Fluke 289 v 87V

My first Fluke was a 75 in the early 80's when I was dirt poor. It served it's purpose. Then the 87 came out. It became the standard at my day job. We've bought more than a 500 over the years. Some of the advanced features of the 289 are good for industry. Given the price, I can't see any value in it for home use. I do think true RMS is important. The 7X's are not true RMS. These days decent true RMS meters can be had for $100 or less including a used Fluke 87.

Last year I bought some $30 meters with the intended purpose of using them only for testing diodes/transistors. They had a 600V rating. One person, (not me) used it on 480V and changed the range switch while connected. The meter was severely damaged.

There are lots of true RMS meters out there. You pay for the Fluke name. The cheap ones have an AC/DC voltage button that's a PITA. Find a fluke on Craigs list/ebay in decent shape.
 
I ended up with the 87V, the i1010 (ac/dc) amp clamp and a case to keep them together.

Although I may have infrequent need for amp measurements over 1000A DC mainly I am well covered for my needs. And as you point out, it’s pretty much the standard in industry.

Meter is new, open box (made Feb. this year), clamp is used, but perfect, and the case is used, but never issued at some industrial facility. So that looks new as well. Not that appearance matters on a case...

I learned that the current version of the large case does not come with the shoulder strap (?),so I got the old one in case I want that climbing a ladder or something.
 
Quote>The 7X's are not true RMS. <Quote
I have an old HP 400GL for true AC RMS voltage measurements. I have tried to kill it many times, but it will not die.
Hp-400Gl-Ac-Voltmeter.jpg
 
I still have my Dad’s Simpson around somewhere, as well as one from Mac Tools (rebranded- probably a Simpson) that works great for RPM etc.

And his Square-D high voltage tester. The Bakelite beast with the flipper on top!
 
Not sure how I ended up with a 179. I have a vague recollection of drinking too much one night and amazon showing up with the 179 the next day.
 
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Say what you will about Harbor Freight tools but in recent years the quality has risen dramatically and if your using them the way they were meant to be used they work well. Besides at my age I ain't spending a ton of dough on tools anymore just because it has a "name" on it. That's money I can spend on " vintage stereo equipment" that I really don't need either!
 
I get most of my “name” tools on eBay now. The truck comes next door to my work (diesel repair shop) every Wednesday so I can exchange whatever I break.

Which reminds me- I need to bring my torque wrenches tomorrow to check calibration...
 
J!m said:
I get most of my “name” tools on eBay now. The truck comes next door to my work (diesel repair shop) every Wednesday so I can exchange whatever I break.

Which reminds me- I need to bring my torque wrenches tomorrow to check calibration...
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Wait... you can calibrate torque wrenches? Torque screwdrivers? Inquiring minds want to know...
 
Well, on the red snapper truck they have a rig to check them. If they’re out, I believe they empty your bank account and calibrate it for you.

But if you don’t check, you don’t know.
 
My 87V showed up today. The box was on my chair as I was coming to collect a schematic... perfect timing!

I turned it on to make sure it worked and went to work with it. Used my Fluke 10 leads- didn’t even take the new ones out of the box!

It seems to respond faster, and with greater resolution. I had some goofy shit I was dealing with today and it proved it’s worth.

Happy.
 
Oh, and my 1/2” torque wrench was 4 lb/ft high. Well within tolerance.

Battery died on their test rig. I wanted to do top middle and bottom of range... maybe next time.
 
The fluke 10 is rather basic but will fill the bill if that is all you are doing with it. Over the years I have used the Fluke 77 and that is the one I use everyday even though I have 87, 97 and other meters around. You generally only need the basic measurements that any 70 series meter will do.
Most guys that buy the fancier high end units do not even know how to use them and so in that the 77 is just as good. I may have used one for 30 years now.
 
That model 10 has been in use for 20 years. Usually I need to check continuity of a fuse or voltage, AC or DC. That's 99% of my need.

But those 1% instances, to check other things like capacitance, or to see DC pulse signals etc. do come up, and the 10 can't hang.

Considering I put off the purchase for 20 years, I think I didn't spend foolishly.

And I have the amp clamp, which I do need more than 1% of the time. Very happy with my new "kit" overall, as it covers all my needs until Covid kills me.
 
Ive used all the flukes. The 189 is my favorite due to its size and features. The 289 is a awesome meter too but its just too damn big and yes it is kinda hard on batteries. The 179 is hard to beat for a all around meter. The 87's are more accurate than most of the others except the 189 and 289. In my day job before I retired my main gig was repair and calibration of various test equipment and I must say Fluke is a excellent product.
 
J!m said:
Harbor Freight to the rescue!

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I bought 4 of those Harbor Freight meters for my inverter training classes. The sole intent was for using the diode scale to test Diodes, SCRs and IGBTs in the class room. I told people I didn't trust the meters for high voltage. One person took one out to the lab and put it on a 480v bus. When he changed the range switch from 200 to 700 VAC it exploded. No one got hurt. I threw them in the trash after I mangled them so no one else would try to use them.
 
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