Hey Dave, one day when I will make 9000 Indian rupees , I will buy your meter instead of fluke. I like this meter, now this meter is in my wish list. Will buy the day when I get the money, probably within 2 to 3 years.
Since you don't ship to Russia for some reason but the Amazon does, is there any way to apply this coupon on Amazon? Or get the discount some other way? I'd like to buy but you just don't ship to Russia.
I only trust Tektronix TDS3000 scopes and compare Siglent to them to make sure the Siglent it good. Siglent will never gain the internal software confidence that Tek has, even if the Siglent can be so much "cooler" and have a better screen.
Senior Advanced Microwave Metrologist tech here. Years ago, the USN quit recalling Fluke meters for periodic calibration and replaced the stickers with "cal if suspect" stickers. We tracked every single piece of GPETE/TAMS by model/serial for the lifetime of the unit. In doing so, we found that Fluke's handheld DMM's NEVER went out of calibration. They would only fail to operate outright due to abuse/accidents. We had a saying - Heaven is where the meters are Fluke, the scopes are Tektronix and the spectrum analyzers are HP. Hell is where the meters are HP, the Spectrum analyzers are Tektronix and anything is Giga-tronics.
In 1987, in Moscow I made a Russian engineer cry with joy when I gave him my Fluke 77. He had been very kind to me regarding setting up for an exhibition there, and I had given him it as a gift in thanks; something that was simply unafordable and actually unobtainable for engineers then. Russian engineers knew the quality and reliability of Fluke even then, and so he was mega-grateful for my gift. For all I know, he may still be using it now.
My 73 is over 40 years old and has been connected up wrong more times than I can remember, and it has NEVER failed me. That makes me a Fluke customer for life, except the meter will outlive me!
It really was bright thinking of you back than to understand how you could thank the guy. I got my 27 for a fraction of the price brand new from old militairy stock. Also got a scope (which is basicly a Phillips) I was verry used to 77's at my work in aviation and indeed never thought much about it. more like "It's a good meter you can rely on", thanks Dave for this unknow side story.
My Dad ran a small avionics repair shop for decades. His Fluke died after decades of use. He dug out the warranty card and sent in the whole unit to Fluke with a letter stating what he did and that he was extremely happy with the device and was hoping they could fix it. There was no reply (this was back when people wrote physical letters) for some time. When the box arrived, Fluke had kept his old device for analysis and sent him a brand new near top of the line replacement costing a couple thousand more than the one he sent in with a thank you note for using Fluke equipment. That kind of service helps make you number one as well.
Had a similar experience with a LEICA slide projector (!) when I was in art school: bought the cheapest model and when it had issues, they replaced it with a better model free of charge, apologizing for the poor performance of the entry-level model... needless to say that I am a fan of their brand ever since.
Wait, you're telling me fluke gave him a top of the line model in return? So I buy a fluke 102 & it when it goes bad on me, I get a fluke 289 replacement? Seriously?!
I worked for a state government run power utility company as a substation operations maintenance technician and Fluke was the only brand that we used for all of the mentioned reasons in this video. 100% correct. I now teach at a state technical college and use a Fluke 115 with my students in the labs. Most opt for cheaper brands, but I use the Fluke (or Amprobe) as an example of what they'll see on the job out in the field. The cycle of Fluke continues.
I regard Fluke as the Snap-On of the electrical industry. A status brand. I deliberately choose Fluke for specific safety critical pieces of test equipment at work, purely because it ticks the health and safety box. I'm not keen on how their marketing seems to be adding useless gimmicks to upsell basic tools like test lamps though.
And I'm the kind of guy that will buy a generic wh5000a DMM because I have no worries about tossing that thing in my glove compartment or trunk(boot for non-'muricans)
Yep, if you show up for a job interview with a Fluke and Snap on tools, it's conveying an image about yourself. I also know people who do fantastic work with pretty cheap tools.. perhaps not the bottom of barrel Harbor freight, but something like Craftsman (before they started making total shit)
@@zakofrx Not to sure about the older ones, but Snap-On/Bluepoint sold ones that very much looked like Fluke but the calibration guys said they were different. The leads are very different, felt cheap to the touch. Replaced those as soon as we could justify them to supply.
I'm a property developer that uses Fluke, and I can confirm AvE's observation: "Sometimes you've just got to whip out a 12 inch Fluke, to get the sparkies to take you seriously."
I once had an electrician cite in an email "the tools he saw in my bag" (Fluke 117, Fluke network analyzer) as a reason to take what I was saying seriously.
If your multimeter is not near black and dirty I won't take you seriously anyway. If it is brand new shiny yellow I assume you are an engineer and there to make my life difficult by breaking shit you shouldn't be playing with.
Fluke and Avo were the weapons of choice when I used to work for the UK Ministry of Defence in the Naval Supply ships. In the early days we used to be provided with the enormous and heavy analogue Avo 8 meter. This bulky beast had a certain advantage made use of by a Senior Electrical Officer of my acquaintance who was a great advocate of 24 hour drinking. When the behemoth was removed from its beautifully made leather case, it left the exact amount of room to stow a six pack of stubbies so he had enough McEwans Export to keep him going until lunch time. Of course everybody who didn't know just thought he was carrying around one of the main tools of his trade - including the Chief Engineer!
Had that same Avo8 and Fluke thing going when I was in the RAF servicing ground radar systems in the 80's. The stuff I worked on was designed in the early 60's and all of the routine servicing had to be done with an Avo8 since that was what the methods of work were written for. I recall that the systems that came in and replaced them in the early 90's had done away with the Avo8 and just used the Fluke meters.
Been an electrician for the last 35 years. I have tried many different brands of meters. I trust my Fluke meters and I find they level off with the reading faster than others. Super helpful when chasing down a water based fire alarm ground fault. If there is something better, I haven’t found it.
