Best clamp meter to get started?

[Marvo]

I'd suggest you look at the frequency respose it can measure currents at, it's nice to have a frequency response above 20khz if you're working on inverter appliances like newer generation washing machines, air con units and fridges. Also you need that higher frequency response when working on lighting circuits supplied by dimmers.

 

[pc1966]

For some motor drives we have I got one of these to use with a basic scope:

CP 35 | GMC-I Prosys CP- 35 Current Clamp, 30A DC Max, AC/DC Adapter, 30 A AC Max, Current Output | RS

uk.rs-online.com

It has a 100kHz bandwidth but for the thyristor bridge sort we have in use you see a lot of 50/100Hz and harmonics as they commutate but it is hard to see the "DC" that is actually moving the motors. So I have designed a low-pass filter along with matching PCB to give me a smoother version, though to my shame I have not got round to actually assembling them yet. This is the design if anyone needs something like it: