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Mulmeter
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Amulmeteroramultester,alsoknownasaVOM(VoltOhm
Milliammeter),isanelectronicmeasuringinstrumentthatcombines
severalmeasurementfunconsinoneunit.Atypicalmulmetercan
measurevoltage,current,andresistance.Analogmulmetersusea
microammeterwithamovingpointertodisplayreadings.Digital
mulmeters(DMM,DVOM)haveanumericdisplay,andmayalsoshow
agraphicalbarrepresenngthemeasuredvalue.Digitalmulmeters
arenowfarmorecommonduetotheircostandprecision,butanalog
mulmetersaresllpreferableinsomecases,forexamplewhen
monitoringarapidlyvaryingvalue.
Amulmetercanbeahandhelddeviceusefulforbasicfaultnding
andeldservicework,orabenchinstrumentwhichcanmeasuretoa
veryhighdegreeofaccuracy.Theycanbeusedtotroubleshoot
electricalproblemsinawidearrayofindustrialandhouseholddevices
suchaselectronicequipment,motorcontrols,domescappliances,
powersupplies,andwiringsystems.

Ananalogmulmeter,theSanwa
YX360TRF

Mulmetersareavailableinawiderangeoffeaturesandprices.Cheap
mulmeterscancostlessthanUS$10,whilelaboratorygrademodels
withceredcalibraoncancostmorethanUS$5,000.

Contents
1
2
3
4
5

History
Generalproperesofmulmeters
Operaon
Quanesmeasured
Resoluon
5.1 Resoluonandaccuracy
5.2 Digital
5.3 Analog
6 Accuracy
7 Sensivityandinputimpedance
8 Burdenvoltage
9 Alternangcurrentsensing
10 Digitalmulmeters(DMMorDVOM)
11 Analogmulmeters
12 Probes
13 Safety
14 DMMalternaves
15 Powersupply
16 Seealso
17 References
18 Externallinks

A41/2digitdigitalmulmeter,the
Fluke87V

History
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Therstmovingpointercurrentdetecngdevicewasthe
galvanometerin1820.Thesewereusedtomeasureresistanceand
voltagebyusingaWheatstonebridge,andcomparingtheunknown
quantytoareferencevoltageorresistance.Whileusefulinthelab,
thedeviceswereveryslowandimpraccalintheeld.These
galvanometerswerebulkyanddelicate.
TheD'Arsonval/Westonmetermovementusesamovingcoilwhich
carriesapointerandrotatesonpivotsoratautbandligament.Thecoil
rotatesinapermanentmagneceldandisrestrainedbynespiral
springswhichalsoservetocarrycurrentintothemovingcoil.Itgives
proporonalmeasurementratherthanjustdetecon,anddeeconis
independentoftheorientaonofthemeter.Insteadofbalancinga
bridge,valuescouldbedirectlyreadotheinstrument'sscale,which
mademeasurementquickandeasy.

Mulmetertestleads.

Thebasicmovingcoilmeterissuitableonlyfordirectcurrent
measurements,usuallyintherangeof10microamperesto100mA.It
iseasilyadaptedtoreadheaviercurrentsbyusingshunts(resistances
inparallelwiththebasicmovement)ortoreadvoltageusingseries
resistancesknownasmulpliers.Toreadalternangcurrentsor
voltages,arecerisneeded.Oneoftheearliestsuitablerecerswas
thecopperoxiderecerdevelopedandmanufacturedbyUnion
Switch&SignalCompany,Swissvale,Pennsylvania,laterpartof
WesnghouseBrakeandSignalCompany,from1927.[1]
Mulmeterswereinventedintheearly1920sasradioreceiversand
othervacuumtubeelectronicdevicesbecamemorecommon.The
invenonoftherstmulmeterisaributedtoBrishPostOce
engineer,DonaldMacadie,whobecamedissasedwiththeneedto
carrymanyseparateinstrumentsrequiredformaintenanceof
telecommunicaonscircuits.[2]Macadieinventedaninstrumentwhich
couldmeasureamperes(amps),voltsandohms,sothemulfunconal
meterwasthennamedAvometer.[3]Themetercomprisedamoving
coilmeter,voltageandprecisionresistors,andswitchesandsocketsto
selecttherange.
TheAutomacCoilWinderandElectricalEquipmentCompanywasset
Aclampmeter
uptomanufacturetheAvometerandacoilwindingmachinealso
designedandpatentedbyMacAdie.Althoughashareholderof
ACWEECO,MrMacAdieconnuedtoworkforthePostOceunlhisrerementin1933.Hisson,HughS.
MacAdie,joinedACWEECOin1927andbecameTechnicalDirector.[4][5]AutomacCoilWinderandElectrical
EquipmentCompany(ACWEEC,foundedin~1923).[3]TherstAVOwasputonsalein1923,andmanyofits
featuresremainedalmostunalteredthroughtothelastModel8.