My understanding that calibration and accuracy of the meter is very important in this case since 0.4-0.5V error could be important for e.g. for smoke detectors? However i still fail to see how Fluke is better than Hioki or APPA etc as long as the equipment properly calibrated and accurate? Or when your are measuring small volts 0.5 - 1.5 it is important or Ohms? But so does *absolutely* accurately even 1979 Soviet multimeter or APPA iMeter5 etc Fluke sure has its place on planet Earth and this is all..with respect..
I was in the military for over 20 years and I’ve been given various reasons when I asked why we always buy Fluke. “Made in the USA” and “Better Input Noise Filtering” were the two most common reasons I was given. We didn’t have any specific test procedures that required a Fluke, most just said “using a multimeter” or “Using a Fluke 77AN or equivalent” perform such and such. Measurement confidence, however, was a very real thing. We don’t even calibrate Fluke multimeters used for non-critical measurements anymore. When a Fluke fails, it doesn’t go out of calibration, it dies. If it turns on, it’s good. That’s a huge deal in the field.
@@aicisha They sure do. Oddly, the 87 needs to go to calibration and counts against the ship's calibration budget. We had dozens of 77s, but only 1 or 2 of the 87s "officially."
When I worked for NOAA, we only used Fluke. Because we were making data sets for Nautical Charts (sonar bathymetry). And the charts could get the Gov't sued over a mistake or error. So all our equipment was calibrated and sealed. If we went to court in a multi-million dollar case involving say a shipping company or oil company, the traceability was a factor. A survey ship at sea is thousands of dollars a day in operational cost, so you just don't take chances where you don't have to. The cost a Fluke meter is pennies by comparison ...
All the Fluke meters I’ve used where we had to have a traceable calibration certificate, were calibrated using a Fluke computerized calibration device. It made the calibration affordable. To calibrate other brands the tech had to test every single function and range manually and the costs for recertification were often as much or more than the cost of a new meter with certs.
When you talk about the use of multimeters in the US military, I was a calibration technician in charge of a calibration/metrology laboratory for the Navy. When we inducted Fluke multimeters and tested them for total function, they were always considered rock solid. We loved them and knew them to be absolute superstar devices. That is not a common sentiment about most military equipment. We had procedures for calibrating fluke multimeters for all quantitative functions. They were always perfect out of the box and we sent them out to the fleet with no further calibration required, secure in that knowledge.
Yup. I worked (just shy of nine years) as a calibration technician within the USAF's metrology and calibration (AFMETCAL) system. My experiences with Fluke's equipment were like yours. I quickly learned which brands of test, measurement, and diagnostic equipment (TMDE) were quality products and which were not. Our customers would sometimes buy off-brand gear that came with a "certificate of calibration" which more often than not was just a worthless piece of paper. We'd perform an initial calibration on the off-brand equipment, and quite often (maybe 70% of the time?) it'd fail to meet one or more of its stated performance specs, and consequently the customer would have to send the thing back for a refund. You get what you pay for.
@@fornax205 Yep. I'm a mechanical engineer with the Air Force but I work with shop guys that do electrical work on end-items and on the jet. I trust their opinion, their stuff is always Fluke, that's what you use when you're doing work that could take down a jet if you don't do it right.
I work for a calibration lab. Fluke meters do remain pretty accurate with age and if they are out they can always be recalibrated to bring them back in. As Dave says there is a calibration and adjustment procedure for all of them. At the other end of the scale we have own brand instruments from one or two well known electronics suppliers that fail quoted performance specs from new. Recently we had 4 new of one meter in and 3 failed calibration.
I also worked in calibration lab that also calibrated DMMs for the army - for a while I dreamed about display digits at night. The calibrator was a big Fluke unit, which I really liked. The DMMs are OK, but nothing I would really be crazy about, there were more precise units than Flukes. I still use 78 Automotive DMM because it has some features that new units don't have.
As a professional metrologist working for an international calibration organization for years, I can attest to the quality and repeatability of Fluke meters versus most other brands. After testing/ "calibrating", the overwhelming majority (99+%) pass within spec. In quotes because the calibration is simply testing the meter using a high-end Fluke calibrator to a standard test procedure and requiring no adjustment (if even possible to adjust).
Doesn't most meters, pass within spec? I have two over 30 yo Tektronix meter that is within spec, I do also own some cheap $5 meters that measures (as wrong) like they did 1st day. Flukes meter is not able to be adjusted, but this is also, as you know, not the important pat, only their drift over time matters. :-)
@@JoshuaNorton Could you elaborate at all on what you dislike about the scope-meters? I've been considering trading in my 28II for a 99B and then just using a cheaper meter for basic stuff.
@@sdgelectronics Thanks a lot for your great reply! I have apparently been lucky with my super cheap meters, they have kept showing the same wrong value in the last 3 years, but okay, I do only use them to detect if the power is on or off in small circuits. :-)
I have worked in the Railway Signalling Department for over 40 years. When I started we used Analogue AVO'S, but we're prone to damage. Then British Railway only provided Fluke Meters, they were robust fairly waterproof compared to the AVO's. The Flukes were smaller and easy to use. We got the first ones in the 1980 and only in a military green colour. I love them.
I changed from my military spec AVO 8 (Screened metal wrap around case and increased sensitivity (400 volt scale)) when my work changed to fault finding floodlights. The difference to the job not having to lug the AVO up the ladders made but instead stuffing the fluke in my jacket pocket was immense. The fluke was the only meter on the market at the time that had nearly the same accuracy specification as the Avo.
I still regularly use a Fluke 77 from the 1980's. Works great; extremely reliable. As you can see from your video, the Fluke can also withstand incredible shaking.
"Longevity of production" (or a closely related attribute) is also important to "lifetime warranty". There might be cheap multimeters out there that have a lifetime warranty, but when your multimeter breaks, good luck trying to track down that random string of characters that passed for a company name on Amazon. (And which naming here apparently gets your comment deleted.)
by taking extreme parts you forget the middle ones: There is still other old and reputable brands which produce instrumentation tools for pros with that kind of warranty. That's especially true in the European market.
I call those "alphabet soup" companies. Always frustrating to try and wade your way through all those "brands" finding a more legitimate/recognizable one.
