advantages/disadvantages of auto-ranging DMMs

[flippityflop1]

are there any advantages/disadvantages to using an auto-ranging DMM such as this?

http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/my69.htm

i would expect that they are not as responsive as regular DMMs... but then again if you need to measure rapidly changing signals, you might as use other means or equipments, like say a low bandwidth oscilloscope would do. also, the hobby electronics i'm into have signals that are pretty constant, except on audio applications...

i've also gathered (not  sure about this) that auto-ranging DMMs don't get overvolt-ed or overcurrent-ed, unless the very maximum limit is reached; unlike regular DMMs, where there is a possibility of overvolt-ing or overcurrent-ing IN EACH RANGE... can anybody confirm this??

so are there any disadvantages??

i'm asking as i was going to buy an auto-ranging DMM. but arrived at the store closed so i went to another store, and bought a non-ranging one... now i have buyer's regret and i'm trying to rationalize why i settled for a non-ranging one.

 

[pebe1]

Every time you use an auto-ranging meter it goes through the timewasting procedure of starting at the highest range and then scaling down through the ranges until it finds a range suitable for display, so there is little risk of damaging the meter by over-voltage/current. If you move your probe to a point 0.5v higher and it will go through the same procedure again.

The first DMM I ever owned was an auto-ranging type. But it had a button on it that enabled it to hold the setting of the previously used range. Had it not been for that, it would have been a very frustrating meter to use. I much prefer a switched-range type.

 

[Hero999]

Fortunately all decent autoranging DVMs allow the range to be set manually (the meter linked to above does), so range hunting it's a non-issue.