These days, there’s really no excuse not to have a multitester. Even if you only rarely dabble with electronics, every household should have one, as it will tell you things such as whether your outlet voltage is OK or if an outlet is dead. You can check batteries. (Even if a voltmeter doesn’t have a specific battery testing option, if you just check the voltage, you can tell if a battery is completely dead. And if it shows more than 1.5 volts, you can be pretty sure that the battery is good.) In the car, you can diagnose many problems simply by seeing whether 12 volts appears at a certain spot. And they are cheap. The digital model shown below (whose price includes free shipping) rivals a fine laboratory instrument 70 years ago:

I am old school, and I prefer an analog meter movement, which is also available at a very reasonable price for a basic model, such as this one, which you can also get with free shipping on Amazon:

But it hasn’t always been this way, and 70 years ago, the December 1951 issue of Popular Mechanics pointed out that many beginning radio experimenters were temporarily handicapped by the inability to make measurements, since expensive test instruments were required. But fortunately, the magazine solved that problem by showing how to build test equipment, such as the volt-ohm meter shown above. An analog meter movement, a few resistors, a battery, and a few Fahnestock clips were all that were needed to make a fully functional meter suitable for most ordinary radio work. The magazine showed a similar design for a meter for AC voltage or checking capacitors. That meter also included a bridge rectifier, as well as a filament transformer for powering the capacitance meter.

The meter movement sold for $3.16, and was the most expensive component required.

Keep an eye open for coupons from the usual discount houses (the places with names such as Harbor Tool and Northern Freight). They often have the digital meters for free or practically free as a loss leader. If you need pointers on using your new meter, this classic book from Radio Shack is available on Amazon, and used copies are available at a reasonable price:

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