Generalproperesofmulmeters
Anymeterwillloadthecircuitundertesttosomeextent.Forexample,amulmeterusingamovingcoil
movementwithfullscaledeecon(fsd)currentof50microamps,thehighestsensivitycommonlyavailable,
mustdrawatleast50microampsfromthecircuitundertestforfsd.Thismayloadahighimpedancecircuitso
muchastoaectthecircuit,andtogivealowreading.Thefullscaledeeconcurrentmayalsobeexpressed

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intermsof"ohmspervolt"thereciprocalofthefsdcurrent.Theohms

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intermsof"ohmspervolt"thereciprocalofthefsdcurrent.Theohms
pervoltgureisoencalledthe"sensivity"oftheinstrument
althoughthetermisnotuniversallyacceptedascorrect.Thusameter
witha50microamperewillhavea"sensivity"of20,000ohmsper
volt.
TherstAvometerhadasensivityof60ohmspervolt,threedirect
currentranges(12mA,1.2A,and12A),threedirectvoltageranges
(12,120,and600Voroponally1200V),anda10,000ohmresistance
range.Animprovedversionof1927increasedthisto13rangesand
166.6ohmspervolt(6mA)movement.A"Universal"versionhaving
addionalalternangcurrentandalternangvoltagerangeswas
oeredfrom1933andin1936thedualsensivityAvometerModel7
oered500/100ohmspervolt.[6]Betweenthemid1930sunlthe
1950s,1000ohmspervoltbecameadefactostandardofsensivityfor
radioworkandthisgurewasoenquotedonservicesheets.
However,somemanufacturerssuchasSimpson,TripleandWeston,
allintheUSA,produced20,000ohmpervoltVOMsbeforetheSecond
WorldWarandsomeofthesewereexported.Aer1945/6,20,000
ohmspervoltbecametheexpectedstandardforelectronicsbutsome
makeroeredevenmoresensiveinstruments.Forindustrialand
other"heavycurrent"uselowsensivitymulmetersconnuedtobe
producedandthesewereconsideredmorerobustthanthemore
sensivetypes.

1920sPocketMulmeter

Highqualityanalog(analogue)mulmetersaresllmadebyseveral
manufacturersincludingChauvinArnaux(France),GossenMetrawa
(Germany)andSimpsonandTriple(USA).
Pocketwatchstylemeterswereinwidespreaduseinthe1920s,at
muchlowercostthanAvometers.Themetalcasewasnormally
connectedtothenegaveconnecon,anarrangementthatcaused
numerouselectricshocks.Thetechnicalspecicaonsofthesedevices
wereoencrude,forexampletheoneillustratedhasaresistanceof
just33ohmspervolt,anonlinearscaleandnozeroadjustment.
VacuumTubeVoltmetersorvalvevoltmeters(VTVM,VVM)wereused
AvometerModel8
forvoltagemeasurementsinelectroniccircuitswherehighimpedance
wasnecessary.TheVTVMhadaxedinputimpedanceoftypically
1megohmormore,usuallythroughuseofacathodefollowerinputcircuit,andthusdidnotsignicantlyload
thecircuitbeingtested.VTVMswereusedbeforetheintroduconofdigitalelectronichighimpedanceanalog
transistorandeldeecttransistor(FET)voltmeters.Moderndigitalmetersandsomemodernanalogmeters
useelectronicinputcircuitrytoachievehighinputimpedancetheirvoltagerangesarefunconally
equivalenttoVTVMs.
Addionalscalessuchasdecibels,andmeasurementfunconssuchascapacitance,transistorgain,frequency,
dutycycle,displayhold,andbuzzerswhichsoundwhenthemeasuredresistanceissmallhavebeenincluded
onmanymulmeters.Whilemulmetersmaybesupplementedbymorespecializedequipmentina
technician'stoolkit,somemulmetersincludeaddionalfunconsforspecializedapplicaons(temperature
withathermocoupleprobe,inductance,connecvitytoacomputer,speakingmeasuredvalue,etc.).

Operaon

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AmulmeterisacombinaonofamulrangeDCvoltmeter,mulrangeACvoltmeter,mulrangeammeter,
andmulrangeohmmeter.Anunampliedanalogmulmetercombinesametermovement,rangeresistors
andswitches.
Forananalogmetermovement,DCvoltageismeasuredwithaseriesresistorconnectedbetweenthemeter
movementandthecircuitundertest.Asetofswitchesallowsgreaterresistancetobeinsertedforhigher
voltageranges.Theproductofthebasicfullscaledeeconcurrentofthemovement,andthesumofthe
seriesresistanceandthemovement'sownresistance,givesthefullscalevoltageoftherange.Asanexample,
ametermovementthatrequired1milliampereforfullscaledeecon,withaninternalresistanceof
500ohms,would,ona10voltrangeofthemulmeter,have9,500ohmsofseriesresistance.[7]
Foranalogcurrentranges,lowresistanceshuntsareconnectedinparallelwiththemetermovementtodivert
mostofthecurrentaroundthecoil.Againforthecaseofahypothecal1mA,500ohmmovementona
1ampererange,theshuntresistancewouldbejustover0.5ohms.
Movingcoilinstrumentsrespondonlytotheaveragevalueofthecurrentthroughthem.Tomeasure
alternangcurrent,arecerdiodeisinsertedinthecircuitsothattheaveragevalueofcurrentisnonzero.
Sincetherecedaveragevalueandtherootmeansquarevalueofawaveformneednotbethesame,simple
recertypecircuitsmayonlybecalibratedforsinusoidalwaveforms.Otherwaveshapesrequireadierent
calibraonfactortorelateRMSandaveragevalue.Sincepraccalrecershavenonzerovoltagedrop,
accuracyandsensivityispooratlowvalues.
Tomeasureresistance,asmallbaerywithintheinstrumentpassesacurrentthroughthedeviceundertest
andthemetercoil.Sincethecurrentavailabledependsonthestateofchargeofthebaery,amulmeter
usuallyhasanadjustmentfortheohmsscaletozeroit.Intheusualcircuitfoundinanalogmulmeters,the
meterdeeconisinverselyproporonaltotheresistance;sofullscaleis0ohms,andhighresistance
correspondstosmallerdeecons.Theohmsscaleiscompressed,soresoluonisbeeratlowerresistance
values.
Ampliedinstrumentssimplifythedesignoftheseriesandshuntresistornetworks.Theinternalresistanceof
thecoilisdecoupledfromtheseleconoftheseriesandshuntrangeresistors;theseriesnetworkbecomesa
voltagedivider.WhereACmeasurementsarerequired,therecercanbeplacedaertheamplierstage,
improvingprecisionatlowrange.
Digitalinstruments,whichnecessarilyincorporateampliers,usethesameprinciplesasanaloginstruments
forrangeresistors.Forresistancemeasurements,usuallyasmallconstantcurrentispassedthroughthedevice
undertestandthedigitalmulmeterreadstheresultantvoltagedrop;thiseliminatesthescalecompression
foundinanalogmeters,butrequiresasourceofsignicantcurrent.Anautorangingdigitalmulmetercan
automacallyadjustthescalingnetworksothatthemeasurementusesthefullprecisionoftheA/Dconverter.
Inalltypesofmulmeters,thequalityoftheswitchingelementsiscricaltostableandaccurate
measurements.Stabilityoftheresistorsisalimingfactorinthelongtermaccuracyandprecisionofthe
instrument.

