You’ll also want to make sure that you’re not in direct contact with the metallic ends of your probes, electricity takes the easiest way “downhill” in all cases and causing yourself to become the ground of a high voltage system can range from merely painful to the absolute last thing you experience depending on a variety of factors. Almost all multi-meters will at least have a CAT-III rating, but you’ll want to make absolutely sure if you’re going to be using it for anything but small, low-voltage electronics. The ratings are measured as CAT-I to CAT-IV with a secondary rating to show how much transient voltage they’ll be able to handle. These are usually one of the first listed specifications on your meter and you’ll need to keep them in mind, especially if you often find yourself dealing with high voltage. You’ll need to keep in mind the meter’s safety ratings in order to know what range you’ll be able to operate your meter in.
While a multimeter might not have rapidly moving blades or belts to rip off fingers, without a bit of precaution you can certainly end up experiencing electrical shock or damaging your meter. The first thing to keep in mind with any useful tool is, of course, safety.
We’ll also be discussing some basic safety to prevent you from getting hurt or burning up your meter while you’re working, but with a little bit of practice with a multimeter you’ll rapidly learn how to operate your multimeter like a pro. If you’ve just purchased a multimeter and aren’t quite sure what you’re going to do with it yet, we’ve arranged a handy guide for you here to make sure that you can get the most out of its various functions.