How To Find The Perfect Digital Multimeter For You? by VISHAL VYAPAR VIKASH

How To Find The Perfect Digital Multimeter For You?

A digital multimeter also known as DMM, is one of the most widely used electronic testing equipment. They are used in almost every electronic laboratory, for homes, hobbyists, and professional electronics engineers. Initially, analog multimeters were used but with the emergence of digital technology, the digital multimeters have become comparatively reasonable, fetch accurate results, and are capable of performing many other functions apart from measuring the current, voltage, and resistance.

The digital multimeter is electronic test equipment that displays the measurement of DC and AC voltage and provides the reading in digital numeric code. The digital reading or value can be recorded as well as used as a feed for other devices. Digital multimeters can measure amps, volts, and ohm with the ease of incorporating further functionality into an integrated circuit. Digital multimeters measure capacitance, frequency, continuity, temperature, and transistor functionality.

Choosing the correct digital multimeter isn’t as easy as it looks. To choose the right digital multimeter, several factors need to be considered.

1) Types of measurements:

It is important to determine the type of measurement one would like to make. If you want to make AC measurements of signals that have a lot of harmonic distortion, you should purchase a DMM that makes true AC measurements. Many digital multimeters can measure much more than voltage, current, and resistance. For instance, many DMMs can make capacitance measurements. One application where this feature is useful is troubleshooting equipment that uses single-phase motors.

2) How accurate should the digital multimeter be:

For most common measurements, even the most inexpensive DMMs will be accurate enough. The accuracy of most DMMs is between ± (0.7 % + 1 count) and ± (0.1 % + 1 count) of reading, with the better meters being at the low end of that range. If, for example, you were measuring a 5 VDC signal with a 3-1/2 digit multimeter, the uncertainty of that measurement would be:

5 V * .001 + 10 mV = 15 mV. For most applications, that's a plenty of accuracy.

3) Handheld or benchtop:

The user should decide on whether to buy a handheld multimeter or benchtop multimeter depending on the nature of the requirement of the user. A benchtop DMM offers higher resolution and is generally more accurate. However, a handheld DMM is easier to use and comparatively reasonable than the benchtop one. A benchtop DMM is more suitable in the case of an engineering workbench whereas a handheld DMM is more preferred if you are travelling to troubleshoot field problems.

Apart from these factors, it is important to ensure the safety and reliability of the electronic testing equipment, when measuring high voltages and currents. It is also necessary to choose a meter with a CAT rating that corresponds to the voltage levels that will be measured and the type of equipment on which the measurements would be made on. Therefore, it important to carefully consider the features that are of utmost importance to the user, and then only the person will be able to choose the right DMM for themselves.

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