THE UTTER BASICS -- Using A Multimeter

mikebreeze wrote:
Good article. 2 things:

They do not mention this in the article but NEVER read resistance in a live circuit or you will fry your VOM.

Also, I had a discussion with my DG about this. Is it pronounced MULtimeter or mulTIMeter. I say the former. She says the latter. What do you say?

Many better multimeters can withstand attempted resistance readings on live circuits. My Fluke 73 is specified as having protection in the resistance ranges to 500V. Obviously you can't get accurate resistance measurements on live circuits, but one doesn't lose any magic smoke. And yes, I have inadvertently but successfully tested this a few times--once with around 300V applied voltage. (You can also buy a fair few cheap meters for the cost of a single good one, so it may even out.)

I usually pronounce it MUL-tee-Mee-ter. I believe I've heard mul-TIM-it-er from time to time.