I see a lot of folks giving readings of their XM-L's using a multi-meter.
For those of us with no prior electrical experience, would you mind maybe sharing some short instructions on how to do that?
Starting with correct placement of the leads into the MM?
I've only ever used my MM to check for continuity....
Thanks
Aloha Troop! Here's a link that I've seen a lot of people reference to. I know it's from the other place but they do have a lot of good information over there. I hope this helps.
And here is his webside with even more information, most in danish but also some english:
Very nice, thank you!
ALright, I tried this for the first time, it was hit-and-miss getting the correct settings on the DMM.
For my Manafont 3-mode XM-L drop-in in my Ultrafire 504, I got measurements of 1.8 to 2.0, roughly.
For my 2 XR-E drop-in (with 2xcr123) I got about .8 on each one.
AN XP-G I have measuered right at 1.0
Do those numbers sound about right?
I don't have a huge experience but seems to be a little lower than expected. Consider also that battery and circuit board can influence the result.
Anyone knows where to get the leads splitters (or their proper name) in the following picture?
Just a guess here, but they may be Fluke accessory leads. They look very useful however, so if somone finds them at a good price I for one would like to know.
Anywhere that sells 4mm banana plugs. If you want to buy ludicrously overpriced ones try a HiFi shop. Any education supplier selling science equipment will sell you them. They are called stacking leads.
You can get the plugs here but they are grossly overpriced. My usual supplier of such stuff has recently gone bankrupt unfortunately.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/stackable-4mm-plugs-1442
Or here
http://www.rapidonline.com/1/1/indexd18.html
Or here
http://www.rapidonline.com/1/1/7581-4mm-stackable-test-lead-retractable-shrouds.html
Or here
Any of the HK dealers ought to be able to get you these for very little money.
Most of mine are from Maplin as I used to have to pass it every day ont he way back from work :P
It's a bit of a better deal if you buy the cables pre-made http://www.maplin.co.uk/4mm-patch-cord-1443
Most of my charger leads are made from those (and the red ones) cut in half and connected to suitable plugs or holders.
Thanks, Don and Piers, I think I'll buy some for more fun with my multimeters... :)
They are amazingly useful. If you can't find them anywhere else, Maplin will ship them to you. At a (very high) price. When I lived in Zambia 30 years ago, Maplin would send me stuff (at a (high) price) that nobody else was interested in shipping to me.
If you can't find them in Israel, let me know and I'll get them at the best price I can and ship them to you at cost.
Thanks, but they're available from eBay at about 2$ for just 2 plugs or 6$ for a couple of wired plugs.
Also available here for a bit more.
But I think I'll have to find better multimeter probes first. Mine can't read more than 2A, although rated at 10A. Arrggh.
They probably melt at 10A :P