Also referred to as Volt-Ohm-Milliammeter(VOM), multimeters are an electrical instrument used for measuring circuit parameters, such as voltage, current and resistance. You can find two types of multimeters, which are analog and digital. The former boasts a scale and needle indicator, while the latter comes with an LCD display. With a digital multimeter, you can enjoy the combined functionality of a voltmeter, ammeter and an ohmmeter. Its ease of operation and compact size appeals to people, as it provides both an analog and digital converter for providing a digital readout, resulting in precise reading.
Whether you want to test your old batteries, or are wondering how to test a phone line without a phone, you can enjoy these prominent advantages of a multimeter:
It is immensely easy for anyone to gauge readings with a multimeterbecause it displays the output in numbers, as opposed to the analog multimeter that requires you to check the scale for a reading. The latter can lead to human error, particularly if you have poor eyesight.
You can get more accurate values with a digital multimeteras it gives answers up to 4 decimal places. This is not something an analog multimeter will be able to offer.
One prominent advantage of multimeters is that they can read negative values, especially when it comes to voltage. Placing the probes in the opposite polarity gives you a negative output. This is another aspect where a digital multimeter is better than an analog one because the latter breaks when you place the probes in the opposite polarity.
If you have made up your mind to buy a multimeter, you should remember that there are three types that you can find, which are fluke, clamp and auto-ranging and you can compare the three before selecting one.