Digital Multimeters 25

troubleshooting, and maintenance purposes. However, there are still many older analog meters in use, and a working knowledge of these diagnostic tools is useful to electricians and technicians.

This chapter briefly describes the various types of analog electrical meters and instruments, and how they are used. Starting with Chapter 2, the rest of the handbook concentrates primarily on using DMMs.

Ammeters

Figure 1-1 shows a clamp-on ammeter used to measure current in a conductor while the conductor is energized. While exact operating procedures vary with the manufacturer, most operate as follows when measuring current:

1-1 Typical clamp-on-type ammeter.

2