Which is better, a clamp meter or a multimeter?
Clamp meter is the abbreviation of clamp ammeter. As the name implies, its main function is to measure current. Although it also has some functions of multimeter, its measuring range and accuracy are different, and there are fewer gears. Like multimeters, clamp meters are divided into pointer and digital. At present, digital selection has become the mainstream, and pointer will be gradually eliminated.
The multimeter has many measuring gears, besides AC/DC voltage gear and AC/DC current gear detection, it also has diode gear, capacitor gear, frequency test and temperature measurement, etc., with more complete functions and more accurate measurement. It has a wide range of applications, such as the measurement of fine products such as circuit boards and electronic components.
In the actual maintenance of electrical work, clamp meters are basically used with multimeters, both of which are indispensable, and their emphasis is different. Digital multimeters can only detect the current below 10A, and they also need to be connected in series in the line. The clamp meter does not need to disassemble the power supply, but is directly stuck in the line to be measured, so the AC measurement range is wider and more direct.
The multimeter and clamp ammeter have different measuring occasions, and which one to use depends on the different objects to be measured. At present, clamp ammeter is becoming more and more advanced, which can measure AC and DC current and measure line leakage, and has integrated all the functions of multimeter.
Multimeter with clamp ammeter
With the popularization of digitalization and the research and development of new products, more and more instruments have adopted digitalization and become a development trend, and analog instruments have gradually withdrawn from the "stage" of use. Now the clamp ammeter has also appeared digital, and its function is no longer a single measuring instrument. The measurement accuracy of digital clamp ammeter is improved, and at the same time, its physical quantities are "enriched", such as current, voltage, resistance, active power, frequency, phase angle and power factor. It has dual functions of multimeter and clamp ammeter. I think this kind of instrument will be favored by the majority of electrical technicians in the future.
