There are (at least) a couple different kind: two-lead meters and three-lead meters. The two-lead kind use the same voltage for power as the voltage they’re measuring. They can measure only positive voltages above some minimum amount.
I checked one of my three-lead meters measuring a 10-Volt Standard. It uses a power supply voltage between 3.5 and 30 Volts and can measure 0.000 to 33.000 Volts. I guess it therefore can be called a 5-digit Voltmeter. However, it cannot measure negative Volts so I was wrong. My apologies! I would post a photograph but can’t find a reference to whether that is allowed. On Mon, Sep 7, 2020 at 1:46 PM Larry McDavid <lmcda...@lmceng.com> wrote: > That is not my experience. I bought several kinds on eBay after > > inquiring and being assured by the seller that the meter would measure > > and display a negative voltage, only to find on receipt that the meter, > > powered from +5 vdc, displays zero, close to zero or a nonsensical value > > when the sense lead is connected to a voltage negative with respect to > > the return for the meter power. > > > > And, on close inspection, the display has no LED segment to indicate a > > negative voltage. > > > > The other dirty little secret about these cheap meters is that their > > response or settling time can be two seconds! > > > > Has anyone actually got such an inexpensive panel meter that measures, > > displays the negative voltage and indicates that the voltage is > > negative? If so, please refer me to the sales listing. > > > > Larry > > > > > > On 9/7/2020 12:53 PM, Jeremy Nichols wrote: > > > All of the cheap 3-digit panel meters I’ve purchased have the ability to > > > read/display positive and negative voltages. > > > ... > > > > -- > > Best wishes, > > > > Larry McDavid W6FUB > > Anaheim, California (SE of Los Angeles, near Disneyland) > > -- Jeremy Nichols Sent from my iPad 6. _______________________________________________ volt-nuts mailing list -- volt-nuts@lists.febo.com To unsubscribe, go to http://lists.febo.com/mailman/listinfo/volt-nuts_lists.febo.com and follow the instructions there.
