EEVblog #344 - Fluke 17B Multimeter Teardown

[EEVblog]

Dave.

[JoannaK]

Thanks for the review, that meter looks really good inside. Ok, it's not comparable to those high price models, but IMHO the quality looks real good for the price.

[Zad]

To be honest, I'd rather shell out $100 for this than pay more for a lesser brand. I think the money has been spent in the right places and it looks pretty robust. The continuity beeper may be annoying, but I'd cope with that, knowing that it has decent protection.

[Wytnucls]

Thanks for showing us the guts of that interesting meter, Dave. I am pleasantly surprised to see decent fuses installed in it.
I was in Shanghai recently where it is selling for about 550.00 Yuan (85.00 Australian Dollars) in most places.
I thought the meter felt a bit big in the hand for a basic multimeter and decided to buy a Uni-T 71B for 660.00 Yuan, which has a higher count, true RMS, a back light and data logging, for a little more cash.
After seeing the inside built quality of the Fluke, I will probably buy one too, on my next Shanghai visit.

[Monkeh]

Dave, would you be so kind as to pull the 500mA fuse and see if there's a part number on it?

Because, having looked at Siba's range, I believe that's actually a 1kV, 50kA breaking capacity fuse.

[bxs]

@Dave

No word about the probes 

[Psi]

About the comment on the fuse possibly vibrating out of the socket due to no restraints.
It looks like there are plastic stops on the other side of the case.
You can see them at ~15:30

[T4P]

@Dave

No word about the probes 

I guarantee you that's a TL75

[SeanB]

Looking at the blobbed chip and the footprint I am going to guess it is a DMM from Cyrustech. Looking at the local suppliers and they are selling them for $200 retail. Looks like it will be cheaper from China.

[EEVblog]

No word about the probes 

I ranted about that in the mailbag video.

Dave.

[EEVblog]

Dave, would you be so kind as to pull the 500mA fuse and see if there's a part number on it?
Because, having looked at Siba's range, I believe that's actually a 1kV, 50kA breaking capacity fuse.

FF 500mA
DMI 1000V
70 172 40
http://www.siba-fuses.com/front_content.php?idart=117&nummer=7017240.0,5
30KA it seems.

Dave.

[samgab]

It may be a smaller sized fuse, but there's nothing wrong with it. It will do the job it's intended to.
http://www.download.siba.de/pdf/artikel/SIBA-GSS-7017240.pdf

[ratdude747]

I personally still give it a thumbs down... The leads are a joke and the features put it more on par with Amprobe, also owned by the same parent company. Granted, they may not market Amprobe gear in china hence why it was badged as a fluke... but still, for a fluke I was a tad disappointed.


Having seen the $100 shootout there are better deals for the $100 range.

[EEVblog]

About the comment on the fuse possibly vibrating out of the socket due to no restraints.
It looks like there are plastic stops on the other side of the case.
You can see them at ~15:30

Yeah, missed that completely.

Dave.

[EEVblog]

I personally still give it a thumbs down... The leads are a joke and the features put it more on par with Amprobe, also owned by the same parent company. Granted, they may not market Amprobe gear in china hence why it was badged as a fluke... but still, for a fluke I was a tad disappointed.
Having seen the $100 shootout there are better deals for the $100 range.

I agree, but this was not about the bang-per-buck, it's about the construction quality.
At least one supplier on ebay is supplying genuine TL175 probes. It is not clear what leads are actually authorised and supplied by Fluke. I can't believe Fluke would authorise and supply only CAT I probes with a CAT II rated meter. Somethign shify may be going on here with the dealers.
It might get a thumbs down for bang-per-buck, but certainly not for construction, quality, or safety (leads aside).

Dave.

[Nermash]

I think that TL10 are the standard leads for the Fluke 17B/15B.

I have seen one ebay seller show pictures of separate TL175 leads , and then actual 17B package with TL10 leads.... Check before buying.

[Monkeh]

Dave, would you be so kind as to pull the 500mA fuse and see if there's a part number on it?
Because, having looked at Siba's range, I believe that's actually a 1kV, 50kA breaking capacity fuse.

FF 500mA
DMI 1000V
70 172 40
http://www.siba-fuses.com/front_content.php?idart=117&nummer=7017240.0,5
30KA it seems.

Dave.

According to the one I read, 50. Either way, quite sufficient.

