‰  NOW 35 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM OCTOBER 2017 QST  PAGE 38‰

USING THE DMM SAFELY  AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT PLACE YOUR FINGERS ON ANY
CIRCUIT THAT CONTAINS A HIGH ENOUGH VOLTAGE TO BE A DANGER TO YOU, THE
SAFETY HERE IS SAFETY FOR THE METER.  YOU NEED TO KNOW THE MAXIMUM METER
VOLTAGE AND CURRENT LIMITS.  IF YOU CONNECT THE METER TO MEASURE VALUES
OVER THESE LIMITS, YOU MAY JUST POP A FUSE IN THE METER, OR YOU MAY DO
TERMINAL DAMAGE, MEANING YOUVE LOST YOUR METER.  FOR MEASURING VALUES
BEYOND THE METER LIMITS, YOU CAN DESIGN AND BUILD A VOLTAGE DIVIDER OR
CURRENT SHUNT.  NEXT, SELECT THE PROPER DIAL SETTING AC OR DC.  TYPICALLY,
SELECTING AC WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE SELECTED DC, OR DC INSTEAD OF AC, WILL
NOT DAMAGE ANYTHING, BUT THE READING WILL NOT BE CORRECT.  IF YOU ARE
MEASURING A VOLTAGE AND PLACE THE PROBES ACROSS A VOLTAGE, SELECTING ANY
OTHER METER DIAL POSITION CAN ALSO CAUSE A BLOWN FUSE OR A DEAD METER.  FOR
MEASURING VOLTAGE, THE TEST PROBES SHOULD BE CONNECTED TO THE COMMON
TERMINAL USUALLY CODED BLACK AND THE VOLTAGE TERMINAL.  FOR EXAMPLE, IN
FIGURE 2, THE VOLTAGE MEASURING TERMINAL IS COLORED RED ON THE RIGHT SIDE.
FINALLY, THE PROBES ARE CONNECTED ACROSS THE POINTS TO BE MEASURED.  IN
FIGURE 4, THEY ARE ACROSS A RESISTOR R1 THAT IS PART OF A CIRCUIT.
CURRENT, AC OR DC, IS MEASURED BY BREAKING THE CIRCUIT, AS SHOWN IN FIGURE
5.  THE TWO PROBES ARE CONNECTED IN SERIES WITH THE RESISTOR OR OTHER
‰  END OF 35 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