The Fluke series of multimetersare some of the best in the world.  They have a variety of multimeters and in some ways that can become confusing.  There are different multimeters designed for different use cases and specific needs.  The Fluke 179 is a hearty unit built for higher voltages (110v/220V) and with a rugged case, and built in stand it is ideal for field situations.
In this article I am focusing on the specific top 10 benefits of the fluke 179. I will cover each of these benefits below.

Save Time: The read out for different measurements are lightening fast.  The graph readout paints almost immediately.  The continuity sound test is very fast.  Some units respond sluggishly, but you won’t find that is the case with the Fluke 179.  Auto arranging is also instantaneously.  While the measure of time saved is summed in seconds and microseconds,  these do add up, however the greater benefit is the ease of use and the quick response allows you to work without distraction.

Save Money: It is common to actively use a fluke product for 15 to 20 years without a hitch.  When you buy the 179 unit, with the extremely solid plastic case, and durable rotary dial, you will not need to purchase another multimeter for several years.  If you do experience a service issue, the fluke 179 has a lifetime guarantee.  I have experienced a case where the continuity tone stopped working and so I sent it back to Fluke.  They had it back to me within 10 days freshly cleaned, fixed and calibrated.   Finally the price on this unit is extremely affordable at $265 to $275 US.  You can often find these at even lower prices on amazon and eBay, and with the lifetime guarantee you will be covered.

Diminish Aggravation: Nothing is more frustrating than switching between different tools mid-job.  The folks at Fluke clearly understand the working process of a field technician and they have included the right features to support us end to end.  The Fluke 179 has the right feature set to ensure that you are not walking back to your truck to find another tool to help  you finish the job.  You can grab your multimeter and head to the site with confidence.  Whether you are testing for continuity, temperature, high voltage, you are set.  Following I have included the full set of features for the Fluke 170 series:

• Manual and automatic ranging
• Display Hold and Auto Hold
• Frequency and capacitance measurements
• Resistance, continuity and diode measurements
• Temperature measurements (179)
• Min-max-average recording
• Closed case calibration through front panel
• Ergonomic case with integrated protective holster

Use applications for the Fluke 179 are any of the following: Lighting, HVAC, Industrial Control, Automotive, Machinery and Electronics.  Reviews for the 179 are consistently 5 stars out of 5.

Fluke 179:

Following are some summarized comments by fluke customers:

“The Fluke 179 is an excellent meter and I’ve used it for serious electronics hobby work for a couple of years now including measuring very high AC / DC voltages and currents. It’s extremely accurate, reliable, and has several functions (measurements) it can do very well.” Read More

“As with most other Fluke meters the 179 is an excellent meter, but just beware of it’s limitations in relation to the 87-5. The 87-5 is only $30 more on Amazon here so if you think you’ll need some of the added functionality, the the $30 would be well spent in my mind.” Read More

“Ability to measure up to 100kHz…I use this feature a lot with laptops to see if the CCFL backlight inverter is working. I don’t even have to make electrical contact…the leads of the 179 act as an antenna and pick up on the EMI field if the inverter is working. Note: Some CCFL data sheets I’ve seen spec 60kHz and most meters only go up to 50kHz, if that. Continuity test function very quick…will sense opens/shorts that are 250us or longer.” Read More

For the modern electrician, technician, or handyman looking for the ultimate troubleshooting or repair tool, the Fluke Multimeter 179 should be the first item on your shopping list. The Fluke 179 is the industry standard for electronic and electrical problem-solving and has all the features you need to troubleshoot a wide variety of problems. Additionally, the Fluke 179 is also easy to use and conforms to all of the latest safety standards.

Unique Features of the Fluke Multimeter 179
Compared with other multimeters, the Fluke Multimeter 179 has a variety of unique features, and more measurement functions. For starters, it has an ergonomic handle, a digital display complete with an analog bar graph, and backlighting to make it easier to see in dim areas. In terms of technical abilities, much like other multimeters in the Fluke 170 series, the 179 model can also give you true RMS voltage and current measurements, manual and automatic ranging, and a 6000-count resolution. The 179 model can also provide resistance, continuity, frequency, capacitance, and diode measurements. Additionally, like the Fluke 177, it offers a higher .09% basic accuracy as well. However, unlike any other model in the Fluke 170 series, it is also capable of reading temperatures.

