Dumb question: How to use a multimeter??

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Yeah remember measurements this way:

Volts are measured by connecting the leads across the thing. (Remember "vaults across", as in pole vaulting.) You are measuring the potential difference between two points in a circuit.

Amps are measured by connecting the multimeter in series in the circuit, so it is effectively part of the circuit.
 
Shrike said:
ok, that makes sense, except now I dont know what the 200m means in the Ampheres section! :)
The "m" in what you are talking about refers to milliamps, or one thousandth of an amp.

BTW, don't feel like you are asking a dumb question, I know a lot of other people read this post and learned something. :)

If you find electronics interesting, do some more research on the subject. You will be surprised how handy it is to know about it when you get into building and repairing devices.
 
the basic stuff so u can jsut use it is....

V~ (AC volts, ex.- volts from wall socket)
V= (DC volts, ex.- volts from a battery)
upside down horse shew (ohms)
ofcourse A is amps.

Black lead stays in COM port for ground
Red lead gets put in the apropreate hole for what your reading

only thing u can damage is if you stick the meter on a circuit wile reading amps, if the amps on the cuircuit are greater then the meter can withstand, then the fuse in the meter will blow, and you'l have to replace it b4 reading amps again. the amp limit isnt the max reading on the meter its something higher i think, it should say on the back.

i may be rong on this(been awhile) but i think u just need to move the decimal 3 places to find what any reading means... 352a = 352000ma = 352000000ua.... 352ua = .000352a
 
You don't have to spend that much on a multimeter. I mean, you get what you pay for, but you can pick up a perfectly accurate one for about £30 GBP (not sure about dollars).
 
Thanks for all the info, that will definitely get me started

Just out of curiosity, what are the symbols in the
mult.jpg

lower right hand corner?
The hFE and the arrow symbol?
 
hFE rates the transistor gain, and the arrow is the symbol for ground (assuming the symbol directly above the COM) if your talking about the arrow that looks similar to this ->|- between 200 and hFE then thats the symbol for diode.
 
iv never had to use these settings b4, so i have a few questions..
hFE rates the transistor gain
what do u mean by this, does that measure the voltage difference between the base/emmitor?

and what the diode setting... what more could that do except tell u if a diode is good or bad? is that all it tells u or does it tell u more?

i dont have a multi-meter myself, otherwise i would just look at the intructions to tell me such things lol.
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and that looks like a dam good multimeter, i dont know what brand it is, but if u dont care about it, u could prolly sell it fora few hundred bucks, depending on its condition/brand.
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if you were going to buy a multimeter, u may wont to check out a sears brand like crafsman(not shur if thy make meters, i never checked) but all craftsman come witha lifetime warrenty, and there not that expensive.
 
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