Quanesmeasured
Contemporarymulmeterscanmeasuremanyquanes.Thecommononesare:
Voltage,alternanganddirect,involts.
Current,alternanganddirect,inamperes.
ThefrequencyrangeforwhichACmeasurementsareaccuratemustbespecied.
Resistanceinohms.
Addionally,somemulmetersmeasure:
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Capacitanceinfarads.
Conductanceinsiemens.
Decibels.
Dutycycleasapercentage.
Frequencyinhertz.
Inductanceinhenries.
TemperatureindegreesCelsiusorFahrenheit,withanappropriatetemperaturetestprobe,oena
thermocouple.
Digitalmulmetersmayalsoincludecircuitsfor:
Connuitytester;soundswhenacircuitconducts
Diodes(measuringforwarddropofdiodejuncons),andtransistors(measuringcurrentgainandother
parameters)
Baerycheckingforsimple1.5voltand9voltbaeries.Thisisacurrentloadedvoltagescalewhich
simulatesinusevoltagemeasurement.
Varioussensorscanbeaachedtomulmeterstotakemeasurementssuchas:
Lightlevel
Acidity/Alkalinity(pH)
Relavehumidity

Resoluon
Resoluonandaccuracy
Theresoluonofamulmeteristhesmallestpartofthescalewhichcanbeshown,whichisscaledependent.
Onsomedigitalmulmetersitcanbecongured,withhigherresoluonmeasurementstakinglongerto
complete.Forexample,amulmeterthathasa1mVresoluonona10Vscalecanshowchangesin
measurementsin1mVincrements.
Absoluteaccuracyistheerrorofthemeasurementcomparedtoaperfectmeasurement.Relaveaccuracyis
theerrorofthemeasurementcomparedtothedeviceusedtocalibratethemulmeter.Mostmulmeter
datasheetsproviderelaveaccuracy.Tocomputetheabsoluteaccuracyfromtherelaveaccuracyofa
mulmeteraddtheabsoluteaccuracyofthedeviceusedtocalibratethemulmetertotherelaveaccuracy
ofthemulmeter.[8]

Digital
Theresoluonofamulmeterisoenspeciedinthenumberofdecimaldigitsresolvedanddisplayed.Ifthe
mostsignicantdigitcannottakeallvaluesfrom0to9isoentermedafraconaldigit.Forexample,a
mulmeterwhichcanreadupto19999(plusanembeddeddecimalpoint)issaidtoread4digits.
Byconvenon,ifthemostsignicantdigitcanbeeither0or1,itistermedahalfdigit;ifitcantakehigher
valueswithoutreaching9(oen3or5),itmaybecalledthreequartersofadigit.A5digitmulmeterwould
displayone"halfdigit"thatcouldonlydisplay0or1,followedbyvedigitstakingallvaluesfrom0to9.[9]
Suchametercouldshowposiveornegavevaluesfrom0to199,999.A3digitmetercandisplayaquanty
from0to3,999or5,999,dependingonthemanufacturer.
Whileadigitaldisplaycaneasilybeextendedinprecision,theextradigitsareofnovalueifnotaccompanied
bycareinthedesignandcalibraonoftheanalogporonsofthemulmeter.Meaningfulhighresoluon
measurementsrequireagoodunderstandingoftheinstrumentspecicaons,goodcontrolofthe
measurementcondions,andtraceabilityofthecalibraonoftheinstrument.However,evenifitsresoluon
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exceedstheaccuracy,ametercanbeusefulforcomparingmeasurements.Forexample,ameterreading5
stabledigitsmayindicatethatonenominally100,000ohmresistorisabout7ohmsgreaterthananother,
althoughtheerrorofeachmeasurementis0.2%ofreadingplus0.05%offullscalevalue.
Specifying"displaycounts"isanotherwaytospecifytheresoluon.Displaycountsgivethelargestnumber,or
thelargestnumberplusone(sothecountnumberlooksnicer)themulmeter'sdisplaycanshow,ignoringa
decimalseparator.Forexample,a5digitmulmetercanalsobespeciedasa199999displaycountor
200000displaycountmulmeter.Oenthedisplaycountisjustcalledthecountinmulmeterspecicaons.
Theaccuracyofadigitalmulmetermaybestatedinatwotermform,suchas"1%ofreading+2counts",
reecngthedierentsourcesoferrorintheinstrument.[10]

