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ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS. Multimeter. OUTLINE. Purpose Measuring Voltage Measuring Current Measuring Resistance. Purpose. The purpose of a Multimeter is to measure voltage, current and resistance The proper selection for what you are measuring must be selected V dc V ac R A dc A ac
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ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS Multimeter
OUTLINE • Purpose • Measuring Voltage • Measuring Current • Measuring Resistance
Purpose • The purpose of a Multimeter is to measure voltage, current and resistance • The proper selection for what you are measuring must be selected • V dc • V ac • R • A dc • A ac • In this course we will only be measuring DC
Measuring Voltage • Set the Multimeter to Vdc • Attach the two probes, black to “COM” or “ground”, and the red to the port labelled “V” or “Volts” • The number on the screen is the voltage reading for that power supply
Measuring Voltage • Reversing the probes will display a negative value on the screen • Notice that it is the same voltage, just a change in polarity
Measuring Voltage • Voltage can be measured whether the power supply is being used in a circuit or not • It can also be used to measure the voltage drop across any element of a circuit
Measuring Voltage • Question • If the Multimeter displays 10.8 from the setup on the left, and 12.3 from the setup on the right, what would the Multimeter display if the probes were placed on the two legs of the LED?
Measuring Voltage • Answer • Since the two elements are in series, and there is a total of 12.3 volts from the power supply, if the first element (a resistor) used up 10.8 volts, then the second element (an LED) would have to use up the remaining 1.5
Measuring Current • Depending on how much current we are measuring, we might use the “A dc” setting or the “mA dc” (milliamps) setting • If we are not sure how much current we will be measuring, always select the larger, “A”, setting • Connect the red probe to the appropriate current port, either “A” or “mA”
Measuring Current • When measuring current it is important to NEVER place the probes directly on the two battery terminals • This will cause a short circuit • Remember V = I * R • If our resistance goes down to zero, then our current, I, goes up to infinity
Measuring Current • To measure current we always make the Multimeter “an element of the circuit” • i.e. – break the circuit and use the Multimeter to complete it
Measuring Current • Since we are measuring such a small current, we can get a more accurate reading by switching the Multimeter and probe to the “mA” settings
Measuring Resistance • To measure Resistance we simply select the resistance setting on the meter, and Ω port for the probe • Resistance is measured with no power supply in the circuit