[TheHWcave] found a Fluke 27 multimeter that looked like it had had quite a rough life. At first, the display flashed an overload indicator until he gave it a good smack—or, as he likes to call it, percussive maintenance. Even then, it would not give good readings, so it was time to open it up.
The display did work, so the obvious theory was something wrong with the analog board. Removing the shields showed what looked like a normal enough PCB. Or at least, the components looked fine. But on the solder side of the board, there was some corrosion on two contacts, so some careful cleaning and resoldering fixed the meter to be as good as new on at least some scales.
Tracing the pins, the corrosion put a resistor between two pins of an op-amp. The only remaining problem was the milliamp scale, but that was a simple blown fuse in the line. Since it was working, it was worth some time to clean up the ugly exterior, which is only cosmetic but still worth a little effort. He left the plastic case cracked and beaten, but he put a lot of effort into clearing up the display window.
You might wonder why you’d fix a meter when you can get one so cheap. However, these name-brand meters are high-quality and new, quite expensive. Even older ones can be worth the effort. While you usually don’t need an X-ray machine to fix something like this, it can’t hurt.
If it works, it’s a Fluke!
B^)
Never mind the price.
What you get from a more expensive meter is safety.
Do you think your $5 meter from Horror Fraught will really meet the requirements of even a CAT II safety rating for a multimeter?
https://www.fluke.com/en/learn/blog/safety/multimeter-guide
An old meter from a good manufacturer is a better bet than a piece of random, cheap crap that has never been safety certified.
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“What you get from a more expensive meter is safety.”
If you don’t understand the safety requirements of what you’re working on, the multimeter’s not going to save you anyway. And if you do understand it, you’ve probably got a need for that $5 multimeter in low-voltage situations because god knows you always need 1 more voltmeter than you have.
I totally understand people’s safety concerns with cheapo meters, but I don’t know why they suddenly think some guy messing around with metal probes on line voltage is magically going to be safe just because the meter is. Every time meters come up, people say “buy these because they’re safer” but it’s really just “don’t mess around with line stuff unless you know what you’re doing” and that’s… just universal anyway.
I mean if you’re going to come out and say “use this Fluke, it will let you work on line voltages safely!” that’s just as scary as the $5 multimeter.
Exactly – I’ve seen people tell newbies fiddling with Arduinos that they need a $200 fluke to be safe when a $5 meter and $195 change for other things is by far the best answer for them.
I’ve got a £15 meter from RS-Pro (RS’s own brand) and it’s great for everyday toolbox stuff, and I trust that it’s at least made to the relevant UK/EU safety standards because RS are a large company who stand to be sued if someone kills themselves with one. I probably wouldn’t use it for poking HV stuff, but then as you say if you’re poking HV stuff you either know what you are be doing or you’re going to hurt yourself either way.
Meters dont kill people, people kill people.
THAT. My Fluke(s) are not just measuring instruments, they’re literally part of my PPE.
This. Exactly.
Yes, I should have known better-
If you check the battery of a Fluke meter using the meter, it screams bloody murder with alarms you didn’t know it had.
Doing the same with a HF meter just kills it.
hahaha i never would have considered such a thing. makes me think of the unpleasant noise my cheap digital scope makes if i accidentally ground it to something insufficiently isolated
Am I wrong to think that if your nice Fluke meter has internal corrosion problems you probably need to work on your storage solution?
I mean, after 2 or 3 decades having to spray a little DeOx on that many-contact switch would be reasonable but this sounds like a very different level. Unless maybe you live on a boat…
On instruments I actually care about, I’ve moved the the practice of using only lithium primary cells. Yes, they are more expensive. However, they last a lot longer and I’ve never had one leak and destroy a battery holder–no matter how old the cell or how long the instrument sat on the shelf before use.
Same here. I also like how long the lithium cells last, both in storage and in usage, which is great for things that need to sit on a shelf for long periods, but still work when needed. Everything from my LCR meter to flashlights for emergency use now have them.
It took me a while to get away from Duracell alkaline batteries, because they’d been pretty good for so long. But then, in one year, they destroyed three of my remote controls, and seriously corroded a Heathkit VTVM. Never buying Duracell again.
But regarding the internal corrosion on the Fluke in TFA, it’s exactly why a cracked meter case should always be repaired, even if it’s not cosmetically perfect. You could never know if something was accidentally dropped into it. For instance, a few metal filings might’ve blown off a bench surface, and entered through a crack. They might not make it go BOOM! right now, or in a week, but it’s conceivable they could, with handling, vibration, etc. eventually make their way between traces or components, and cause trouble.
If you watch the video, the Fluke’s cracked at the corners, which probably means it was dropped at some point. Once it’s cracked, moisture ingress is just a matter of time.
That is why hot glue was invented.
Oh yes, Flukes are worth every penny. They even recalibrate and recertify them and they’re good as new again.
I once tried to keep one as a memento as my workplace closed for good but they kept my severance pay till I gave it back. They left a ton of stuff behind but damn if they parted ways with their 87.
Personally, i see Flukes as overpriced. Hioki makes similar instruments considerably cheaper. A moot point if your employer provides the needed instruments, but for those that have to pay for their instruments, look for alternatives. As always, Caveat Emptor
Personally I hate the new fancier Flukes that need to boot up. If I just want to make a simple measurement and I have to wait 10 seconds for it to finish booting before I can get the reading, I get really annoyed. They have some nice features, but I find myself hunting down the older Flukes in the lab unless I need a specific feature from the newer, fancier Flukes.
Just buy a cheapo multimeter and calibrate and verify with your fancy fluke. Most cheapos are ready to measure within a sec of powering on. Havent met a digital multimeter yet that i couldnt calibrate to show good enuff at the voltage range needed.