Analog
Analogmetersareolderandsllpreferredbymanyengineers.One
reasonforthisisthatanalogmetersaremoresensivetochangesin
thecircuitthatisbeingmeasured.Adigitalmulmetersamplesthe
quantybeingmeasuredandthendisplaysit.Analogmulmeters
connuouslyreadthetestvalue.Ifthereareslightchangesinreadings,
theneedleofananalogmulmeterwilltrackthemwhiledigital
mulmetersmaymissthemorbediculttoread.Thisconnuous
trackingfeaturebecomesimportantwhentesngcapacitorsorcoils.A
properlyfunconingcapacitorshouldallowcurrenttoowwhen
voltageisapplied,thenthecurrentslowlydecreasestozeroandthis
"signature"iseasytoseeonananalogmulmeterbutnotonadigital
mulmeter.Thisissimilarwhentesngacoil,exceptthecurrentstarts
lowandincreases.

Displayfaceofananalogmulmeter

Resistancemeasurementsonananalogmeter,inparcular,areoflowprecisionduetothetypicalresistance
measurementcircuitwhichcompressesthescaleheavilyatthehigherresistancevalues.Inexpensiveanalog
metersmayhaveonlyasingleresistancescale,seriouslyrestricngtherangeofprecisemeasurements.
Typicallyananalogmeterwillhaveapaneladjustmenttosetthezeroohmscalibraonofthemeter,to
compensateforthevaryingvoltageofthemeterbaery.

Accuracy
Digitalmulmetersgenerallytakemeasurementswithaccuracysuperiortotheiranalogcounterparts.
Standardanalogmulmetersmeasurewithtypically3%accuracy,[11]thoughinstrumentsofhigheraccuracy
aremade.Standardportabledigitalmulmetersarespeciedtohaveanaccuracyoftypically0.5%ontheDC
voltageranges.Mainstreambenchtopmulmetersareavailablewithspeciedaccuracyofbeerthan
0.01%.Laboratorygradeinstrumentscanhaveaccuraciesofafewpartspermillion.[12]
Accuracyguresneedtobeinterpretedwithcare.Theaccuracyofananaloginstrumentusuallyreferstofull
scaledeecon;ameasurementof30Vonthe100Vscaleofa3%meterissubjecttoanerrorof3V,10%of
thereading.Digitalmetersusuallyspecifyaccuracyasapercentageofreadingplusapercentageoffullscale
value,somemesexpressedincountsratherthanpercentageterms.
Quotedaccuracyisspeciedasbeingthatofthelowermillivolt(mV)DCrange,andisknownasthe"basicDC
voltsaccuracy"gure.HigherDCvoltageranges,current,resistance,ACandotherrangeswillusuallyhavea
loweraccuracythanthebasicDCvoltsgure.ACmeasurementsonlymeetspeciedaccuracywithina
speciedrangeoffrequencies.

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Manufacturerscanprovidecalibraonservicessothatnewmetersmaybepurchasedwithacercateof
calibraonindicangthemeterhasbeenadjustedtostandardstraceableto,forexample,theUSNaonal
InstuteofStandardsandTechnology(NIST),orothernaonalstandardsorganizaon.
Testequipmenttendstodrioutofcalibraonoverme,andthespeciedaccuracycannotbereliedupon
indenitely.Formoreexpensiveequipment,manufacturersandthirdparesprovidecalibraonservicesso
thatolderequipmentmayberecalibratedandrecered.Thecostofsuchservicesisdisproporonatefor
inexpensiveequipment;howeverextremeaccuracyisnotrequiredformostrounetesng.Mulmetersused
forcricalmeasurementsmaybepartofametrologyprogramtoassurecalibraon.
Amulmetercanbeassumedtobe"averageresponding"toACwaveformsunlessstatedasbeinga"True
RMS"type.AnaveragerespondingmulmeterwillonlymeetitsspeciedaccuracyonACvoltsandampsfor
purelysinusoidalwaveforms.ATrueRMSrespondingmulmeterontheotherhandwillmeetitsspecied
accuracyonACvoltsandcurrentwithanywaveformtypeuptoaspeciedcrestfactor.
Ameter'sACvoltageandcurrentaccuracymayhavedierentspecicaonsfordierentrangesoffrequency.

