Multi tester/multimeter parts and functions

1. PARTS OF MULTIMETER
AND ITS USES

2. A MULTIMETER OR A
MULTITESTER, ALSO
KNOWN AS A VOM
(VOLT-OHM METER), IS
AN ELECTRONIC
MEASURING
INSTRUMENT THAT
COMBINES SEVERAL
MEASUREMENT
FUNCTIONS IN ONE
UNIT. A TYPICAL
MULTIMETER MAY
INCLUDE FEATURES
SUCH AS THE ABILITY
TO MEASURE
VOLTAGE, CURRENT
AND RESISTANCE.

3. A MULTIMETER, IS A
VERSATILE ELECTRONIC
INSTRUMENT USED FOR
MEASURING VARIOUS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES IN
ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS AND
ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS.
IT IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL
FOR ELECTRICIANS,
ELECTRONICS TECHNICIANS,
AND ENGINEERS, AS IT
ALLOWS THEM TO PERFORM
A WIDE RANGE OF
ELECTRICAL MEASUREMENTS
ACCURATELY. MULTIMETERS
TYPICALLY PROVIDE
READINGS FOR THE
FOLLOWING ELECTRICAL
PARAMETERS:

4. Meter Scale
Parts of multi-meter

5. NEEDLE POINTER
THIS IS THE NEEDLE-SHAPED
ROD THAT MOVES OVER THE
SCALE OF A METER. THE
NEEDLE POINTER IS
MECHANICALLY CONNECTED
TO THE MOVING COIL. THE
VALUE THE POINTER HOVERS
OVER INDICATES THE VALUE
BEING MEASURED BY THE
MULTITESTER. NOTE THAT
WHEN THERE ARE MULTIPLE
VALUES BEING MEASURED ON
THE SAME SCALE, YOU’LL
NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO
WHICH PORT THE
MULTITESTER IS CONNECTED
TO. MATCH THE PORT UP WITH
THE VALUE BEING MEASURED.

6. ZERO CORRECTOR
OR
ADJUSTMENT SCREW
THIS PART WHICH IS ALSO
KNOWN AS THE DIAL OR
INFINITY KNOB ALLOWS YOU
TO ADJUST THE POINTER TO
THE ZERO POSITION OF THE
SCALE. THIS IS USUALLY
ACCOMPANIED WITH THE HELP
OF A FLAT HEAD
SCREWDRIVER. IT IS GOOD TO
KNOW THAT THE NAME
‘INFINITY KNOB’ COMES FROM
THE FACT THAT AT 0 VOLTAGE,
YOU HAVE ‘INFINITE
RESISTANCE’.

7. ZERO ADJUSTMENT KNOB
THE "ZERO ADJUSTMENT KNOB"
ON AN ANALOG MULTIMETER IS A
CONTROL MECHANISM USED TO
CALIBRATE THE METER'S NEEDLE
OR POINTER TO READ ZERO WHEN
THERE IS NO MEASURABLE
QUANTITY BEING TESTED. IN
OTHER WORDS, IT ALLOWS YOU
TO SET THE METER TO A
REFERENCE POINT OF ZERO TO
ENSURE ACCURATE
MEASUREMENTS WHEN TESTING
VARIOUS ELECTRICAL
PARAMETERS, SUCH AS
RESISTANCE (OHMS).
Parts of multi-meter

8. TO PERFORM A ZERO ADJUSTMENT:
SET THE MULTIMETER TO THE
APPROPRIATE FUNCTION (E.G.,
RESISTANCE).
TOUCH THE TWO TEST PROBES
TOGETHER TO CREATE A ZERO-
RESISTANCE CONNECTION.
IF THE METER'S NEEDLE DOES NOT
ALIGN PERFECTLY WITH ZERO ON
THE SCALE, TURN THE ZERO
ADJUSTMENT KNOB UNTIL IT LINES
UP PRECISELY WITH ZERO.
ZERO ADJUSTMENT KNOB
Parts of multi-meter

9. RANGE SELECTOR SWITCH
RANGE SELECTOR
KNOB
O
R
RANGE SELECTOR KNOB: THIS
PART IS ALSO KNOWN AS A
SELECTOR SWITCH. A RANGE
SELECTOR KNOB ALLOWS YOU TO
ADJUST THE SETTINGS OF THE
MULTITESTER (RANGE SELECTOR
KNOBS ARE ALSO PRESENT ON THE
BEST INSULATION RESISTANCE
TESTERS). USING THIS YOU CAN
CHANGE WHAT THE MULTITESTER
IS MEASURING (E.G. VOLTAGE,
CURRENT, OR RESISTANCE), AS
WELL AS THE RANGE OF THE
MEASUREMENT (E.G. VOLTS OR
MILLIVOLTS). THE RANGE
SELECTOR KNOB CAN BE AUTO
RANGING, OR MANUAL RANGING.
Parts of multi-meter

