Whats this Multimeter worth?

[John T]

Protek 506 ?

can't find any online info...

the floppy disc software will be problematic...

whats it worth 20 bucks?

my neighbor got it from his dead father in law...

admittedly I dont know a lot about multimeters... just basic stuff..
but this one looks like it has more capabilities than my cheap sears unit..

 

[John T]

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[Max]

$20 seems about right. The good news is that it’s a logging multi-meter, so you can hook it up to a PC and have the PC record data. And maybe, if the software supports it, the PC can control the meter as well (change ranges, etc.). Kinda hard to tell without a manual.

The bad news is that it uses a serial cable to connect to the PC, which dates it as pretty old. These days it’s not easy to find a PC with a RS-232 port. This also means that the software is very old - it may even be MS-DOS based.

So for the rare person that has older equipment the logging might be of value, otherwise it’s a general DVM worth maybe $20.

Max

 

[acer66]

I would be very surprised if you can not get a RS-232 to usb adapter if that is needed.

 

[ransil]

I have a yellow protec, think it was $75 new, probaly same age as this one,decent meter.

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[Jmonnty]

I would be very surprised if you can not get a RS-232 to usb adapter if that is needed.

I have an adapter threat I previously used, my issue was the software for the scan tool wouldn't work on any windows past XP.

 

[John T]

He said he will take 20... I'll pick it up Monday..

I'll have to look into the software thing for PC

but more than likely I'd never use that anyway....

I assume I can just use it as a stand alone Meter ... ?
like any other..

 

[Max]

USB to serial cables are a **** shoot. Sometimes they just work great, other times you can fall into a black hole of chipsets and drivers and trying to make the darn thing work.

My major point about the rs-232 cable (and the 3.5” floppy) is that it shows the SW is very old. Not a problem if you run the right OS on an old PC, but likely to be a big problem if you run say W10 and are going to try emulation mode. You can make almost anything work if you throw enough time, expertise, and money at it - but at some point it makes a lot more sense to just buy a new meter.

I don’t know this meter specifically, but I would expect it to work standalone just fine.

Max

 

[Rabid Badger]

This video might be of interest:

 

[ransil]

He said he will take 20... I'll pick it up Monday..

I'll have to look into the software thing for PC

but more than likely I'd never use that anyway....

I assume I can just use it as a stand alone Meter ... ?
like any other..

Unless you are taking long term readings or doing automated testing the software/ rs232 problay wont be used. The sample rate is pretty slow too when data logging.

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[Rabid Badger]

It has some interesting features like a frequency generator and a logic probe.

Even if you never use those, $20 for a well made, true RMS meter is a good deal.

 

[pcmeiners]

"This also means that the software is very old - it may even be MS-DOS based. "


Likely to late but if the floppy is more then 5 years old , good chance it may be unreadable

 

[dogdog]

USB to serial cables are a **** shoot. Sometimes they just work great, other times you can fall into a black hole of chipsets and drivers and trying to make the darn thing work.

My major point about the rs-232 cable (and the 3.5” floppy) is that it shows the SW is very old. Not a problem if you run the right OS on an old PC, but likely to be a big problem if you run say W10 and are going to try emulation mode. You can make almost anything work if you throw enough time, expertise, and money at it - but at some point it makes a lot more sense to just buy a new meter.

I don’t know this meter specifically, but I would expect it to work standalone just fine.

Max

They are fine, you just have to know what Serial signal... 3.3V 5V, TTL , inverted Serial, speed ? does you device needed an additional RS232 chip to inverted the signals ? all those... I think hyperterm teraterm, putty can still read those serial data... would be a fun project to play with though.

As far as meter, it's just a meter. it's how you use it...

I bought a bunch of these things for just in case I needed to interface some older inverted max232 signals... newer ones doesn't needed it.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/5Pcs-Mini-...Adaptor-Module-Serial-Port-Board/382926303174

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RS232-To-T...9-Connector-3-3V-5-5V-Arduino-sa/392410938640

 

[John T]

When I picked it up
I noticed the probe leads were not included
So he dropped the price to 10 bucks.
I had a spare set anyway.

The meter seems to work good with a fresh battery.

Nice user friendly manual also.

I threw the cable and floppy disc in the trash.
I’ll never use it.


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