How to use a Multimeter
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Slide deck from my Multimeter workshop at Bitraf December 8th 2021. Feel free to reuse the deck for hosting your own Multimeter training, but please leave all credits in. CC-BY-SA-4.0
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How to use a Multimeter
- 1. How to use a multimeter 8. December 2021 (CC BY-SA 4.0) Beginners Workshop Jens Chr Brynildsen (@jensa)
- 2. • What is a multimeter? • Different kinds of multimeters • How do I measure • Resistance • Continuity • Volts (DC and AC) • Amperes • Diodes • What multimeter to buy? Plan for the evening Image by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- 3. What is a multimeter?
- 4. Can read out the values of components Can measure the flow of electricity in a circuit Can measure strength and amount of power Measures the properties of electrical circuits Image by ohmify.com, Øyvind Dahl
- 5. Different kinds of multimeters
- 6. Form factor, cost, capabilities, precision Images by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- 7. Cost
- 8. Cost
- 9. Capabilities
- 10. Capabilities
- 11. Precision
- 12. Precision
- 13. How do I measure?
- 16. Turning the dial
- 17. Manual meters
- 18. Continuity ( ) Image by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 19. Resistance (Ohm) Image by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 20. Resistance (Ohm) Image by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 22. Direct Current (V⎓) Image by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 23. Alternating Current (V~) Image by Emilian Robert Vicol (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 24. Amperes Image by Adafruit (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 25. Diodes
- 26. • Fused inputs? • Capacitance? • Frequency? • Temperature? • Transistors? More to test? Image by Dave Jones (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- 27. What multimeter to buy?
- 28. • What do you want to measure? • How precisely do you need to measure? • Is portability relevant? • Is price relevant? What to buy? Image by Andrew Mason (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- 29. • Measures • Inductance (L) • Capacitance (C) • Resistance (R) • Generally more precise than multimeters LCR meter Image by ZngZng, wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- 30. Want to learn more? 8. December 2021 (CC BY-SA 4.0) https://learn.adafruit.com/multimeters/ Jens Chr Brynildsen (@jensa)
Editor's Notes
- There are many multimeters out there. They vary by shape, cost and what they can measure. Let’s start by looking at the capabilities
- The ones we have here at Bitraf is sort of a mess of what have been donated, but we have 3 of these that are considered to be good quality for the price https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdGQEVdxmQQ
- The ones we have here at Bitraf is sort of a mess of what have been donated, but we have 3 of these that are considered to be good quality for the price https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdGQEVdxmQQ
- This is a $17.50 multimeter. It can measure quite a lot with fairly good precision.
- Another thing is the quality of the probes that come with the multimeter. Most of what you’ll find is good for measuring things, but to safely measure AC voltage, you need a certain quality to isolate you from potentially deadly voltage.
- The higher precision, the higher cost. For most users, these are all overkill (but they do exist) Screenshot from https://www.batronix.com/shop/multimeter/multimeter.html
- There is always a better tool, but the better they get - the harder it is to measure correctly. Connections and wires need to be perfect for a tool like this to be really useful. Screenshot from https://www.meilhaus.de/en/3458a.htm?b2b=1
- We’ll start by watching a 7 minute video made by Adafruit that explains the basics. After that we’ll do our own testing on components and circuits.
- Before measuring, we need to select where to connect the probes. This is different from multimeter to multimeter, but the COM (common) is common among most of them. The black lead goes here. The read lead goes into the hole for what we are measuring. Let’s start by having it in the rightmost hole marked with V for volts and Ohm
- You select what to measure by turning the dial. This switches what measuring components are connected inside the multimeter. Using the wrong setting can damage the multimeter, so check the dial before you measure.
- With a manual multimeter, you’ll have to set the correct range yourself. Set it to a level higher than you expect. If you do not know what to expect - start high and go lower in steps.
- Show: how to find connected points in a circuit
- Show: how to measure a resistor, why you can hold the resistor when measuring, why you cannot measure resistance directly in a circuit
- Show: how to measure a resistor, why you can hold the resistor when measuring, why you cannot measure resistance directly in a circuit
- Explain how power will follow the path of lowest resistance. Explain that ANY current (AC/DC) is dangerous https://www.electronicsforu.com/technology-trends/learn-electronics/ac-dc-current-body-dangerous
- Show: measuring power supplies (from the box of supplies), swapping the leads,
- Show: how to measure, why it’s dangerous, what NOT to do
- Show: how to connect the probes into a circuit to measure Amperes Explain: why measuring Amps are more likely to go wrong and how it can be dangerous Illustration from https://www.electronicshub.org/current-measurement-using-multimeter/
- Show: how current only flows in one direction, how to test an LED Illustration from: https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/textbook/semiconductors/chpt-3/meter-check-of-a-diode/
- So by now, you know how to measure the basics, but what if you have special needs?
- Unless you know what to measure - just get a cheap one of decent quality
- Very useful when tearing down circuits to measure what they are built from.