how to use a volt meter

[A1Killer]

lol when it comes to volt meters im a noob lol how do i use one i bought a 12 buck on at walmart today so i can do alot of volt mods to stuff ill be replacing hopefully soon

[Avg]

Here is a thread I started a couple of months back

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=341603&highlight=volt+meter

[orionlion82]

In a very general sense, master the use of this tool Before you start poking and probing your computer with it.(and make a point of reading and understanding the manual)

[wizard james]

blah my didnt come with a manual.. but i got a question.. i know i use the ohms to get ristance on something like a resister.. but um.. what do i use? 20M 20K? 200Kohm ?????

also how do i find out how much power my whole computer is useing? just wonding so that i can find out how much.. the totel amp and stuff

[orionlion82]

WJ, probably match the setting closest to the resistance of the resistor. now im shure that makes no sense, because if you knew that you wouldnt have to test it, so thats gonna be fun... there is a device called Kill-o-watt. google it sir.

[man_utd]

Start at the highest setting, work your way down. Or you can start at about 20k and go down. Just depends on your patience level.

[redwraith94]

I got mine at harbor freight for 5 bucks, and it works great. The low price just means that you’re a prudent shopper ;) Generally speaking, computers will not have resistors that go above 1 meg ohm and they usually are in the hundred k range or less. If you get the 'wrong' setting it is not going to fry anything. I will warn you though: When the voltmeter is set to measure resistance, it puts out it's own voltage, to measure the resistance, so don’t touch the leads to any of the chips when your testing parts.
For your second question: You could measure the current that your psu is drawing, out of the wall, but I wouldn’t recommend it, because, it is pretty easy to get electrocuted, if you don’t know what your doing. Or, you could measure the current coming off all of the individual power connectors, inside the case, but that would include the mobo connector, which would be difficult, and it would take forever.

[mysubaruimp]

When you are just doing 12v stuff, a $5 meter is ok. I would NOT use that meter on anything over 24v. I barrowed cheap meters from my friends twice and they both blew up on 120v. A very scary experience.

The cheap meters are not very accurate, but are good for basic work.

Please, Be VERY careful when using that thing. Electricity is a very dangerous thing. It moves too fast for you to jump out of the way.

I do electrical controls for a living. I would NEVER put a cheap meter on anything important. They are way too poorly made.

Just my 2 cents, I could go on, but I dont want to bore anyone. Just be careful with it, and stick to 12v with it.

[redwraith94]

While I do agree that you have to use extreme caution, perhaps I was not as clear about that as I should have been, never exceed the setting on the meter! Mine, more than easily handles wall voltage and can measure a maximum of ten amps, it's highest voltage setting is one thousand, and it has the insulation for it, both on the leads and in the housing; I already dismantled it to determine that.;)