Gallery: The Most Useful Testing Equipment for DIY Projects

Yep, all good tools. The old-school Tektronix is a neat touch over a modern Fluke LCD version, but not as portable. Then you won't need the RMS handheld. That you can replace with a good old fashioned test light or two which are cheap, light, and perfect for diagnosing most vehicle electrical issues.

If you have a good handheld DVM, you probably won't need a bench model as well -- unless you've got some serious precision needs.

Staying with the electronics theme, I'd substitute and LCR meter (which I don't have, but often wish I do), or possibly a logic analyzer ( ditto)

Also, let's not forget the lowly test light.

For those on a budget, here's a few tips:

- For a power supply some old PC power supply will do just fine, available voltages 3,3V, 5V and 12V DC (two of them are even better, +/- and 24VDC when connected in series)
- Handheld multimeters are quite cheap, ranging from no name, made in China models to top end, expensive, high quality ones
- Integrated sound chips in laptops, or even smartphones can be used as oscilloscopes with the right software