[POLL] Multimeter current measurement, how often do you use it ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 06:32:36 am
content: Current terminals ? Never heard of it.... or ...I blew multimeter fuses for breakfast.Ok, seriously, with Dave's uCurrent popularity and by the numbers sold either the old one and the new one at KS, hence this poll is created.So whats yours ? Doesn't apply for clamp meter, only for ordinary multi meter.PS : Users are NOT allowed to change vote once given.

author: andtfoot
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 06:44:36 am
content: Very rare for me, mainly because my main multimeter is a Fluke 117 which doesn't have mA/uA (makes it pretty useless for measuring current with electronics).I've recently acquired a couple of old multimeters (Fluke bench thingie and Escort thingie) which have the mA/uA terminals, and I have a uCurrent ordered, so maybe I'll use it more soon...

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 06:48:59 am
content: A lot of the time I will just use a clamp meter, as I often am measuring high currents, in the order of 2-25A on motors. So technically I am not using the probes. For low current I will just grab another meter and use it along with the meter currently in use.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 06:57:06 am
content: Ok, fair point SeanB, and its obvious clamp meter is made to measure current for most cases.Edited 1st post and its only applicable for ordinary multimeter, no clamp meter please.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 07:14:28 am
content: I tend to use a current limited power supply with the stuff I am mucking around with on the bench, and use the supply's ammeter.

author: tautech
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 07:38:31 am
content: With Micro-power design Quiescent current is everything!

author: Rerouter
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 07:38:46 am
content: I work with automotive instruments so its constantly in use, mainly because a large number of european cars have stopped using an ignition rail, with everything permanently powered and just told to wake up over CAN, which makes fitting customer requested devices interesting, as you need to ensure what ever you are using won't discharge the battery over a weekend,

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 07:39:34 am
content: Power supply method is good, i often use it as it saves cooking stuff. Works well for charging batteries as well, though if I really want a good charge then I pull out the Robbe charger and program that for the cell pack in question, it works well even though it is obsolete, plus it will charge up to a 24V pack from 12V.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 11:21:20 am
content: Most of the stuff (technical term) I play with (not an EE) uses mA to Amps, hence my use of commercial CV CC limited power supplies; tautech's response got me thinking, has anyone ever seen a micro-amp limited bench power supply?I would assume if the circuit is supposed to use 50uA and it's using 1mA, the 'smoke' maybe about to escape from your nice new chip.The technical problems with noise must be pretty special esp if it's heading to a digital circuit, which it mostly will be I imagine.With Dave's new uAmp meter this probably is do-able, for my slow neurones it would take me a while to figure it out.

author: Jon86
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 11:25:01 am
content: I use it so much for my low power stuff, just a shame the uA range is such bollocks...I'd give my right arm for a uCurrent, shame they're so expensive

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 11:42:48 am
content: I do it quite often, so much so, i have one meter with probes in the voltage jacks, and another with alligator clips and test hooks in the current jacks.Whilst the power supply ammeter is nifty, it doesn't help you as much once you are powering more than a single device nor when you want to check current in different nodes of a circuit.Additionally, bench power supplies can be quite limited in their power output, so you need to use a general purpose supply and a multimeter, or if used outside of the lab.

author: con-f-use
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 12:10:47 pm
content: The binning in your poll is not too great. It should be finer.I use my multimeters for current about every fifth measurement. That would be 20%. That justifies the ?Current for me especially beacause burden volage has been an issue in about half of my measurements. It also justifies quite expensive a multimeter. But there's a huge difference between 1% and 25%. Large number of 1% votes would prove your point in that most people don't need an expensive multimeter or the ?Current. Ten percent is arguably about the breaking point. In the justification of the feature/unit it doesn't make any difference whether you use it 50% of the time or 90%.But all is meaningless without the actual number of measurements over a prolonged time, since I could just borrow a ?Current or an expensive meter for a week. Or I could've made 10 measurements with a multimeter in my entire life and 9 of them were current... So bottom line: meaningless poll is meaningless.

author: Kohanbash
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 05:38:34 pm
content: Like others I primarily use an amp clamp or the power supply value for measuring current.

author: deth502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 06:27:21 pm
content: rarely. i use volts, ohms, cap, even frequency, ect, often when working on something. only time i check the current is when everything is done and working, and i check current draw of the completed circuit, usually only if its going to be battery powered, so i can get an estimate on how long a life i can expect. so, its rare, and only for a specialized reason i use it, but i do consider it an essential part of a meter, although pinpoint accuracy, imo, is not a real issue. sure, exact measurements are nice, but i dont need 4 digits of resolution to tell me what i need to know.

author: echen1024
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 07:20:12 pm
content: I use it, but mostly just the current meter on my PSU.

author: Napalm2002
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 24, 2013, 11:03:04 pm
content: I'm an auto technician by trade and I use the current on my fluke 179 checking for parasitic draws about once or twice a year. I do have a few extra fluke fuses in my toolbox.Mike