EEVblog #43 - Fluke 233 Multimeter Review

Buy the Fluke 233 here:

Dave gets his hands on the first Fluke 233 meter in the country. Gimmick?, or the biggest innovation in multimeters since autoranging?

Amazingly, even Dave's wife liked this meter!, is that a good or a bad thing?

[criscros]

The 233 and its detachable display might help to answer one of mankind's big questions: Does the light really shut off when you close the fridge?

[PooManchoo]

I have one of these F233s and from this novis' point of view, these are a great meter.
Apparently the later production models have been sorted, but the early ones like the one I have has a disgusting battery drain issue.
My unit will kill all 5xAA batts in about a month ..while switched off.

[EEVblog]

The 80 series is about the same thickness with the rubber case, but yes, without the case is about half the thickness.
The 87-III is brilliant, better than 87-V IMO as it defaults to DC instead of AC :-)

[EEVblog]

@dawood737 Sure, more than rugged enough for automotive use, and the magnetic removable display would be handy.

[EEVblog]

3XL sizes are available in most of the Zazzle range of shirts. See my blog site for the link to my Zazzle page for that shirt.

[you]

Someone put together an hour-long loop of 5:19

[EEVblog]

I know, it's a well known goof because "jiggawatt" is how the technical adviser to the movie pronounced it. I wasn't about to put "JW" on the shirt, I may have been lynched!

[thChip]

Lol, Made in America raw-materials from China. Your way of expression is excellent. Great Orator !

[magova]

Great video! And a great meter also. I work in the automotive industry and I have been waiting for this 10 years.

[CleanSC]

Dave... Excellent review as always! I'm an auto tech and torn between the 233 for the convenience of the remote display, or the 88V for it's precision. Do you think the 233 is precise enough to be used in general automotive troubleshooting (sensors/parasitic draws/etc.)? Or the lack of precision compared to the 88V isn't worth the remote display feature? Thanks, mate! Too bad they don't make an 88V with the remote display...

[sneakerset]

You rock, Dave. That remote head feature, plus the switch to AAs(mini-maglite batts will suffice if needed in the field), and a possible third party solution for data logging makes this meter desirable. The damn bail is a con...but that magnet is trick. I 'll have to get one for our kitchen refrigerator.... just so the g/f can point to the temp. read-out and say "What's that"?. LOL Great review, btw.

[ThePDog]

This is the kind of meter I use at work it works good if you have to operate something away from the meter you can just take the display with you. It tends to wear out batteries faster than other Flukes (I have been using Fluke meters for 15 years) but not too bad considering the display and stuff. I wouldn't buy this as my first ever meter nor would I buy one just to use every now and then I would only buy one if it is something you would a lot. There cheaper meters for those things.

[miyukiTS]

Btw, fluke sounds like flux - a maker who measures caps and ofcfourse 1.2 jigawatt fluxcaps :))

[Gunners_Mate_Guns]

Dave, I know you don't write the rules at Fluke, but do you have any idea why this meter, which is made in USA, has only a three year warranty instead of the lifetime warranty they customarily give all their other USA made meters?
Very odd, that.

[michelfeinstein]

Hi Dave, the manual says it has 0.1mA so it is suitable for electronics

[EEVblog]

@dawood737 Two totally different beasts, one is meter, one is scopemeter. Not comparable.

[jamesgoularte]

I had mine for a few years and the meter died blank screen and high voltage warning stuck on stay away

[meupaipapai]

Hello my friend, how are you? What is the name of the T201 component also on the removable head T?

[iskoss]

Hi, Dave. Have you turned the YouTube's stabilisation on this video?

[steveo]

Hi everyone, I'm a Plc tech but I've been having trouble finding a service manual for the fluke 233. When I test a known 120vac source it shows 290vac.. Just wondering if it's some simple through hole component that went bad.