Works great in hard to get to places

I bought this amp meter specifically for its DC ampere low range resolution. This meter is very good for detecting DC milli-amp currents present on a conductor. Most clamp on amp meters are excellent at anything over 5 amps but struggle to read lower milli-amp currents, especially when its DC. I have a Fluke current clamp AC/DC probe that I use connected to a DMM. Its quite large and you have to remember to move the decimal around if you want a correct reading. Its low range on DC currents are not very consistent or accurate.The Extech 380942 handles the low DC milli-Amp range very well. Its accurate and tracks accurately versus the current measurement function of a regular wired shunted amp multi-meter. I'm able to easily track down low milli-Amp currents on conductors (note, for accuracy, you'll need to zero the meter before clamping around the conductor. This is important for DC measurements). This is very useful for finding parasitic drains on automotive and marine electrical applications. This is what I specifically wanted when I purchased this meter.Its compact size and versatility did not disappoint. The rotary function knob easily set the desired measurement mode. I did not mention the AC/DC and voltage functions; these functions are pretty conventional and work well. AC voltages are accurate RMS readings. The meter is well constructed, but probably not as rugged as a Fluke. I think of it as more of a bench instrument than being out in field service, though its very capable in that application. Just don't abuse it or drop it on to a concrete floor from a high distance. The meter is a bit pricey, though very worth the money considering its versatility and low amp range capability. This meter does not have a continuity or an ohms measuring function. The display could use a back light and better readability at off axis angles. The read HOLD function is useful when a measurement is taken and the display is not easily visible.After using the Extech meter for a few months, it has become my go to instrument for all of my current measurement needs. My own use application is more on the electronics engineering side than that of an electrician. I highly recommend this model and order fulfillment by Amazon was within a few days as stated when I put the order in.

Quite happy with this product. The meter is well built and has low current capability with a 1mA Resolution for DC current, a feature not available on many equally priced clamp meters. Needed to perform parasitic draw testing on my vehicles and did not want to use a multimeter which would require having to disconnect the battery and all subsequent issues related to waking up the ECM and having to wait for everything to go into sleep mode again. Researched several clamp meters able to read low DC current down to milliamps. My short list included the Extech 380942, the AMPROBE LH41A, General Technologies GTC CM100, Electronic Specialties (ES) 688 and a couple of low current probes such as the PDI CA-60 and the ESI 695. After reading about Extech Instruments and browsing their web site and noticing and the extensive list of products that they manufacture, I decided on the Extech. The only drawback that I found with the 380942 meter is that in order to take mA current readings, you must first zero out the display and must leave this function enabled in order to take accurate readings, and while you do this, the MIN/MAX functionality is not available. When you switch the meter to “mA”, the display will always display some value higher than zero, so you must enable the DCA zero function in order to take accurate readings. When measuring parasitic draw, a difference of just 30mA can make a difference between what would be considered normal and problem situation. I still believe the meter is taking accurate DC current readings at the mA level, however I wish I could use MAX/MIN function while doing this.

Like most I bought this for its low current potential, no pun intended, purchased it when Amazon lowered the price considerably, still don’t think is was a good value, seeme to be fairly accurate down to 20mamps below that it’s really a crap shoot, it will give one reading when you first check and then drift way out. My advise, keep your money.

I bought this meter because it has great resolution in both ac and dc current measurements. That is hard to find. Some of the other meters I looked at also did both but also had several other functions. In my case I have a couple other meters so I don't need those other functions. I thought it would be better to spend the same amount of money for a tool that did a couple things really well than a meter that does everything mediocre. I use this meter mostly for 2-wire irrigation systems and it does great. The different systems I measure are around 50-250 milliamps ac and it reads them fine. I also use it to test 4-20 milliamp dc transducers and it works fine. I have compared the readings to other meters and it seems to be spot on with them. I don't use it as much for its accuracy as for its difference in readings though. I also have used it on trucks and it works great. The clamp fits around the negative battery cable where other meters I've used won't. It's sensitive enough to find that pesky little parasitic drain. I am very happy with this meter.