ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area How to measure current

Chester,
As you will learn here, if you only read the various things that have been posted at ECN here, you will see seemingly dumb questions posted, but from the HUGE collective knowledge we have here, everyone benefits.
The day you stop learning from this site, is the day you should leave, that's why we are all still here.
One thing that I should say about measuring current in a given circuit, though, is the practice of Electronics Technicians "cutting tracks" on a PC Board to measure the current at certain point on the board.
The key to this (as our Electronics Tech's will agree) is having a good idea of what sized current is flowing in that part of the circuit, under normal conditions, and also the polarity of the current, if it is DC.
Ammeters don't take too kindly to being overloaded, especially in the wrong direction.

{Message edited to add last bit}

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 01-02-2005).]

Chester,

With a commonly available accessory like the one below something can be plugged in and readings can be taken on each leg separately with a choice of 1x or 10x depending on the position chosen. I believe this one (and others) also have access points where you can check the voltage under load conditions.



Bill