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A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a VOM (Volt-Ohm meter or Volt-Ohm-milliammeter ), is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement functions in one unit. A typical multimeter can measure voltage, current, and resistance. Analog multimeters use a microammeter with a moving pointer to display readings. Digital multimeters (DMM, DVOM) have a numeric display, and may also show a graphical bar representing the measured value. Digital multimeters are now far more common but analog multimeters are still preferable in some cases, for example when monitoring a rapidly varying value. A multimeter can be a hand-held device useful for basic fault finding and field service work, or a bench instrument which can measure to a very high degree of accuracy. They can be used to troubleshoot electrical problems in a wide array of industrial and household devices such as electronic equipment, motor controls, domestic appliances, power supplies, and wiring systems. Multimeters are available in a wide range of features and prices. Cheap multimeters can cost less than US$10, while laboratory-grade models with certified calibration can cost more than US$5,000. == History == The first moving-pointer current-detecting device was the galvanometer in 1820. These were used to measure resistance and voltage by using a Wheatstone bridge, and comparing the unknown quantity to a reference voltage or resistance. While useful in the lab, the devices were very slow and impractical in the field. These galvanometers were bulky and delicate. The D'Arsonval/Weston meter movement used a fine metal spring to give proportional measurement rather than just detection, and built-in permanent field magnets made deflection independent of the orientation of the meter. Instead of balancing a bridge, values could be directly read off the instruments's scale, which made measurement quick and easy. By adding a series or shunt resistor, more than one range of voltage or current could be measured with one movement. Multimeters were invented in the early 1920s as radio receivers and other vacuum tube electronic devices became more common. The invention of the first multimeter is attributed to British Post Office engineer, Donald Macadie, who became dissatisfied with having to carry many separate instruments required for the maintenance of the telecommunications circuits.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society )〕 Macadie invented an instrument which could measure amperes (amps), volts and ohms, so the multifunctional meter was then named Avometer.〔(【引用サイトリンク】work=gracesguide.co.uk )〕 The meter comprised a moving coil meter, voltage and precision resistors, and switches and sockets to select the range. Macadie took his idea to the Automatic Coil Winder and Electrical Equipment Company (ACWEEC, founded in ~1923).〔 The first AVO was put on sale in 1923, and many of its features remained almost unaltered through to the last Model 8. Pocket watch style meters were in widespread use in the 1920s, at much lower cost than Avometers. The metal case was normally connected to the negative connection, an arrangement that caused numerous electric shocks. The technical specifications of these devices were often crude, for example the one illustrated has a resistance of just 33 ohms per volt, a non-linear scale and no zero adjustment. Any meter will load the circuit under test to some extent. For example,a multimeter using a movement with full-scale current of 50 microamps, the highest sensitivity commonly available, must draw at least 50 microamps from the circuit under test to deflect fully. This may load a high-impedance circuit so much as to affect the circuit, and to give a low reading. ''Vacuum Tube Voltmeters'' or valve voltmeters (VTVM, VVM) were used for voltage measurements in electronic circuits where high impedance was necessary. The VTVM had a fixed input impedance of typically 1 megohm or more, usually through use of a cathode follower input circuit, and thus did not significantly load the circuit being tested. VTVMs were used before the introduction of digital electronic high-impedance analog transistor and field effect transistor (FET) voltmeters. Modern digital meters and some modern analog meters use electronic input circuitry to achieve high-input impedance—their voltage ranges are functionally equivalent to VTVMs. Additional scales such as decibels, and measurement functions such as capacitance, transistor gain, frequency, duty cycle, display hold, and buzzers which sound when the measured resistance is small have been included on many multimeters. While multimeters may be supplemented by more specialized equipment in a technician's toolkit, some multimeters include additional functions for specialized applications (temperature with a thermocouple probe, inductance, connectivity to a computer, speaking measured value, etc.). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Multimeter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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