What's Your Multimeter?

[Captain Obvious]

4 hours ago, 240260280 said:

I use the beep for chasing wires

Yeah, I can see that. That's what I was thinking when I said it was faster. Just listen for the beep instead of waiting for the display to settle.  I'm not judging. 

And that brings up one of the reasons I don't like autoranging... It takes longer for the display to settle because it has to first figure out the correct range and THEN display the value.

[TomoHawk]

That's the good thing about the analog meters.

[TomoHawk]

This is sort of related, but not a multimeter per se,  but  is there a digital- type oscilloscope that is "affordable" (less than about $250 or so) that might be useful for automotive use?  It might be a good reason to buy one if it could do double-duty in your electronic hobby too. 

I suppose stuff like that not only can sample & display electrical stuff, but also record and transfer to a PC.

This is the LabNation SmartScope:  https://www.lab-nation.com/

Edited February 13, 2017 by TomoHawk

[TomoHawk]

I've been searching a couple hours, and there really  isn't anything you'd want to use right now in regards to oscilloscopes, but there are several very nice  developments, like the LabNation digital sampler/adapter ($230).    I found some DIY kits on eBay, but this isn't something I feel comfortable assembling myself.  I'll put my dollar every week into the envelop marked "Scope" and when it's full, there will be a number of adapters available & affordable.

There is still plenty of things to do with the multimeter to keep yourself busy, unless you really need the $10 eBay endoscope for smartphone, to look down the spark plug bores...

[Dave WM]

reg CRT based analog scopes can be picked up pretty cheap, a HP will work well, esp for looking at the waveforms of most car stuff. I have an old DeVry scope that I may even pull out of the attic one day just to see how well it can look a the injector signals. Its a real antique, uses a 5" crt and some 12AX7 tubes in it, which are worth way more to the audiophools than I paid for the scope (5$).

Edited February 13, 2017 by Dave WM

[TomoHawk]

I think I'd do the same kind of stuff with the pocket or tablet  scope.

I have an old Tektronix dual trace scope you can have if you pick it up.  I  need the space, and I don't like  to fool with knobs that much.  I even have an engine analyzer scope  that someone gave me, but I couldn't use it on the modern EFI vehicles.  Maybe I'll hook it up to the CubCadet sometime.

Edited February 13, 2017 by TomoHawk