Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Matt Crawford photo
Syria, Damascus
1 Level
722 Review
54 Karma

Review on Amprobe PRM 6 Sequence Rotation Tester by Matt Crawford

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Lots of useful features but some drawbacks

This multimeter seems to measure all normal voltage, resistance and current values quite well, so I won't describe it. So if speed is important, you can preset the range. It took 15 seconds for the 5000uF capacitor, but it may have had to discharge some of the residual charge. When measuring frequency, the noise from the probe connector can drive the meter to a higher range (lower resolution), so the AC line can sometimes read 59.99 Hz and sometimes 059.9 Hz. No meter problem, just life. The duty cycle function on my particular meter was either MUCH above spec when measuring the 60Hz power line, or was overly sensitive to waveform distortion. I tried it on an unloaded transformer with identical results. The reading started at 52% and then dropped to 44.91% within 30 seconds. The specification gives about 1.5% for this measurement. Square wave could be better so I can try my TIG welder with the HF starter off and see. This device beeps too loud. Beeps are great for continuity and ok if the test lead is in the wrong jack for the measurement mode (nice warning feature), but beeps get old REALLY fast. The most egregious case of this is the Low-Z mode, which drops the input impedance from 10MΩ to 400K. This is useful for ignoring the "phantom" voltage that appears on disconnected wires in household wiring. The meter requires you to press and hold a short button while the meter beeps continuously. I have no idea why this useful feature is so annoying and really awkward to use. You need 3 hands. The proximity sensor is good but should be fairly close. Rated sensitivity for power cords is 5/16 inch (8mm) from the cord, which is the limit for detecting 120V hot outlets. This is normal for exposed cables, e.g. B. an exposed panel, and therefore depends on your situation. Working Temperature The measurement has a few issues that I wasn't aware of before digging deeper. The K-type thermocouple adapter happily accepts industry standard "minimum" TC connectors with flat pins for use in a simple stovetop or oven test, so you may want to make your own out of a fiberglass insulated TC wire, which Amprobe avoids using of the brands "Chromel" and "Alumel" which define a K-type thermocouple. Their equivalent for chromel is "nickel-chrome" (good) but for alumel it's "nichrosi" which replaces silicon with aluminum so it's NOT really alumel.. It seems to me that Amprobe is quick and easy with it for some reason Type-K compatibility plays. for some unknown reason. reading The readings I got for a genuine USA made Chromel/Alumel probe were about 7 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the probes that came with it at ambient temperature. I plan to do a test to see how they compare when it's warmer or colder. Right now I'm a bit disappointed, but I hope it will be accurate enough. Overall, this is a decent meter with a lot of useful features and a few downsides. I'm not thrilled, but it's ok since I don't want to spend $400 on a "good" meter.

Pros
  • Pleasant to use
Cons
  • Functionality