Oh yeah, I've got one right here... Incidentally, Radio Shack has a nice little pocket meter that runs about $20. From memory it does AC/DC voltage, impedance, and continuity. It's pocket-sized, very good stocking stuffer. As I remember they go on sale every year just before christmas. I carry it around in my backpack (along with my Slackware install disks and CD) for those emergency situations where lives depend on having a multi-meter close by. Adam Maloney Systems Administrator Sihope Communications On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Ben Kochie wrote: > why not just use an inductive curent meter? > > Thank You, > Ben Kochie (ben at nerp.net) > > *-----------------------* [ - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - ] > | Unix/Linux Consulting | [ Haiku Error Message: ] > | PC/Mac Repair | [ Chaos reigns within. ] > | Networking | [ Reflect, repent, and reboot. ] > | http://nerp.net | [ Order shall return. ] > *-----------------------* [ - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - ] > > "Unix is user friendly, Its just picky about its friends." > > On Tue, 17 Oct 2000, Bill Layer wrote: > > > The multimeter will do just fine but you will have to play one trick or > > another to make the necessary series connection with the power cord to > > measure current draw.. I have a special, short extension cord that has one > > conductor broken so that the meter may be inserted in series with the loop. > > > > Set the meter for the current scale and measure the current draw with the > > device powered on. Then, keeping the device powered on, set the meter for > > an AC RMS voltage scale and measure the supply voltage at the wall - it's > > not wise to estimate, as AC mains voltages can be anywhere between 109 and > > 126VAC - with 117 being nominal. Once you know current and RMS supply > > voltage, power (wattage) calculation is this easy: > > > > P = E * I (Where P is power (in watts), E is energy (in volts) and I is > > current (in amperes)) > > > > I should mention that most all (even inexpensive) meters automatically give > > AC voltage readings in RMS - so don't get too concerned about this issue. > > If the meter doesn't say otherwise, it's giving the reading in RMS. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe, e-mail: tclug-list-unsubscribe at mn-linux.org > > For additional commands, e-mail: tclug-list-help at mn-linux.org > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: tclug-list-unsubscribe at mn-linux.org > For additional commands, e-mail: tclug-list-help at mn-linux.org > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: tclug-list-unsubscribe at mn-linux.org For additional commands, e-mail: tclug-list-help at mn-linux.org