CHAPTER 4 ■ DIGITAL MULTIMETER
Display: 1999 Means the same thing as 3½ digits.
DC Volts: 200mV Lowest DC voltage setting is 200 millivolts. That’s just fine. That means
the meter’s going to be able to measure voltage levels lower than
0.2 volts, as the lowest setting on the dial measures up to 0.2 volts.
±0.5% + 2 Indicates the lower setting ranges can be measured accurately within half
a percent, and the last digit may be off by ±2 decimals. For example, with
a reading of 1.05, the actual value may be as low as 1.05 – (1.050.005) –
0.02 = 1.024 or as high as 1.05 + (1.050.005) + 0.02 = 1.075. That’s fine for
amateur robotic work.
2/20/200/1000V The upper ranges on the dial measure up to 1000 V. That’s more than
enough for household robots. All together, there are five ranges on the
DC voltage section of the dial: 0.2, 2, 20, 200, 1000.
±0.8% + 2 Indicates the highest setting range (1000 V) can measure accurately
within eight-tenths of a percent, with the last digit being off possibly by
2 decimals. That’s acceptable for amateur robotic work. I question why
you’re measuring something that is 1000 volts!
AC Volts: 200/750V ±1.2% + 10 Indicates only two ranges for AC (household outlet) voltage. This feature
isn’t needed for battery-based robots. Notice that this meter’s accuracy is
much worse for AC.
DC Current: 200m/2m/20mA
/200mA±1.0% + 2
Lowest current setting is 200 microamps (0.0002 amps). That’s just
fine. That means the meter is going to be able to measure current levels
lower than 0.0002 amps, as the lowest setting on the dial measures up to
0.0002 amps.10A ±2% + 2 Most multimeters leap at some point between low-current measurement
and high-current measurement. When you switch the meter to measure
high current, you need to move the positive (red) test probe to the high-
current socket. Internally, the high-current socket connects to a fuse with
a different rating. The disappointing aspect about this meter is that it can
only measure up to 200 mA in low-current mode. Somewhere up around
500 mA would be preferable. This means you’ll need to use the less
accurate (but otherwise capable) 10 A range for all measurements that
are likely to be above 150 mA (so that you don’t blow the 200 mA fuse).
Resistance:
200/2K/20K/200K/2M ±0.8%
Five ranges. Good minimum and maximum. The low end isn’t indicating
that it can’t measure 1-ohm resistors. It means you can turn the dial
to the 200-ohm setting for the best accuracy of measuring low-value
resistors.HFE: 1 ~ 1,000 Transistor Test That’s a nice feature. It can test the gain of transistors.
Diode Test Good for testing LEDs.
The ad said this meter has a capacitance test and a back light, neither of which is true. But, you can
determine that from just looking at the photograph. There is no capacitance mode on the dial and there is no
button for a backlight.