Multi Meters

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Dear All

This company has a wide range of equipment including Mlti Meters

http://cpc.farnell.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?catalogId=15002&langId=69&storeId=10180&categoryId=700000009194&eq=N%3D205401%2B705%2B411%26amp%3BNs%3DP_STORE_MARKETING_RANK_FARNELL_CPC%257c0%257c%257cP_MAN_PART_NUM%257c0%26amp%3BNtpc%3D1%26amp%3BNtpr%3D1&pageSize=25&showResults=true&aa=true&sf=705&vw=?utm_medium=email&utm_source=website&utm_campaign=multimeters-200916&utm_content=05&CMP=e-email-multimeters-200916-05Dear All

Might be useful to someone

Paul

 

Edited By Paul T on 20/09/2016 19:23:49

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Good grief how times move! The cheapest of them does almost everything that my first DMM did, but that cost over£50 back then. Only thing the low price ones lack is the high current range, but to make up for that they have some extra functions.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Funnily I still rather prefer my old analogue meter. The moving needle seems to tell you more. I also have a couple of digital versions as well though plus a separate ammeter in the normal current draw range of my models for fine tuning.

Colin

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Me too Colin. I've a half decent digital, but the ancient analogue is my go-to choice. There's something about interpreting the way the needle moves. It can't be our age can it?

Chas

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

I have a very old AVO 8 which sits in a cupboard. It's well out of proof and frankly it's such a bother to dig out that I reach for my little cheapo DMM every time. If I need to measure currents above 10A DC then I use my digital watt-meter. I've dreamed of an auto-ranging Fluke digital multimeter for years but I've always pulled up short when it came to actually ordering one. I guess it's the Yorkshire in me…
Rapid Electronics also do a good range of relatively inexpensive digital multimeters. Note that these suppliers generally quote their prices exclusive of VAT. Adding 20% can often make a bargain look much less attractive! Many also have a minimum value for on-line ordering and/or free delivery.

Dave M

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Not age Charles, there are some situations where analogue is definitely superior to the ubiquitous digital.

For example you might want to know how long it it until lunchtime. If you have a digital watch then you have to read the time and then subtract it mentally from your lunchtime and then visualise the result to see what time you have left – maybe to glue that fitting on deck. However, with an analogue watch you can see and absorb all this with a single glance from the position of the hands.

I find the needle on a multimeter useful in seeing the initial 'kick' of peak current taken by a motor before it settles down to running – can be useful for setting the fuse value for example.

Colin

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

You're right about the watch, Colin. Time seems to have a shape. If I look at the kitchen clock (a digital radio-controlled thingy) then I can see what the time is, but if Liz was to ask me ten seconds later I'd have to look again, whereas the "shape" of the clock arms would still be there in my memory and I'd be able to tell her. However I still prefer a digital multimeter; it gives me less room for "interpretation".

BTW have you noticed that in practically every picture you see in a commercial of an analogue clock or watch face the time is either ten-to-two or ten-past-ten? Apparently it's something to do with the shape of the arms looking like a smiling face!

DM

[Charles OatesParticipant @charlesoates31738]

Dave, does that mean that dental related advertising will have the clock set at half past two?

Sorry,

Chas

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

It's the old ones that are always…..well…..just old. When I first heard that joke Andy Pandy was on television the first time around, and the word 'celebrity' wasn't even in the dictionary.

My dentist refuses to have a clock on the premises in case anyone manages to work out just how much per hour he charges.

DM

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Analog gauges are much easier to read.

The mind process an analog gauge much more directly. Take reading an analog watch. A person reads the short hand at 3 and the long hand at 11 as "a little before" four. It takes just a quick glance.

A person reads 3:55 and has to process the digits, do the math, and figure out from the precision what is intuitively gleaned from the analog watch.

[CookieOldParticipant @cookieold]

Hi Paul , I always use CPC because i live only 8 miles from there warehouse / trade counter , i have seen digital meters as low as 99p on offer at there trade counter . LOL.

Dave

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

For just knowing a steady voltage DMMs win every time helped by the fact that they are generally more difficult to connect the wrong way and don't often get damaged by using the wrong scale. No needle to bend against the stops. But for a fluctuating voltage or current, something with a needle every time.

I saw somewhere that if there is a lot of information, a bank of dials with sweeping needles are best because they can be set such that when everything is at its optimum, all the needles point the same way, making it easier to pick the odd one out, as opposed to a bank of numbers.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

When I first joined the Post office (telephones) or of course B.T as it is now, we used to test trunk lines (on the old STD trunk network) and local lines using a test desk equipped with big analogue dials, and it is true, we could tell a lot about the link we were testing by the rate of rise and fall of the various parameters. You cant do that with a digital meter, but there again for most things model boating all you need is a yes or no for whatever test it is you are doing.

​Malcolm is right about the needles in banks of meters. When the needle of the tacho on my BSA 650 was over at 3`o` clock and 7500 rpm, the speedo would be at the same position at 130……

Ashley (only on a race-track, officer)

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