That cheap multimeter I grabbed for $10 at Harbor Freight actually saved me twice last week

I was working on a dead power supply for a customer's monitor last Thursday and my regular Fluke was dead as a doornail. Grabbed that $10 special out of my truck just to check continuity and it worked fine. Then on Saturday a buddy asked me to look at his car stereo that wasn't turning on and I used the same meter to find a blown fuse in under 2 minutes. I keep nicer gear in my shop but for quick field checks that cheap thing has been surprisingly reliable. Anyone else keep a backup meter that cost less than a lunch and actually comes through?

2 comments

2 Comments

theawest10d ago

You've been real quiet since" ... that's exactly how it goes with these cheap meters. That dollar store special you mentioned @willow_garcia... the leads snapping is a known issue with those ultra budget ones. But here's an angle I haven't seen anyone bring up yet: these cheap meters are actually great for teaching newbies. I gave one to my nephew when he started tinkering because if he blows it up or breaks the leads, it's no big loss. That way he learns on something disposable instead of wrecking a decent meter. Plus the cheap ones are light enough you forget they're in your bag until you need them.

willow_garcia11d ago

Busted my knuckles real good last fall trying to get the back panel off an old receiver I was fixing. Had this 99 cent multimeter from a dollar store in my glovebox and its leads were so thin they snapped right when I tried to probe the board. Had to run inside and grab a pair of alligator clips and some scrap wire just to jerry rig a workaround. Thing actually read voltage fine after that though. Made me kinda respect the little junker.