Title: Affordable Auto Ranging DMM
Post by: Paul Marossy on December 20, 2003, 04:03:21 PM
Post by: Paul Marossy on December 20, 2003, 04:03:21 PM
I was at the mall yesterday with my pregnant wife. We were in Sears and she had to go to the restroom. While she was away, I went to the section where all the tools and such are, and I saw this auto ranging DMM for $29.99 - according to the specs on the box, it is accurate to +/- 1.2% and it also will measure capacitance up to 200uF and frequencies up to 60mHz. Not a bad deal for the money...
![]("http://home.att.net/~paulnkim/SearsDMM.jpg")
In case any one might be interested... It should be good for most any kind of analog guitar effect project. Sorry for the crummy picture :oops:
In case any one might be interested... It should be good for most any kind of analog guitar effect project. Sorry for the crummy picture :oops:
Title: iron tip
Post by: Rick on December 21, 2003, 02:49:17 AM
Post by: Rick on December 21, 2003, 02:49:17 AM
Nice looking meter, however your soldering iron tip looks like burnt toast.
If you are actually using that for soldering - you are having a hard time. Get a new tip and keep it glossy looking with some of the advice you've seen here.
If you are actually using that for soldering - you are having a hard time. Get a new tip and keep it glossy looking with some of the advice you've seen here.
Title: Affordable Auto Ranging DMM
Post by: Paul Marossy on December 21, 2003, 08:21:13 AM
Post by: Paul Marossy on December 21, 2003, 08:21:13 AM
Burnt toast? It's brand new, I haven't even used it yet... it was kinda dark in the room when I took the picture.
Now, my RadioShack iron looks like burnt toast, the tips only last for a few hours and then the plating starts to burn off and the plating on the iron itself burns off after using it just a few times.
Now, my RadioShack iron looks like burnt toast, the tips only last for a few hours and then the plating starts to burn off and the plating on the iron itself burns off after using it just a few times.
Title: Affordable Auto Ranging DMM
Post by: Fret Wire on December 21, 2003, 11:44:28 AM
Post by: Fret Wire on December 21, 2003, 11:44:28 AM
'Two monthes ago Sears had an anolog meter in the special's bin for $4.99. I added that one to go with my auto ranging model. Now, I got another one coming free from Circuit Specialists (when your order is over $50).
You're lucky you had the wife with you. I can't ever walk through the tool dept. without a problem. I usually blackout and wake up at home, all covered with sockets, wrenches, and other tools! Especially Christmas shopping. There is no cure for this problem, I'm happy to say!
You're lucky you had the wife with you. I can't ever walk through the tool dept. without a problem. I usually blackout and wake up at home, all covered with sockets, wrenches, and other tools! Especially Christmas shopping. There is no cure for this problem, I'm happy to say!
Title: Affordable Auto Ranging DMM
Post by: Paul Perry (Frostwave) on December 21, 2003, 10:02:11 PM
Post by: Paul Perry (Frostwave) on December 21, 2003, 10:02:11 PM
How do people feel about autorange vs not autorange? Any downside?
Title: Affordable Auto Ranging DMM
Post by: Peter Snowberg on December 21, 2003, 10:12:29 PM
Post by: Peter Snowberg on December 21, 2003, 10:12:29 PM
Quote from: Paul Perry (Frostwave)How do people feel about autorange vs not autorange? Any downside?As long as you can manually select one or the other... only upsides. :D
Take care,
-Peter
Title: Affordable Auto Ranging DMM
Post by: Fret Wire on December 21, 2003, 10:52:28 PM
Post by: Fret Wire on December 21, 2003, 10:52:28 PM
I agree with Peter. My auto ranging unit still has selectable ranges. If you ignore those, it just does the auto thing for you. My first DMM had 5 ohm ranges, and drove me nuts until I learned resistance values. The analog is nice for certain things, tracks the taper of a pot more visually than a dmm.