Gardner Bender GMT-318 Analog Multimeter, 6 Function, 14 Range, AC / DC Volt, 500V

This Gardner Bender GMT-318 Analog Multimeter, 6 Function, 14 Range, AC / DC Volt, 500V testing meter is the type I have always used to build and test motor circuits and lead wires in mineral processing operations. This meter works perfect replacing one of my older and cracked meters and to me- the analogue type of function is much better than 50 different settings on digital meters. Very well- made and functions perfectly and is exactly the right size for me. Excellent find at a good price.

I bought this to double check what I thought was a ghost voltage of 33V as measured by a digital meter that I had bought about 10 days earlier in a 3-way switch setup. Rather than spending another $125+ on a meter with Lo-Z, I went with this Gardner Bender GMT-318 as an analog meter (lower impedance, though not Lo-Z). This matched the hot wire reading of the digital meter, and it confirmed 0.1V for the traveler wire that wasn't hot.This meter's ability to measure resistance might not be good enough for some (Rx100 setting, and an analog scale that goes from 500 to infinite a the next tick). For the price, though, I find it to be a good secondary meter. This is clear by the product image, so I'm not going to hold that against my rating.There are some reviews about the battery not fitting well. I didn't have that experience. It's tight, sure, but I'd rather have that condition than a loose battery. For me, it was neither too difficult to insert the battery nor to take it out. The product description says that the battery is not included, so I'm not going to hold that against my rating.

Nice meter replaced amprobe brand and works well.

Sometimes it is handy to load down a circuit with a meter rather than adding a resistor, such as when checking voltage on a floating wire running past other wires which can measure 90VAC with a high impedance meter. Unfortunately, the battery holder is sized too short, so the battery has to be forced into the holder. Perhaps in China AA batteries are shorter. It doesn't matter. Otherwise, it seems OK. Normally I use a Fluke True RMS meter. I have no way of measuring accuracy other than to compare meters. The resistance zero on the left side worked. For now, it will be a good garage meter.

Gone are the days when you could buy a high-quality, low-price Micronta (Radio Shack of yoore) analog VOM.In line with general dumbing-down in our society, analog meters were long ago replaced by digital. Digital meters are the stupidest idea since the Edsel. They work only if the voltage is steady unless they feature filtering in which case the response is slow. And you still get unsteady readings. On top of that, digital meters are subject to aliasing error. Never mind what that means, it can be a disaster if there is noise on top of dc voltages you're tryhing to measure.So today your choice is a $400, 30-year-old, used, beat-up, in doubtful condition Simpson or a new cheapie like this one. (I noticed practically none of the former offered on amazon even promise operability!)I recently bought a similar-looking cheapie which however was vastly inferior to this one. Interior had jury-rigged wiring like some grade-school kid had wired it up; revealing the need for ad-hoc rewiring of an incomplete design, easily recognizable by an electrical engineer such as I. It sure enough crapped out in no time.This unit has no such garbage hookups, is fused, a really nice thing to have, and the battery compartment lid fits so snugly you really don't need the mounting screw.Some advice:1. the instruction manual (on-line) says "ALWAYS REMEMBER THATCONTINUITY CHECKS ARE TO BE MADEWITH THE POWER TO THE CIRCUIT ". Be sure to do just the opposite! Kind of obvious.2. Comes without an AA battery. Actually, wisely so. Saves on shipping cost and potential ravages caused by a leaking battery.3. I will be ordering spare fuses for those inevitable screw-ups like trying to measure resistance across a 250-volt line.Other than that, a happy acquisition without even a dent in my pocketbook. Go for it.

This is a great tester for home maintenance. I like the fact that it uses a regular meter instead of a digital display. It is a great compact analog Volt/Ohm/Amp meter.

The finish and easy to read gauge was real nice , HOWEVER ,it was totally non-functioning. The battery compartment( a battery was needed ) was too short. The standard AA battery is 1.908". the compartment was 1.863". That is .045" or 1.14mm to short to allow battery installation. This prevented its use. A very POOR example of a Plastic injected port . And a Great Example of Terrible Quality control

Extreme difficulty inserting the AA cell. It required plastic meltology to clear plastic lands near the battery contacts before it would accept the batterySo far it's a usable meter.