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OT- Who makes the smallest digital multimeter on Earth ?

Milacron

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Would be nice to have one in my pocket all the time. At minimum, needs to read AC volts to 260 and DC volts to 90, plus continuity.

Little doubt a tiny one perhaps the size of a 3 foot tape measure could be made, but the tricky part would be how to deal with the positive wire. I say 'wire' because the negative could be just a point on the housing itself. Ideally the positive wire would retract like a tape measure. Any such creature exist ?

I'm aware of the thin ones like Radio Shack used to sell that are in a folding case sort of like a wallet, but I'm thinking of something that could go unobtrusively in my front pants pocket, not rear pocket and not shirt pocket.
 
Haven't seen any better than the Radio Shack ones. I have one of those and it works remarkably well. The problem is that the leads need to be a certain size to keep the resistance down and to be strong enough not to break. The meter itself can be smaller but the probes and cables are what determines the size.

One might imagine that the japanese might have something. Sometimes they are called credit card or pen style.
Here's a fairly reputable brand:-

http://www.testmart.com/webdata/mfr_pdfs/WAVMET/WAVMET_DM78A.pdf

Even claims to be the "smallest"

Chris P
 
Somewhere, I have a Triplett meter that is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. It has only one lead, a screw-in point is the other contact.. IIRC, it will do ACV, DCV & Ohms.. I need to dig around and find it..
 
I have one of those probe style meters. It is basically a fat probe with a display on it and a ground wire attached a the rear. It runs on a couple of coin batteries and works quite well. It came in a soft case and would fit in almost any pocket (not watch). Sometimes having the readout on the probe itself is a bit arkward so I made a couple of attachable leads with miniature clips on them.

I can't remember the brand name but will post it tomorrow. It's too cold to go out to the shop now.
 
I've long sought what you're looking for but the closest I've come is this:

http://www.amprobe.com/cgi-bin/pdc/viewprod.cgi?pid=218&tid=1&type=elec

I also have a meter very much like the Wavemet credit card one bcstractor linked to but they tend to be a real pain to use. What I like about the Amprobe unit is that you can have a short "probe" plugged into one input and a short test lead in the other so that the hand that holds the meter is also probing the test point and the meter isn't flopping around the machine some bloody place. The probe and test lead then unplug quickly and you can put them safely into your pocket. The little credit card types are too light to stay put, so as soon as you move the test lead the little bastard meter slips somewhere where you can't read it, or you're left with a meter dangling in midair upside down.

There are smaller units:
http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/M3211Df.htm

but the probe doesn't come off as easily (screw on) and if you stuff it into your pants pocket pointy end down you may puncture something you didn't want to...

The Amprobe unit also has the ability to accept a clamp type amperage probe head that plugs into the top of the meter. It's also very rugged (mine's withstood years of abuse) and has a convenient "Hold" button.

Ther is a definite market void for a meter with a good size display that is no larger than a fat pen (5/8" dia or so) and has a retractible tip one end and a retractible test lead on the other end...
I've also seen a credit card type where one probe clipped to the side of the meter. Probably Ok, but the probe didn't seem real secure and I don't like probing a high voltage device with something less than robust.
 
5FS040.jpg
#61-605
This meter is a little larger than a pack of cigarettes and easily fits into a shirt pocket. The test leads are stored and protected in the back case. The back opens like a clam shell to access the test leads. It runs on 2 Calculator size batteries which seem to last a long time.

Those little calculator size multi-meters are somewhat of a pain. The test leads do not store well and the batteries seem to always be dead.

More pocket multi-meters
http://www.idealindustries.com/tm/Multimeters.nsf

Jim
 
The little credit card types are too light to stay put, so as soon as you move the test lead the little bastard meter slips somewhere where you can't read it, or you're left with a meter dangling in midair upside down.
Brother, did you ever hit the nail on the head ! Been so long since I used my little credit card meter (lost it years ago) I had forgotten that that is exactly why I hated the thing ! LOL !


What about this "new" one on the site you referenced ? It looks like the probe tip "retracts" on that one judging by what it says in the instructions. But it's hard to tell how small it is overall in comparison to the pen type you referenced. Excellent suggestions at any rate...I was unaware of all of those.

This meter is a little larger than a pack of cigarettes and easily fits into a shirt pocket.
Well of course I specifically said 'not shirt pocket' and 'in my pocket all the time' Even if one always wore shirts with a pocket, one wouldn't want something that size and weight in their pocket all the time. So, while vaguely interesting, your example is a moot point.
 
