Digital Multimeters Sell – Optical Power Meter – Capacitance
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
Digital Multimeters Sell – Optical Power Meter – Capacitance
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 would include basic features such as the ability to measure voltage, current, and resistance. Analog multimeters use a microammeter whose pointer moves over a scale calibrated for all the different measurements that can be made. Digital multimeters (DMM, DVOM) display the measured value in numerals, and may also display a bar of a length proportional to the quantity being measured. Digital multimeters are now far more common than analog ones, but analog multimeters are still preferable in some cases, for example when monitoring a rapidly-varying value.
A multimeter can be a hand-held device useful for basic fault finding and field service work, or a bench instrument which can measure to a very high degree of accuracy. They can be used to troubleshoot electrical problems in a wide array of industrial and household devices such as electronic equipment, motor controls, domestic appliances, power supplies, and wiring systems. Multimeters are available in a wide range of features and prices. Cheap multimeters can cost less than US$10, while the top of the line multimeters can cost more than US$5,000.
A multimeter is a combination of a multi range DC voltmeter, multirange AC voltmeter, multirange ammeter, and multi range ohmmeter. An un-amplified analog multimeter combines a meter movement, range resistors and switches.
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For an analog meter movement, DC voltage is measured with a series resistor connected between the meter movement and the circuit under test. A set of switches allows greater resistance to be inserted for higher voltage ranges. The product of the basic full-scale deflection current of the movement, and the sum of the series resistance and the movement’s own resistance, gives the full-scale voltage of the range. As an example, a meter movement that required 1 milliampere for full scale deflection, with an internal resistance of 500 ohms, would, on a 10-volt range of the multimeter, have 9,500 ohms of series resistance.
Amplified instruments simplify the design of the series and shunt resistor networks. The internal resistance of the coil is decoupled from the selection of the series and shunt range resistors; the series network becomes a voltage divider. Where AC measurements are required, the rectifier can be placed after the amplifier stage, improving precision at low range.
Digital instruments, which necessarily incorporate amplifiers, use the same principles as analog instruments for range resistors. For resistance measurements, usually a small constant current is passed through the device under test and the digital multimeter reads the resultant voltage drop; this eliminates the scale compression found in analog meters, but requires a source of significant current. An autoranging digital multimeter can automatically adjust the scaling network so that the measurement uses the full precision of the A/D converter.
In all types of multimeters, the quality of the switching elements is critical to stable and accurate measurements. Stability of the resistors is a limiting factor in the long-term accuracy and precision of the instrument.