well now that you clued me in that this thing measures decibles, I think I will get one to measure the outrageous blasting 'music' next door at all hours of the day and night. Thanks for the tip. I would never have guessed.
I must admit I cringed when I saw this too on the first one that I purchased. Luckily they last a super long time and 2032's are super cheap and common. Though I'd be perfectly happy if it had just used AAA batteries.
Back when I took electronics, a good majority of digital meters were using the same chipset (DTM0660x). Basically you were just paying more for the name, case and maybe better leads. At that time I couldn't afford anything with the Fluke name and ended up purchasing a Craftsman branded meter from Sears. Another student in the class had a Fluke that looked exactly the same, except for the color. We took them apart and confirmed the internals were also the same. My best guess is Fluke (or it's manufacturer) was making them for Craftsman, and were being sold for half the cost. BTW, I believe the cheaper red meter at Harbor Freight is still using the DTM0660x chip
@@1D10CRACY exactly this! (and no offense to you, Mr. Bill I’m not speaking about you in particular I’m just speaking in generalities) I get so sick of the badge bandits on tool forums yapping about “quality” when they have no concept of it not to mention how horrible it is to kids coming up in the trade world as a “shop dad” it pisses me off seeing these kids go broke, trying to keep up with the ridiculously priced namebrand junk. I have literally seen these guys say crap like “oh I would never use Ryobi tools that stuff is garbage“ meanwhile, having a toolbox full of Milwaukee and rigid tools Like they’re not all three sitting on the same table at one point somethings I will agree some specialty tools and things of that nature. Yes, you want to splurge and get the well-known, reliable product. But a lot of stuff I’ve bought from Harbor freight or something similar like Amazon and use them for years or still do after all of my tools and my Klein box, got stolen off of a job site in Idaho. I replace about 90% of my tools with harbor freight stuff then slowly recovered my Snap-on, Milwaukee gear, wrench, etc. etc.. I know these tool companies sit back and laugh and love the fact that they barely have to do any kind of competitive advertising because these hot air balloons on job sites do all of it for them. This isn’t the 70s or 80s or even 90s the quality of pretty much everything he’s going downhill American made doesn’t mean anything anymore, and the name is exactly that a name.
So when I try and measure a brand new fully charged “AAA” battery in D/C volts it reads 0…..is this multimeter unable to read voltages this low or is there something wrong with the meter? It should measure 1.5 volts or I’m guessing 015 volts since it will not input the decimal.
Hey mine is not reading amps when I clamp around a hot wire that I know for a fact has current running through it. wtf is going on? I’m clamped around a single hot wire, nothing else and it will not tell me the current no matter what setting I put it on. It’s AC current, it’s just a black coming out into a blue box I haven’t wired an outlet in yet. I wire nutted it if that matters. It’s at the end of a circuit.
You are right, for AC line voltage, the extra decimal is meaningless, but I use meters more for low voltage DC, when you are measuring 1.5V, it is a big deal. @@dougerrohmer
Hi, can one clamp a whole Romex wire bundle (neutral/hot/ground) that's running along a wall per se, and measure the amperage? Or is it only effective clamping a single hot wire like you demonstrated? Thank you.
The one in the video has 3, 2032 batteries stacked on top of each other. All of them have the "+" side facing up with the screen of the meter face down.
So the amp meter part isn't? Are you using the clamp? Keep in mind you need to be clamping the hot wire only and this clamp only measures AC amps, it doesn't do DC.
Bought this exact item several months. Very happy with it and it seems like good quality.
You can maysure so much stuff with this meter. Looks like a keeper.
😂
well now that you clued me in that this thing measures decibles, I think I will get one to measure the outrageous blasting 'music' next door at all hours of the day and night. Thanks for the tip. I would never have guessed.
3 button cells?! If nothing else, that's a deal breaker
I must admit I cringed when I saw this too on the first one that I purchased. Luckily they last a super long time and 2032's are super cheap and common. Though I'd be perfectly happy if it had just used AAA batteries.
I have a clunkier version, model 95683, which appears to have been discontinued. Strangely though, I think I bought it less than ten years ago.
The only deal breaker for me is three 2032 button cell batteries.
Why would that be a deal breaker they are very inexpensive batteries and they last a good while
Outstanding. Thanks
Good video. In my opinion really cheap meters are a waste of money. Spend a little more and get something better.