10. CONTINUITY TEST (BUZZ)
IN AN ANALOG MULTIMETER, THE
CONTINUITY TEST FUNCTION IS A
FEATURE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO
QUICKLY CHECK IF AN ELECTRICAL
CIRCUIT IS COMPLETE OR IF THERE
IS A BREAK IN THE CIRCUIT. WHEN
YOU PERFORM A CONTINUITY
TEST, THE MULTIMETER EMITS A
BUZZING SOUND (HENCE "BUZZ")
TO INDICATE WHETHER THERE IS
CONTINUITY OR NOT.
Parts of multi-meter

11. (AC)- ALTERNATING CURRENT
VOLTAGE RANGE
IN THE CONTEXT OF A
MULTIMETER, WHEN YOU SEE
"AC VOLTAGE RANGE," IT
REFERS TO THE CAPABILITY
OF THE MULTIMETER TO
MEASURE ALTERNATING
CURRENT (AC) VOLTAGES
ACROSS A SPECIFIC RANGE OF
VALUES. THE AC VOLTAGE
RANGE ON A MULTIMETER IS
A SET OF MEASUREMENT
OPTIONS OR SETTINGS THAT
ALLOW YOU TO MEASURE AC
VOLTAGES WITH DIFFERENT
MAGNITUDES.
THE VOLTAGE RANGES ON AN
ANALOG MULTIMETER ARE
USUALLY LABELED IN VOLTS (V)
AND MAY INCLUDE OPTIONS
LIKE:10V, 50V, 250V, 1000V
Parts of multi-meter

12. (DC)- DIRECT CURRENT
VOLTAGE RANGE
DIRECT CURRENT VOLTAGE RANGE IN A
MULTIMETER: THE DIRECT CURRENT
VOLTAGE RANGE IN A MULTIMETER
ENCOMPASSES THE PREDEFINED
SELECTION OF VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT
SETTINGS TAILORED FOR MEASURING DC
VOLTAGES. THESE SETTINGS TYPICALLY
CONSIST OF A RANGE OF VOLTAGE
MEASUREMENT OPTIONS, EACH WITH A
SPECIFIC MAXIMUM VOLTAGE LIMIT.
USERS CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE DC
VOLTAGE RANGE ON THE MULTIMETER
BASED ON THE EXPECTED MAGNITUDE
OF THE DC VOLTAGE THEY INTEND TO
MEASURE. THE MULTIMETER THEN
PROVIDES A NUMERICAL OR ANALOG
READOUT OF THE DC VOLTAGE WITHIN
THE SELECTED RANGE.
Parts of multi-meter

13. VOLT-
METER
SCALE
IN AN ANALOG MULTIMETER,
THE VOLTMETER SCALE REFERS
TO THE RANGE OR SET OF
VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT
OPTIONS PROVIDED BY THE
INSTRUMENT. THESE SCALES
ARE USED TO MEASURE
VOLTAGE OR ELECTRICAL
POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE IN A
CIRCUIT AND ARE TYPICALLY
CALIBRATED IN VOLTS (V) OR
MILLIVOLTS (MV) FOR LOWER
VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS.
ANALOG MULTIMETERS
USUALLY HAVE A SERIES OF
VOLTAGE MEASUREMENT
RANGES TO COVER A BROAD
SPECTRUM OF VOLTAGE
LEVELS.

14. OHM-METER RANGE
OHM METER RANGE IN A MULTIMETER:
THE OHM METER RANGE IN A
MULTIMETER ENCOMPASSES THE
PREDEFINED SELECTION OF RESISTANCE
MEASUREMENT SETTINGS TAILORED FOR
MEASURING ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE.
THESE SETTINGS TYPICALLY CONSIST OF
A RANGE OF RESISTANCE MEASUREMENT
OPTIONS, EACH WITH A SPECIFIC RANGE
OF VALUES OR MAXIMUM RESISTANCE
LIMIT. USERS CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE
OHM METER RANGE ON THE MULTIMETER
BASED ON THE EXPECTED RESISTANCE
VALUE THEY INTEND TO MEASURE. THE
MULTIMETER THEN PROVIDES A
NUMERICAL OR ANALOG READOUT OF
THE RESISTANCE WITHIN THE SELECTED
RANGE.
Parts of multi-meter

