There is a whole range of multimeters on the market, an absolute rash. They differ in the amount of measured quantities, ranges, the way and accuracy of measurement, the degree of automation, security, construction and, of course, price.
The good news is that we will deal with these issues differently, and at the present moment this diversity is completely uninteresting. You can search by the term find an electrician near me and get the best electrician for the same.
Let me turn to the merits of the article
If you’re fresh in the topics related to electricity, some terms used in this article may be unknown to you. In order to complete the knowledge, take a look.
What is voltage measurement?
Electrical voltage can occur between two components with different electrical potential. The meter’s probes are applied in two points. The result of the measurement is the potential difference between one and the other measuring point, i.e. electrical voltage. Consider two extreme cases:
if we apply the first probe to a wire with a potential of 100V DC, and the other one to a wire that has 0V, as a result we get a voltage equal to 100V DC.
if we apply the first probe to a wire that has 100V DC potential and the other one to a wire with the same potential, the result will be a voltage equal to 0V DC.
In the case of AC voltage measurement, the matter is a bit more complicated and the so-called phase shift. In this article, however, this term does not apply to us because in the following examples one of the probes will always be connected to a potential equal to 0V.
That is, to measure the voltage, we apply the meter’s probes to places with (usually) two different potentials. Does not that mean that the current will flow through the meter? Well, it will flow, but it is negligible because in the voltage measurement mode the electrical resistance (resistance) of the meter is very large.
Preparing a multimeter for measuring boils down to two activities:
- Setting the measuring range
- Attaching the meter’s probes to the appropriate slots
Here it is worth noting that in the case of electric voltage measurement one should choose one of the above mentioned ranges (two red rectangles in the image). Selecting a range of current or resistance measurement and an attempt to measure at these voltage settings, in the best case it will blown the fuse of the meter, and in the worst case it will lead to permanent damage to the multimeter. Also, be wary.
Okay, the question is: Why do so many ranges? Is not one range from 0V to 600V enough?
It is not enough because each range has its measurement accuracy. If you try to measure the battery voltage AA (1.5V) at the range of 0-600V, you can get a result between 0V and 7V. Such a measurement will not tell you anything.