Little OT, But...
Why would anyone want a manual ranging meter? I have always used an auto-ranger. Never saw the need to stay locked in one range or resolution. And I don't think manual rangers are less expensive, I would think more expensive. They have a dial with many many more positions. Just wondering.
--Doozer
 
The little probe ones from R/S pretty much
fill the DVM part. Mine's about 8 inches long
and an inch square in cross section - with
a probe at one end and a negative wire for
the other lead.

(arrrgh. The batteries have gone off on it, time
to clean it out!)

One comment I might make though is, how is this
instrument going to be used? Are you checking
live power stuff, inside machines?

Small DMMs cannot interrupt fault currents to
any level at all. I would suggest avoiding
them and go with the smallest Fluke power tester,
which can do exactly what you want: measure
DC to 90 volts, AC to 600, and continuity. The
readout is a series of LEDs so there is no
wiggler to speak of. It does not provide the
accuracy of a DMM of course. And the leads are
fixed to the instrument, fixed length.

I bought one of those for work, and find that I
use it more than I would have thought. Gone
are the days I use the simpson meter for checking
ac power circuits. Probably a good thing.

Jim
 
I would suggest avoiding
them and go with the smallest Fluke power tester,
which can do exactly what you want: measure
DC to 90 volts, AC to 600, and continuity. The
readout is a series of LEDs so there is no
wiggler to speak of.
Just looked at Fluke website and the only testers I could find like you describe are way too large...wouldn't even fit in a shirt pocket, much less pants pocket.
 
Chris999, can you tell me the dimensions of your Amprobe PMM-2 ? I can't find any dimensions on their site. Also would be interesting to know exactly what the standard probe set looks like...don't see any photos of those anywhere. Also, cost and where to buy...
 
Don, if you want it to WORK, vs just be small, possibly the Amprobe unit is best.....

I am a Fluke bigot.... but they do not have tiny meters.

Amprobe atleast knows about UL CE, and various safety standards... The 260VAC is not something I want to probe with a Radio Shack special.....

The Amprobe's problem is that the reader is small, but all meters need atleast one lead, and leads conforming to to the safety standards are not small. Leakage prevention takes space.

Also, that biz about heads avaialble to do various tasks seems a bit Kirby-ish. Small meter, big box of accessories.......
 
J, it would be just for "emergency" use mostly...I'd still use my big Fluke in the shop. Perfect example being testing forklift battery voltages at auctions, checking for power to disconnect machines at auctions, or unexpected silly things like my parents problematic icemaker on the refrig when I was there for Thanksgiving...had to make a voltage tester out of a Christmas tree light for that one !
 
An aviation mechanic I know has a 'credit card' meter with the SnapOn name (I think made by BluePoint), which easily fits in a short pocket and the wires coil inside the cover. While it seemed to function ok, I noticed that the readout had a hard time settling down. Snapon site, MT592.$90. Cheers, al.
 
The smaller fluke power tester *does* fit
in my pants pocket, I carry it that way at
work at times. A *large* shirt pocket maybe.

It would be easier to fit if you modified the
leads to shorten them, and changed the probes
to aligator clips.

Jim
 
Jim, would you please post a direct link of photo of this mysterious "power tester" ? Fluke has no category labeled "power tester" so I had to guess at what you mean really.

And by "pants pocket" do you mean front or rear, as I specifically said front. I don't like anything in my rear pants pockets....although I will carry a wallet back there just to go into a store or similar.

Hell, I could carry a freaking *hammer* in my rear pants pocket...but would I want to carry one back there all the time ? Of course not...and by all the time, I literally mean every waking minute I've got pants on !
 
The meter leads are the limiting factor. Like someone else said it takes a certain amount of insulation to be safe. The little probe type meters with only a ground lead have the readout on the meter which is essentially the probe. When you are taking a reading the probe/meter is in a dark hole somewhere and you can't see it. They sometimes have a "hold" button to hold the reading if you can find that in the dark. In earlier days I worked with an associate who asked me to hold his mini-meter while he probed a test point. The meter blew up in my hand and there was nothing left but the leads and a black spot on my hand that took 2 weeks to wear off.
I am a Fluke meter and Tek scope bigot, I wouldn't use anything else.
Also consider that you are not as young as you used to be, can you see that readout on a mini-meter?
 
When you are taking a reading the probe/meter is in a dark hole somewhere and you can't see it.
That would rarely be an issue for the type of readings that I would be taking, esp the type of situations I previously mentioned. And even if I encountered a dark hole, I always have an LED flashlight in my pocket that I can hold in my mouth with great "dexiterity" (or is that mouthterity ?)

I would much prefer holding the meter as probe than holding two dippy little probes and trying to keep the meter from flopping around (see Chris999 post)...been there, done that.
 








 
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