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Doug Miller

In article , wrote:
On Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:43:18 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
can turn the digital VOM into a less precise instrument if you want to
by putting about a 1K resistor across it's terminals, effectively
lowering it's input impedance.

Wouldn't that resistor get hot pretty fast when across 110v or 220v?

1000-ohm resistor at 110 volts passes 110/1000 = 0.11 amps

0.11 amps at 110 volts = 12.1 watts

Seems to me it would have to be a pretty large wattage resistor, not
just a quarter or half watt one. And even a heavy duty 50W resistor
would probably get hot enough to burn your skin really fast.

Not if it's only dissipating 12 watts.