Buy a better... Such as????
Back when I took electronics, a good majority of digital meters were using the same chipset (DTM0660x). Basically you were just paying more for the name, case and maybe better leads. At that time I couldn't afford anything with the Fluke name and ended up purchasing a Craftsman branded meter from Sears. Another student in the class had a Fluke that looked exactly the same, except for the color. We took them apart and confirmed the internals were also the same. My best guess is Fluke (or it's manufacturer) was making them for Craftsman, and were being sold for half the cost. BTW, I believe the cheaper red meter at Harbor Freight is still using the DTM0660x chip
@@1D10CRACY exactly this! (and no offense to you, Mr. Bill I’m not speaking about you in particular I’m just speaking in generalities) I get so sick of the badge bandits on tool forums yapping about “quality” when they have no concept of it not to mention how horrible it is to kids coming up in the trade world as a “shop dad” it pisses me off seeing these kids go broke, trying to keep up with the ridiculously priced namebrand junk. I have literally seen these guys say crap like “oh I would never use Ryobi tools that stuff is garbage“ meanwhile, having a toolbox full of Milwaukee and rigid tools Like they’re not all three sitting on the same table at one point somethings I will agree some specialty tools and things of that nature. Yes, you want to splurge and get the well-known, reliable product. But a lot of stuff I’ve bought from Harbor freight or something similar like Amazon and use them for years or still do after all of my tools and my Klein box, got stolen off of a job site in Idaho. I replace about 90% of my tools with harbor freight stuff then slowly recovered my Snap-on, Milwaukee gear, wrench, etc. etc.. I know these tool companies sit back and laugh and love the fact that they barely have to do any kind of competitive advertising because these hot air balloons on job sites do all of it for them. This isn’t the 70s or 80s or even 90s the quality of pretty much everything he’s going downhill American made doesn’t mean anything anymore, and the name is exactly that a name.
So when I try and measure a brand new fully charged “AAA” battery in D/C volts it reads 0…..is this multimeter unable to read voltages this low or is there something wrong with the meter? It should measure 1.5 volts or I’m guessing 015 volts since it will not input the decimal.
Liked your video was very informative
Hey mine is not reading amps when I clamp around a hot wire that I know for a fact has current running through it. wtf is going on? I’m clamped around a single hot wire, nothing else and it will not tell me the current no matter what setting I put it on. It’s AC current, it’s just a black coming out into a blue box I haven’t wired an outlet in yet. I wire nutted it if that matters. It’s at the end of a circuit.
Thanks just what I needed
That missing extra decimal is a deal breaker for me. They even have the extra decimal on the meter they give away for free.
I'm a technician and I never use the decimals at work. In fact, if it reads 118 VAC, I say "Yup, 120VAC."
It’s $15. The $25 unit has 1 decimal place.
You are right, for AC line voltage, the extra decimal is meaningless, but I use meters more for low voltage DC, when you are measuring 1.5V, it is a big deal. @@dougerrohmer
Hi, can one clamp a whole Romex wire bundle (neutral/hot/ground) that's running along a wall per se, and measure the amperage? Or is it only effective clamping a single hot wire like you demonstrated? Thank you.
Correct, for it to measure amps, it needs to clamp around the hot wire, only.
can u use the clamp as a probe to check outlets for voltage like a death stick does?
No, the clamp is only used to see how many amps are being used.
How are new batteries installed? Have new batteries but no matter how I configured them, meter doesn't power on..
The one in the video has 3, 2032 batteries stacked on top of each other. All of them have the "+" side facing up with the screen of the meter face down.
I buy these as gifts for people I don't like.
So you got one of these as a gift? :D
I live in COS!
So this won't measure a AA ORR AAA battery.
It most certainly wouldn't be the best tool to do so. That isn't what the tool was designed to do..
My ammeter isn't working
Is the pmmeter working?
The pm meter? The volt meter part is working
So the amp meter part isn't? Are you using the clamp? Keep in mind you need to be clamping the hot wire only and this clamp only measures AC amps, it doesn't do DC.
@1D10CRACY so I cant just clamp a cord? It has to be the hot (black) wire only?
Correct, you clamp on the hot wire only.
Was interested until you said no decimals… wow
Yup, it seems to be a good meter for general purposes AC. Once you start using it for DC, it can become a bit limited.