So, you need a digital multimeter?

[Hoot]

Well, now you have no excuse.

Price is certainly not one at least. Harbour Freight Tools has one for $2.99 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=30756) !!!

Every overclocker should have a meter capable of measuring DC and AC volts, resistance and diode/transistor check.

We're talking the price of a pack of smokes, a mixed drink at the pub, a cup of coffee at the overpriced coffee shop, etc.

Listen up troop! Gunny Hoot says, "Just get one".

Carry on...

Hoot

[BigSmokey]

Umm WOW. I bought this EXACT same multi at Menards for 17$. I no longer have it, but it worked fine.

[OSUmaxx]

If you don't have one, you should jump on this deal!

[synoptism]

I've used this multimeter before. $3 is a great price. Go get one, now! :p

[kagee108]

Don't be surprised if it isn't very accurate. You get what you pay for with DVM's, just like everything else in this world.

[Blueboy1986]

Originally posted by kagee108
Don't be surprised if it isn't very accurate. You get what you pay for with DVM's, just like everything else in this world.

Has anyone bought or had this type of DVM? Was it accurate?

[Hoot]

Bet you a dollar it's a lot more accurate than the onboard monitoring chip that so many people rely upon for voltage settings.

Any takers before the one I ordered for evaluation arrives?

Hoot

[9mmCensor]

Those are the same ones we used in electronics class @ my highschool, and they are pretty accurate, and are quite durable in the knock it off the desk test ;)

[johan851]

Waiting for some 'reviews' before I jump on this.

Also, HarborFright has a pretty bad reseller rating. What's with that?

[Hoot]

I haven't had any trouble with the few orders I've placed with them. As kagee108 said, "you get what you pay for". I was surprised to only see 5 reviews in the past 6 months for them at resellerratings.com. That's probably a good thing. My experience with reseller rating sites is that most satisfied customers don't bother to report to them. If, as a reseller, you only P.O. five people in 6 months, you're doing pretty good. Also, waiting for positive reviews on a DMM that cost $2.99 is like waiting for McDonalds to get a rave review in Gourmet magazine before you eat there. :)

Hoot

[Fushyuguru]

Better than no multimeter boys!

Hoot's right, should be one of the first tools you buy in this hobby of ours.

Ive used one of these before. Theyre basic OEM type multimeters, many brands put their labels on em and sell them. I never saw the package but I bet its +/- 3-5% acuracy. Its a bread and butter multimeter.

Its a good one untill you can break for a Fluke, Wavetek Meterman, or Greenlee (will last you forever).

[OSUmaxx]

Originally posted by kagee108
Don't be surprised if it isn't very accurate. You get what you pay for with DVM's, just like everything else in this world.

How true. I have a decent Craftsman unit and we use all Fluke gear in my labs. Mine has always been accurate enough for my uses.

For a few bucks, this deal is better than no multimeter.

[Xymurgy]

Comes to $12 after shipping/handling. wtf is up with $3 shipping & $6 handling.

[Krusty]

SHIPPING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SHIPPING INFORMATION
1. Shipping Chart
up to $14.99........$2.95
$15.00 to $24.99....$3.95
$25.00 to $ $39.99..$4.95
$40.00 to $49.99....$5.95
$50.00 and over FREE*


*ALASKA, HAWAII, PUERTO RICO, GUAM AND VIRGIN ISLANDS ORDERS SEE 4.(c) BELOW.
2. All orders will be charged a $5.95 processing and handling fee.
3. ORDERS WILL BE PROCESSED WITHIN 48 HOURS and shipped via U.P.S., Parcel Post or truckline.
4. (a) Quoted prices include FREE SHIPPING if the order is $50.00 or more, and being shipped within the contiguous United States. (b) For orders under $50.00, please calculate shipping charges from table below (c) All orders shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam & Virgin Islands, will be charged actual 4th class Parcel Post charges. If paying by check please add 25% of the sub-total to cover Parcel Post charges and add to line 4 of the order form. We will refund or bill you for any difference between the 25% and actual Parcel Post charges. We have arranged special discounted rates with the freight companies at savings to you of up to 65% from normal shipping charges. Call Customer Satisfaction at 800-444-3353 for approximate shipping charges. We must have a daytime phone number on your order for the freight company to arrange delivery. Customers may use freight forwarders with free shipping from Harbor Freight to freight forwarder.
5. On this sale: We will accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover Card or American Express/Optima (with card number, expiration date and signature). We will accept by mail personal checks, company checks. NO BILLING -- NO C.O.D.'s.
6. References: (a) Union Bank, Century City Office, Century City, California; (b) Dun & Bradstreet
7. Members of: United States Chamber of Commerce; California Chamber of Commerce; Camarillo Chamber of Commerce

Harbor Freight Tools
3491 Mission Oaks Blvd.
Camarillo, CA 93011

There's some other items there that seem like pretty good deals even with the shipping charges though:

190 GPH pump for $9.99 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41287)

13" LED Flashlight for $19.99 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=3652) (cost me over $40 to home brew something like this with a 5 cell Mag Lite.

