DVOM

A nother nice feature is having a thermal camera in it however I don't like all the meters that use that cheapo lepton chip but I guess something is better than nothing

Those cabinets you posted are in my mind contain what Einstein termed “Spooky action at a distance” and should remain firmly within the realms of thought experiments only.

Blocker in MS said:

Those cabinets you posted are in my mind contain what Einstein termed “Spooky action at a distance” and should remain firmly within the realms of thought experiments only.

Click to expand...

Ahah telekenisis... wait a minute.... that belongs in the other thread

Ronsii said:

You forgot diode/tranny check

Click to expand...

Ronsii said:

A nother nice feature is having a thermal camera in it however I don't like all the meters that use that cheapo lepton chip but I guess something is better than nothing

Click to expand...

We have to run diodes in fact. That is a regularly test source of possible dis function. Ohm one way then the other? Am I missing something with that? Lepton chip?? Got a laser thermometer that I hardly ever use, mostly for preheating, and have once trying to diagnose a secondary cooling system fault on an Iveco.

I use IR temp a lot. Helps determine difference between stuck T stat and a plugged cooler. Helps find restrictions in hydraulic systems too. Of course the new thermal imagers are the bomb.

You know, now that you say that, I have been wanting to flip a couple Case IH scraper drawbars and check diff temps under like operating conditions. I have it on good authority that it is surprising how much cooler a foot less leverage will give you. Pretty common tractor mod in the dirt rig world, I would like to verify if I do it though.

Thermal imaging chips are one of the most handiest things you can ever use when it comes to troubleshooting just about anything where subtle temp changes could tell you what the issue might be or where to look. There are a lot of digital multi meters with them built in, there are also cel phones with them built in... I don't have the cel phone version yet because I was less than impressed with the lepton chipset made by FLIR... it works but the resolution is so much lower than what I am used to it seemed like a toy(to me) Here is a pic from my FLIR I7 of a lithium battery with a bad cel as you can tell by the temp difference between the cel on the left versus the other two.


I also have one of the little SEEK thermal imagers that plugs into the charing port on my smart phone and it works ok... but since it's not integral to the phone it's kind of a hassle to find it then plug it in and run the app to get a quick shot of something.

I have great luck with a Fluke 115 (traded my 35 year old 77 so I could have min/max and Hz) and it doesn't break the bank. I also have a Picoscope 2204 2 channel scope ($200 with attenuators instead of $900 for auto version) that also serves me well, just have to be careful of the voltages to it since it is not the automotive version (gotta love attenuators).

Blocker in MS said:

No fear of that Funwithfuel. People seldom grant me access to buildings at all....much less cabinets.

My ideal parameters are:
-voltages-440, I never plan to play with higher than 220, but I know of power coming into a building which might be 440V and I would not want that to blow a meter. Most things are 12 or 24v and then occasionally 2 legs of 110v on a camper repair or 220v on welder power.
Amps-the highest amps I would LIKE to check occasionally would be the welder at a max of 300Amps.
-Ohms-
-Hz-maybe 70Hz again the max would be to check Hz on the welder since that is how you set idle on my machine.

Click to expand...

I use a P3 Kill A Watt meter set on Hz to set engine rpm on my welder and generators.

JD955SC said:

Fluke 87V for me they have a new one out that is more environmentally sealed now

I have a cheap Clamp meter for DC amps I’m not risking blowing a fuse in my meter.

Click to expand...

This is pretty much what I was going to post word for word.

87V will cover you for HZ, diode testing, etc. I've been using mine daily for years, and never test amps with it (those expensive fuses). Use an old Fluke 30 clamp for AC amps, and cheap Craftsman and off the shelf Klein clamp meters for DC amps.

I am thinking you guys are right and need to worry about something else for amps. Thanks for all the replies so far! This has been a big help.

Blocker in MS said:

I am thinking you guys are right and need to worry about something else for amps. Thanks for all the replies so far! This has been a big help.

Click to expand...

ATD has a decent 1000V AC/DC clamp meter for around $130