DMM that reads RPM and Dwell

Hey guys I've recently moved to the US from Australia and in transit I somehow managed to lose one of my tool chests :x

In it was my most precious DMM now albeit it was only $45 when I brought it a few years ago but the beauty of this one was that it could read RPM and dwell angle on a motor. It was perfect! and now it's gone.

Ive looked at a few auto shops and Radioshacks and they just look at me stupidly, I would really like to get a replacement meter that can do the same. To get me by I have purchased a $9.99 DMM from Walmart and it "works" although the continuity buzzer sounds a little on the sick side!

Anyone know where I could get another one that does what my old one did?

Thanks guys

I know the Fluke 88 does what you want and a lot more (I have one).. but hold onto your wallet. Around $400.

Jim

OMFG

Thats criminal! on two levels!

My last trainee had mummy buy him a really good DMM..yup, the Fluke 88 (didn't know it could do that though!) and he said it cost her about 220!

Secondly, my original was like $45 or there abouts

Aye Carumba!

Well, thanks mate! I guess I can hold off for awhile, either that or keep trying to remember the brand of my last one.

FLUKE RULES!!!. I do have a cheapo that I got from Autozone that I use as "'the loaner" it was less then 50 bucks

To be honest, I don't think you do get what you pay for, not all the time. Sure, the fluke is much more accurate then the 9.99 special, but honestly, when was the last time you needed to tell the difference between 12.34V and 12.35V? So long as it shows some fluctuation right?

So long as it can determine if there is continuity there? It works right?

Measuring current? Why use a DMM? Anyone of them would give a false reading, get DAM Clamp measures upto a good solid 200amps! My last one for $45 had an RS232 socket. Could store max, min, avg and mean.

Sorry, I can't justify spending $400 on a DMM with a name brand when it was outperformed by a $45 special. Know what I mean?

The size of your appendage isn't dependant upon the value of your DMM

Another thing to look at is the speed of the meter.  My Fluke 189 (logging meter with RS232 port) could read signals in cars that no one else in the shop could read.  Things like BCM controlled door locks (roughly a 0.3 second signal in newer Nissans/Infinitis). 

For day to day use I recomend buying a $20.00 Craftsman meter, as your voltage accuracy in car audio IS unimportant.  But, have the Fluke handy because eventually you WILL need it for something. 

The Fluke 189 does frequency as well, but will cost you closer to $500.  I wouldn't trade mine for the world!

The new Fluke 88 kit is running around $559..

In all serious, if all you're going to do is measure chunky volts and continuity then the $20 no name meter is probably fine. The advantage for me with the Fluke 88 is measuring pulse width, RPM, Frequency, Min/Max, and things like that.

At one time I bought the Fluke 88, an IR temp probe, a contact temperature module, a pressure module,  and some other odds and ends. I laid down somewhere in the neighborhood of $1k dollars for all this stuff.

Use what you can afford..

Jim

tragik wrote:

---

good tools are what seperates a good installer from the guy that just does it for fun in his parkinglot.

---

All of my installs are done in driveways and parking lots for fun, so your theory isn't 100% correct.

You mentioned a shop in a previous post.. what do you do for a living KP?..

Jim

I worked as an installer for Circuit City through college.  After I graduated (BS in electronics and computer technology) I stuck around for a while until I found a job as an automation engineer in the petrochemical industry.  Lots of travel and late nights in hotel rooms let me to start my own company, KPtechnologies. where I am the majority owner and Director of Engineering.  I basically design the hardware and write the software for all of the automation products we sell.  I can't seem to get too far away from cars, although I don't do many installs much anymore, mostly just for family or friends (how fun is that).  The majority of the stuff I install now are things that I have designed and built myself.  Having two jobs keeps me really busy, typically working 70-80 hours a week, but hopefully it will pay off by the time I'm 30.

I started out really big in to stereos and custom installs (https://www.angelfire.com/oh2/piersonkevin).  There are pics of my first two cars I ever owned and the installations I did on them (not too bad for a high school kid with no professional experiance at the time).  Later the installation in my Cavalier opened up the door to Circuit City (the were very impressed with it).  While working at Circuit City I got burnt out on the stereo side of things and turned on to the alarm/security/convienence stuff.  I've been hooked ever since.

Sorry to go so off topic, but thats my story.  I am not a professional installer anymore, but in my driveway I can still out install any of the guys (still talk to them all) at either of the two local Circuit Citys :)