05-07-2023, 03:54 PM
Some DVMs have a rapid response LCD "needle" or bargraph. A friend has one but I've never needed the feature, I have a scope.
A decent damped analogue movement will show the average.
I'd want the scope, not a fast response analogue or digital meter to see what's happening if the DMM wasn't sufficient. I've ONLY found the AVO better for over 500V and resistance of very large inductances.
My DMM transistor tester and my universal R-L-C and Active component testers test Germanium transistors better than the AVO. The cheap DMMs with transistor testers may get confused by Germanium transistors.
I encountered plenty of rubbish Analogue meters since 1965 and the cheap DMMs are in the same league, though better than the 1960s & 1970s cheap analogue meter.
It's always important to have good quality tools and understand the limitations and how they work. So you can't "trust" any kind of meter without understanding all the issues.
I have a cheap dedicated 9V & 1.5V battery meter that appropriately loads the battery or cell. Otherwise I put a suitable resistor load on the battery or power supply (a car headlamp bulb will do as load for big 5V SMPSU) and use a 20M Ohm input DMM. It also has an optically isolated RS232 out which I've used to plot filament current vs supply volts (fixed 0.1V steps with 2nd meter and just readings of current captured).
A decent damped analogue movement will show the average.
I'd want the scope, not a fast response analogue or digital meter to see what's happening if the DMM wasn't sufficient. I've ONLY found the AVO better for over 500V and resistance of very large inductances.
My DMM transistor tester and my universal R-L-C and Active component testers test Germanium transistors better than the AVO. The cheap DMMs with transistor testers may get confused by Germanium transistors.
I encountered plenty of rubbish Analogue meters since 1965 and the cheap DMMs are in the same league, though better than the 1960s & 1970s cheap analogue meter.
It's always important to have good quality tools and understand the limitations and how they work. So you can't "trust" any kind of meter without understanding all the issues.
I have a cheap dedicated 9V & 1.5V battery meter that appropriately loads the battery or cell. Otherwise I put a suitable resistor load on the battery or power supply (a car headlamp bulb will do as load for big 5V SMPSU) and use a 20M Ohm input DMM. It also has an optically isolated RS232 out which I've used to plot filament current vs supply volts (fixed 0.1V steps with 2nd meter and just readings of current captured).
