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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> what multi meter should i buy for around 30-50
bucks, there are so many </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> of them i have no idea. i want to do general
trouble shooting and construction </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>> with it . thanks</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Get one that takes normal batteries and that
automatically</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>powers down if you leave it switched on. I had a small
cheap </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>DVM</FONT><FONT size=2> and often forgot to switch it off
- it ate it's own value in </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>button</FONT><FONT size=2> cells in a year! (Now it
lives in the car for emergencies).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you get an auto-ranging meter, see how long it takes
to</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>take a measurement. Some meters take several</FONT><FONT
size=2> seconds to </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>work through the ranges and take a measurement,</FONT><FONT
size=2> and will </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>really irritate you after a while.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If you don't know what you want and can't make an informed
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>choice</FONT><FONT size=2>, a good approach would be to
get a really cheap basic </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>meter</FONT><FONT size=2> and learn from it. I don't know what
the cheapest ones are </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>like</FONT><FONT size=2> where you are - in the UK they start
around £5 ($8?). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>
<DIV><FONT size=2>A</FONT><FONT size=2>ny DMM</FONT><FONT size=2> should will
give you AC and DC volts and resistance</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>ranges, and these are the ones you'll use 90% of the
time. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Many cheap meters also include transistor test, capacitance</DIV>
<DIV>measurement and even frequency measurement. These features</DIV>
<DIV>might work until you find something better, but don't bet on them </DIV>
<DIV>for accuracy.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you have a choice of cheap meters, look for one with decent</DIV>
<DIV>quality plug in test probes. Some meters save money by
providing</DIV>
<DIV>cheap, brittle blunt probes, and if they're hard wired into the meter,
</DIV>
<DIV>it's a pain to change them when they break.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>You'll soon</FONT><FONT size=2> find what features you really
need and will be in a</FONT><FONT size=2> good </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>position to spend some money on a DMM that's
really</FONT><FONT size=2> what you want. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>As a bonus, you'll have a spare DMM...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Just my 2p worth...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Steve</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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