Packages Available for the Fluke Multimeter 179

The 179 Model is available in 5 different kits. The first is the Fluke 179/EDA2 which consists of an electronics multimeter and a deluxe accessory combo. The next is the Fluke 179/1AC-II, which includes an electrician’s multimeter and a voltage tester. Beyond that is the Fluke 179/61 (an industrial multimeter and infrared thermometer combo), and Fluke 179/TPAK (a digital multimeter with ToolPak combo). Lastly, it is also available in the Fluke 179/IMSK combo pack. This consists of a digital multimeter and a clamp meter.

What You Pay For and What You Get with the Fluke Multimeter 179
For the aforementioned packages, the price ranges from around $317 to $385. Buying it retail the Fluke 179 itself goes for around $280, and includes the Fluke 80BK Temperature Probe, Fluke TL75 Test Leads, an installed 9V battery and a user’s manual. Although the Fluke 179 comes with an integrated protective holster, several cases are also available for it as well.

For any technician looking for an incredibly diverse tool for troubleshooting and problem-solving, the Fluke Multimeter 179 is a great place to start. In addition to having all of the features available on the Fluke 170 models, it also has a range of upgraded features including a better screen, backlighting, ergonomic improvements and the ability to read temperatures. Additionally, unlike other models in the series, it also has the ability to read temperatures, and comes with the Fluke 80BK Temperature probe included.

When you first look at a multimeter it might seem like the cockpit of some fancy flying machine.  However the uses for a digital or analog multimeter are actually quite common.

For example, how many times have you wondered if a battery were dead or not?  It is the toy that went bad?  Or, if you are like me and you are replacing old batteries and you pull out one of the old batteries and then forget which hand is the new battery and which is the old.  Drives me nuts because I have to try each permutation to see which is old vs new. IF you have a multimeter it is easy to check not only to see if the battery is good, but HOW GOOD.  

All you have to do is set the multimeter to the “DC” setting and then touch the black lead to the negative end of the battery and the red lead to the positive side of the battery and the multimeter will tell you clearly how much “juice” is left in the battery.

You can also check your car battery the same way. I can’t tell you how many times over the years I have gone out to start the car and heard the “tell tale click” of the starter as it attempts to turn over.  It is the starter?  Is it the alternator?  Or is it the battery.  If you have a multimeter you can test it quickly and easily diagnose the problem.

Most of the time it is the battery that bad.  If you have teen aged daughters like me that like to sit in the car and listen to the radio while you go into the store AND they leave the ignition in the “on” position instead of setting the ignition to the “auxiliary” postion (all the way back) so that the fan runs for over an hour…boom, battery dead.

Another quite common use for a digital multimeter is simple continuity checking.  This is simply testing to see if a wire has any breaks in it any where.  I have used a multimeter to test a set of iPod earphones.  We have four daughters and therefore 10 iPods, with lots of headphones.

Well headphone wires can be bent and twisted enough times that sometimes they break.  I will simply place one lead of the multimeter on the very end of the “male” adaptor (end that plugs into the iPod) and the other lead on the section of the stem right before the wire begins.  If you get a solid tone, you know that the wire is continuous and not broken. IF however you don’t get a solid tone, you know that the wire is broken.  Bummer taco!  Pull out your wallet and prepare to buy a new headphone.

Click on this link to see a video that shows you how to use a multimeter.

Unless you live in the hollowed out portion of tree stump, you use electricity extensively.  In fact, have you ever had the power go out for several hours at your home or work?  It feels like an eternity before the lights finally turn back on.  Just goes to show how much we are dependent on electricity.  With all these electrons flying around and with the huge number of electronic devices we have, you will no doubt have a time when you could make great use of a multimeter.

Sounds like a fancy word, but really its a simple device designed to help you measure and test certain types of electricity. There are two types of electricity.  AC or alternating current, and DC, direct current.  Direct current is the type of electricity used in 6, 9, 12, + volt battery systems.  Your iPod, car, boat, and electric nose hair trimmer use DC type current.  Your desktop computer, big screen TV and electric lava lamp use AC or alternating current.  Trusty multimeters help you test these types of circuits.

Now you might be thinking that only burly men that wear hard hats, and carry big belts with lots of tools on them would ever need to use a multimeter.  Not true!  If you have ever had a Christmas tree string of lights go out, you might have had use for a digital multimeter.  If your blender suddenly stopped blending, you could test your outlet to see if current is still flowing.  Perhaps your flashlight battery went out… is it the light bulb or the batteries?

In addition to these types of test situations, most multimeters also allow you to test for more sophisticated circuits and situations.  You can test resistance of a circuit.  This is the amount of friction introduced in the circuit by certain gauges of wire, or special electrical components called “resistors”.  You can think of electricity like the flow of a type of invisible “water” or “electrons”.  Just like in actual water systems, like canals, dikes and dams, electrical circuits have similar components that help guide the “flow” of the electricity. Some of these components slow down the “flow” of electricity, some “store” electricity (batteries and capacitors), some even step up the velocity of the flow or change it, like transformers.

