I need a new DMM

[AVGresponding]

How often are most people measuring less than a few mA of AC? Especially commercial/industrial electricians, assuming that's who they're marketing to? A low current AC milliameter seems like a rather specialist instrument, if it's a feature they found that valuable it really should have got its own place on the dial. It's a major hassle to have it switch back to AC and have to hit the button again every time you switch from mA to A.

Maybe for checking earth leakage current on switching psus? It's the only one I can think of, off the top of my head.

Honestly everytime I measure current with a DMM I feel like I am doing something wrong, the burden voltage can mess up thing and you need to open the circuit to insert your tool.

Much better to check the voltage across an already there resistor or use a clamp or as last card open the circuit for the dave µcurrent thing.

https://www.eevblog.com/projects/ucurrent/

ah, a decent lab power supply normally give me 97% the current values I need.

Just my 2c.

Yes, I share your worries   

I prefer to make my own shunts, for those instances when there isn't a convenient in-circuit resistor to measure off.

[rsjsouza]

Honestly everytime I measure current with a DMM I feel like I am doing something wrong, the burden voltage can mess up thing and you need to open the circuit to insert your tool.

Much better to check the voltage across an already there resistor or use a clamp or as last card open the circuit for the dave µcurrent thing.

https://www.eevblog.com/projects/ucurrent/

ah, a decent lab power supply normally give me 97% the current values I need.

Just my 2c.

Same here. The power supply shows a quite nice current measurement and, for point of load measurements, I either have thick film shunts on core and I/O power supplies to gauge current or use Dave's μCurrent. The burden voltage is way too high for DC and electronics. Perhaps that is why the AC default on the 87V does not bother me at all.

[DiamonDiver]

Honestly everytime I measure current with a DMM I feel like I am doing something wrong, the burden voltage can mess up thing and you need to open the circuit to insert your tool.

Much better to check the voltage across an already there resistor or use a clamp or as last card open the circuit for the dave µcurrent thing.

https://www.eevblog.com/projects/ucurrent/

ah, a decent lab power supply normally give me 97% the current values I need.

Just my 2c.

Same here. The power supply shows a quite nice current measurement and, for point of load measurements, I either have thick film shunts on core and I/O power supplies to gauge current or use Dave's μCurrent. The burden voltage is way too high for DC and electronics. Perhaps that is why the AC default on the 87V does not bother me at all.

I feel the same way about using a DMM to measure current, the exception being 4-20mA troubleshooting and calibration.

I thought about getting a Fluke i30 clamp for the DMM but the threshold is only 30mA.  The 1mA resolution is ok, but the tool would be useless for 4-20mA work.  In the end I couldn’t justify $600 for a tool that could only be used to find some parasitic loads.  Fluke makes a process clamp meter for 4-20mA but I’ll continue to break the circuit with my DMM and 3 digit resolution and keep the $700 in my pocket.

[Electro Detective]

Perhaps Fluke wanted to target the sparky market with the prestige of owning an 87V meter    instead of the 17x workhorse models and voltage stick prodders.

The thing that's annoying with the 87V is measuring low level DC current in mA mode,
and then switching to uA for more reso-digits and it defaults to AC and you wonder what's going on = 

Luckily I found this out BEFORE putting the trusty original 87 up for sale

i.e. I use the original 87 for DC current and 87V for AC current, and or both for more involved tests

The 28-11 has the same 87V annoyance, but for outdoor use it's king, and stays where it's put 

[BravoV]

Almost all my handheld DMMs are "plugged" at it's current terminals ... 

[DiamonDiver]

When I got the 289 I also picked up a 117.  The 117 lives in my go bag with my other essential tools for everyday use.  It pretty much does everything my original 87 does, anything more advanced is covered with the 289 and 789.

So far I don’t see the need to export graphs so I haven’t bought into the FVF software, but the data logging / onboard graphing has been extremely useful.     
I can drive a 4-20mA circuit from the control room with the 789 and record the signal with the 289 in the field for loads or the other way around for instruments.  Saves a lot of time when chasing faults.

I’m really happy with the 289 even though I’ll probably only use a fraction of the features on this beast.  The 117 looks like it will be durable little workhorse.

