Gardner Bender GMT-312 Analog Multimeter, 5 Function / 12 Range, 300V AC/DC, for AC / DC Voltage & Current, Resistance, Continuity & Batteries , Black

Ok, Pro number 1: Analog multimeters are very useful, at least to me. Digital ones are too, but sometimes it's really really nice to have the smoother, instant response and visual cues of an analog meter versus the jumpy, update-time delayed response of a digital multimeter.Number 2: Cheap analog multimeters are very useful because if you take care of them they last forever but you can also throw them in a toolbox, let them ride around in your car's console, lend them to a kid, or whatever, and they generally take a beating... and when they don't, you replace them without breaking the bank.I have two of these, and I use them for everything from testing wall sockets, to checking continuity in circuits, checking resistance to test electrical components on motorcycles, and best of all for backyard science. With two, I can put them in parallel and series on a circuit and get voltage and current at the same time. Really nice when setting up an electrolysis bath or some other backyard chemistry.Cons: I'm kind of disappointed in just HOW cheapy these are. "Back in my day" you could get a pretty good one by BK Precision or some other decent company in the $10 range; super sad that mine finally died after something like 20 years of hard use and abuse. These Gardners are bottom-tier Ali-express units that are rebranded for a lot of sellers. They feel cheap and my expectations are pretty low, but they're still fit for the purposes I listed above.

It is SMALL and that's what I needed for a portable tool kit. Volt meter is accurate enough for troubleshooting a car or motorcycle while on the road. Volt meter is within 100mv of my Fluke 77 DVM when measuring 10V); good enough. Plus, the voltmeter doesn't need a battery. In fact I don't store it with the battery installed because they always leak after sitting in my tool kit for a couple years.Ohm meter is useful for testing continuity, but not great for actually measuring resistance values although there is a resistance zeroing dial on the side of the unit that is not mentioned in the description. It might be of some minimal value for measuring resistances of less than 1K. I didn't bother to test the amp meter function. So this thing is not a lab grade bench meter but for horseshoes and hand-grenade type troubleshooting it is totally worth the <$10 price tag.

I bought a couple of these. I have had many multimeters. I am a EE and have been looking for a small, analog meter. Digital meters are great, but may lack dependability with their dependence on a battery. Analog meters do not require a working battery except for the resistance scale. This meter is the perfect size to keep in your car and cheap enough that you can buy several and have them where you need them. I have other analog and digital meters for precise bench measurement. It also seems to get good reviews in general. I like it and plan to get one more.Pro'sSmall size - quite compactRugged - appears to have fairly thick plastic and reviews are goodAppearance - very readable with bright white background and mulitcolor display, bright orange needleFunction - quick, responsive meter movementAdjustment - Zero adjustment for needle. Zero adjustment for ohmsCon'sRange - somewhat limited, but this IS a mini meter. You know what you are getting when you buy it. Ohms are limited to just the 1K scale. As mentioned in one other review, a lower DC scale, perhaps a 3V scale would certainly be better than a 250VDC scale. You will likely never measure a DC voltage over the 150V range (provided) but you certainly will be measuring common batteries, which may be 1.5V. You have to measure a AA battery on the 10V scale and you lose a bit of resolution here over the missing 3V scale.Marking error - This is a goofy error that shows carelessness in the design. The scale selector switch shows 250 V scales for both DC and AC. There IS NO 250V scale on the meter face! There is 10, 50, 150, 300 on the meter face. So what scale do you use to view the so-called 250V scale. Turns out that 250V on the selector switch goes with 300 on the meter face and you probably would have guessed that but no way to know without confirming. Generally the voltage selected on the rotary switch tells the voltage for full scale deflection, but not in this case! I had to determine this by noting that setting to 250V and reading a 120VAC line displays 120 on the 300 scale. I have never seen a meter with this error. It is something I would expect to see on a Chinese Harbor Freight product. Not that this meter isn't Chinese. That's the reason we can get it for $12.So, actually a nice little meter with generally useful scales. I'm docking a point, though for the messed up selector labeling and the fact that they could have easily put a useful 3VDC range on there instead of a 300VDC range.In fact, I may open mine up and change the resistor go give me a modification on that range. If I do that, I'll post the hack for those interested. Hope they use through hole components and not SMD.Cheers . . . DJI docked it one star for

Last time my multitester died, about 20 years ago, I bought a digital model. Hey I love high tech for many products, but in this case, I missed Old Reliable analog output. Maybe not as precise as digital, but plenty precise enough for my needs. and just a more stable readout. (One drawback on my digital multitester was the numbers fluctuated by the second--unnecessary detail). Other huge pluses with this model: it takes one AA battery, not a more expensive 9V. It's smaller and easier to carry and store than my digital multitester. It performs all the basic functions I need in testing battery strength, circuit power, and resistance. Note that if you're new to multitesters, no instructions are included in the package BUT in the name of green they link you to a website where you can download instructions. Actually, this is better, not only in the sense of being green, because most people don't RTFM especially for a product like this, but also because an electronic manual is easier to store and search by keyword. For the price, a pound-the-table buy for me.