Sensivityandinputimpedance
Whenusedformeasuringvoltage,theinputimpedanceofthemulmetermustbeveryhighcomparedtothe
impedanceofthecircuitbeingmeasured;otherwisecircuitoperaonmaybechanged,andthereadingwill
alsobeinaccurate.
Meterswithelectronicampliers(alldigitalmulmetersandsomeanalogmeters)haveaxedinput
impedancethatishighenoughnottodisturbmostcircuits.Thisisoeneitheroneortenmegohms;the
standardizaonoftheinputresistanceallowstheuseofexternalhighresistanceprobeswhichformavoltage
dividerwiththeinputresistancetoextendvoltagerangeuptotensofthousandsofvolts.Highend
mulmetersgenerallyprovideaninputimpedance>10Gigaohmsforrangeslessthanorequalto10V.Some
highendmulmetersprovide>10Gigaohmsofimpedancetorangesgreaterthan10V.[8]
Mostanalogmulmetersofthemovingpointertypeareunbuered,anddrawcurrentfromthecircuitunder
testtodeectthemeterpointer.Theimpedanceofthemetervariesdependingonthebasicsensivityofthe
metermovementandtherangewhichisselected.Forexample,ameterwithatypical20,000ohms/volt
sensivitywillhaveaninputresistanceoftwomillionohmsonthe100voltrange(100V*20,000ohms/volt=
2,000,000ohms).Oneveryrange,atfullscalevoltageoftherange,thefullcurrentrequiredtodeectthe
metermovementistakenfromthecircuitundertest.Lowersensivitymetermovementsareacceptablefor
tesngincircuitswheresourceimpedancesarelowcomparedtothemeterimpedance,forexample,power
circuits;thesemetersaremoreruggedmechanically.Somemeasurementsinsignalcircuitsrequirehigher
sensivitymovementssoasnottoloadthecircuitundertestwiththemeterimpedance.[13]
Sensivityshouldnotbeconfusedwithresoluonofameter,whichisdenedasthelowestsignalchange
(voltage,current,resistance...)thatcanchangetheobservedreading.
Forgeneralpurposedigitalmulmeters,thelowestvoltagerangeistypicallyseveralhundredmillivoltsACor
DC,butthelowestcurrentrangemaybeseveralhundredmicroamperes,althoughinstrumentswithgreater
currentsensivityareavailable.Mulmetersdesignedfor(mains)"electrical"useinsteadofgeneral
electronicsengineeringusewilltypicallyforegothemicroampscurrentranges.
Measurementoflowresistancerequiresleadresistance(measuredbytouchingthetestprobestogether)to
besubtractedforbestaccuracy.Thiscanbedonewiththe"delta","Zero",or"null"featureofmanydigital
mulmeters.
Theupperendofmulmetermeasurementrangesvariesconsiderably;measurementsoverperhaps600volts,
10amperes,or100megohmsmayrequireaspecializedtestinstrument.
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Burdenvoltage
Anyammeter,includingamulmeterinacurrentrange,hasacertainresistance.Mostmulmetersinherently
measurevoltage,andpassacurrenttobemeasuredthroughashuntresistance,measuringthevoltage
developedacrossit.Thevoltagedropisknownastheburdenvoltage,speciedinvoltsperampere.Thevalue
canchangedependingontherangethemeterselects,sincedierentrangesusuallyusedierentshunt
resistors.[14][15]
Theburdenvoltagecanbesignicantinverylowvoltagecircuitareas.Tocheckforitseectonaccuracyand
onexternalcircuitoperaonthemetercanbeswitchedtodierentranges;thecurrentreadingshouldbethe
sameandcircuitoperaonshouldnotbeaectedifburdenvoltageisnotaproblem.Ifthisvoltageis
signicantitcanbereduced(alsoreducingtheinherentaccuracyandprecisionofthemeasurement)byusing
ahighercurrentrange.

Alternangcurrentsensing
SincethebasicindicatorsystemineitherananalogordigitalmeterrespondstoDConly,amulmeterincludes
anACtoDCconversioncircuitformakingalternangcurrentmeasurements.Basicmetersulizearecer
circuittomeasuretheaverageorpeakabsolutevalueofthevoltage,butarecalibratedtoshowthecalculated
rootmeansquare(RMS)valueforasinusoidalwaveform;thiswillgivecorrectreadingsforalternangcurrent
asusedinpowerdistribuon.Userguidesforsomesuchmetersgivecorreconfactorsforsomesimplenon
sinusoidalwaveforms,toallowthecorrectrootmeansquare(RMS)equivalentvaluetobecalculated.More
expensivemulmetersincludeanACtoDCconverterthatmeasuresthetrueRMSvalueofthewaveform
withincertainlimits;theusermanualforthemetermayindicatethelimitsofthecrestfactorandfrequency
forwhichthemetercalibraonisvalid.RMSsensingisnecessaryformeasurementsonnonsinusoidal
periodicwaveforms,suchasfoundinaudiosignalsandvariablefrequencydrives.

Digitalmulmeters(DMMorDVOM)
Modernmulmetersareoendigitalduetotheiraccuracy,
durabilityandextrafeatures.Inadigitalmulmeterthesignal
undertestisconvertedtoavoltageandanamplierwith
electronicallycontrolledgainprecondionsthesignal.Adigital
mulmeterdisplaysthequantymeasuredasanumber,which
eliminatesparallaxerrors.
Moderndigitalmulmetersmayhaveanembeddedcomputer,
whichprovidesawealthofconveniencefeatures.Measurement
enhancementsavailableinclude:
Autoranging,whichselectsthecorrectrangeforthe
quantyundertestsothatthemostsignicantdigitsare
shown.Forexample,afourdigitmulmeterwould
automacallyselectanappropriaterangetodisplay1.234
Abenchtopmulmeter,theHewle
insteadof0.012,oroverloading.Autorangingmeters
Packard34401a.
usuallyincludeafacilitytoholdthemetertoaparcular
range,becauseameasurementthatcausesfrequentrange
changescanbedistracngtotheuser.
Autopolarityfordirectcurrentreadings,showsiftheappliedvoltageisposive(agreeswithmeter
leadlabels)ornegave(oppositepolaritytometerleads).
Sampleandhold,whichwilllatchthemostrecentreadingforexaminaonaertheinstrumentis
removedfromthecircuitundertest.
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Currentlimitedtestsforvoltagedropacrosssemiconductorjuncons.Whilenotareplacementfora
transistortester,thisfacilitatestesngdiodesandavarietyoftransistortypes.[16][17]
Agraphicrepresentaonofthequantyundertest,asabargraph.Thismakesgo/nogotesngeasy,
andalsoallowsspongoffastmovingtrends.
Alowbandwidthoscilloscope.[18]
Automovecircuittesters,includingtestsforautomoveminganddwellsignals.[19]
Simpledataacquisionfeaturestorecordmaximumandminimumreadingsoveragivenperiod,orto
takeanumberofsamplesatxedintervals.[20]
Integraonwithtweezersforsurfacemounttechnology.[21]
AcombinedLCRmeterforsmallsizeSMDandthroughholecomponents.[22]
ModernmetersmaybeinterfacedwithapersonalcomputerbyIrDAlinks,RS232connecons,USB,oran
instrumentbussuchasIEEE488.Theinterfaceallowsthecomputertorecordmeasurementsastheyare
made.SomeDMMscanstoremeasurementsanduploadthemtoacomputer.[23]
Therstdigitalmulmeterwasmanufacturedin1955byNonLinearSystems.[24][25]Itisclaimedthattherst
handhelddigitalmulmeterwasdevelopedbyFrankBishopofIntronElectronicsin1977,[26]whichattheme
presentedamajorbreakthroughforservicingandfaultndingintheeld.