15. OHM-METER RANGE
IN AN ANALOG MULTIMETER, THE
OHM METER RANGE IS REPRESENTED
BY DIFFERENT POSITIONS OF THE
RANGE SELECTOR SWITCH, OFTEN
LABELED AS X1, X10, X1K, X10K,
AND SO ON. THESE POSITIONS
INDICATE THE RANGE OF
RESISTANCE VALUES THAT THE
MULTIMETER IS SET TO MEASURE,
AND THEY CORRESPOND TO
DIFFERENT SENSITIVITIES OR
SCALES. HERE'S AN EXPLANATION OF
EACH OF THESE RANGE POSITIONS:
Parts of multi-meter

16. OHM-METER RANGE
Parts of multi-meter
• X1 (1X): THIS IS THE MOST BASIC
RESISTANCE SCALE, TYPICALLY
LABELED AS "X1" OR "1X." WHEN
USING THIS SCALE, THE
MULTIMETER READS RESISTANCE
VALUES DIRECTLY IN OHMS (Ω). FOR
EXAMPLE, IF YOU MEASURE A
RESISTOR WITH A RESISTANCE OF
100 OHMS, THE METER'S NEEDLE
WILL POINT TO "100" ON THE
SCALE.
• X10 (10X): THE "X10" OR "10X"
SCALE MULTIPLIES THE MEASURED
RESISTANCE VALUE BY 10. SO, IF
YOU MEASURE A RESISTOR WITH A
RESISTANCE OF 100 OHMS ON THIS
SCALE, THE METER WILL INDICATE
"1000" BECAUSE IT'S SHOWING
1000 OHMS OR 1 KILOHM.

17. OHM-METER RANGE
Parts of multi-meter
• X100 (100X): THIS SCALE MULTIPLIES THE
MEASURED RESISTANCE VALUE BY 100. IF
YOU MEASURE A RESISTOR WITH A
RESISTANCE OF 100 OHMS ON THE
"X100" SCALE, THE METER WILL INDICATE
"10,000" BECAUSE IT'S DISPLAYING
10,000 OHMS OR 10 KILOHMS.
• X1K (1KΩ): THE "X1K" OR "1KΩ" SCALE
MULTIPLIES THE MEASURED RESISTANCE
VALUE BY 1,000. IF YOU MEASURE A
RESISTOR WITH A RESISTANCE OF 100
OHMS ON THIS SCALE, THE METER WILL
INDICATE "100,000" BECAUSE IT'S
DISPLAYING 100,000 OHMS OR 100
KILOHMS.
• X10K (10KΩ): THE "X10K" OR "10KΩ"
SCALE MULTIPLIES THE MEASURED
RESISTANCE VALUE BY 10,000.
MEASURING A 100-OHM RESISTOR ON
THIS SCALE WILL RESULT IN A READING
OF "1,000,000," INDICATING 1,000,000
OHMS OR 1 MEGOHM.

18. OHM-
METER
SCALE
IN AN ANALOG MULTIMETER,
THE OHMMETER SCALE REFERS
TO THE RANGE OR SET OF
MEASUREMENT OPTIONS
PROVIDED FOR MEASURING
ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE,
OFTEN DENOTED IN OHMS (Ω).
ANALOG MULTIMETERS
TYPICALLY HAVE A SERIES OF
RESISTANCE MEASUREMENT
SCALES TO COVER A BROAD
RANGE OF RESISTANCE
VALUES. THESE SCALES ALLOW
YOU TO MEASURE THE
RESISTANCE OF COMPONENTS
OR CIRCUITS ACCURATELY.

19. IN CONCLUSION, UNDERSTANDING AND ACCURATELY INTERPRETING
MULTIMETER READINGS IS ESSENTIAL FOR ANYONE WORKING WITH
ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS. WHETHER YOU'RE A PROFESSIONAL
ELECTRICIAN, AN ELECTRONICS ENTHUSIAST, OR JUST SOMEONE TRYING TO
TROUBLESHOOT A HOUSEHOLD ISSUE, THE ABILITY TO DECIPHER
MULTIMETER MEASUREMENTS IS A FUNDAMENTAL SKILL. REMEMBER TO
SELECT THE APPROPRIATE MEASUREMENT MODE, ENSURE PROPER
CONNECTIONS, AND TAKE SAFETY PRECAUTIONS WHEN WORKING WITH
ELECTRICITY. WITH PRACTICE AND A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE
PRINCIPLES BEHIND MULTIMETER READINGS, YOU'LL BE BETTER EQUIPPED TO
DIAGNOSE AND RESOLVE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS EFFICIENTLY AND SAFELY.