Electrical Meter Basics
Multimeters are an essential tool for troubleshooting electrical systems yet most people only know how to use a few of their features.
What is a multimeter? A multimeter is an tool that is capable of measuring two or more electrical values. Most all will be capable of measuring voltage, amperage, and ohms. Earlier meters were only capable of measuring one type of electrical value, so a person would have to carry a meter for each unit they needed to measure. Later meters were designed with a rotary switch so they could measure multiple units of value, hence the term multimeter.
What is the difference between a multimeter, a voltmeter, an ammeter, and an ohmmeter? In modern times, these terms are used interchangeably and all refer to a multimeter. Volt meters measure voltage, amp meters measure amps, ohm meters measure ohms, and multi meters measure a combination of two or more of these.
Meters Tim Recommends
Fluke T6-1000 - Great economical meter for making AC and DC voltage check, measuring resistance (Ohms), and AC amps.
Fluke 87V - Many process control and instrumentation tech's go to meters. In addition to measurements of basic meters, also measures milliamps (mA), microamps, VFD frequency measurements, etc.
Fluke 381 - Most of the features of the 87V plus megger feature to measure the insulation resistances of motors