Hi all! Today we will talk again about such a device as a multimeter. This device, also called a tester, is designed to measure the basic characteristics of an electrical circuit, electrical appliances, in cars - in general, wherever there is electricity.
We have already discussed a little about multimeters in this article, today we will touch in more detail on what and how they can measure. Once upon a time, the multimeter was the domain of only electricians. However, now many people use it.
There are many different models of multimeters. There is a class of instruments for measuring only certain characteristics, and there are universal testers for checking parts and their characteristics. Multimeters are conventionally reduced to two types:
- analog multimeters - data is displayed by an arrow. These are multimeters that are still used by people of the old school; they often cannot or do not want to work with modern instruments;
- digital multimeters – data is displayed in numbers. This type of tester has replaced the pointer tester; for example, I prefer to use such a device.
Since digital devices are now the most common, we will consider the description of this device using its example. Below are the main symbols that are found on almost any multimeter model.
If you examine the front panel of the multimeter, you can see eight blocks with different symbols:
What does the multimeter show when selecting different operating modes?
They are located around a round switch, with which you can set the desired mode. On the switch, the contact point is indicated by a dot or a raised triangle. Designations are divided into sectors. Almost all modern multimeters have a similar layout and a round switch.
sector OFF . If you set the switch to this position, the device is turned off. There are also models that automatically turn off after a while. This is very convenient, because for example, I forget to turn it off while working, and it’s not convenient when you measure, then solder, turn it off all the time. The battery lasts a long time.
2 and 8 - two sectors with the designation V , this symbol indicates the voltage in volts. If the symbol is simply V , then the constant voltage is measured, if V~ , the alternating voltage is measured. The numbers next to them show the range of the measured voltage. Moreover, constant is measured from 200m (millivolts) to 1000 volts, and variable is measured from 100 to 750 volts.
3 and 4 – two sectors for measuring direct current. Only one range is highlighted in red for measuring current up to 10 amperes. The remaining ranges are: from 0 to 200, 2000 microamps, from 0 to 20, 200 milliamps.
In ordinary life, ten amperes are enough; when measuring current, the multimeter is connected to the circuit by connecting the probes to the desired socket, specially designed for measuring current. One day I tried to measure the current in an outlet for the first time with my first simple tester model. I had to replace the probes with new ones - the standard ones were burnt out.
5 (fifth) sector. The icon looks like Wi-Fi .
