Electronics is a subject where you need to do a lot of practical kinds of stuff than to just learning the concepts, techies tuffs that are the reason I am presenting this article than teaching you about maximum power transfer theorem is or method calculate the Thevenin's resistance. (Please go through the book The Art of Electronics if you do not understand these terms).
Techie stuffs
Digital Multimeter is an extremely basic Electronics Tool that each Hobbyist and learner ought to have because this is the very first tool which can help you to understand the basic Electronics.
The multimeter is an Electronic device which helps you to measure various quantities like Voltage, Current, Resistance etc.In this article, I am going to demonstrate all those stuffs that you can do with a Multimeter.
Anatomy of Multimeter
Multimeters are available in various range based on its precision and extended features to measure several other physical parameters like Capacitance, Inductance etc.You can buy Multimeters on various online stores such as Amazon.
In this article, I am using the basic one which has capabilities to measure Current, Voltage, resistance and to check the continuity.
Anatomy of multimeter
As you can see in the above Image, The multimeter represented here is have 3 digit resolution, which is enough for a beginner or a Hobbyist.
Inorder to measure the specific quantity, you need to set the knob to the corresponding range, If you are unsure about the range then start with the lowest possible range.If the reading in the multimeter shows '1' then it means the value is overflowed so you need to move the knob to next higher value.
Now before moving on further, I would like to mention about the Try it exercises block below every experiment, these small experiments will let you think and explore deeper to what you are learning.So Please do not skip the Try it exercises.
Experiment to Measure Continuity of a material
Continuity is a physical property which represents the materials ability to conduct current through it. The continuity test will be helpful in many aspects such as verifying Soldering joints and to debug the circuit for broken wires and pins.In fact, most hobbyist mostly uses Digital multimeter to test continuity only.
Let's see how to test continuity
Connect the Black probe to COM port (Common).
Connect the Red probe to V (mA) port (for measuring small current and voltage)
Set the position of the knob to Continuity test mode. (Refer the below Image)
Place the Black probe and RED probes in two ends of the material that you wish to test the continuity.
Now if you hear beep sound then, the material you tested is a conductor and if it does not make beep sound then the material is not a conductor.
continuity-test-multimeter
[Tryit] Try to short the two probes in continuity mode, what did you observe? [/ Tryit]
Now test some other materials before you move further.
Experiment to measure the Resistance of a Material
I hope you understand what resistance and resistor are, So I am moving on to the experiment directly.
Connect the probes as mentioned in the previous experiment.
Set the knob to Resistance mode (start from the lowest range, that is from 200 ohms).
Now place the probes on two opposite ends of the material.
Now note down the Resistance value displayed on the LCD screen, if it becomes 1 then it infers that the values you set are overflowed so now set the knob to next higher resistance range.
Repeat the above step still you get the stable value.
multimeter-measure-resistance
That's it, You are doing well now but before moving on try to measure the resistance so your tongue and some other objects.
Before you move on I want to put up a question, Can you use Resistance mode to test the continuity also?
[Tryit] Try to measure the resistance of a standard resistor and verify that tolerance levels are correct. [/ Tryit]
Experiment to measure Voltage
To do this experiment you need to have any working battery, here I am demonstrating with a 9V battery.
Connect the probes as I mentioned in previous experiments.
Set the knob to measure Voltage mode (start from the lowest voltage).
Place the Black probe to the negative end of the battery.
Place the Red probe in positive end of the battery.
You can see the voltage value on the LCD screen, If it becomes 1 then as I mentioned earlier the voltage of the battery is above the range you set in step 2.
Repeat the above step till you get the stable value.
multimeter-measure-voltage
Note that even if you are using a fresh battery the actual voltage you get may have deviated from the labelled voltage, this is due to various factors like battery internal resistance etc.
[Tryit] Now try to exchange the position of the probe, that connects black to the positive terminal and Red to the negative terminal.Did you observe anything ??? [/ Tryit]
Experiment to measure Current
In this experiment, I am going to measure the current delivered by the battery.
Connect the probes as I mentioned in previous experiments.
Set the knob to measure Current mode (start from the lowest).
Place the Black probe to the negative end of the battery.
Place the Red probe in positive end of the battery.
You can see the value of current in the LCD screen, If it becomes 1 then as I mentioned earlier the current delivered by the battery is above the range you set in step 2.
Repeat the above step till you get the stable value.
multimeter-measure-current
[Tryit] Now try to measure the AC voltage and Current that is supplied to your home. (Take parental guidance if you are a beginner) [/ tryit]
In the above experiment, we have measured the current delivered by the battery.Now if you want to measure very HIGH current, that is above 10A you have to make some adjustments.
Measure High Current (up to 10 A DC)
Connect the Black probe to COM port as we did earlier
Connect Red probe in the other port which we did not use for previous experiments. (10 A)
Set the knob to measure current.
Now connect the two probes in Livewire and Black wire in neutral pin of your AC port High DC current source you want to measure. (Current above 10A will blow up the fuse inside your multimeter)
The value will show up in LCD display.
If you forget to change the Red probe then the chances are very high to fuse your multimeter, so always do not forget to make the changes when you are measuring current above 10A.
[Tryit] Try to measure small current with the probe set to above-above 10 A.Did you get any value ??? [/ Tryit]
What else?
If you are not a good reader, following visuals can help you. (This video is not by me)
We have come to end of this long tutorial, Thanks a lot for showing much patience to read this article and I hope you liked it
Learn to use Digital Multimeter - Excellent Guide for Noobs - bit.ly/XcK6nkby @techiestuffs #electronics #diy - Vivek (@vividvilla) November 15, 2012
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