DMM Safety and Fieldpiece's
HS series "Stick" meter

Safety has become a big issue. There are two major issues regarding safety. The first relates to industry safety specifications for safety. The second has to do with the ergonomics of safety: designing meters so that they are safer to use in practice. The two have little to do with one another.

IEC and UL specifications are generally aimed at making sure if you connect voltages of a specified magnitude, the meter will not cause a problem. It won’t short and it won’t burn. No-name low end meters from the far east often do not meet these specifications. Today, most well known brands do. While there are some differences in ratings, generally a customer chooses from meters of about the same rating. For example, it costs more to make a 1000V meter than a 600V meter, so if a technician only needs a 600V meter, he will be selecting from meters rated to 600V.

So, there is not much difference among brand-name meters regarding industry specifications. There is, however, a big difference in ergonomic design.

Most common DMMs have a tilt stand and test leads, presenting the user with the “third hand problem”. It takes three hands to use the DMM. To solve the problem, the user has several choices. He can hold the meter in his hand and play chopsticks with the test leads. Not very comfortable for 440VAC, for example. If he sets the meter down, he risks pulling the meter off it’s perch with the leads, just as he’s about ready to touch those 440VAC test points. Also not very comfortable.

There is one meter on the market that not only eliminates those problems, but has a few additional safety features. It’s the HS series meters from Fieldpiece.

First, you can test to see if there’s any AC voltage present without touching anything. It has a built-in non-contact voltage (NCV) detector. Just bring the top of the meter near AC voltage and you will see a bright LED blink and a beeper sound.

Secondly, if you want to use the probes, testing only requires two hands. Plug a probe into the top of the meter. The meter becomes a test lead handle. Use the other test lead as you normally would.

If you want to use two test leads, you can use the integral magnet to hang the meter up where it’s close to the test points and in a location that’s easy to see. You eliminate the problem of accidentally pulling the meter off it’s perch.

No matter how you connect to the test points, the meter will sound a loud alarm whenever you touch potentially dangerous voltage. A beeper comes on and a bright LED blinks.

To make things even safer, plug an alligator clip in the COM jack (or in the probe handle of the black lead) and clip the COM off the ground. Now you can do your testing one handed. Put your other hand in your pocket, just like they taught you in school. There is no way electricity can go from one hand to the other. If you are going to be testing the same pair of test points for awhile, use a second alligator clip to connect to the test point. “Look, Ma! No hands!”

To make matters even safer, use the MIN/MAX button to lock in the reading while you are doing your testing. You can keep your eyes on the test points while doing your test. Look at the results afterward.

No meter can guarantee safe testing. It’s up to the technician. But the HS series stick meter from Fieldpiece makes it easier to do safer testing. This is a result of good ergonomic design with safety in mind, and not a result of meeting common industry specs.

Fieldpiece Instruments, Inc.
580 W. Central, Suite A
Brea, CA 92821
(714) 257-9060 FAX (714) 257-9069
fpinfo@fieldpiece.com