Multimeter Circuit Symbols and Their Meanings
Content
The multimeter is used to measure voltage, resistance, current and continuity. It is one of the most commonly used power tools. The next thing to do after the purchase is to learn how to take readings correctly.
Do you have a digital multimeter but don't know where to start? You have come to the right place. Please keep reading to find out everything you need to know about multimeter circuit symbols and their meanings.
Multimeter symbols you need to know
The multimeter symbols are the ones you will find on the circuit diagram.
They include;
1. Voltage multimeter symbols
Because multimeters measure direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) voltage, they display more than one voltage symbol. The AC voltage designation for older multimeters is VAC. Manufacturers put a wavy line above the V for newer models to indicate AC voltage.
For DC voltage, manufacturers put a dotted line with a solid line on top of it above V. If you want to measure voltage in millivolts, i.e. 1/1000 of a volt, turn the dial to mV.
2. Resistance multimeter symbols
Another multimeter circuit symbol you should know is resistance. A multimeter sends a small electrical current through a circuit to measure resistance. The Greek letter Omega (Ohm) is the symbol for resistance on a multimeter. You won't see any lines above the resistance symbol because meters don't distinguish between AC and DC resistance. (1)
3. Current multimeter symbol
You measure current the same way you measure voltage. It can be alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). Note that ampere or ampere are units of current, which explains why the multimeter symbol for current is A.
Looking at the multimeter right now, you will see the letter "A" with a wavy line above it. This is alternating current (AC). The letter "A" with two lines—dashed and solid above it—represents direct current (DC). When measuring current with a multimeter, the choices available are mA for milliamps and µA for microamps.
Jacks and buttons
Each DMM comes with two leads, black and red. Don't be surprised if your multimeter has three or four connectors. Whatever you test determines where you connect the wires.
Here is the use of each;
- COM – common jack is only one black. That's where the black lead goes.
- A - This is where you connect the red wire when measuring current up to 10 amperes.
- mAmkA – You use this socket when measuring sensitive current less than an amp when the multimeter has four sockets.
- mAOm – The measurement socket includes voltage, temperature and sense current if your multimeter comes with three sockets.
- VOm – This is for all other measurements except current.
Get to know your multimeter, especially the top of the multimeter display. Do you see two buttons - one on the right and one on the left?
- Shift – In order to save space, manufacturers may assign two functions to certain dial positions. To access the function marked in yellow, press the Shift button. The yellow Shift button may or may not have a label. (2)
- Keep - press the hold button if you want to freeze the current reading for later use.
Summing up
You should have no problem getting accurate DMM readings. We hope that after reading this useful information, you feel fairly familiar with the multimeter symbols.
Take a look at some of our articles below.
- Multimeter symbol table
- Multimeter capacitance symbol
- Multimeter voltage symbol
Recommendations
(1) Greek letter - https://reference.wolfram.com/language/guide/
Greek letters.html
(2) space saving - https://www.buzzfeed.com/jonathanmazzei/space-saving-products
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