A multimeter is an instrument that, true to its name, measures a number of different aspects of electricy and electronics: voltage, resistance, capacitance, frequency, conductance, inductance, and others.
If you are a geek, and don’t have a multimeter, you need to get one.
Beyond insuring that you maintain your non-techie friends’ and family members’ awe of you, what exactly can you do with a multimeter? The number one use I’ve found, and it’s terribly non-technical, is to test electrical wires when doing work around the house. It’s all well and good to shut off the breaker, but if you want to be absolutely sure it just takes a second to use your multimeter. Here are some other uses:
- Test batteries to see if they’re still good
- Ensure the connection integrity of soldered components
- Determine whether electrical or electronic cords are broken inside the insulation
- Ascertain the value of unknown resistors
Needless to say, multimeters can be a bit intimidating to use if you’re not familiar with electronic terminology. The good news is that there are many informational sites out there. Here are three:
- Hacker and MAKE contributor Ladyada has a nice ongoing multimeter tutorial.
- There is a half-hour video tutorial on the Tangentsoft web site.
- MAKE magazine has a vlog entry by Joe Grand of Defcon 15 badge fame.
But the first step, if you don’t have a multimeter, is to get one. The good news is that typically they’re very inexpensive, at least at the low end. The Mastech M300
Get started measuring!
Edit: A reader suggested Fluke multimeters. Here’s a link to one: Fluke Corporation 73-3 Series III 600-Volt Digital Multimeter
