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Hi Glenn, I'll go along with what previous posters have said, those cheap VOM's are useful for testing a few basic functions. I have two suggestions about using any type or brand of electrical circuit diagnostic equipment: 1.When testing for voltage, make sure you get a reading somewhere before assuming that there's no current in the line you're testing just because the test unit didn't show any. Particularly with the cheesey leads of those cheap units, you need to be sure that it's going to register voltage if there is some; there's an importance difference between a line with no current and one where a malfunctioning machine fails to show current. 2. The second most common way I use such a meter is to test continuity in house wiring when troubleshooting an electrical problem. Again, touch the leads together after you set it for ohms to make sure you can get a reading. Resistance readings depend on the unit's battery as well as the leads being connected. Here's the suggestion that makes this procedure more useful: (Test continuity with the circuit turned off.) You can use an extension cord to extend the wire you want to find the other end of. Hook the wire through the hole in one of the prongs of an extension cord (or shove it into one of the slots of the other end); test for continuity, which will also reveal which conductor you're using (the ground would be better since it's always obvious at both ends, but the ground prong never has a hole through it); once you've established which conductor to use, you can take your meter and the end of the extension cord to the location where you need to find the other end of the wire. Of course this would be easier and work better with a length of bell wire with alligator clips at each end but you'll never get around to making that, and if you did you'd never have it with you when you needed it. You'll always have an extension cord, though. All the best, Stan
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