[parallax]

I just started getting interested in higher quality DDMs about 3 weeks ago.  I've been reading many reviews and watched lots of videos.  Just joined this forum today.  I've had an Innova 3320 for I believe over 10 years.  I has not gotten much use.  However, I am starting to delve in electronics, and the limitations of the Innova 3320 are very apparent.  I figured a descent quality multimeter would be a good investment.  My current needs are mainly accurate DC voltage readings in the 3.5v to 8.4v range, continuity test, and testing capacitors.  I've played with a Fluke 287 for the past 2 weeks.  I understand that it is among the best portable DMM in the market with very high accuracy, but I don't find it fun to use.  The 3 second boot up time does not bother me too much, but the display is not easy on my aging eyes with the low contrast, small digits size, narrow viewing angle, and the ghosting of the last 1 to 2 digits.  It is also pretty big on my work bench, and has a pretty high center of gravity sitting on the stand, so I am concerned that it may be too prone to tipping over and damage the protruding knob or the screen.  That plus the fact that I do not have immediate need for top-of-the line AC measurements and graphs, I may be returning this Fluke 287 to Amazon.  I already ordered a Fluke 87V and a Brymen 869s to compare against the Fluke 287 before I make a final decision, but I anticipate keeping both the Fluke 87V and the Brymen 869s, and returning the Fluke 287.

I look forward to learning from all the experience folks here.  Thanks.

[Mp3]

I just started getting interested in higher quality DDMs about 3 weeks ago.  I've been reading many reviews and watched lots of videos.  Just joined this forum today.  I've had an Innova 3320 for I believe over 10 years.  I has not gotten much use.  However, I am starting to delve in electronics, and the limitations of the Innova 3320 are very apparent.  I figured a descent quality multimeter would be a good investment.  My current needs are mainly accurate DC voltage readings in the 3.5v to 8.4v range and testing capacitors.  I've played with a Fluke 287 for the past 2 weeks.  I understand that it is among the best portable DMM in the market with very high accuracy, but I don't find it fun to use.  The 3 second boot up time does not bother me too much, but the display is not easy on my aging eyes with the low contrast, small digits size, narrow viewing angle, and the ghosting of the last 1 to 2 digits.  It is also pretty big on my work bench, and has a pretty high center of gravity sitting on the stand, so I am concerned that it may be too prone to tipping over and damage the protruding knob or the screen.  That plus the fact that I do not have immediate need for top-of-the line AC measurements and graphs, I may be returning this Fluke 287 to Amazon.  I already ordered a Fluke 87V and a Brymen 869s to compare against the Fluke 287 before I make a final decision, but I anticipate keeping both the Fluke 87V and the Brymen 869s, and returning the Fluke 287.


I look forward to learning from all the experience folks here.  Thanks.

I used to have an Innova 3320! total, complete, barely usable garbage 
 i replaced it with a fluke 101 years ago and only now am getting around to replacing that

[J-R]

I just started getting interested in higher quality DDMs about 3 weeks ago.  I've been reading many reviews and watched lots of videos.  Just joined this forum today.  I've had an Innova 3320 for I believe over 10 years.  I has not gotten much use.  However, I am starting to delve in electronics, and the limitations of the Innova 3320 are very apparent.  I figured a descent quality multimeter would be a good investment.  My current needs are mainly accurate DC voltage readings in the 3.5v to 8.4v range, continuity test, and testing capacitors.  I've played with a Fluke 287 for the past 2 weeks.  I understand that it is among the best portable DMM in the market with very high accuracy, but I don't find it fun to use.  The 3 second boot up time does not bother me too much, but the display is not easy on my aging eyes with the low contrast, small digits size, narrow viewing angle, and the ghosting of the last 1 to 2 digits.  It is also pretty big on my work bench, and has a pretty high center of gravity sitting on the stand, so I am concerned that it may be too prone to tipping over and damage the protruding knob or the screen.  That plus the fact that I do not have immediate need for top-of-the line AC measurements and graphs, I may be returning this Fluke 287 to Amazon.  I already ordered a Fluke 87V and a Brymen 869s to compare against the Fluke 287 before I make a final decision, but I anticipate keeping both the Fluke 87V and the Brymen 869s, and returning the Fluke 287.

I look forward to learning from all the experience folks here.  Thanks.

I have all of these.  The Innova is perhaps OK for the garage or glove box.  It has no 10A fuse.

The 287/289 has the best selector switch of the 3, and while the stand is a bit flimsy, on the bench I find it pretty solid.  It's really a shame Fluke can't be bothered to update the UI. Also the battery life is poor.

The 87V is a solid workhorse, but perhaps a bit out of place on an electronics bench.  No comms options.

Most likely you will end up with the Brymen 869s as the LCD is easily the best of the bunch and the dual display flexibility is good.  BUT the selector switch is small and stiff and the stand is pretty weak.  The meter sits at a much lower angle than the Flukes, which can actually help with the LCD visibility in many cases.  Battery life is poor and you have to take the outer case off to replace the 9V battery.

I'll plug the 121GW a bit as the selector switch and stand are decent.  You can easily use a tablet or computer to make the display as large as you want without any cables or massive attachments (Fluke IR3000!).

Maybe just spring for an HP/Agilent/Keysight bench meter?