Tools for makers · Workshop tools
Multimeter
Measures voltage, current and resistance. The best tool for finding out why a circuit doesn't work.
- 9 lessons
What it is for
A multimeter is the electronics maker's detective. Turn the dial to V and touch two points of a circuit to see the voltage between them. Turn it to Ω to check a resistor, or use the beep test (continuity) to find out whether a wire or a breadboard row is really connected.
When a project doesn't work, measuring is much faster than guessing. Is the sensor getting 5 V? Is the LED the right way round? Is that jumper wire broken inside?
A simple auto-ranging multimeter is all you need for our kits.
Tips
- Start with the beep test: touch both probes together, then check each suspicious wire.
- Measure voltage with the circuit on, and resistance with the circuit off.
- Never measure mains sockets; our projects only use safe, low voltages.
