how do i use my multimeter

[theinhaler]

hi guys i got my multimeter today and i dont have a clue how to use it to measure the resistance of my coils , i had it turned to the ohms bit and it was on 200 if that makes any sense but the numbers where jumping around all over the place so any help would be great , as you may have noticed im not really a techy person lol

[Perpetua]

Here you go Dave . . . Jen's video explains it well.

[theinhaler]

cheers perps that helps a lot , is it possible to measure the resistance before the coil is fitted into the atomiser?

[Mev]

If you mean measure the coil/wire then yes you can put the probes on the wire alone to test it. If you mean measure the atty to see if there's any resistance then there wouldn't be much to even worry about but you could always put a small piece of no-res wire in the atty's connections for testing sake.

[theinhaler]

cheers Mev thats what i mean , i want to be able to test my coils before fitting them in my atty to save messing around removing them if they are not right, i did put a probe either side of the coil but the readings where juming up and down all over the place

[Mev]

If you know the length of wire needed for making your coil then cut a piece that length and lay it flat on something none conductive (wood table etc) and you can test it better that way with the probes.

[Mev]

Depending on your meter you may need to check what resistance the probes have beforehand. Touch the two probes together and see if they give a reading.

[maccafan]

Because the wires are quite thin it's hard to measure the resistance of a coil directly because the hands usually tremble breaking contact and causing the readings to jump around. If I have to, I normally put it down on a piece of paper on a hard surface and press the probes hard on both ends to get a stable reading.

If you know the wire (diameter and type) you are using and the length of wire you used to make the coil, you can easily calculate the coil resistance with reasonable accuracy.

[OneDay]

Inhaler check if your supplier tells you the resistance in ohms per metre of the wire, so that for instance, the stuff I have is 53.7 ohms per metre, so if I want a 2 ohm coil I need (2/53.7) X 1000 = 37mm. If I am joining this to no resistance wire for my Penelope I add about 10mm or so to allow for the joins.

[Moggy]

Also, your meter may have an auto scaling feature. Usually you set the scale to read a maximum of 2 or 20 or 200. If you're measuring coils then 20 is plenty. Check your manual to see if it does auto scale.

If unsure post a pic ,or the model/manufacturer, and I'll look it up.

Any multimeter should read 0ohms when touching the leads together, they should have that built in else the readings would always be wrong. A small resistance from the leads shouldn't cause a fluctuation in measurement.