Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: Best Budget Multimeter!

An essential tool for a modern propmaker is a multimeter for any kind of electronics work, whether for testing lighting circuits or troubleshooting wiring work. And while Adam has relied on his trusty Fluke 77 multimeter for years, getting an electronics multimeter to start your toolkit can be affordable too. That's why he's a fan of Fluke's compact entry-level multimeter, which costs less than $45 and gets the job done!

Adam's Everyday Carry in his apron:

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[kyleclark]

I've been a mechanic for a few years now and a multi meter is an absolute necessity. I still use my fathers from God know how long ago he purchased it. PS: your wood working has inspired t ed me to get a shop together and start producing my own line of custom cat scratcher/trees. Thanks for being the Adam we have always know and will always love.

[oh]

I know I'm a computer engineer, I went through 4 years of the stuff. I work on tube radios and amps and build my own electronics. ...but I still call it beep mode.

[torb-no]

Being very much a novice in electronics myself (far more than you, trust me) I like getting advice from someone who’s still figured out some stuff yet knows what it’s like to not be confident in this stuff. Experts often give too complex advice (unless they are good in pedagogy), but non-experts can often give really good advice to novices.

So thannk you!

[keresztesbotond]

As an electrical engineer I can confirm:
Continuity is indeed the most useful feature on a multimeter

[keanyl]

Recently my right earcup of my headphone died. So I did what every responsible man does and bought a multimeter to check if my right ear speaker gets current. Then I bought a solder kit.
In total i spend 85 euro to fix 90 euro headphone

[blahorgaslisk]

I've got one of those Fluke 77 multimeters and I think I've changed battery in it twice in almost 30 years. For being so old they are amazingly battery efficient, not to mention built like a tank. And yes, I still use it. My first mutimeters were analogue and though they were just fine when new they did tend to break easily, especially when someone switched them to the wrong measurement scale and blew the coil winding. Happened twice as my father borrowed them to check something. He also killed at least three digital multimeters, all being the cheapest he could find so it wasn't really a big loss, but the Fluke survived even him.

Now while I would be happy to recommend a Fluke for anyone who is looking for a multimeter I really don't think most people need to go that high. For most people the really cheap ones will work perfectly well, as long as you are not going to work with mains power at least. In the cheap ones they tend to cheap out on things like electrical isolation in addition to not having much in the way of circuit protection. While the later can kill the multimeter the former can bite you if you are unlucky. But if all you do is work on low voltage equipment or electronics there isn't really much of a risk.

I remember seeing reviews of cheap multimeters on the EEVBlog channel here on YT. These could be worth looking up as there were some crap but also some that was surprisingly decent for the price. Somewhat surprisingly the accuracy of even the really cheap ones he tested was fine, even if the rest of it was a steaming pile...

[ChristieNel]

One day I hope to walk into the paint shop and see "Fluke yellow".

[proyectosledar]

I Love Fluke!! I have a 87V. That Fluke 101 is really good, but if you don't want to spend so much money you can buy a aneng an8008

[stephanie.stanton]

This was one of my favorite toys to play with in my dad’s shop as a little kid. Still have it. Still works. Still use it regularly. I have always had fantastic experiences with fluke products, even now that I’m in industry.

[Smashachu]

A person who seeks knowledge to understand more realizes that his knowledge of the unknown is vast while a man who seeks to understand to look smart in a conversation knows everything about nothing. Sure adam could just pretend to know more about it and nobody would question him, but he doesn't and that's what makes him respectable to me.

[kennethgarza]

Hey Adam I just want to say no matter what you post I’m always excited and look forward to your videos daily. I get a lot of my inspiration and ideas from watching your one day build, and tech tips. If I had a wish, it would be to one day meet you and spend the day building something with you. I’m a combination pipe welder and I can show you some tips with Tig, mig, Stick, and flux core if you want any. Stay safe Adam and keep these videos coming!

[LogHouseFarm]

Bonus side Rant - that was the best part of the video for me 😃

[Rob-Hannon]

I have an old Fluke 77 as well and concur. Rock solid device. I am not an electronics guy either, but still use it regularly. Recently used it on CSST gas line to make sure it grounded properly to dissipate static. Multimeter is one of those tools that anyone who fixes things themselves should have in the toolbox.

[waynedowney]

I was an electronics technician on a nuclear submarine, and we used Fluke multimeters exclusively. We used the Fluke 87. It was a great piece of gear. Never bought one for myself because of the price point. Great suggestion, I will pick one of these up for sure.

[HitechProductions]

I have a Radio Shack analog multimeter my dad bought me in 1978. Still works well and I used it until about a year ago when I finally bought a digital MM.

[Diskoboy]

A friend of mine has a Fluke 115. I've seen him drop it countless times. I've seen him actually take a few jolts with it. It's almost a 15 year old meter, and still works like it was brand new. Because of seeing his take years of abuse and still work perfectly, I ended up buying my own Fluke 117 2 years ago. Worth every penny of that $240.

[TechSquidTV]

Side rant was my favorite part. So badly do I want to hear from Jamie on this show one day.

[madpenguin]

Fluke rocks! I have 5 or 6 of their instruments myself.

When working with the multimeter leads, EVERY time you turn it on regardless of what mode you are going to use it in, start in Continuity mode, and touch the leads together to verify they are good and connected to the meter itself, then switch to the mode you want to use.

No point in testing for voltage or anything else if the leads aren’t quite plugged in or the wires are damaged, and this happens very easily. Get in the habit of doing a quick continuity check EACH time before use. This can save lots of time in going down the wrong path when your meter gives bad readings due to a bad connection or damaged leads.

[BeOurBee]

Used several Fluke tools as an ISP technician. Even their specialist stuff like low-end tone generators (for pulsing a signal down a line so you can tell which one is your service, even miles away) can do things like detect continuity or the presence of 35-52V DC.

[PureSol]

Adam, your description of your knowledge and understanding of electronics matches mine perfectly! Also, your description of using the continuity function just clicked for me. I've owned the same Fluke 77 for over 14 years and pretty much all I knew how to use it for was to check something dead.