Analogmulmeters
Amulmetermaybeimplementedwithagalvanometermeter
movement,orlessoenwithabargraphorsimulatedpointersuchas
anLCDorvacuumuorescentdisplay.Analogmulmetersare
common;aqualityanaloginstrumentwillcostaboutthesameasa
DMM.Analogmulmetershavetheprecisionandreadingaccuracy
limitaonsdescribedabove,andsoarenotbuilttoprovidethesame
accuracyasdigitalinstruments.
Analogmetersarealsousefulwherethetrendofameasurementis
moreimportantthananexactvalueobtainedataparcularmoment.A
Inexpensiveanalogmulmeterwitha
changeinangleorinaproporoniseasiertointerpretthanachange
galvanometerneedledisplay
inadigitalreadout.Forthisreason,digitalmulmetersoen
approximatethiswithabargraph(typicallywithamorerapidreading
responsethantheprimaryreadout);themosteecveofthesearearrangedinanarc,tosimulatethepointer
ofananalogmeter.
Analogmetermovementsareinherentlymorefragilephysicallyandelectricallythandigitalmeters.Many
analogmulmetersfeaturearangeswitchposionmarked"o"toprotectthemetermovementduring
transportaonwhichplacesplacingalowresistanceacrossthemetermovement,resulngindynamic
braking.Metermovementsasseparatecomponentsmaybeprotectedinthesamemannerbyconnecnga
shorngorjumperwirebetweentheterminalswhennotinuse.Meterswhichfeatureashuntacrossthe
windingsuchasanammetermaynotrequirefurtherresistancetoarrestuncontrolledmovementsofthe
meterneedlebecauseofthelowresistanceoftheshunt.
Themetermovementinamovingpointeranalogmulmeterispraccallyalwaysamovingcoilgalvanometer
ofthed'Arsonvaltype,usingeitherjeweledpivotsortautbandstosupportthemovingcoil.Inabasicanalog
mulmeterthecurrenttodeectthecoilandpointerisdrawnfromthecircuitbeingmeasured;itisusuallyan
advantagetominimizethecurrentdrawnfromthecircuit,whichimpliesdelicatemechanisms.Thesensivity
ofananalogmulmeterisgiveninunitsofohmspervolt.Forexample,averylowcostmulmeterwitha
sensivityof1000ohmspervoltwoulddraw1milliamperefromacircuitatfullscaledeecon.[27]More

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expensive,(andmechanicallymoredelicate)mulmeterstypicallyhavesensiviesof20,000ohmspervolt
andsomemeshigher,with50,000ohmspervolt(drawing20microamperesatfullscale)beingaboutthe
upperlimitforaportable,generalpurpose,nonampliedanalogmulmeter.
Toavoidtheloadingofthemeasuredcircuitbythecurrentdrawnbythemetermovement,someanalog
mulmetersuseanamplierinsertedbetweenthemeasuredcircuitandthemetermovement.Whilethis
increasestheexpenseandcomplexityofthemeter,byuseofvacuumtubesoreldeecttransistorstheinput
resistancecanbemadeveryhighandindependentofthecurrentrequiredtooperatethemetermovement
coil.SuchampliedmulmetersarecalledVTVMs(vacuumtubevoltmeters),[28]TVMs(transistorvolt
meters),FETVOMs,andsimilarnames.
Becauseoftheabsenceofamplicaon,ordinaryanalogmulmeteraretypicallylesssuscepbletoradio
frequencyinterference,andsoconnuetohaveaprominentplaceinsomeeldseveninaworldofmore
accurateandexibleelectronicmulmeters.[29]

Probes
Amulmetercanusemanydierentestprobestoconnecttothecircuitordeviceundertest.Crocodileclips,
retractablehookclips,andpointedprobesarethethreemostcommontypes.Tweezerprobesareusedfor
closelyspacedtestpoints,asforinstancesurfacemountdevices.Theconnectorsareaachedtoexible,well
insulatedleadsterminatedwithconnectorsappropriateforthemeter.Probesareconnectedtoportable
meterstypicallybyshroudedorrecessedbananajacks,whilebenchtopmetersmayusebananajacksorBNC
connectors.2mmplugsandbindingpostshavealsobeenusedatmes,butarelesscommonlytoday.Indeed,
safetyrangsnowrequireshroudedbananajacks.
Thebananajacksaretypicallyplacedwithastandardizedcentertocenterdistanceof0.75in(19mm),to
allowstandardadaptersordevicessuchasvoltagemulplierorthermocoupleprobestobepluggedin.
Clampmetersclamparoundaconductorcarryingacurrenttomeasurewithouttheneedtoconnectthe
meterinserieswiththecircuit,ormakemetalliccontactatall.ThoseforACmeasurementusethe
transformerprinciple;clamponmeterstomeasuresmallcurrentordirectcurrentrequiremoreexoc
sensors.