600W 3 outlet power inverter for $69.99 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44166)

Dremel type rotary tool kit for $9.99 (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41695) (note: this runs at about half the max RPMS of a real Dremel.

[TheGhengisKhan]

Guess I lucked out, there's a Harbor Freight store about a 10 minute drive from my house. I stopped in and picked one of these up a while ago, just in case my $20 DMM breaks :D and it works just fine. It only reads about .001 off from my $20 one, so I agree, it's a geat buy, just check their store locator to see if there's a retail location near you first.

[Xymurgy]

I already read that in their conditions. Adding $6 handling on top of $3 shipping for a $3 item is something I don't like. Hence the "wtf."

[wizard james]

i didnt see if they ship to canada, to they?

because my school teacher would be relly instersed in this

because all she would do is buy 50 dollors worth.

for 300 kids y not at that price. plus maybe a few for me...

[skou]

Originally posted by Xymurgy
Comes to $12 after shipping/handling. wtf is up with $3 shipping & $6 handling.

There's a Harbor Freight store about 3 miles from me, but mine was (I think) 5 dollars. And, it works just fine, probably since I usually just use it for continuity testing, or basic voltage testing. BUT, it's a LOT cheaper than the cheap swing meters I used to use.

GET ONE!

steve

[blackjackel]

i JUST saw this sticky and i JUST put down my order!1

I dont have a multimiter, i complainted about how expensive they were and thats why i never had one...

well i guess now i will!!

thanks hoot!

hooah!

[SniperXX]

Originally posted by Fushyuguru
Its a good one untill you can break for a Fluke, Wavetek Meterman, or Greenlee (will last you forever).

I got a Fluke, they are very nice, I do belive after using it and cheap ones there is a differance, but its minor.

[blackjackel]

please note, the store jacks up the price with shipping, after shipping its 12+ dollars!

There are harbor freight stores in almost every state around the US! There was one literally 5 minutes away from me!

You MUST PRINT THE PRICE FROM THE WEBSITE, then show it to the storeguys and they will give it to you for that price, prices are different from store to website!

Shop from the stores and dodge the heavy shipping bill!

[craig588]

I had one of these before I bought a fluke 800. This one was terrible, it read my 12V line at 16V. my 5V line at 8V, a 1.5V battery at 7V and a 3.3 battery at 6V. The ohm readings on it were spot on though. (I never took amp readings using it)

[PingSpike]

Anyone tried that cheap dremel ripoff that krusty mentioned? At $10 I might pick on up along with that multimeter.

[Sniper.nkc]

Go to your local Electronic Supply Store and get a small digital multimeter for 15.00 or less. Radio Shack has them too, or buy this one 12.00.

I prefer the local store because if you dont like it or if it does not work you can take it back without the extra cost or headache.

[AkuraII]

Hey guys i bought the dremel because it was on sale for 7 something at the store. Listen to me do not buy it lol, unless you plan on cutting cardboard this thing is useless. Its small and very week it even stopped sometimes when cutting cardboard lol just trust me guys.

[craig588]

haha, that sounds like my old 30 year old dremel. (Somehow it still works, yet all of the other ones are completely failing in like 5 years)

It hasnt really lost strength, it was just weak to begin with.

[Hoot]

Since the original message has served it's purpose, I have un-stuck the thread.

Mechanical devices, like that incredibly cheap rotary tool are a good example of the fact that all bargains are not necessarily a good deal. I have a Black & Decker RTX rotary tool and for an AC powered one, it is a great performer. However, the first one I got failed only a few minutes out of the box abd I had to return it. For my cordless rotary tool, I highly recommend the new Dremel Lithium-Ion model. Man, is it a great cordless!

Hoot

[aldamon]

I went to the Harbor Tools in Raleigh and they had a whole table of these for $3.99. They price matched the $2.99 Web price with no trouble. Picked up a couple. They seem to work fine for my needs (5V and 12V molex testing). I'm going to have one of our electricians at work verify its accuracy tomorrow.

Thanks!

[Binow]

Are flukes one of the better ones? I think these (http://www.tequipment.net/ProductImages/789_ProcessMeter_mid.jpg) are some of the ones we make at work.

[stasiu]

That's a great find....ty. I'm getting one as a backup.

[MaxAMD]

I agree with the statement " You get what you paid for"
They should fly the flag of China under the American flag in their banner as 1/2 the stuff is Mfg there.:p

[aldamon]

My coworker just compared the results on this Cen-Tech unit to his Fluke and the results were identical under DCV 20. YMMV with the other functions, but IMO this $2.99 unit is fine for testing rails.

[Radical]

Thanks Hoot! I'm definitely getting one of these. :thup:

[Tabrin]

Some Harbour Freight Tools products can apparently be purchased on Ebay from "globalqualifier." I got this multimeter for $0.99. Shipping was supposed to be $9.99 but my total invoice on paypal was for $6.99. The return address on the box was for Harbour Freight Tools but the seller's email was a hotmail address. Go figure.

[schismspeak]

I bought this (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=33499) when it was $10, now on sale for $8. Has pretty good accuracy for DCv. (0.5%)