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Anyone here know how to use a multimeter?

S

Sniper82

Lifer
Ok I have a flaky Xbox laser that reads CD's perfect but is flaky on DVD format. Was hoping to adjust the laser but I can't find much of a tutorial for it. I have no idea where to put the ground and hot wires at on the laser to test on a multimeter. Also I ain't sure what my the multimeter needs to be set on to read ohm's.

Any ideas?
 
Ok, I'm looking at my multimeter right now. Ohm is represented by the Greek character Omega, hmm, it doesn't display correctly. Ok, it resembles a set of headphones. That symbol on your MM will represent your ohm-meter. If there are no solid state elements in the circuit, then polarity doesn't matter, otherwise it does. HTH. Peace.
 
Ok, so you are trying to read resistance? For a ground, look for a symbol on the pcb that looks like this:

__
|
------
---
-

That is a ground point. Or if there is a metal chassis inside the case of the console you can use that as your ground point. Use the black wire to connect to ground and make sure it is in the right jack on the meter. Pay attention to the markings, it does make a difference. 🙂 When you have the test leads connected to the meter and the meter set to read resistance, if you touch them together you should get a reading of 0.~. It won't be a perfect 0 as the wires themselves have a resistance. This is how you'll know your meter is set up correctly for resistance readings.

As for the hot, I don't know where to tell you to look. I don't have an XBox. You might want to find a troubleshooting manual or print.


EDIT:: Dangit, the forum code messes up my little ASCII pic of ground. If you quote my post it will show the symbol as I intended it to be viewed. Sorry. 🙁



 
Originally posted by: ^Sniper^
Ok I have a flaky Xbox laser that reads CD's perfect but is flaky on DVD format. Was hoping to adjust the laser but I can't find much of a tutorial for it. I have no idea where to put the ground and hot wires at on the laser to test on a multimeter. Also I ain't sure what my the multimeter needs to be set on to read ohm's.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

No offense, but if you don't know how to use a multimeter, then maybe playing with the innards of your XBOX isn't such a great idea. Is it still under warranty by any chance?

<-- Fried a Radeon 8500LE trying to get a reading with a multimeter, even though I know how to use it.

PS: If you do go ahead with this plan and if your multimeter isn't auto-scaling, start with the largest range (probably something like 1-10 MOhm) and work your way down 🙂
 
It might be a bad idea to use the resistance meter on the inside of an XBox. To measure resistance, the multimeter will send power directly into the circuit. This could be pretty bad for a circuit that needs precise amounts of power.
 
Originally posted by: Jeff7
It might be a bad idea to use the resistance meter on the inside of an XBox. To measure resistance, the multimeter will send power directly into the circuit. This could be pretty bad for a circuit that needs precise amounts of power.
Click to expand...

While your concerns are well founded, if he has the right range selected he won't fry the circuitry. Besides, the meter probably only uses 1 9V battery. I know that's all my Fluke 87 uses. I have yet to fry anything (except my meter's fuses! 😀 ) while using it.

 
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