Thank you for being objective - as a professional, people just don't understand how things work in large companies. The amount of money spent on multimeters doesn't even register in anyone's conscience and it makes no difference to us if it is 5x the current price. We have more important things to worry about. Just me trying to search for the right model on the internet for an hour or two costs $200 in salary.
Used my Fluke from 1981 to 2013, industrial automation in Norway, they were calibrated and tracked and never heard of a Fluke that failed. My Fluke survived a lot of happenings.. :) In this setting I think they are very cheap, and they are safe, and no one in industry needs cheap tools that fails when you need them
absolutely correct on how large corporations almost do anything and pay (happily) any price to get the exact same specifications every time they buy another one of those god old whatever they used forever. I remember working in one of the biggest medical device manufacturers, a famous Australian one! and sometimes it felt almost comical the amount of trouble they indoor to get the exact same item regardless of the importance or complexity of it. doesn't matter if it was a simple detergent or sandpaper or high-tech test equipment, the cost of changing brand A detergent to brand B detergent, or switching from 1000 girt to 1100 grit sandpaper was millions of dollars as they have to prove with traceable facts and tests, those changes wouldn't have any effects on quality and longevity of the product.
As someone who has worked in medical production for a bit I'm not surprised. Entire staff has to sign off that they have read the entire spec sheet, safety warnings, etc of pretty much any substance and component involved. I never before considering reading the safety warnings for soap but we had to. Surprised we didn't have to sign off before using the toilet paper.
I can't blame them, I do the same on my life. for ex, when I need to fix any problem on my car, I just go for my reputable mechanic and I don't even ask for the price, I just say fix it. The amount of trouble I could get from going to another one I don't trust yet, its not worth the savings vs the risk. It even goes as far as using only original parts, why risk the warrant on after market? to save some small bucks and can come to bite you on insurance or warrant. I can understand what goes into the decision. Heck, even when I'm buying groceries on the super market, I go for the brands I trust and only some times I try something different, only because I know how the taste and quality is going to be and I don't care much about the price, it doesn't matter either way. Why change it and risk something that might taste bad or even be bad. Its all about the mental resources I would have to spend to change vs the cost in money. Ironically, not everything is about saving money, but almost every time its about saving time. Time is usually the most scarce resource you have either way, you can always earn more money later. Time saving and risk management, simple as that.
@@jakx2ob Trust me there was an entire division of supply people who were doing just that, so that every roll was the same quality as the original contract specified, even if they had to special manufacture the poorest quality paper to meet that old specification, because that was the best when the contract was issued, 100 years ago.
I bought a Fluke 112 about thirty years ago as a private hobbyist person, just because I wanted to trust the (smallish number of) measurements that I will do with a multimeter. I did have a couple of very cheap meters, both analog and digital, before that, and I never really had a reason to doubt their accuracy, but because I had the opportunity to get a meter that I know I can really trust, that's what I did :)
I received a fluke 110 from 20 some years ago when I was about 10 years old, left it out in the cold or hot car, dropped it way too many times to count, had so many run hours on, been through more than 5 or so batteries. I got so much flak for bringing it into the engineering workplace over it being "old and possibly out of calibration". Had the calibration company check all the functions. It was within 0.25% within all functions and all ranges! We're talking it being off 1-2 mV from the calibrator here! Unbelievable!
I worked for the BBC in the 1990. All the broadcast engineers were given a Fluke 77 DVM marked BBC on the back. One went missing presumed stolen. I was found over a year later next to a railway line ( thrown from a bridge by someone with a grudge ) , and returned. It was not in it's case, but after drying out, a squirt of WD40 and a new battery it worked fine. One more reason to buy Fluke.
@@thehighprotondiet3127 It is a true story, but take from it what you will. Another Fluke meter may have never worked again. A different brand may have survived even better. Sometimes it's just luck. It was my one time experience.
@@thehighprotondiet3127 better to hear such story than to read nothing about it. And if you check the current video then you can not see any bias of the likelihood that someone else would tell us such story from one of those many competitors. Of cause again no evidence but Dave did not call for telling him about our fluke experience, nothing like that so anyone using thoses meters of any brand could have come up with his story. And of cause we do not know if in that spot it had even rained in the months or weeks between lost and found. But I like to hear such story first hand which only happened cause back then and now it was a company asset, not the 8$ throw away item of nowadays which is not a judgement about their quality. They could even be better in some areas or all. But back in the 90s a GBP was of different value than now for sure, especially since brexit when we started to even import more from the UK for the first year. Since then the import has come to a digital and hard 0 GBP imports due to all the nightmares from shipping to customs and so on. China is shipping fast than the UK and the UK idea of asking for shipping quotes was the last nightmare which always bothered and took time. Lost battle they will never win back again. I do not know how the economy makes it through tough days but the british exports dried out since last january.
I bought my Fluke 73 some time in the 80's. Was head technician of a company then. Fluke still works perfectly. As an aside, in the late 70's I bought a Micronta (Tandy) bench meter, and it also is in top condition. Readings between the two are identical.
Used Flukes in the military and then bought my own when I was working as a wireless engineer, kind of a gift for myself. Got it calibrated for the first time 10 years later and it was still in the exact specs from factory and just needed a new battery. The same was not true of the cheaper ones the company used.
@@666kty3 It was a year old battery and most good labs will replace the battery for cal anyways. Plus, I prefer to put wear and tear on company equipment rather than my own. But cool story bro
I am an appliance repair technician, and have went through many meters over the last 20 years. Watching this video, I think the 786 meter is for me. I also have a you tube Chanel doing appliance repair so when I order mine in Canada, ill show in a video how it's working for appliance repair. Thanks for the video!
I've used other meters. And for whatever reason I had doubt, whether it be a dirty switch or something else. Each time I pick up my Fluke 179. I don't doubt. Just the confidence in a meter that I don't have to second guess, is worth the extra price to me.
