In a message dated 12/18/02 12:55:57 AM, stcullen@TELOCITY.COM writes:

<< I also agree with getting a Fluke. I've had my digital model going on 14
years, and it's never let me down even though I treat it like it's in the
starring role of a Timex commercial. >>

In a previous posting, I too recommended a Fluke meter.  I guess what it
comes down to is how many VOM's you want to have to buy in your lifetime.
I've bought more than one Fluke, but I have never had to replace one, I just
added to the arsenal.

The leads on a cheap meter will be the first thing to go south.  No big deal
you say?  It is a big deal if a cheap lead with an intermittent open is
leading you around in circles.  Also, try scratching though the oxidation
found on nearly any terminal in a Vanagon one to many times with a cheap lead
and see what happens to the probe.  So, with a cheap meter, you either buy
some good leads, which end up costing as much as the meter, or you buy
another cheap meter which places you back on square one.  If you do buy a set
of good leads, the switches on the el cheapo meter will be the next thing to
come up lame.

The most overriding reason to by a Fluke is that a lessor creature will go
sour when you need it the most, i.e., when you are using it.  If you still
cannot justify the expense (anymore, about the cost of dinner and a movie or
a concert ticket), go out and steal one.  The lapse of morality will prove
worthwhile.

George