the multi's fault.  My current readings were incorrect due to a 470k resistor instead of a 470 Ohm 

O well, I got some good suggestions and I'm going to check out that cap testor!  Edit: ordered it!