The measurement confidence and stability of the spec is no joke with Fluke. I used to work in a calibration lab and calibrated lots of different meters. Fluke is generally about 10x more accurate on dc ranges than the spec states. This means a given spec Fluke often matches or surpasses a competitors meter with much better spec. Through my hands moved units that were abused, dirty and old, some more than 10 y of grind - and bang on in spec, and not just on the edge, usually give or take a few digits off the reference. Not so with other brands. Only Brymen hangs in there wrt stability and accuracy. The build quality and layout is better than most other meters. It is well thought through, there is space around the high energy circuits and it is generally easy to diagnose and repair a Fluke. As a bonus, their displays and buttons are a treat.
I used to calibrate meters etc also. The only two things I think could be improved on Flukes are in my opinon are the annuciator which is really cheap and support for the circuit board terminal mounts . I know you're not supposed to do it, but loads of technicians used to have a habit of wrapping the test leads around the meter while still plugged in and fracturing the board mounts over time. The 28 was my favourite fluke as best for field engineers in all weathers having an IP67 rating. We always supplied our techs with 150kohm shunt for basic non electronic use
@@jackjohn4684 Biddle. That was all we ever used at the utility company I worked at. I work in our calibration lab for 8 years and very few of them failed. Also Fluke meters or Simpsons were the go to meters. Even in out nuclear plants which were audited by the NRC.
@@jackjohn4684 Well, Megger is most known for their specialty testers, insulation resistance, earth continuity etc. They are good, very much to the same caliber as Fluke, also cost a lot. I never encountered an Avo device.
@@Lee-70ish Not to refute what you say about wrapping the leads around the meter while still plugged in, but both of my '80s era 77's have been like this most of their lives and they still live on. Lol. Love my Flukes.
Bought a Fluke 87 V a few years back because of one of your older multimeter videos. Not because I needed it for my purposes, but because I wanted the best. Haven’t regretted it. That was before you had your own series of multimeters, though.
This is such a fun channel! I discovered you as I am interviewing for a technician position and am brushing up on Op Amps. At my former job I did witness testing where an outside agency would send an auditor and watch me perform each measurement. So I had Fluke, Keysight, and Tektronix equipment in the lab. It was always an expensive visit with a lot riding on it. So we had to have that confidence you talked about. BTW there is a measurement standard, ISO17025 for uncertainty, resolution, and so on. That was another area where an ISO17025 Calibration easily cost 2x a NIST calibration, because the calibration lab itself was accredited. Again the whole confidence thing. Great explanation, thanks.
Fluke was the standard for companies in mining and pulp and paper I worked for directly as a result of the calibration requirements. When lives are at risk you want something that can stand up to legal enquiry if something goes wrong and then you really have to have that paper trail.
When I was working in the oil fields doing wireline we used Fluke meters. Because we worked with explosives we used special ones certified for being blasting safe. This allowed us to meter through detonators and not set them off. I do not know the technical details on this, but it is a thing. We mainly metered through the detonators to make sure the resistance was in spec. A-140 detonators for example usually metered around 55-60 ohms.
I'd be willing to bet it had to do with voltage/current output of the meter to take the reading. Since the blasting cap takes a certain electrical charge to detonate, the meter has to be certified not to produce that voltage/current when taking the reading.
@@tbriceno probably something along those lines. Simple detonators like the one I mentioned you simply crank voltage till the current meter spikes showing a short. Just a safety switch and a knob. Newer and fancier systems are adressable and computer controlled. Dyna Energetics has a couple systems. As well as Titan. Both function a little differently but the shooter has no real control over the voltages. You just tell it to go boom, and it does.
Our campany just bought a lot of Fluke meters last month for RF and high voltage field work, and I asked the exact same question. The purchasing guy told me, if they do want to buy cheaper meters, someone need to warite reports for reason of change and capability issue. Manager need to sign off. And most importantly, if something went wrong, someone probably will need to come out and take the blame. So why not stick with the old one and have an easy day.
Because of my use of Fluke while in the military, I own several classic Flukes that are still very accurate after several decades. I have 8020s and 70 series 2 meters. Good stuff.
Well I've used Fluke meters for many, many years as for being retired, however being in Electronics repair in many different aspects for the past 48 years. I have an old Fluke bench top multimeter model: 8050A and it's still working and going strong. Of course wold love to have the latest & greatest, however part of being old now is being poor as for unrealistic cost of test equipment and components. Best of luck everyone! And thanks to the Fluke Company! Can't be beat!!
When it comes to a large organization like the military, you have to remember that the cost of the multimeters is insignificant when you consider how much money they're spending overall. $350 vs $50 might as well be a rounding error when it comes to your whole technician/test equipment/calibration standards budget.
@Stangmaster 2 Well if they didn't want them buying it they shouldn't have sold it to them. Moreover, Chinese made doesn't equate to bad. The Chinese companies will make it to whatever specs you want. Tell them to make it cheap and they will. Tell them to make it great and they will. Same for American manufacturing.
Fluke meters are similar to Keysight scopes - any engineer can turn them on, know how to use them and know what the readings mean. Fluke is also decent for warranty though, just send it to Norwich and it gets fixed within a day or two. I would argue long term reliability is a seriously compelling argument though. I've had plenty of Uni-T, Brymen, Metrel etc meters fail over time.
@@3markaw I know Keysight and HP, but the most common scopes I've seen in all my labs, companies, etc, where I have worked is Tektronix or HP if you have some old analog scopes. I don't know if in other countries it's different but in the Netherlands at least that's what I've seen.
I'm so glad I saved this old $550 Fluke meter I that doesn't work anymore! I didn't realize they had a lifetime warranty. That's good enough reason to buy a Fluke! Thank you for this information.
I worked in the electric utility power industry and always had a Fluke multimeter assigned to me. They are the very best digital multimeters in the world! I trusted this meter whenever taking measurements.
