MULTIMETER ULTRA BASICS
A handheld multimeter is the most important tool you will use in electronics. You will use it to determine voltage/amperage/resistance in a circuit, learn the relationship of V, I(amperage) & R to each other, troubleshoot, test circuits and countless other tasks.
If you will be studying electronics, or plan on making it a career, I highly recommend you purchase a quality Digital Multimeter as soon as possible. It will allow a hands-on approach that just can't be matched with paper and pencil or a computer screen and computer simulation.
Originally when I began electronics I was given an old hand-built analog and a cheap Radio Shack Digital multimeter by a friend of mine. It lasted about one week before I realized I needed a high-quality Digital model -- even just to learn on: So I purchased a FLUKE Model 79 for around $150US. The reason I chose the Fluke was because it measured just about everything and it had an 'AUTORANGE' feature and frequency counter I will describe later.
Now I know some of you are saying that $150.00 seems like a lot but that one tool alone has either made or saved me thousands and thousands of dollars that a cheap $20 Radio Shack meter would not have. There are cheaper 'copies' on the market but I cannot attest to whether they are worth the $50 savings or not.
FEATURES
Here are the features you will need or should look for in a meter:
1) It should measure:
a. AC Voltage
b. DC voltage
c. Amperage
d. Resistance
e. Capacitance - Some do not have this. If so, find one that does or buy a capacitance meter separate. Don't try to convince yourself you do not need this feature.2) Continuity Checker with audible beep.
3) Diode Checker with audible beep.
4) Optional but HIGHLY recommended is a frequency counter.
5) Try to get a meter with autoranging and not one that you have to keep turning a dial (or pushing a button) to shift to different ranges. There is nothing more annoying then having to take your hands away from the probes to change from 300mV to +10Vs.
6) Make some alligator clips for the probe tips. My Fluke didn't come with them but I just bought a few push-on ones later.
©Copyright 1999 * John Adams
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