Safety
Mostmulmetersincludeafuse,ortwofuses,whichwillsomemes
preventdamagetothemulmeterfromacurrentoverloadonthe
highestcurrentrange.(Foraddedsafety,testleadswithfusesbuiltin
areavailable.)Acommonerrorwhenoperangamulmeteristoset
themetertomeasureresistanceorcurrent,andthenconnectit
directlytoalowimpedancevoltagesource.Unfusedmetersareoen
quicklydestroyedbysucherrors;fusedmetersoensurvive.Fuses
usedinmetersmustcarrythemaximummeasuringcurrentofthe
instrument,butareintendedtodisconnectifoperatorerrorexposes
themetertoalowimpedancefault.Meterswithinadequateorunsafe
fusingwerenotuncommon;thissituaonhasledtothecreaonofthe
IEC61010categoriestoratethesafetyandrobustnessofmeters.

Anexampleofinputproteconon
theCATIVratedFluke28SeriesII
Mulmeter

Digitalmetersareratedintofourcategoriesbasedontheirintended
applicaon,assetforthbyIEC610101[30]andechoedbycountryandregionalstandardsgroupssuchasthe
CENEN61010standard.[31]
CategoryI:usedwhereequipmentisnotdirectlyconnectedtothemains
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CategoryII:usedonsinglephasemainsnalsubcircuits
CategoryIII:usedonpermanentlyinstalledloadssuchasdistribuonpanels,motors,and3phase
applianceoutlets
CategoryIV:usedonlocaonswherefaultcurrentlevelscanbeveryhigh,suchassupplyservice
entrances,mainpanels,supplymeters,andprimaryovervoltageproteconequipment
EachCategoryrangalsospeciesmaximumsafetransientvoltagesforselectedmeasuringrangesinthe
meter.[32][33]Categoryratedmetersalsofeatureproteconsfromovercurrentfaults.[34]Onmetersthatallow
interfacingwithcomputers,opcalisolaonmaybeusedtoprotectaachedequipmentagainsthighvoltage
inthemeasuredcircuit.
GoodqualitymulmetersdesignedtomeetCATIIandabovestandardsincludeHighRuptureCapacityceramic
fusestypicallyratedatmorethan20kAcapacity;thesearemuchlesslikelytofailexplosivelythanmore
commonglassfuses.[35]TheywillalsoincludehighenergyovervoltageMOV(MetalOxideVaristor)
protecon,andcircuitovercurrentproteconintheformofaPolyswitch.[36]
Itshouldbenotedthatsomemetervendorsclaimstandardcompliancewithoutadequateprotecon,and
injudicioususeofsuchmeterscanbedangeroustotheuser.Explosionofinternalcomponentsispossible,as
isoverheangandre.Indeed,goodsafetyprovisionsareoneofthemostimportantaspectsofhighquality
mulmeters.

DMMalternaves
AqualitygeneralpurposeelectronicsDMMisgenerallyconsideredadequateformeasurementsatsignal
levelsgreaterthanonemillivoltoronemicroampere,orbelowabout100megohms;thesevaluesarefarfrom
thetheorecallimitsofsensivity,andareofconsiderableinterestinsomecircuitdesignsituaons.Other
instrumentsessenallysimilar,butwithhighersensivityareusedforaccuratemeasurementsofvery
smallorverylargequanes.Theseincludenanovoltmeters,electrometers(forverylowcurrents,and
voltageswithveryhighsourceresistance,suchasoneteraohm)andpicoammeters,andaccessoriesformore
commonmulmeterswhichpermitsomeofthesemeasurements.Suchmeasurementsarelimitedby
availabletechnology,andulmatelybyinherentthermalnoise.

Powersupply
Analogmeterscanmeasurevoltageandcurrentusingpowerfromthetestcircuit,butrequireaninternal
voltagesourceforresistancetesng;electronicmetersalwaysrequireaninternalpowersupplytorunits
internalcircuitry.Handheldmetersusebaeries,whilebenchmetersusuallyusemainspower;either
arrangementallowsthemetertotestdevices.Tesngoenrequiresthatthecomponentundertestbe
isolatedfromthecircuit,asotherwisestrayorleakagecurrentpathsmaydistortmeasurements.Insome
cases,thevoltagefromthemulmetermayturnacvedeviceson,distorngameasurement,orinextreme
casesevendamageanelementinthecircuitbeinginvesgated.Itissafest(forbothmulmeterandcircuit
undertest)todisconnectacomponentfromitscircuit,andalmostalways,toremovepowerfromthedevice
beinginvesgated.
Metersintendedfortesnginhazardouslocaonsorforuseonblasngcircuitsmayrequireuseofa
manufacturerspeciedbaerytomaintaintheirsafetyrang.

