3. WHAT IS A MULTIMETER?
• A DEVICE THAT MEASURES AC/DC VOLTAGE, CURRENT, AND RESISTANCE.
• USED FOR FAULT FINDING OR TROUBLESHOOTING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS.
• ALSO CALLED VOM (VOLT-OHM MILLIAMMETER) OR A MULTITESTER.
• HAS ANALOG AND DIGITAL MODELS.
4. ANALOG MULTIMETER
• DISPLAY CONSISTS OF MULTIPLE SCALES, WHICH REPRESENT MEASUREMENT
PARAMETERS.
• THE DEFLECTION OF A POINTER OVER A SCALE IS THE MEASUREMENT VALUE.
• ITS INPUT RESISTANCE CAN VARY, DEPENDING ON RANGE SELECTED AND
SENSITIVITY.
• USEFUL FOR HANDLING TIME VARYING SIGNALS.
5. DIGITAL MULTIMETER
• USES A DIGITAL DISPLAY (USUALLY LED OR LCD).
• USES AN ADC (ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER) TO CONVERT READING TO
DIGITAL.
• ITS INPUT RESISTANCE REMAINS CONSTANT ACROSS TEST LEADS FOR VARIOUS
MEASUREMENT RANGES.
• OFFERS AUTO-POLARITY FUNCTION TO ENSURE THE CORRECT POLARITY.
6. COMPARING MULTIMETERS
ANALOG MULTIMETER
• MEASUREMENT SPEED SLOW.
• LESS ACCURATE THAN DIGITAL.
• POWER SOURCE: DOES NOT NEED A BATTERY OR EXTERNAL POWER SOURCE.
• INITIAL SETUP IS NEED TO ADJUST POINTER TO ZERO.
• MEASUREMENT RANGE IS LESS THAN DIGITAL.
• HEAVIER THAN DIGITAL.
• LIFE IS LONGER THAN DIGITAL.
• FEWER ADVANCED FEATURES THAN DIGITAL.
7. DIGITAL MULTIMETER
• MEASUREMENT SPEED QUICK
• SUPERIOR ACCURACY TO ANALOG.
• POWER SOURCE: REQUIRES A BATTERY TO OPERATE, CONSUMES MORE POWER.
• NO ZERO ADJUSTMENT NEEDED.
• GREATER THAN DIGITAL, BUT LIMITED BY RESOLUTION OF ADC (ANALOG TO
DIGITAL CONVERTOR).
• WEIGHT USUALLY LESSER THAN ANALOG.
• LIFE LESSER THAN ANALOG.
• MORE ADVANCED FEATURES THAN ANALOG.
8. CONCLUSION
• FOR GREATER ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, SPEED, AND BETTER FEATURES, CHOOSE
DIGITAL MULTIMETERS.
• ANALOG MULTIMETERS LAST LONGER, HANDLE VARYING SIGNALS, TRANSIENTS
BETTER, AND ARE SUITED FOR APPLICATIONS, WHEN ACCURACY IS NOT THE
MAIN NEED.
• YOU CAN ACQUIRE THE LATEST HIGH QUALITY MULTIMETERS ONLINE FROM
TEST EQUIPMENT RENTAL COMPANIES.