[samgab]

As per the detailed product specs, the meter and the standard FLK19 test leads are rated for CAT I 1000V, CAT II 600V, and CAT III 300V.
They only stamp the CAT I rating on the leads and the CAT I & II rating on the meter though. You have to check the manual for full specs.

It's a good DMM for the intended purpose. Reliable, safe, and robust.
I like both my Fluke 17b and 87V, but the 87V was 3 times the price, so I don't expect the same product.
IMO, better that they leave the lower CAT ratings that it is compliant with off the markings, than do what some of the WunHungLo brands do and label it with ratings that the meter clearly has no chance of actually complying with.

[bruce273]

How does this compare to the $100 bk precision that was reviewed in the shootout?

[Clicked]

I wonder what the difference between the 17b and the 18b, since the 18b seems to be rated at cat2 1000v and cat3 600v and it has a max 30v 5ma led tester. The 18b From DealExtreme seems to only be about 7$ more. What problems can you expect from not having true-rms in your meter? what measurements would it really give you out of wack readings?

[lewis]

It's about the vibe of it....

How's the serenity? Look at all that serenity.

[T4P]

I personally still give it a thumbs down... The leads are a joke and the features put it more on par with Amprobe, also owned by the same parent company. Granted, they may not market Amprobe gear in china hence why it was badged as a fluke... but still, for a fluke I was a tad disappointed.
Having seen the $100 shootout there are better deals for the $100 range.

I agree, but this was not about the bang-per-buck, it's about the construction quality.
At least one supplier on ebay is supplying genuine TL175 probes. It is not clear what leads are actually authorised and supplied by Fluke. I can't believe Fluke would authorise and supply only CAT I probes with a CAT II rated meter. Somethign shify may be going on here with the dealers.
It might get a thumbs down for bang-per-buck, but certainly not for construction, quality, or safety (leads aside).

Dave.

Okay, looks like it's the TL10 probe. Cheap arse fluke probes that are made in china
The TL75 is another story, that's used in the normal market meters and the TL175 BION, goes very cheaply in china!

Looks like it's time for me to get a the TL175 and see if it's fluke quality! And then there's the AC10 alligator clip... that goes for a few pennies

What's the alligator clip with the normal market? I suspect AC10 is definitely not up to par with standard fluke clips

As per the detailed product specs, the meter and the standard FLK19 test leads are rated for CAT I 1000V, CAT II 600V, and CAT III 300V.
They only stamp the CAT I rating on the leads and the CAT I & II rating on the meter though. You have to check the manual for full specs.

It's a good DMM for the intended purpose. Reliable, safe, and robust.
I like both my Fluke 17b and 87V, but the 87V was 3 times the price, so I don't expect the same product.
IMO, better that they leave the lower CAT ratings that it is compliant with off the markings, than do what some of the WunHungLo brands do and label it with ratings that the meter clearly has no chance of actually complying with.

if i was paying 100bucks for a meter clearly the if possible 300 bucks 87v would be much better for my value ... BUT NO!
Freakin' 87v is so expensive for what it does nowadays 600bucks! To think i can actually get a U1252B for the same price ...

[olsenn]

Am I the only one that thinks that Fluke (official made-in-USA) probes are crap? I have the ones that came with my 87-V and the ones that you turn the plastic tip shield to hide/expose the metal tip, and I just think they are cheaply made. Of course probes aren't all that important for a multimeter (any piece of conducting metal will do) and I'm sure they are safe to their CAT ratings; I just don't get why some people make such a big deal about them.

[Salas]

To be honest, I'd rather shell out $100 for this than pay more for a lesser brand. I think the money has been spent in the right places and it looks pretty robust. The continuity beeper may be annoying, but I'd cope with that, knowing that it has decent protection.

I have a 17B, UT61E also. 17B's continuity responsiveness is better with alternative probes. 17B is OK for resistors readings, bit shy for DC readings, kinda crappy for AC readings. UT61E almost matches my MS8218 50000 count readings. 17B has rather slow auto ranging especially in low Ohm. But it never jumps around not deciding as the UT61E sometimes does.
Maybe we could calibrate the 17B better with those trimmers it has under the bonnet if Dave would tweak them in the review to see what does what, or someone already knows to advise.

[T4P]

The "jumping" around is due to the ADC's actual speed ... it's very fast to say the least

At least it doesn't mask what it's doing by slowing down the ADC