Digital Voltmeter at Lidl £9.99

[JohnW2]

If it's got a transistor test socket on the front, it's a pile of junk. The presence of that socket also means any Cat ratings on it are lies at it's totally unsuitable for mains voltages.

I have to take your word for that, but is it not somewhat of a technicality rather than an indication that it is a 'pile of junk'? I can't imagine any sensible situations in which one would use the meter "for mains voltages" when there was anything plugged in to the transistor socket.

What does see odd (to me) is that the socket for the 10A range is unfused, but everything else is fused - is that common (I've never really looked for it!) and, if so, why?

Kind Regards, John

 

[flameport]

The presence of the transistor test socket puts a row of several metal contacts right at the face of the meter and very close together. Impossible to have any kind of proper separation or safety just because they are there.
In the event of a high energy fault, that socket is exactly where any arc flash or similar will appear from, rather than being contained within the meter casing.

is that common

Only on dangerous junk. The only reason it's unfused is to reduce the parts cost.
No fuse means that if connected across the mains in error, the test leads vaporise.

 

[JohnW2]

The presence of the transistor test socket puts a row of several metal contacts right at the face of the meter and very close together. Impossible to have any kind of proper separation or safety just because they are there. In the event of a high energy fault, that socket is exactly where any arc flash or similar will appear from, rather than being contained within the meter casing.

I'm sure that is all theoretically true, but I still have to wonder about its 'real importance' - not the least because one would probably have to do a bit of 'barrel scraping' to think of situations in which hiogh pds would exist between any of those metal contacts.

Only on dangerous junk. The only reason it's unfused is to reduce the parts cost.
No fuse means that if connected across the mains in error, the test leads vaporise.

Yes, but they have addressed that for all ranges other than the 10A one. Are you suggesting that they have done it just to avoid the cost of a second fuse?

Kind Regards, John

 

[KennyPowers]

For info to anyone still interested in getting one of these, they are still in Lidl ass of this morning (my local Lidl anyway)

What is the square-wave function for?