Buying a multimeter

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Basically just wanna get the best cheap one i can find, ill use it to probe mobos cause my ud3p seems to not detect rams, and im starting to suspect the ram slots cause if the damn thing is trying to cycle though codes then id figure that it still works other than the ram being undetected

 

Here are the ones that im considering

Spoiler

This one seems to have the most selectable ranges

Idk ill just throw this one in here

 

This one is the most expesive out of them all but its on discount so its now the cheapest of them all

 

 

Im still a complete noob on this stuff xD

 

Anything i should be looking for when buying a multimeter?

[LIGISTX]

38 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

ill use it to probe mobos cause my ud3p seems to not detect rams

What exactly would you try and learn by doing this? Its unlikely there is an issue you could actually probe and check for continuity on...

[Poinkachu]

1 hour ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Basically just wanna get the best cheap one i can find, ill use it to probe mobos cause my ud3p seems to not detect rams, and im starting to suspect the ram slots cause if the damn thing is trying to cycle though codes then id figure that it still works other than the ram being undetected

Every cheap digital multimeter sold in Indonesia is pretty much the same when it's about quality & accuracy (if it's what you are asking).
How can I know that? cuz I live in the same country, and I went through several of those back then.

But yeah, they all pretty much uses the same innards & almost the same pcb design.
The difference is probably that some of them are fused, some of them are not. At that price range, they are generally unfused.
Some also provide more count than the other, rarely.
 

Quote

Im still a complete noob on this stuff xD

 

Anything i should be looking for when buying a multimeter?

Depends, what do you often need?
If it's just continuity test, simple voltage & resistance measuring. Almost any will do.

Unless you want one packed with features like backlight, auto-range, temperature sensor, flashlight, Non-contact voltage detector.
Or if you want to measure voltage in a very detailed manner.
If so, it gonna cost you more.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

40 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

The difference is probably that some of them are fused, some of them are not. At that price range, they are generally unfused.

Whats the diff between fused and unfused?

 

So you are saying that a cheapo one like this

Is the same thing as this?

 

In that case i guess ill search for either the absolute cheapest or one with a crap ton of dial options or whatever the hell you call it

[Somerandomtechyboi]

1 hour ago, LIGISTX said:

What exactly would you try and learn by doing this? Its unlikely there is an issue you could actually probe and check for continuity on...

I just wanna see if theres any way to fix the damn thing other than building a freaking diy bga rework station. Considering that it still tries to post then i guess the nb might still be working

[Poinkachu]

46 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Whats the diff between fused and unfused?

 

So you are saying that a cheapo one like this

 

Is the same thing as this?

 

 

In that case i guess ill search for either the absolute cheapest or one with a crap ton of dial options or whatever the hell you call it

Fused = has a fuse inside, so that in the event you measure more than the stated max amount, the fuse will be blown and the multimeter is safe.
Unfused = the multimeter will break.

Think of it like an MCB for home electricity, too much current than what the MCB can handle? it'll break connection so that the stuffs in your house doesn't burn/explode/melt due to too much current.
 

Quote

Is the same thing as this?

Again, you need to be specific.
For continuity test ? somewhat yeah. Why somewhat? because the first pic don't have a continuity test option, while the 2nd does.
Can you test continuity without continuity tester option? yes.

For simple voltage or resistance measuring? Yep, pretty much the same.

Quality & Accuracy of measurement ? yep, pretty much same. I still own multimeters pretty much like in both pics.

 

Quote

I just wanna see if theres any way to fix the damn thing other than building a freaking diy bga rework station. Considering that it still tries to post then i guess the nb might still be working

As long you're comfy with de-soldering & soldering smd resistors and other smd components, and work with multi-layered pcb I guess.
Motherboard has maybe around 6-10 layers.

Want my honest opinion? if you don't know what fused on a multimeter means. Don't dabble with multi-layered PCB, unless you're ready to sacrifice a lot of things.

Sorry if that is harsh sounding.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

19 minutes ago, Poinkachu said:

Want my honest opinion? if you don't know what fused on a multimeter means. Don't dabble with multi-layered PCB, unless you're ready to sacrifice a lot of things

Guess its gonna be trial by fire

Well i do have a full dead giga p41 that i can do whatever i want with, and the only thing worth salvaging is the sb since p41 suck ass fsb oc wise

 

what issues do you think i will encounter? I am planning on buying a multimeter and some flux for soldering and atm i have flux cored solder wire and a 40w solder iron, anything else that im missing?

[LIGISTX]

8 hours ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

I just wanna see if theres any way to fix the damn thing other than building a freaking diy bga rework station. Considering that it still tries to post then i guess the nb might still be working

But what is a multimeter going to tell you? What are you going to probe for? You would need an engineering schematic of the board to try and determine what should give you continuity vs what shouldn’t. As stated, it’s a multi layer PCB, a lot of traces terminate in locations you can’t even get a probe on. 
 

I am all for trying to fix things vs throwing them away…. But unless you have a decent background on electronics engineering and have an actual schematic of the board, I have no idea what you are going to even attempt to do with a multimeter. 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

But what is a multimeter going to tell you? What are you going to probe for? You would need an engineering schematic of the board to try and determine what should give you continuity vs what shouldn’t. As stated, it’s a multi layer PCB, a lot of traces terminate in locations you can’t even get a probe on. 
 

