"Bill" wrote

Meter question: Understanding this will ease my concerns about my tester.
How come one can hook it up to two hot 120 lines (240v) and NOT generate
a meltdown in the unit? Big resisters? BTW, I have read some of the
"one hand
in the back pocket" sort of safety suggestions.

You apparently have a 1000 volt tester. It has the internal circuitry to
handle the load as long as it is set for the proper voltage. The important
thing is to just touch what you need tested with the test leads. You don't
use your fingers or other parts of your anatomy. You use the test device in
exactly the way it was intended to be used.

One old techie trick is to place one lead on one wire (or whatever) and
slowly move the other lead in very deliberately. This is to make sure you
don't touch anything other than the lead to the wires. Remember, people
don't get zapped from using the equipment properly. It usually happens when
they brush up against something while being a little too casual with how
they move their hands.

It is not that different from what can happen with a table saw. You never
take your eyes off of it and be very safety conscious. I should also point
out that getting zapped with the 220 voltage is a much bigger shock and more
serious than the regular 110 volts. DAMHIKT. So do exercise due caution when
working with the higher voltages.

But you are not going to get shocked by using the test equipment peoperly.
It is when you subsitute body parts for the test leads is when you get into
trouble. And have some kind of reference material handy so you know what the
voltage needs to be from one point to another. It it all tests out OK, your
machines will be happy.