Seealso
Ammeter
Avometer
Electronictestequipment
Ohmmeter
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Voltmeter

References
1.ANewElectronicRecer,L.OGrondahl&P.H.Geiger,Transacons,AmericanInstuonofElectricalEngineers,
February1927pp.358366
2."GreaterLondonIndustrialArchaeologySociety".glias.org.uk.Retrieved20101102.
3."AVO".gracesguide.co.uk.Retrieved20101102.
4.ImperialCollegeLibraryArchivesPapersofDonaldMacadie18711956MS2015/21
5.TheElectricianJune15,1923,p666and
6.AdversementTheElectrician,1stJune1934
7.FrankSpitzer,BarryHowarthPrinciplesofmoderninstrumenta on,Holt,RinehartandWinston,1972ISBN003
0802083pages3240
8."Model2002MulmeterSpecicaons".KeithleyInstruments.
9."DigitalMulmeterMeasurementFundamentals".NaonalInstruments.Retrieved20080126.
10.StephenA.Dyer,WileySurveyofInstrumenta onandMeasurement',JohnWiley&Sons,2004ISBN0471221651,p.
290
11.MiltonKaufman.Handbookofelectronicscalcula onsforengineersandtechnicians.McGrawHill.
12.AgilentTechnologies."Agilent3458ADigitalMulmeterDataSheet"(PDF).Retrieved20070128.
13.Horn,Delton(1993).HowtoTestAlmostEverythingElectronic.McGrawHill/TABElectronics.pp.46.ISBN08306
41270.
14."ExplanaonofburdenvoltagebymulmetermanufacturerFluke".Fluke.Retrieved20101102.
15."CurrentEEVblogTheElectronicsEngineeringVideoBlog".eevblog.com.Retrieved20150120.
16.Hewes,John."Tesngadiodewithamulmeter".Retrieved20150120.
17.Goldwasser,Samuel."BasicTesngofSemiconductorDevices".Retrieved20070128.
18.ExtechInstruments."Extech5MHzDualChannelMulscope".Retrieved20070128.
19.SnaponIncorporated."EEDM596DKAutomoveDigitalMulmeter".Retrieved20150119.
20.ExtechInstruments."ExtechDualChannel,Dataloggingmulmeter".Retrieved20070128.
21.SiborgSystemsInc."DigitalMulmeterSmartTweezersfromSiborg".Retrieved20080423.
22.AdvanceDevicesInc."SmartTweezersDigitalMulmeter/LCRMeter"(PDF).Retrieved20090120.
23.FlukeManufacturing."LoggingandanalyzingeventswithFlukeViewFormsSoware"(PDF).Retrieved20070128.
24."GaugingtheimpactofDVMs".EETimes.com.Retrieved20080126.
25.Dyer,Stephen(2001).SurveyofInstrumenta onandMeasurement.p.286.ISBN047139484X.
26."IntronElectronics|About".www.intronelectronics.com.au.Retrieved20160717.
27.FrankSpitzerandBarryHorwathPrinciplesofModernInstrumenta on,Holt,RinehartandWinstonInc.,NewYork
1972,noISBN,LibraryofCongress7277731,page39
28."TheIncompleteIdiot'sGuidetoVTVMs".tonelizard.com.Retrieved20070128.
29.Wilson,Mark(2008).TheARRLHandbookforRadioCommunica ons.ISBN0872591018.
30."SafetyStandardIEC610101since1.1.2004".
31.Safetyrequirementsforelectricalequipmentformeasurement,controlandlaboratoryuse.Generalrequirements.
1993.ISBN0580224333.
32.Dyer,Stephen(2001).SurveyofInstrumenta onandMeasurement.p.285.ISBN047139484X.
33."Anatomyofahighqualitymeter".ArchivedfromtheoriginalonOctober18,2006.Retrieved20151105.
34.Mullin,Ray(2005).ElectricalWiring:Residen al.ThompsonDelmarLearning.p.6.ISBN1401850200.
35.Jones,David."MulmeterInputFuseProtecon".EEVblog.Retrieved28December2012.
36.Jones,David."MulmeterInputProteconTutorial".EEVblog.Retrieved28December2012.

Externallinks
Howtouseamulmeter(hps://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/h
owtouseamulmeter),sparkfun
Highdenionmulmetertutorialvideo(hp://afrotechmods.co
m/tutorials/2011/11/27/mulmetertutorial/)
HowtoselectaMulmeter(hp://cp.literature.agilent.com/litw
eb/pdf/59905197EN.pdf)Discussesthekeyconsideraonsto
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimeter

Lookupmulmeterin
Wikonary,thefree
diconary.
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedto
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MultimeterWikipedia

Mulmeters.
selecttherightmulmeter.
MulmeterTutorial(hp://www.robotplaorm.com/tools/mul
meter/mulmeter.html)LotsofusefulinformaononDigital
mulmeterusage.
Beginners'Guidetothe830BMulmeter(hp://www.jbryant.eu/pages/DMM.htm)Discussesthe
manyusesofacheapdigitalmulmeterinthehome.
HowtoDetermineDigitalMulmeterAccuracy(hp://www.designworldonline.com/arcles/5416/260/
HowtoDetermineDigitalMulmeterAccuracy.aspx)
ABCsofMulmetersafety(hp://support.uke.com/ndsales/download/asset/1263690_6116_eng_h
_w.pdf)(PDF)
DigitalMulmeter(hp://www.radioelectronics.com/info/t_and_m/digitalmulmeter/dmmbasicstut
orial.php)Fromtheorytouse
MulmetersandHowtoUseThem(hps://www.electronicsnotes.com/arcles/testmethods/meters/
mulmetertestmeterbasicstutorial.php)
DCMeteringCircuits(hp://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/DC/DC_8.html)chapterfrom
LessonsInElectricCircuitsVol1DC(hp://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/DC/index.html)
freeebookandLessonsInElectricCircuits(hp://www.ibiblio.org/kuphaldt/electricCircuits/)series.

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