04:46
Faizan
Digital multimeters have pretty much replaced the analog multimeters with the printed scale that a needle moved over. Electrical current rotated the needle to the mark that signified the amount of the current. There were a lot of problems with analog multimeters. The mechanical movement was delicate and easily damaged if the meter was dropped or if a tool was dropped on the meter. It was also easy to make a mistake reading the analog meters, whearas the digital readout of the digital multimeter is hard to get wrong.
Turn the control knob to one of the voltage settings to use the digital multimeter as a voltmeter. Voltage is a measure of how much electrical pressure is pushing the electrons in the current. The meter is going to display the difference between the voltage pressure at the two points you place the meter probes. If you place the probes at the same point, the meter will measure zero. If you place the probes on the terminals of a 9-volt battery, the meter will read around 9 volts--depending on how old the battery is.
Put the meter in the circuit to measure amperage. This usually means cutting a wire and attaching the probes of the meter--with the control knob set to amps--to the cut ends of the wire. Current is the hardest variable to measure, and the most intrusive measurement to take. Because of this, it is often easier to measure both voltage and resistance and use Ohm's law to calculate the amps. Ohm's law says that amps = volts / ohms.
Isolate a component from the rest of the circuit--especially the power supply--if you want to measure resistance. This means cutting one wire of a component and putting the probes on the two wires--one of them cut--that go to the component. Be careful not to touch the probes when measuring ohms, or part of the current will go through your body--it is too small to feel--and this causes the meter to give an incorrect reading.
Turn the control knob to one of the voltage settings to use the digital multimeter as a voltmeter. Voltage is a measure of how much electrical pressure is pushing the electrons in the current. The meter is going to display the difference between the voltage pressure at the two points you place the meter probes. If you place the probes at the same point, the meter will measure zero. If you place the probes on the terminals of a 9-volt battery, the meter will read around 9 volts--depending on how old the battery is.
Put the meter in the circuit to measure amperage. This usually means cutting a wire and attaching the probes of the meter--with the control knob set to amps--to the cut ends of the wire. Current is the hardest variable to measure, and the most intrusive measurement to take. Because of this, it is often easier to measure both voltage and resistance and use Ohm's law to calculate the amps. Ohm's law says that amps = volts / ohms.
Isolate a component from the rest of the circuit--especially the power supply--if you want to measure resistance. This means cutting one wire of a component and putting the probes on the two wires--one of them cut--that go to the component. Be careful not to touch the probes when measuring ohms, or part of the current will go through your body--it is too small to feel--and this causes the meter to give an incorrect reading.
Posted in: electronics
