It was always like that here, everything seems to be a rip off when you look at OS prices: Twice the inflated price seems to be normal and you can actually buy parts for older cars there, instead of our stupid 14 year rule. Perhaps that's going to be an advantage with many imported vehicles & they will be like tractors. I can buy most anything for mine & the neighbour fifties MF, including panels.

I wanted a specific Amp meter for a battery charger repair. Found one & said to the guy this will probably come with Elephants stamped on it: It did. Aside for the unprocurable here, the rest was nearly half the price of the same item here.

Solder: Americans seem to leave the "L" out of it. Leaving it to be possibly conceived as someone with a shovel in a paddock turning soil sods.

Language & the different way it sounds, or is interpreted in another can be entertaining.

" leave the "L" out of it"
Back in the sixties when training we were shown an American film on soldering. The same pronunciation, sodder, but the funny thing was where the word went up in text it was solder. Never figured that out. On Marcc's recounting, these days the l is left out in text as well.

Yes thats right! Sodder!! Mind you, I dont like my Australian accent much at all! Particularly if I'm over seas.
My background is Scottish on both sides with all grandparents being born in Scotland.
When my dear old grandmother spoke to me as a boy , she just sounded drunk to me !
Perhaps she was? I dont know!
Tough old bird though! So I can't really pick on the yanks about the word " sodder"

Yeah, I'm also 'looking' at Multimeters.

Have a few old ones .... analogue and digital ... but would like something of decent quality. Not really sure what that means ..... particularly when I read about Chinese made Flukes ...

The most poular Fluke seems to be the 17B ....... https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/273702699120 ..... approx $160

As compared top the BM235 ..... the Fluke has Frequency (if you want it). Both do Capacitance.

Can some-one explain the difference in Voltage ratings at bottom right of photos of the Meters eg BM235 lists 300V Cat IV and 600V Cat III and 1kV Cat II .... vs Fluke 1000V Cat II and 600V Cat III ... ????

Why has the BM235 got 3 voltage ratings .... ????

Other comments , differences etc ?????

Fluke explains the CAT levels here:

https://www.fluke.com/en-au/learn/best-practices/test-tools-basics/digital-multimeters/safety-tips-dmm

Tinkera123
Hi Ian,
This is worth watching if you have the bm235 in mind
I think the Fluke 17b is 600 volt max,?
But best check as ive read about so many it becomes a blurry.

https://youtu.be/sfXiTFebXlU

Pete

Fluke meters that are made in China are still as good as they were when made in Taiwan. Build, fit, finish and operation is all good. There is two types of "made in China". Where a western company like Fluke or a medical equipment manufacturer goes over there and builds a factory and then employs locals as process workers the quality of the goods is generally far better than when a local company does the same. The same applies with things like a Japanese-brand television or Australian Sunbeam or Breville kitchen appliance. The quality is better than something from a Chinese-based company because the products are not designed there.

As for the pronunciation of sodder - I have to confess that there is little more that I find aggravating and when that comes from someone that comes from a country that almost survives on slang and rhyming slang, that is saying something.

By the way, I had a dog's eye with dead horse (also known as a rat coffin) for brekky this morning.

As I grow older
And the winters grow colder
The pain in my shoulder
Makes me need a holder
For the ... sodder?

I have had several analogue and digital multimeters over the years. (Sadly I have managed to break some of these either by dropping them or by selecting the wrong range before applying the probes.) I prefer analogue meters if I need to measure a rate of change in a circuit but for most tasks a digital meter is easier to read and more accurate.

Recently I bought a Digitech QM1552 from Jaycar for less than $100 because it could measure the inductance and capacitance values that were necessary for what I was building. As well as the usual current and resistance scales it has true RMS ranges for voltages up to 1000V. (A better set of probes than those supplied would be advisable at that voltage.) It has many other functions that may be of use occasionally. I have never used a Fluke or similar high end meter but I reckon the QM1552 is value/accuracy for money and well worth considering.

Dave Jones of EEVblog fame has down some tear downs on Digitech and similar brands around that price point. He compares their weaknesses with meters that are not much more expensive but provide higher quality and safety. His own EEVblog-commissioned meter is good enough for my needs and not so expensive that I cannot afford to replace it if disaster strikes.

Well I have made a decision.
When I look at how much money I have coming in the door and how much money is going out the door and my responsibilities in life. I can"t justify spending a fortune on a meter for my hobby.
So after reading many blogs and reviews of people that were very happy with their meter I will go with the Brymen 235

Specs
http://budgetlightforum.com/node/58753

I would like to reinforce Marcc's reference to the loading effect, or lack of it, with DMMs. Many vintage circuits show voltages and specify that a 1000 ohm per volt meter is used. This means that a meter on 100V range presents a load of 100K ohms, on 10V range, a load of 10K ohms, etc. This compares with most DMMs with an impedance of 10M ohms, irrespective of range.

This is not a problem measuring a low impedance source such as B+, cathode or back bias voltages, but can be a problem with items such as screens or audio stages anodes where there is a high value resistor in play. A DMM will read much higher than a 1000 ohm per volt meter in these cases suggesting a problem. When the designer puts a voltage figure on the circuit and specifies a certain meter loading, he or she is allowing for that extra loading.

The simplest way I know of compensating for this is to simply shunt the DMM with a resistor appropriate to the range in use, 100K on the 100V range, etc. The 10M ohm impedance is still there in parallel, but the effect there is insignificant. Of course, the resistor must be able to withstand the voltage applied.

Harold

Thanks Harold,
I know your very knowledgeable with electronics and so is Marcc.
Im at the other end of the scale and just a beginner. The good thing about the forum is I have met and learnt a lot from people who do know what they are doing here and buying a meter is a tricky thing to do particularly off the internet as there is no where around here to actually see one and hold it before you buy It.
Pete

Photo uploaded to Post 27.

Gandhn ,
Im reading up more now Harold regarding what your saying .
I have found some references to this on the internet so I will read it all so I have a better understanding. I understand the importance of the right reading and what your explaining
Thank you ,
Pete