{"id":482,"date":"2013-06-07T12:43:02","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T19:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.circuitspecialists.com\/?p=482"},"modified":"2014-06-20T11:34:33","modified_gmt":"2014-06-20T18:34:33","slug":"how-multimeters-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/how-multimeters-work\/","title":{"rendered":"How Multimeters Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

A multimeter is a tool designed to troubleshoot electrical and electronic circuits and is used for checking voltages to confirm proper operating levels. Standard multimeters measure current, resistance, and voltage. More expensive models can measure capacitance and inductance as well. In addition, an oscilloscope<\/a> may have multimeter functions.<\/p>\n

An ammeter measures current, an ohmmeter allows you to determine resistance, and a voltmeter is used to measure voltage between two points. Multimeters combine all three functions in a single instrument. (Note: You will need to be able to recognize common electronic schematic symbols for components to fully understand how to use your multimeter.)<\/p>\n

Your multimeter\u2019s ammeter function is used to measure the number of electrons passing a given point for a certain amount of time (i.e. current). The units in this measurement are known as amperes. Your multimeter can check how many amperes, e.g., an appliance is drawing so that you can tell if it is drawing excessive current, which will cause a circuit breaker<\/a> to open.<\/p>\n

The ohmmeter function measures electrical resistance \u2014 the opposition to an electric current \u2014 and uses units known as ohms. An electrical circuit will have a resistance of zero or near zero ohms if it is short-circuited. When a circuit is open it has infinite resistance and no current flow.<\/p>\n

The voltmeter function of your multimeter measures the electrical potential between two points in volts and is especially useful for checking whether a battery is nearly dead.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, multimeters<\/a> enable you to measure current and voltage in two different modes: alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC). Household outlets almost always use alternating current. Keep in mind that different countries have different standards when it comes to AC voltage, which is why many travelers find that their electronics malfunction in other parts of the world. If you\u2019re not sure of the voltage you can use the AC voltmeter function of your multimeter to find out.<\/p>\n

Household outlets supply AC current, but batteries supply DC current. You must take the mode of current of what you are measuring into account and set your multimeter to the correct mode to accurately measure electrical or electronic circuits.<\/p>\n

Nick Jakubowski<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A multimeter is a tool designed to troubleshoot electrical and electronic circuits and is used for checking voltages to confirm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digital-storage-oscilloscope","category-multimeters"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Multimeters Work | Simply Smarter Circuitry Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.circuitspecialists.com\/blog\/how-multimeters-work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Multimeters Work | Simply 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