@@JAMESWUERTELE Due to the chip shortage, I also wonder if Fluke products are negatively impacted in any way: availability, reliability, performance, quality, etc. Customers view Fluke as synonymous with high quality. However, has the chip shortage put the company in a position where they're forced to make concessions in order to keep producing equipment? Rhetorical question. Hard or impossible to know for sure, but it's one reason I'm inclined to wait until the chip shortage passes and enough time passes for existing inventory to be pushed out the door to make room for new equipment built with potentially better semiconductors. On the other hand, it could be the case that due to the nature of what a multimeter does, a more advanced chip is simply overkill, unnecessary and not a factor at all, regardless of the semiconductor situation. Thanks for your reply. Good to know people with practical experience with the meters are satisfied.
Spot on. And as an engineer, electronic metrology nerd, and hobbyist, I buy them mainly for the warranty, parts availability, and yes, measurement confidence. I have "yellow" meters that go back well before the original 87, and I can still get parts and support. "Better" comes in a whole ton of flavors, and the slick sheets only show some of those factors. EDIT: The EE lab at work is also a certified satellite lab for a major compliance organization. That means the calibration, drift, and other factors are a BIG deal, and yeah, all the tools are Fluke for that reason.
I much prefer my Klein meters because here in Canada, when you take cold tools from the trunk of your car and bring them in the factories, they get all moist with the condensation. For this reason, they don't last forever. Since they don't last forever, I prefer a cheaper product that I can replace as often as I want.
Good video! I recently bought my first meter. I went back and forth between models, almost bought a Fluke, ultimately went with a Aneng AN8009. It is perfect for working on electronics as a hobbyist!
That’s the best explanation. Especially the longevity of product line . A company that kept on changing the model line. Would NOT get a military contract due to maintenance manual update logistic .
When I was growing up in the 70's, we had a Heathkit television that my dad built sometime around the year I was born (1970) and what I remember of that television (around 76 to 78) was my dad working behind that television seemingly every few months with a mirror out in front of the screen while he made adjustments to fix what ever was going wrong with it at the time. I remember going with him many times down to Thrifty drug store to purchase vacuum tubes for the thing... that TV became the furniture that the replacement solid state television sat on around 1980 or so... lol
@@MikeSims70 Yah - I built three of those, and several SB-102s and one SB-104. I was 14-15 at the time, and I was VERY cheap and fast and worked for cash. All my stuff except one SB-102 worked first time. The SB-102 had a single transformer installed backwards, which caused a resister to blow like a firecracker. Those were the days.
@@Jollyprez Oh I dunno if "those were the days" - I was playing around with a circuit of my own design just the other week and I popped a cap so badly, there was nothing left in the breadboard (except the brown stain that it left) and it sounded like a .22 going off ... lol. Did you have many problems with those Heathkit televisions like my dad did?
@@MikeSims70 Actually, I merely built them - and adjusted them the first time, I didn't repair them. I don't remember them being a problem, though. But - again, I was 15 and building them for 'old farts' that liked to tinker, but didn't have the eyes to solder any more. Most of my customers were elderly ham operators.
Thanks for the great explanation. I have multiple meters and at least 50% of them are Fluke. If looking for a particular type of meter I usually search for pre-owned Flukes first 👍
Because they WORK. And when you're in a CATIII/IV environment, you don't want it to explode in your hands, so that's worth a few hundred dollars. LoZ mode also means you don't need to carry a Wiggy around. Heck, just last month I saved a co-worker who had spent the past hour troubleshooting a break in a machine ground because his orange meter told him there were kOhms between A and B. I told him that was ludicrous, pulled the Fluke out of my bag and it said 0.1 Ohm (and no, the probes were fine - the meter failed several tests afterwards). The orange meter went in the garbage and a PO went out for three more Flukes. Whatever other professional brand, it doesn't really matter - Fluke's not the only one, of course, but you can't take hobby toys to work, folks. It's just worth it to spend on quality tools when you need to rely on them.
Fluke doesn't make any CAT IV 1000V meters. Brymen does. Amprobe (USA!) does, too (look up their yellow "Pro" meters). Those meters also have LoZ, etc., so why are you using Flukes if that's your main concern?
@@thehighprotondiet3127 I work at a facility with 600VAC service and am sometimes outdoors. Why do you think I need CATIV/1000? (Hint : I don't - you assumed). Those are also very nice meters, of course. I think perhaps you're reading too much between the lines. I've heard Brymen meters start to lie when the batteries get low, though, and that's intolerable in a pro tool. Would want to test one before trusting it in my bag.
I have owned a bunch of different Fluke meters over the years and currently use a Fluke 289 as my main meter. I've never had a single issue with any of them. I really wanted to get one of the newer Brymen meters. They looked to fit every spec that I wanted and the price was right... Until I watched someone go on a wild goose chase on a repair while using a Brymen meter only to later realize they were getting wonky readings due to low battery voltage in the meter. That to me is an instant no for any high end meter. I know they show a battery symbol and I know it sounds petty, but that just isn't good enough. I never want to have to question any reading I see. Either display the exact correct measurement or give me nothing at all (Which is exactly what the Fluke does). If they ever change that (someone please let me know if they already have), I will consider one, until then no way.
"only to later realize they were getting wonky readings due to low battery voltage in the meter" - Oh yeah, almost ALL the multimeters on the market do this and it's sooo annoying! You're absolutely right that this thing alone would make me discard a multimeter brand for professional work completely!
My first brymen lost its calibration data when left in a toolbox for couple months and the battery died. The only way to fix it was to send it to a cal lab and pay a lot more than the meter was worth for calibrating each unit and range from scratch. First time when it happened the vendor sorted it out because of warranty. The second time... Well i got myself a new meter.
As a self employed small business person I used to use a Craftsman meter until I wasted a whole day trusting a bad reading. Now I have a (used) 87V, the cost of which is nothing compared with the day I lost with a Craftsman. Craftsman were good at marketing but Fluke doesn't need to be.
One extra thing about the military: One reason they want to stay with one meter is because they don't want some unknown error that might happen if you use a different meter. For example I had to measure the DC bias on an RF circuit. The meter I had was showing some weird numbers. The recommended meter showed the right voltage. The problem I was having is there was RF ripple on the bias. This ripple would make any meter show the wrong voltage, but the recommended meter always showed the correct "wrong" voltage on a working circuit.
