A multifunction measuring instrument used for measuring AC and DC voltage [V] and current [A] as well as resistance [Ω]. Many digital multimeters can also measure frequency [Hz], duty cycle [%], capacitance [F], temperature [°C], and/or other electrical or physical properties. Most are handheld; more expensive bench models are also available for applications requiring high precision.
Questions tagged [multimeter]
926 questions
31
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What does the multimeter dial do internally?
Everyone who has ever handled a multimeter is familiar with these dials. The position of the dial indicates the maximum range of the quantity that can be measured.
But why are we required to adjust the maximum range ourselves? What happens…
S. Rotos
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What to look for in a multimeter?
When selecting a multimeter, what should one look for in terms of safety features and measurement capabilities?
What can you look for in the specifications to tell a good meter from a crappy one (besides price)?
I'm looking at cheaper multimeters…
Grant
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What's the hold function on a multimeter for?
All it does on my multimeter is freeze whatever value it was reading at the time. When would I need to use this?
tgun926
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What does it mean that a multimeter is four and a half digit?
The fluke 87-V is advertised as a "four and a half digit" meter. What does that mean, how does half a digit fit into the equation?
David Högberg
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Why one of my multimeter shows a small voltage when only one probe is connected to AC and the other dont?
I've recently acquired a Minipa ET-997 multimeter. I noticed that when I connected one probe to 127V phase and let the other disconnected, it will show around 12V.
But I have an older and cheaper multimeter which shows 0V in this same situation. Why…
Fabricio Breve
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How to determine the units when reading a multimeter?
Say for instance I am trying to measure the current. The units around the edge of the multimeter is 2000u, 200m, 20m, 10A, etc.
Does this mean that the reading displayed on the multimeter is in that particular unit? For example, if I set it to 20m…
Wk_of_Angmar
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"Beep" when testing VCC and GND with the multimeter
Sometimes I use my multimeter solely for testing if there is a contact between two points. However, sometimes, when I measure between VCC and GND on some of my PCBs, I hear a short "Beep" and then it stops. Therefore I assume that there should be a…
arc_lupus
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What is the practical benefit from very sharp probe tip and fast continuity test of DMM?
What is the practical benefit from very sharp probe tip and fast continuity test of multimeter?
I was searching for a while with google and in ee.se but results contain mainly a dmm seling ads with featuring sharp tip probes or similar. Maybe can't…
zzz
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Is the continuity test limit resistance of a multimeter standard?
The continuity shows us the shorts, but many times I guess, even if the wire has a resistance of up to 50 ohm, the continuity will beep to indicate a short.
Is it always 50 ohm, or what parameter should we look for in the manual?
user1245
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Is a multimeter with 1,200,000 counts actually a 6½ digit multimeter?
The Keysight 34465A Digital Multimeter is specified as a 6½ digit multimeter.
However, the meter is actually a 1,200,000 counts meter, since the meter wraps at 1.2, so if measuring a 1.19 kOhm resister, the reading is 1.190,000 kOhm, and if…
EquipDev
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Why do DMMs have so low update/refresh rates?
My DMMs ($50-$100 range) refresh the displayed value every ~250mecs. Are there technical reasons (limitations) for this, or is this just a UI thing?
Duoran
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why is wall voltage measuring 175V?
I was trying to use a DM-4100A multimeter to verify a power supply, and I'm not sure I'm using the multimeter correctly. The multimeter is >10 years old too, so maybe it is not working correctly.
When I set the meter to measure AC voltage, with a…
Frank Schwieterman
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How much Ampere is displayed on the multimeter?
here is a picture of a multimeter:
the display shows: 02,0
is it 2A or 2mA ?
MilMike
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Why do DMMs have a capacitor on their AC measurements?
see answers to this question.
Is a capacitor really necessary? And wouldn't it make measurements frequency-dependent?
Federico Russo
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Multimeter reads negative even without leads
I have a cheap multimeter that used to work fine but now it has negative readings -- even when the leads aren't connected. I changed the battery, looked for a blown fuse but no luck.
Any idea what's going on? Is it toast? It's a GB Instruments…
Voodoo
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