A jewel of a find, I think...

[Reboot]

I have a friend who I help with his household problems quite often.  More often than not, they turn out to be electrical problems (outlets not working, clothes dryer problems, computer won't boot, etc.).  Problem is, he has a little Radio Shack POS analog meter which he cannot read.  Ex: How many ohms does your dryer thermal fuse read?  I dunno, the needle moves most of the way if that matters. Ugh!

I thought I would be nice and get him a digital multimeter to facilitate the information flow necessary to help him.  I looked through the cheap meters on ebay and was overwhelmed with cheapies that looked like crap.  I'm spoiled by Fluke meters myself, so anything less is uninteresting to me.

During my search, I found this one, which seems to me to be a great value.  It is surplus old stock and no longer available, but the guy seems to have a lot of them.  No true rms, but it does have good accuracy specs, a 20A range, a manual range switch, and it will take a 10ft drop without a rubber holster.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-W-Sperry-DM-8200-Handheld-Autorange-Digital-Multimeter-/161001909109?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257c762b75

Has anyone ever used one of these, and is it as nice as it seems.  The deal can't be beat.

I may order a couple of extra ones for myself if I like it.

[echen1024]

I have a sperry 5300. It's ok.

[Lightages]

Sorry, but I think this isn't as good a buy as you might think. It is OLD technology, 2000 count, and has no special features at all nor any better accuracy than anything else. Maybe it has good input protection but I can't find anything that matches this exactly. I guess it still be OK, but who knows?

[Reboot]

The one on ebay seems to be a little bit newer model of the DM8200 than the manual on the Sperry website is for.  The selector switch is different than the picture in the manual, and this one has 3200 count.  The look of the meter and especially the LCD reminds me a lot of the older fluke 70 series.

Given the fact that I am giving it to a guy who is not very technical, I want good input protection

[PedroDaGr8]

I'll be honest, its ancient and likely more or less crap. Sperry doesn't design their own stuff anymore (no clue if they have ever to be honest) but their newest stuff is rebadged Uni-T. When it comes to chinese ODMs some of Uni-Ts stuff isn't half bad. It's not amazing but some of their rebadged stuff is actually quite safe with proper input protection.




I couldn't find the exact model as the Sperry is auto-ranging but it might be that its a slightly custom model for sperry (Uni-T does this for a few companies like Voltcraft) but clearly the original manufacturer is Uni-T.

As for this one, I can't find the ODM but for sure it is Chinese. It's so old that I doubt you will find out who the ODM is without opening it up.



 Different model but notice the same case structure. Note: Tecpel is not the ODM as they ALSO use Uni-T stuff now. I have a suspicion it might be mastech as they are one of the few that I consistently saw making 20A meters. Thats just a WAG though.

[retiredcaps]

Given the fact that I am giving it to a guy who is not very technical, I want good input protection

If you are not opposed to buying used, these two old Flukes might be worth bidding on?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131039711823

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200985174009

Basically they are the predcessors to the Fluke 25 and 27 respectively.  The Fluke 27 was subject to two videos by Dave including the 27's input protection in great detail.

http://www.eevblog.com/2012/10/18/eevblog-372-fluke-27-multimeter-review-teardown/

http://www.eevblog.com/2012/10/19/eevblog-373-multimeter-input-protection-tutorial/

PS. For under $50, there are a number of Buy It Now auctions for the Fluke 27.  The 8025A in the auction linked above might go without a bid because it is not a true RMS meter and it lacks the "REL" and "MIN MAX" functionality.  However, for your friend, it may not matter and I think it is worth $25 (I have a Fluke 25 that I bought for around the same price).

Given these were built for the military and they were Fluke's most rugged multimeter, it should last a long time.

[Stonent]

How do you like this one? He hasn't even bothered to buy it from the hardware store yet before he resells it to you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sperry-DM-4400A-Digital-Multi-Meter/200687691351?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D18060%26meid%3D2623724572296739885%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D8304%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D161001909109%26

[Strammer]

How do you like this one? He hasn't even bothered to buy it from the hardware store yet before he resells it to you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sperry-DM-4400A-Digital-Multi-Meter/200687691351?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D18060%26meid%3D2623724572296739885%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D8304%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D161001909109%26

Correct me if I'm wrong....but he IS the hardware store isn't he?   

[Stonent]

I didn't notice.

[Lectricman]

Given the fact that I am giving it to a guy who is not very technical, I want good input protection

If you are not opposed to buying used, these two old Flukes might be worth bidding on?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131039711823

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200985174009

Basically they are the predcessors to the Fluke 25 and 27 respectively.  The Fluke 27 was subject to two videos by Dave including the 27's input protection in great detail.

http://www.eevblog.com/2012/10/18/eevblog-372-fluke-27-multimeter-review-teardown/

http://www.eevblog.com/2012/10/19/eevblog-373-multimeter-input-protection-tutorial/

PS. For under $50, there are a number of Buy It Now auctions for the Fluke 27.  The 8025A in the auction linked above might go without a bid because it is not a true RMS meter and it lacks the "REL" and "MIN MAX" functionality.  However, for your friend, it may not matter and I think it is worth $25 (I have a Fluke 25 that I bought for around the same price).

Given these were built for the military and they were Fluke's most rugged multimeter, it should last a long time.

Had to nab that 8025A! Got it for 10.50.

[retiredcaps]

Had to nab that 8025A! Got it for 10.50.

You are welcome. 

Teardown pictures of the 8025A would be appreciated once you get it.

[Reboot]

I got the meter today.  You guys were right, I probably should have bought an old Fluke.  That being said, it isn't so bad...

It is made in Taiwan.

Pros:
Strong feeling plastics, Great selector switch action, spot on accuracy at least in dc volts and resistance, HRC fuses, excellent display contrast, uA & mA, nice probes

Cons:
Not the best input protection, no blast shields or pcb isolation slots, continuity a little slow but it is latched, split input jacks 

[Lightages]

Actually the input protection looks pretty good! It is better than anything I have seen for less than $50. Other than it being slow and 2000 count I would have to eat my words and say it is a good safe buy for the money

[Stonent]

Actually the input protection looks pretty good! It is better than anything I have seen for less than $50. Other than it being slow and 2000 count I would have to eat my words and say it is a good safe buy for the money

The fuses look ok, Made in Germany (Hello to all Dave's German fans!), Current shunt seems ok. There's a MOV or PTC.

Main chip by Samsung. I can't find a datasheet but it is listed in Octopart. Motorola branded Quad Exclusive “OR” and “NOR” Gate. Soldering looks clean except for the jacks, but they had to be hand soldered.

Display is very crisp with good contrast.

My guess is the Quad XOR/NOR may be to differentiate between the switch positions. Since there's likely several patterns on the circle.

[retiredcaps]

It is made in Taiwan.

Usually I have pretty good luck finding the ODM, but I can't find the exact model, but with the information above, I'm guessing this is made by AppaTech.

http://www.appatech.com/appa_product_home.php?pdid=20051220031524387663&&kindid=2005081003113623241

Their version is 3200 counts (like yours since you show a reading of 2.502), same yellow ribbed plastic shell, white spark gap component with the letter "T" and 20A jack.

I'll try to see if Appa has more archived files or older models.

PS. Thanks for the teardown pics.