On 1/11/2012 1:10 AM, larry moe 'n curly wrote:
On Jan 10, 10:27 am, wrote:

what's a good book to learn for a beginner?

www.SparkFun.com
www.Williamson-Labs.com
www.ePanorama.net

I want to learn so I understand how to use my future dmm better.

Fluke provides really good user manuals with its multimeters, and I
think they're available online.

Those $3 Harbor Freight digital meters are pretty accurate, but I'd be
reluctant to use one to measure high voltage, especially because I had
a test lead tip pull out when I tried to measure an AC outlet.

Some meters, including at least one from Sears, have shutters over the
socket holes where the test leads plug in, and that prevents you from
accidentally inserting the leads into the amp socket and creating a
short when you want to measure volts or ohms.


One of the meters I had would complain if you had the leads in the wrong
socket for the wrong range. I don't remember the brand but it detected
if a lead was plugged in or not. My everyday electrical service meter
is a Sperry DSA-600 DIGISNAP that been unfailingly reliable for years.
I picked it up on sale at Home Depot. It my telecom and data tool bag I
have a small Triplett 2200 DMM that's never let me down. We did have a
$1,300.00 purpose built telecom meter that vanished when a certain moron
left the van unlocked and an Urban Camper saw something shiny and
expensive looking and decided to appropriate it to decorate his little
cardboard hut. I have a Beckman Industrial RMS225 DMM on the desk next
to me and I have all sorts of expensive meggers, phase meters and all
kinds of test equipment but the meters I've used the most as of late
have been the cheap little Harbor Freight DMM's and I have six of the
darn things. o_O

TDD