I am all for trying to fix things vs throwing them away…. But unless you have a decent background on electronics engineering and have an actual schematic of the board, I have no idea what you are going to even attempt to do with a multimeter. 

Idk i just wing it

Well it should atleast come in handy for voltmodding

[LIGISTX]

Just now, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Idk i just wing it

Well it should atleast come in handy for voltmodding

I’m not trying to put a damper on fun or experimentation/learning… but that isn’t something you can “just wing”. 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

3 minutes ago, LIGISTX said:

I’m not trying to put a damper on fun or experimentation/learning… but that isn’t something you can “just wing”. 

Well ill just learn along the way and i do have a disposable giga p41 since its full dead and wouldnt be useful anyways with that garbage chipset thats walled to 400fsb. Though ofc ill still be somewhat careful cause sb is still salvageable, esp the bios chips since i may be able to use them just incase ep45 bios isnt compatible with socketed bios chip (same bios chip as my p5q but in sop8 form)

 

If you are wondering why i get the idea to probe ram slots then heres where i got the idea from

 

[stipuledfatcat]

For multimeters the go to a while back was the AN8008 (sold under a bunch of different brand names), it's a solid little multimeter with pretty good accuracy for a fairly cheap price, though I have no idea if it is available in your country.

 

For probing around a motherboard for fun and learning I would say don't bother until you have some fundamentals down, I really don't want to discourage interest in electronics though so I would say focus on simpler circuits, low voltage DC stuff and preferably with through hole components instead of SMT. Trying to figure out anything from a motherboard with just a probe is going to be nigh impossible and is more likely to cause frustration and discourage future interest in the topic. Start small (or I guess large in terms of component size) then move on to more complicated circuits.

 

From personal experience in EE in both industry and school you are more likely to fry a component trying to probe random stuff on the board, small components and small pads make it easy to accidentally short ground to a voltage rail or short something by accidentally being in the amp setting.

 

Finally 40w soldering is probably not going to get you very far with the components on a motherboard, usually that stuff is either carefully removed with a hot air station or patiently with a variable soldering iron, good fine tip, and solder wick.

 

Just my 0.02$, do with that what you will, and remember voltage and current can both start fires, shock you, and even kill if not carful.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

51 minutes ago, stipuledfatcat said:

For probing around a motherboard for fun and learning I would say don't bother until you have some fundamentals down, I really don't want to discourage interest in electronics though so I would say focus on simpler circuits, low voltage DC stuff and preferably with through hole components instead of SMT. Trying to figure out anything from a motherboard with just a probe is going to be nigh impossible and is more likely to cause frustration and discourage future interest in the topic. Start small (or I guess large in terms of component size) then move on to more complicated circuits.

Yea i think ill prob just watch some basic vids on electronics and how to use a multimeter then wing it, semi trial by fire xD

 

Well atleast i have a full dead p41 so i can use that as my test dummy

 

54 minutes ago, stipuledfatcat said:

Finally 40w soldering is probably not going to get you very far with the components on a motherboard, usually that stuff is either carefully removed with a hot air station or patiently with a variable soldering iron, good fine tip, and solder wick.

ill try it anyway cause abusing dead board go brrrrrrr

 

Id assume that trying to desolder the vrms is a terrible idea cause thicc traces that act like a heatsink

[H713]

On 1/10/2022 at 4:11 AM, Somerandomtechyboi said:

 

 

Id assume that trying to desolder the vrms is a terrible idea cause thicc traces that act like a heatsink

It can be done. Ground planes are a bigger problem than wide traces in this regard, but it's still doable. I've managed to desolder damaged SMA connectors that are tied to copper pours on six layers of a 5mm thick PCB. It's doable, you just have to be smart about pre-heating, you have to have patience, and you need the right equipment. With a lab hot plate, a hot air station, and a Metcal MX500 with an STTC-117 tip, I got twelve of them off in about an hour without any damage to other parts on the board (or the PCB itself), much to the disappointment of Analog Devices shareholders.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

50 minutes ago, H713 said:

It can be done. Ground planes are a bigger problem than wide traces in this regard, but it's still doable. I've managed to desolder damaged SMA connectors that are tied to copper pours on six layers of a 5mm thick PCB. It's doable, you just have to be smart about pre-heating, you have to have patience, and you need the right equipment. With a lab hot plate, a hot air station, and a Metcal MX500 with an STTC-117 tip, I got twelve of them off in about an hour without any damage to other parts on the board (or the PCB itself), much to the disappointment of Analog Devices shareholders.

So basically just put the damn thing on a hotplate and then desolder? I do plan on making a bga rework station eventually with either a proper hotplate or just another heatgun below the thing that im reworking and i may consider getting a soldering gun so i guess i could attempt desoldering vrms later on

[mr moose]

https://www.youtube.com/user/EEVblog

 

This guy has a few videos talking about a wide range of meters and which ones to avoid etc.  He's def. worth the time.