Volt Amp Meter Makes Easy

Simpler layout for these types of volt/amp meters

I recently came across these types of volt/amp meters. One with Volt and Amp, other with Volt, Amp and Wattage. I bought both of them.

I found that both of them do not show small amperage, like 20mA, correctly. They always show 0.00A for small amp. For larger amperage like 0.1A, they work fine. Maybe it's just me, but in my opinion they are ok as a simple volt/amp meter, but I do not expect to get high accuracy from them. Personally, I prefer the one with wattage, because it also comes with voltage and amperage adjusting ability.

For those who are interested in buying one, they need to be wired before perform any measurement. The layout instruction is confusing and limited. This guide will not show you step by step on making a portable meter, but will show you how to layout of the wiring. As long as you know how to wire the meters, you can create whatever style you want ;)

There are 2 layouts, one with independent power source and the other shares power with the input voltage. These devices require min 4V or 6V to operate. If you choose to share input voltage, they won't measure anything below 4V or 6V, depending on the model. So this wiring layout allow you to power the meters individually, therefore it will show voltage 0v to whatever it is capable of.

-You will need a separate wire for the wiring.

-I used a 9V battery because I happen to have one, but you can use anything that meets the minimum operated voltage requirement. You can even use old phone battery and a DC booster if you know how.

-This layout has thin yellow wire, but some model will have different colour like white. You should pay a little bit of attention to that. This wire can go both end, but I strongly suggest going to the + end of the power source that you want to measure.

-I used DC5.5x2.1mm so they are in the layout, but you can change it to anything you want as you're convenient.

-You can add on/off switch for the battery or power source you like.