"I had to measure the DC bias on an RF circuit" That's when the Simpson 260 comes out. Pure analog, ignores RF. Obviously it won't work on a high impedance circuit (gate of FET, grid of tube).
"one reason" and then stating the wrong ... has to be corrected, sorry:) If you manage the money for that concern, say in state business or a company, you would know, that it is the calibration plan and the maintenance contract, which decides who wins a tender for an inquiry. These are long term concerns. You can easily see the truth in my words when you visit leading facilities (elephants? :) ) and take a look at their gear: very expensive but also well-established devices, for which there is a replacement or a fitter within hours. an answer to inquiries and solutions to problems. IMMEDIATELY! You are absolutely correct: Hate "unknowns" as the devil ... if you have money to pay. And vice versa:) For the second part of your post I just can say: Use a capacitor. (Or a million dollar Wien-Bridge). Trivia and nothing that can be solved on YT:P Good Luck and a happy X-Mas, JT:)
@@thomasmaughan4798 Usually the correct way is to feed the meter a known source. Over the full spectrum +12dB to be sure what the derivation at +3dB is. There is nothing "wrong" (sorry Jammit) ... just the person in front of the measuring device ... "usually" :P + :) If you know, that your device shows correct values in spec with the boundaries of your task (which you checked before) then there is a good chance, you can believe what you see .......... The view of Jammit of the TASK was wrong. Not the meter. Just the setup. There is nothing wrong with this. Use any measuring device with more than one knob. You will do something wrong. There is nothing wrong with this. :) Enlightenment comes after
Also: that DEVICE always showed the value it was able to show! Your interpretation (and maybe the choice of gear) changed. By Physics it would maybe be possible to correct the wrong readings, if it isn't something fundamental like RF vs DC, like in your case ... which possibly needs a normalisation device ... like a maths multiplier (really :P) or a, hehehe rectifier, which just is one representation of one of another. For X-Mas: A bad bad tip to measure dc bias in a circuit: a really really exact Ohm-load ... around $10k + a fine tuned infrared laser refractometer (no price!), a prism and a coil in the near spectrum of the resonance frequency of your target emitting RF frequency. Then compare the phase shift between the reflections. its already compensated against jitter or external influences. it will show exactly thermal energy differences (in Joule ~ Watts) between the measuring candidates. cool, or?:) (Hot, in fact)
oh and maybe this is a little strange, but this setup can measure DC accurately in an overlayed wave by 1/4 λ. What translates to a 300GHz to 400THz, depending on the sensors and experiment. Which seems strange ... but thermal radiation is DC ... btw:) and is overlayed by the rest of the universe. Excuse this off-topic explanation. sorry:)
I have worked in the southern California power plant industry for over 32 years and also food industry. We we're only allowed to use Fluke multimeters from day one! Tony from Bakersfield, CA
High-end Fluke meters long time user here: Superb products, robust and reliable. Sadly, since some time ago, the test leads are no longer the same quality, not even the more pricey ones, and they are no longer made in the USA (of course, that is not the root cause of their low quality). It is really a shame because the high qualilty of the meter cannot compensate for the defective leads. The problem is their resistance soon becomes not low enough and variable, despite careful handling and storage. A much less important but worth mentioning annoyance is that high-end Fluke meters used to come with soft grip leads but now they are shipped with cheap looking hard plastic leads.
@@Lakay7 Interesting. But by some reason the TL76 set I got last year has the legend "Assembled in China" on the packaging back. I would like to know what that "assembled" exactly means, as it is not a full "made".
I think its also worth keeping in mind that while the fluke is double the price, the total dollar value is only 150 dollars. In a professional space, 150 bucks is just an hour or two of all-in labor cost. So ultimately, if using the "name brand" saves you 2 hours versus another meter at any point in time over its life, its actually less expensive to the company. Having to certify another DMM for a defense contract, for instance, might take hundreds or thousands of hours of validation, procurement, documentation, etc so the 150 dollar difference would never be made back up. Heck, just having the meeting and then having to get the other DMM to your procurement team to source the new meter and cut a PO might cost multiple times the labor of the price difference. Having to answer the question "why are we moving away from the fluke DMM we have used for 20 years largely without issue" is more expensive than the cost difference. Basically at the business level, the difference between a 300 dollar meter and a 150 dollar meter is pretty negligible for a lot of businesses, so it just makes sense to go with the "safe bet." Definitely less true in the consumer space, but thats not Fluke's primary market.
Easy. Try to drop Uni-T on the floor when you measuring something from the ladder, then try to drop Fluke 719 for instance. Fluke 719 measures inside same specs after fall, Unit-T you need repair and calibrate (if possible) and it costs twice the price of the brand new instrument.
Simpson VOM's are a very good meter as well. The Simpson 260 is still in production and looks and operates as good as the one I used in High School in my electronics class in 1970
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="240">4:00</a> "Name another meter that have been around on the market for that length of time" I bet the (in)famous El Cheepo $5 little yellow meter often named "830B" or something similar has been around for that long. Well okay, maybe I technically can't name it since it doesn't have a consistent name but rather is rebranded as the wind blows...
Worked as an array engineer at a neuroscience company, and the fda regulations are particularly ridiculous, we used the fluke meters for continuity testing only, and they also needed to be calibrated monthly.
As far I know has Fluke stopped "calibrating" (Fluke calibration is NOT what most will call a calibration and never has been) Fluke has also changed their leads to cheap stiff nylon instead of the silicone quality they had. Fluke makes a lot of their meters in China, so please check that before buying. Lifetime guarantee does not cover usage of the meter but only production errors.
I noticed Fluke's decline in quality about six years ago. A friend of mine bought a T6-1000. A USD 300 meter that's made in China and has absolutely terrible accuracy and repeatability with regards to the ammeter. He was so excited to have a "professional" meter so he volunteered it for me to take some measurements. I could see the poor guy's heart break when I handed it back to him and asked him if he kept his receipt. The Amecal ST-3347 is ~1/3 the price, can measure AC/DC on the clamp, can measure capacitance, frequency, temperature, etc. IMHO Fluke has begun cashing out their brand and will soon be just another rebadged Chinese tool company.
