Anotherpower.com Forum
Product Information => Product Reviews => Topic started by: Norm on March 08, 2012, 11:21:32 pm
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At Harbor Freight....
Just got a bunch of coupons in last Sunday magazine/newspaper
one of the coupons.....free with any purchase, digital multimeter !
handy little things....I'm always having to repair the probe leads....
more my fault than theirs 'tho clumbsy me ....
Now if I can just get up to Erie,Pa (nearest store 30 miles away)
before the coupon expires....
Hmmm what else to buy ?
Norm.
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I usually forget to change the probe back to the volts/ohms socket after reading Amps on the cheap ones. I've left a few behind after working on or installing stuff too, but usually they die some unnatural death such as water or the wrong socket thing. We have a harbor freight store here, but I haven't been in there for a while.
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They have the $8 33-piece security bits on sale for $3 this Fri, Sat, and Sunday.
Handy things to have around.
G-
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Will have to try and get up there this week end.
Norm
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Got the free digital multimeter with the purchase of 9x7 tarp. and HFT masking tape
for $5.81 , for $1.99 the masking tape is the stickiest I've ever seen well worth the
price.
Roll around platforms various prices, $8, $12, $16 or $18 anyway, whatever ....they all
had the same size wheels.....3 inch? only difference bigger has a little more wood and
carpet padding.....I'd have got the smallest just for the wheels.
Was a longgg beautiful day ! (DST)
Fun !
Norm.
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"I usually forget to change the probe back to the volts/ohms socket after reading Amps on the cheap ones"
I Don't know how many times I've done that, usually cheaper to buy a new one and give the broken one away as a voltmeter :)
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Yeah Rover....Me too, and I bet we're in the majority of users that do this....eh?
Norm.
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I think it must be an initiation or right of passage. Had a cheaper meter with a 20 amp rating that I did this to. Opened it up and there was a 20 amp fuse. The fuse was fine, the trace after the fuse was no more. A little solder work, and it seems to be ok.
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one of the HF multimeters so cheap didn't even have a
fuse holder....soldered in line....I could hardly believe what I was
seeing....
Norm
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Really, at roughly $2 you were stunned?
LOL
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What stuns me is when I see them at other stores for $20.
Exactly "the same", except for the HF stickers.
"The same" means every batch is a little different from the last, just like at HF.
IE: Advanced Auto parts, #85357... "•Available in many different styles, including continuity and circuit testers"
G-
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one of the HF multimeters so cheap didn't even have a
fuse holder....soldered in line....I could hardly believe what I was
seeing...
Believe it or not, there's actually some measurable justification for that!
Fuseholders - especially cheap ones - tend to oxidise. Over time, and particularly with vibration etc, you end up with a higher resistance at either end of the fuseholder than you do through the fuse. This can affect the meters accuracy. (that said, I bet it wasn't the accuracy considerations that were 'top of mind' in manufacture of these cheap ones!)
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Ross..
(that said, I bet it wasn't the accuracy considerations that were 'top of mind' in manufacture of these cheap ones!)
you got it .... the little fuse holder is just too expensive in mass production compared to a dab of solder.
For the price.. sad.. but who cares. Cost me more in vehicle fuel to replace the little fuse (+ the cost of the fuse) than the meters original cost
:)
Rover
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The Test Leads are the fuses
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Woof, got that ....good idea....never crossed my mind to do so
or that someone else had thought of it .... :)
Norm.
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I just got a new mailing of coupons from HF. The meters are the same as back in March. Buy anything in the store or on line and get one free.
I have 4 I bought for $3.99 already. I expected them to blow up like popcorn but they haven't. The first one is 1 1/2 years old and doesn't click when selecting a function and has begun to read 1/2 a volt off compared to my ~$350.00 Fluke. Honestly, I would have not treated my Fluke as roughly as I have these "expendable" meters.
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Yeah I've had 4 or 5? since I first found out there was a Harbor Freight
in Erie, PA.....only 2 problems I have with them ....they keep coming
unhooked from the probe ends....but mainly I take a reading of amperage
and forget to switch back when I go to read the voltage and wonder why
the little wires are getting hot and the wires are getting real soft just
before the fuse blows......Hmmm! oh Dang!
both of the 2 I have still work but 1 didn't have any probes or leads so
16 guage extension cord wire stripped ends doubled over and stuck in the jacks
the other ends stripped about 3/4 inch and soldered and points filed on ends
works better than original.
Norm.
$350 for a fluke .....never !
(as Norm slips quietly to the floor)
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The first one is 1 1/2 years old and doesn't click when selecting a function and has begun to read 1/2 a volt off compared to my ~$350.00 Fluke.
Uhh, you did change that crappy "heavy duty" battery, right?
When the voltage readings go goofy, it usually means the battery is low.
I have a $couple true RMS.
Ran a bunch of tests on ECMs (amps, VDC, VAC, Voc...) with the TRMS, a red HF, and a yellow HF.
They were so close that I don't risk the TRMS for silly things.
Usually within <0.1V, worst was 0.2V but I can't figure out why that happened in just the one testing scenario.
G-
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Yep replaced mine about a week later on the last one.
Ever try using those Heavy Duty AA batteries from DollarTree in
a 2 cell camera? voltage checked ok turned on the camera, and it went
beep and quit checked batteries each 1.6, tried again same thing
checked voltage....still good.....tried again etc.
Then it came to me voltage good taking a picture too much of a load
....must not be heavy duty enough....
Yeah I'm going to try it on a tent camp light that normally uses 4 AA batteries
in series...don't have a lighter receptacle but 2 alligator work just fine !
Have to kinda glue em down with hot glue so them don't come loose and
touch each other.
catch ya later
Norm
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voltage checked ok turned on the camera, and it went
beep and quit checked batteries each 1.6, tried again same thing
checked voltage....still good.....tried again etc.
Most "cheap" batteries have a fairly high internal resistance. They may contain a decent number of watt-hours but you just can't take it out in a hurry. Like a thousand gallon tank with a 1/8" pipe coming out. :)
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Yep, it's probably the battery. If I get enough meters, I might use them in place of panel meters on my battery bank.
Also, speaking of Flukes, I found some meters from Fluke China on eBay. They are exactly like my US made Fluke only a different brand name on the front.
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It will not do Ross any good, but I like the Dollar General brand alkaline batteries.
Did some LED flashlight testing several years ago. 24/7 until batteries dead, or until LED failure.
Didn't have enough of the big name AAs left to test the lot, so used a couple sets of DG alkalines.
No difference in performance between the big name and DG AAs.
Then comparison tested D batteries, name brand to DG, which was a 24/7 LED test that went like 30 or 35 days! Again, no difference.
G-
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Yep they work real good on LEDS ....tried NiCad AA's with a LED light
or even c size ....cause I guess the LED's suck up whatever is there from a
NiCad.....why they're so much better than alkaline for a DC motor like
cordless drills
Norm.
Edited per Norms comment --Tom
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Speaking of fixing ....finally got the address rounded up
putting it on the box 3 of them all individually bubble wrapped
and in seperate WallyMart bags (lowering prices everyday).
They will be sent out tomorrow Ta Dah !
(Cordless drill battery paks)
Have Fun !
Norm.
Oh Yeah (Fixed that. Should I remove this one then?)
Go Ahead....