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SUMMARY
This chapter has presented information on basic measurements. The information that follows
summarizes the important points of this chapter.
The five basic measurements are VOLTAGE, CURRENT, RESISTANCE, CAPACITANCE,
and INDUCTANCE. The accuracy of all measurements depends upon YOUR SKILL as a technician and
the accuracy of your TEST EQUIPMENT.
Accuracy of different types of test equipment varies greatly and depends on design characteristics,
tolerances of individual components, and YOUR KNOWLEDGE of test equipment applications.
The METCAL program ensures that your calibrated test equipment meets established specifications.
Most equipment technical manuals contain VOLTAGE CHARTS which list correct voltages that
should be obtained at various test points.
It is important to remember that the INPUT IMPEDANCE of your test equipment must be high
enough to prevent circuit loading.
When you are performing ac voltage measurements, an additional consideration that greatly affects
the accuracy of your measurements is the FREQUENCY LIMITATIONS of your test equipment.
Ac and dc CURRENT MEASUREMENTS can be performed using a wide variety of test equipment.
Most current measurements require you to break the current path by unsoldering components and wires
and inserting an ammeter in series with the current path. One alternative method is to compute (using
OHM’S LAW) the current through a circuit by measuring the voltage drop across a known resistance.
Another alternative is to use a CURRENT PROBE that requires no unsoldering.