Most places that take calibration seriously aren't going to use the fluke calibration. They're going to do it internally or they're going to ship it out to a lab approved in their QMS.
I guess there is something in it, if someone handing me a Fluke for measurements, I trust it more than a meter brand I don’t have experience with. Like Brymen there is something I first have seen for a couple of years (nothing wrong with them). But where I was working it was fluke,hp,tektronix Equipment.
When I replaced my AVO 8, the only meter on the market that even came close was a Fluke. So I bit the bullet and paid the money. It's a decision that I've never regretted. 30 years down the line and, as you commented, the kit is still on the nail as far as calibration. This to the point that I changed my company procedure to extend the calibration period to 36 months since, in all of those years, it has never required adjustment at calibration.
We had tons of Fluke equipment at my previous work and it's never failed me.. I buy and use Fluke at home aswell, mostly because I trust them and using their equipment just makes me feel good. 🤔I don't care so much about price. I care that I get something high quality and that I feel won't let me down..
I agree... Used Fluke meters at work for years. When it came time to buy my own, I ponied up and bought a Fluke, even though I didn't need something that good. Quality is quality, and I know one of my kids will have it for years after I'm gone.
My apprentice was using the Klein top end DMM and checking for voltage. He conducted the test and I had him stop. I looked at his meter to ensure he had it set on the correct setting. I had him do the test again as I knew the circuit was live (120vac). He checked it again but still showed no volts. I had him used my 87V… immediately indicated 120. His meter was way too slow in its scan time to be used in our plant. His meter would read but it took several seconds to register.
I'm a professional electronics technician. Back in the old days, I used a Simpson 260 meter. In 1983, I purchased my first Fluke 77. In 1985, I purchased another used Fluke 77 just like my first one. I paid $135 for the first one, and $25 for the second one. Both are series 1, with the gray rubber cases. I still use both of them daily to this day, nearly 40 years later. I don't even know where my old Simpson is anymore.
In my previous job (network engineer) we had a Fluke cable tester and several cheap backup testers. In the same time span (several years) the fluke worked flawlessy with only a single issue (the rj45 port broken after countless plug/unplugs, fixed with available replacement parts), while the cheap backup testers broken off with no apparent reason and no spare parts were available. In the end, the money spent over several "backup testers" was equal to the cost of one Fluke cable tester, but with a lot more headaches.
I've had the same basic Fluke 11 in my tool case for 25 years. It's been 100% reliable and out lasted any of the cheaper ones supplied to my newer colleagues. I've also had a 115 for years but rarely need to use the extra functionality it offers so that stays stored away most of the time.
I am an electrical engineer and the only hand held meter that would take accurate AC measurement in the .001 V to .005V region was the Fluke. It would of course round the measurement, but it tracked well with something like an HP 334 or HP 400.
Every non-Fluke meter I've ever owned has developed the exact same problem over time: 1: They display drifting non-zero numbers when volts or ohms are selected. 2: They do not power off when the switch is set to Off. I don't know why, new batteries have not helped, exercising the switch hasn't helped. Anyone have this happen to their meter?
BK Precision user here. It's been good for last 20 years. The screen on the Fluke it replaced went bad after 2 years. Why would I want to replace it with the same?
I work in a state-owned nuclear power plant in Brazil and we have a lot of problems because, by law, you need to buy the cheapest product, which sometimes is not the best product, and doesn't last very long. But luckily we have a lot of fluke instruments and the company managed to buy more. My favorite feature, which to be fair, probably exists in some other cheaper options is the beep, when you connect the probes in the current input while you are measuring something that is not current, this can literally avoid a trip of some important load, which can eventually lead to a reactor trip, other feature is that you can measure DC and AC voltage at the same time, here we often have control circuits with both AC and DC voltages. These two features don't exist in the insulation multimeter that we often use, which is a downside, but at least it performs insulation tests. The fluke dc amp meters seem to be also more accurate compared to the other brands that we have. But to be fair I have a bias, for me, it's easier to use a meter that I have experience using.
When i started my job as an electrician in the early 90´ there was no FLUKE around. In education and schools and lab the most equiment was ABB or BBC Metrawatt Handheld instruments. Most of the time for decades as analog instruments. It is the same story: Military, police, schools and labs had to use them for references, and if a meter fails, they get send back and recalibratet. Now i use only Fluke or Gossen Metrawatt, because i trust them as i ever did. greatings
Great explanation! Very objective👏💯 I started using Fluke meters in Mexico & now I keep using them in Canada. They have a very high reputation in North America & they are long-lasting!
I have a Fluke 87 V that I purchased in 2019 for $330 CDN. Fluke 87 V has lifetime Calibration and great warranty. Sure it is expensive but it is the same meter I use at work everyday. I previously worked in calibration and familiar with NSIT traceability. Writing a calibration sheet for multiple points of measurement requires a lot of time. Even calculating the combined measurement uncertainties of the device and the reference standard. My current place of employment has 3 Fluke calibrators. I purchased a Owon HDS2202S handheld oscilloscope writing my own calibration sheet and then testing took a lot of time. I can see why the military want commom equipment for calibration and recommend equipment for military equipment repair and test functions. Also, there are procedures specifying specific test equipment. Thats why I own a Fluke 87 V.
Thanks, basically made it clear that I (strictly hobbyist) did not need to buy a Fluke. For my basic needs I went with a Klein MM325 that will certainly take care of all my basic needs.
I have a Fluke 77 that's a good 25 years old now, never failed. I once had it in storage for 5 years, and when I found it I discovered to my horror I left the battery in (not my habit). I date a battery, so it was easy to check. Five years old, still held some charge, absolutely zero leakage. That's why I now use Panasonic batteries exclusively, and not just in my Fluke gear..