In reality, a multimeter simply allows you to test the flow of these electrons.  You can even test the “continuity”  of an electrical circuit.  This means you can test whether there are any “breaks” in the system.  Lets take a flashlight as an example.  There must be a continuous connection between the batteries, through the switch, and on through the lightbulb filament.

If any part of this “circle” is interrupted, then you loose a continuous connection.  The “flow” of electrons is interrupted and therefore the light filament cannot be activated. The switch must be in the “on” position.  The batteries must contain stored energy and be connected in a continuous circle through each battery, through the switch an on through the filament.  If any part of this breaks down, you don’t have light.

Just like in a water system, if the canal has a leak somewhere, the flow of water will stop or weaken, and it can’t turn a paddle wheel. In order to fully understand a multimeter and it’s capabilities, it is first important to understand the basics of electricity.

I suggest that you purchase a very simple electronic kit and build some of the basic projects.  Like an “LED” circuit, or a motion or light detector circuit. I guarantee that you will have hours of fun, and you will learn about the seeming magic that occurs around you every day.

The Fluke 179 ESFP True RMS Multimeter is a real gem for both the hobby electronics enthusiast as well as a the full time electrician.  It has excellent features that support simple at home electronics projects, as well as more advanced projects.

One of the features that sets the Fluke 179 apart from other multimeters is the ability to do milliamp measurements.  If you are doing work on finer components it is necessary to have a more granular level of measurement capability.

This unit also has battery saver, “sleep mode”.  Because this multimeter has an LCD display with a backlight, it can eat up more battery than typical “meter gauge” type readers.  The auto sleep mode will ensure that you maintain long battery life, so that you have plenty of juice for those remote jobs.

I have included a summary below that outlines the various measurements you can take with The Fluke 179 digital multimeter
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WARNING NOTE:  Avoid injury, electric shock or damage to the meter by disconnecting the circuit power, and be sure to discharge all high-voltage capacitors before testing resistance, continuity, diodes, or capacitance.

Measuring AC and DC Voltage:

Note: When you connect the test leads to the circuit or unit, take care to connect the common “COM” (black) test lead before you connect the “live” lead.  When removing the test leads, be sure to remove the live lead (red) before removing the common test lead.

AC Volts Measurement with the Fluke 179 Multimeter

All you have to do to test an alternating current circuit is set the meter selector to the AC volts setting as illustrated to the left.  The symbol for the AC Volt setting is highlighted in the red box to the left.  Please read further below to see an illustration of how to set the Fluke 179 to the DC Voltage setting, for the purpose of measuring DC circuits.

DC Volts Measurement with the Fluke 179 Multimeter

All you have to do to test an DC circuit is set the meter selector to the DC volts setting as illustrated to the left.  The symbol for the DC Volt setting is highlighted in the red box to the left.  Please read further below to see an illustration of how to set the Fluke 179 to the DC Voltage setting, for the purpose of measuring Millivolts DC circuits.

Millivolts DC Measurement with the Fluke 179 Multimeter

All you have to do to test an Millivolt DC circuit is set the meter selector to the Millivolts DC volts setting as illustrated to the left.  The symbol for the Millivolts DC Volt setting is highlighted in the red box to the left.  Please read further below to see an illustration of how to set the Fluke 179 to resistance measurement setting.

Measuring Resistance with the Fluke 179 Multimeter

All you have to do to test resistance in a circuit is set the meter selector to the Resistance (ohm) setting as illustrated to the left.  The symbol for the Resistance (ohm) setting is highlighted in the red box to the left.  Please read further below to see an illustration of how to set the Fluke 179 to Capacitance measurement.

Capacitance Measurement with the Fluke 179

All you have to do to test capacitance in a circuit is set the meter selector to the capacitance setting as illustrated to the left.  The symbol for the capacitance setting is highlighted in the red box to the left.  Once you have the selector in the position as illustrated to the left, you then press the YELLOW button just below the LCD panel and to the bottom right.

Please read further below to see an illustration of how to set the Fluke 179 to Continuity testing.

Continuity Testing with the Fluke 179 Multimeter

All you have to do to test continuity in a circuit is set the meter selector to the continuity setting as illustrated to the left.  The symbol for the continuity setting is highlighted in the red box to the left.

In addition to these settings you can also test diodes, temperature, and frequency.  There is a full users manual and more specifics on this unit including some very valuable reviews, and you can access these by clicking on this link.