ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Graphical DMM's?.

OK,
All you Industrial Techs and Electricians out there.
How many of you own a graphical DMM?.
By this I mean, like a DMM/ Oscilloscope, type instrument.
If you do, the next question would be, what brand is it?
Have you found it easy to learn how to use?.
The reason I ask all of this is because I am looking to invest in a new piece of gear that will help me with PLC work and I am not quite sure exactly what to buy.
Fluke and HP do a lot of advertising, but how good are the goods?.
I was just wanting to know from a bunch of guys that might have used this sort of gear before and could steer me towards a more worthwhile purchase?.
Any help you guys can give me would be great, it's a lot of money to pay for one of these instruments (which they are!), I just don't want to buy poorly and find out later.

I use a Fluke 97 "ScopeMeter" in the field. A good instrument all around, and it has helped solve more than a few tricky problems. Basic functions are pretty self-explanatory (if you are familiar with oscilloscopes beforehand), but some of the advanced functions are buried in menus that take some time to figure out.

Only real downside I have found is battery life, or the lack thereof. The rechargeable battery pack goes flat very quickly, particularly if you are using the LCD backlight (a must under all but ideal lighting). The AC adapter can power the unit, but at the expense of ground isolation, which may be needed if you are working on motor drives.

NJwirenut,
Thanks for your reply to my post.
Battery life isn't really a problem, I just want a darn good Instrument to work with.
Sounds like the '97 is a pretty good choice.