You're not wrong about measurement confidence. If I get a weird reading using either of my fluke meters I'm more likely to question my methods than the meter.
I'm pretty sure Simpson still makes their analog meters (the ones for real men) in the U.S. Their 260 model multimeter has been made since the beginning of time. The Fluke meter was designed to be backward compatible with these, at least as far as the Navy was concerned.
Funny you should mention the 75. I'm still using my Fluke 75 I bought when I was 12, back in 1982; 40 years ago. It was $100 and that was a LOT of paper route money for a 12 year-old!
American electrician here. Fluke has Harley Davidson syndrome as others have said it’s kinda a status symbol. The reason I use a fluke is because daddy told me to! My journeymen and master mentors from day one handed me a fluke and preached that I should buy one and with tradition I hand my fluke to my apprentices. I also find I take care of my fluke meters over my Klein and cheaper meters because of how expensive they are.
@@ChrisMag100 that’s not true at all. It all depends on what category your doing your comparisons. Brand regonition, longevity (a Harley is made of metal grades that can be remachined over and over, parts availability, dealer availability, loyalty, high price. Performance is subject to how you compare values, are you interested in horsepower, rpm, torque? I own Kawasaki, Harley, Yamaha and they all check boxes the others do not.
i work for the navy and i can confirm they have entire code system to tell us electronics workers, what types of meters can be used to test their equipment for a trustworthy refurbishment. and when some equipment the navy has gets overhauled throughout a 20 year plus life span. its important to have a known source of test equipment as a constant.
When I started out in the late 1980's, I had to pay for my own tools. I bought an Omega DMM with a 0.05 percent accuracy at 400 volts dc. It was a great meter. At the time it was one of the best that you could get. I used it to calibrate power supplies. I didn't even know about Fluke meters at the time. As my career progressed I ended up working on jobs where the company would issue a complete rolling cabinet and tools and a top of the line Fluke. Fluke meters were the brand supplied. I always liked them. I liked the Cat rating and the toughness of these meters. I liked the display and the general appearance. The accuracy was always to specifications. All of our meters were calibrated as well. I always felt confident when working around electricity and electronics using a late model Fluke. We would usually be issued a brand new Fluke meter as soon as a new Cat rating came out. If I ever need to buy a new meter it will likely be a Fluke. The reliability, design and accuracy are the best that I've ever worked with. They have fantastic support as well. In my opinion they are simply the gold standard.
Got an Aneng for less than 10 bucks. Readings were off just by replacing the probes. Have an automotive meter for $40 but still works well. Finally the Fluke 115. Cause I gotta have at least one meter as standard.
I am from India and I bought a DT830 multimeter in my 10th grade in 1998. All thru hole, no SMD, manufactered by VarTech. Its become a bit inaccurate now but does its jobs fine for all my casual measurements.
When I went to electronics school in 74 they used the Simpson 260 which was the de-facto meter at the time. I went to work at an electronics repair shop in the late 70s and they were using the Simpson 260 also. I went to work at another electronics repair shop in 1985 and they were using Fluke meters. I didn't like them at first because I was so used to the Simpson 260, but I came to love them for their digital accuracy compared to the analog Simpson 260. I bought a used Fluke 77/BN in 1990 when another electronics shop closed down, I still have it and it still works perfectly. The Fluke 77/BN came out in 1983 and was already 7 years old when I bought it. It's 40 years old now and still works perfectly. I've replaced the 9 volt battery in it a few times and sprayed contact cleaner on the rotating contacts once years ago. Fluke must use high quality durable parts for it to last this long. I'm 68 now and I'm sure it will continue to work long after I'm dead.
There used to be a motto written I one of the folks cubicle out in finished goods area at the Fluke Evergreen Manufacturing plant in Everett that read "Is cost 5 to 6 times as much to regain a lost customer than to keep a customer" I believe there is some truth to that.
My time goes back to when the Simpson 260 roamed the earth. I currently have 2 Fluke meters and my work meter is also a Fluke. As a RF tech, not all meters can handle a high RF environment. Some meters get pretty buggy around the stuff. That is one of my reasons for using Fluke. My 87 quit on me years ago, and I went to using another meter for a while. I finally desided to bite the bullet and send it in. They sent me a new meter. In the very small world of great customer service, Fluke and Ruger are at the top of my list.
I bought a fluke 73 in the mid eights. I used it professionally in a manufacturing environment, bench top environment and it’s always in my tools bag. Only the battery has failed. I have even thrown it hard towards the ground during an argument with my wife. It did crack the display, but it still works great. If I see a good fluke meter deal used, I buy it. I have 5 meters now. To say they are not better built than the competition, I would have to see that.
Bought a 12 (Made in USA) today with the yellow bumper case, manual (printed January 1992), original fabric/pleather "case" with belt holder, original probes, still has the plastic film on the screen. Everything in mint working condition, paid $2.
Have had a Clamp Multimeter 400 A UT213C / MIE0186 for years now, ( about same size and form as Fluke 324 ), but has auto-ranging, measures AC and DC current up to 400 amps via built in clamp ( 30mm jaw opening ), measures AC and DC voltage, temperature C and F degrees ( supplied with plug-in thermocouple ), capacitance, resistance, frequency and diode test. The whole thing cost just over £40, including a case. I have used Fluke in the past in industry ( robotics ), and other expensive meters, my last expensive meter was failing ( cracked circuit board giving intermittent readings ) the cheaper meter was spot on with its reading ( when I could coax a reading out of the old one ). Now I am retired cannot justify spending £££'s on high end stuff, but for me the UNI-T DMM does everything I need for hobby work, and fixing of things for other people. Some companies charge more just because they can - like Apple and Fluke. My meter also does non contact voltage sensing if you put the clamp jaws near a voltage source.
I am an aircraft technician, and I can confirm that measurement confidence is a huge thing. To even use a multimeter without the tracking label on it on aircraft parts is a huge issue that will land you in trouble. I can also confirm that if there is an incident involving the use of a meter, they will confiscate the meter and do a thorough investigation of it's records.
