New User and Blog I'd like to see

[CraigHB]

Hi folks, just registered here.

Love the blogs, any chance we'll ever see a $200 multimeter shoot-out?

[EEVblog]

It was considered at one point.
Hard to find suitable players in that market I suspect...

Dave.

[CraigHB]

True, there's not a whole lot of them, but would love to see how the ones out there stack up.  I just bought one myself, but was flying blind.  Is the Protek 608 any good?  how about the BK 390A.  Would I prefer a 20k or 40k count over a 6k count?  When they say .03% accuracy is it really .03%?  Ended up buying an EX520.  It's in the mail, hopefully I'll be happy with it.  Couldn't decide if the 40k count and higher accuracy of the EX530 was worth it or not.  Didn't know anything about the Protek, never heard the brand, but looked good.  Maybe the BK Precision would have been better.  Needed to see a shootout. 

[IanB]

Is the Protek 608 any good (though closer to $100, but still top of the line)

I bought a Protek 6500 (I think the 608 is discontinued). It is nice enough, but whenever I'm using it a little voice is going through the back of my mind, "it's not a Fluke". I might end up getting a Fluke at some point just to compare with, which defeats the object of buying a lower cost meter in the first place.

The main problem I see with the Protek is the lack of certainty and traceability of the calibration. There is no published information about the calibration procedure and no calibration certificate with the meter. There's a reason Fluke meters cost more, and that's one of the reasons.

Having said that, the accuracy appears to be within spec from the testing I have done, and the only niggle is a small zero offset on the volt ranges.

[EEVblog]

There was a bit of interest in 200,000 count meter shootout, I think they are mostly around the $200 mark.

Dave.