I bought another multimeter and thought I would share it with you here. Its from the venerable Metrix test equipment stable and I suspect it will be like Marmite on this forum...some will love it, whilst others will hate it
Let the fun begin.
I purchased a lightly used and well cared for 100,000 count MTX-3281 True RMS computerised graphical multimeter for £100 instead of buying a second Fluke 87 III for about the same money. The Fluke meters seem to be well used and abused at this price point so the 'as new' Metrix offering immediately attracted my attention
The theme of this thread is more about the design than the capabilities or functions offered. For an insight into what the MTX-32xx series offers, take a look at Martin's excellent video:
Now to the design. I consider Metrix to be similar to Citroen in terms of their design teams. Citroen have always liked to push the boundaries of design and have come up with some damned querky cars that are still very much loved by many of their owners. Top Gear certainly had great respect for the Citroen quirkiness and thought it made them more interesting to drive. Is the Metrix meter the same I wonder ?
Take a look at the photographs that I have attached. This is like no multimeter that I have owned before. I remember Radio Shack had some 'clam shell' designs with tiny displays in the top half. Metrix have taken this ides into the 21st Century and beyond
This multimeter would not look out of place on the Star Ship Enterprise or other Sci-Fi programs. It almost emulates the Star Trek communicator with its flip up top panel
Can you tell I am a fan of Star Trek ?
When the meter was first released I thought the design to be a gimmick and gave the meter no further thought. It was also pretty expensive new. This multimeter is best considered a computerised meter as it has a nice large dot matrix backlit LCD, masses of functionality and graphical logging to the screen and a PC. It takes a few seconds to boot as the OS completes it start-up and self diagnostic checks.
Take a look at the above referenced video for an in depth review of the capabilities. I will attach the User manual. In my pictures the screen protector is still in place, hence the air bubbles. Well looked after, as I said
So what do fellow forum members think about Metrix and their somewhat eccentric test equipment designs ?
I can confirm that first impressions of the unit are very good. excellent build quality and easy to use. In short, very nice, but I still want my Fluke 87 III and its fast responding continuity check
I just have to make the PC optical link cable to use the free software package.
Aurora