One of the safest ways to measure current is with a clamp. Clamps do not require you to break the circuit and they safely measure wires with thousands of amps. In this video, we measure DC current in the lab, AC current of a reflow oven controller, and the DC current in a car using a Tenma 72-7226 True RMS Clamp Meter.
This video was the last one I did before moving to a new house / lab.
Chances are, you have used the continuity mode of your digital multimeter. But how much do you understand about how it works? In this video, we break down how the mode works, what the beep means, and show examples of how to use it (correctly.) It might seem silly to spend so much time on such a simple mode.
However, I have run across a few posts on the Internet, including the element14 Community where people do not understand continuity mode. Sometimes it is just a lack of experience and sometimes it is a total lack of understanding of what is happening. The biggest mistake, of course, is trying to measure continuity on a powered circuit. That is just a no-go. So in this video, I wanted to show what the meter is actually doing, how it sees different components, and give a couple of real-life examples of how to use it.
Learn how to use an LCR meter, such as the Tenma 72-10465, to measure reactive components. An LCR meter uses an AC signal at different frequencies to characterize capacitors, inductors, and even resistors. They can also provide impedance measurements. These include phase angle, ESR, quality factor, and dissipation factor.
You can even use the 72-10465 to sort components by their tolerance range.
What does it mean for a DMM to have 3.5 digits? How much more accurate is a 5.5 digit multimeter versus a 4.75 digit meter? Many people assume that more digits mean more accuracy. However, these numbers express the precision of the meter, not its accuracy! In this video, learn about a DMM’s accuracy, and what does “half a digit” mean.
As I often do, I messed up the decimals in this one.
Measuring the effectiveness of a heatsink or the thermal load of a CPU requires thermal test tools. In this episode, learn how an IR Thermometer and a Thermocouple could be used on an electronics workbench. Many multimeters (DMMs) include the ability to measure temperature with a K-type thermocouple. See examples of when each measurement could be used.
Originally intended to use the episode to show how hot the Pi 4 would get. However, by the time I got around to producing it, a new version of Raspbian came out, resolving the temperature issues. To heat up the Pi, I used this toolset from GitHub: XXXXX.
See show notes on element14