Tektronix DMM912 User manual

DMM912, DMM914 & DMM916
Digital Multimeter Instructions
070-9791-01
1

Copyright Tektronix, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tektronix products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents,
issued and pending. Information in this publication supercedes
that in all previously published material. Specifications and
price change privileges reserved.
Printed in Hong Kong.
Tektronix, Inc., P.O. Box 1000, Wilsonville, OR 97070–1000
TEKTRONIX, TEK, and TekTools are registered trademarks of
Tektronix, Inc.

WARRANTY SUMMARY
Tektronix warrants that the products it manufactures and
sells will be free from defects in materials and workman-
ship for a period of three years from the date of purchase
from an authorized Tektronix distributor. If a product or
CRT proves defective within the respective period,
Tektronix will provide repair or replacement as described
in the complete warranty statement.
To arrange for service or obtain a copy of the complete
warranty statement, please contact your nearest Tektronix
distributor.
EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN THIS SUMMARY OR
THE APPLICABLE WARRANTY STATEMENT,
TEKTRONIX MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY
KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITH-
OUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PAR-
TICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL
TEKTRONIX BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

1–1
DMM912/914/916
Table of Contents
Safety 1–3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Product Description 1–5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Front Panel Overview 1–7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Display indicators 1–8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Buttons 1–10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shifted buttons 1–12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setup buttons 1–14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rotary dial functions 1–16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Input connectors 1–18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Operating Basics 1–20. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Safe test lead connections 1–21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AC voltage measurements 1–22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DC voltage measurements 1–23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
AC + DC measurements 1–24. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Frequency measurements 1–25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Resistance measurements 1–26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Continuity checks 1–27. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diode testing 1–28. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capacitance measurements 1–29. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Current measurements 1–30. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Temperature measurements 1–31. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1–2 DMM912/914/916
Special Feature Descriptions 1–32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto power off 1–32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hold 1–32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto hold 1–32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Auto fuse detection 1–32. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Probe input guard 1–33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Beeper 1–33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
HI/LO 1–33. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MIN/MAX/AVE operation 1–34. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Battery and Fuse Replacement 1–35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specifications 1–36. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accessories 1–45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General Care and Cleaning 1–46. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

DMM912/914/916 1–3
Safety
Review the following safety precautions to avoid injury
and prevent damage to this product or any products
connected to it. To avoid potential hazards, use the
product only as specified.
CAUTION. These statements identify conditions or
practices that could result in damage to the
equipment or other property.
WARNING.These statements identify conditions or
practices that could result in personal injury or
loss of life.
Symbols on the product
Refer to
manual Double Insulated High Voltage
Specific precautions
Use proper fuse. To avoid fire hazard, use only the fuse
type and rating specified for this product.
Do not operate without covers. To avoid personal injury, do
not apply any voltage or current to the product without
the covers in place.
Electric overload. Never apply a voltage to a connector on
the product that is outside the range specified for that
connector.

1–4 DMM912/914/916
Avoid electric shock. To avoid injury or loss of life, do not
connect or disconnect probes or test leads while they are
connected to a voltage source.
Do not operate in wet/damp conditions. To avoid electric
shock, do not operate this product in wet or damp condi-
tions.

DMM912/914/916 1–5
Product Description
All three meters provide many features. Depending on
your meter type, all features described in this manual may
not apply.
The following list provides a comparison of the features
between meters.
Feature DMM912 DMM914 DMM916
40,000 display count D D D
Bargraph D D D
Centeringand zooming D D
True RMS or average AC
measurements D D D
Autorange D D D
Measurements
DC/ACvoltage D D D
AC + DC voltage D D D
DC/ACcurrent D D D
Resistance D D D
Frequency D D D
Diodes and capacitors D D D
Continuity D D D
Dutyfactor D D
Temperature D D
Decibel D

DMM912/914/9161–6
Feature DMM916DMM914DMM912
AC volts and amps with Hz
display D D
Measurementhold D D D
Peak hold D
Minimum, maximum, and average
values D D D
M/M/A time stamp D D
Deltamode D D D
HI/LO limits D D
Memory store and recall D D D
Backlight D
Automatic fuse verification D D D
Improperinput connection
warning D D D

DMM912/914/916 1–7
Front Panel Overview
4
1
2
3
1Input connectors.
2Measurement function dial. White labels are the initial
setting; blue labels are selected with the blue button.
3Buttons, in conjunction with the dial, select instrument
functions.
4LCD display with dual numeric readout.

DMM912/914/9161–8
Display indicators
234 5
6
8
9
15
14
12
1
13
11 10
7
1Auto range indicator
2True RMS voltage indicator
3Hold indicator
4Auto Hold indicator
5Peak Hold indicator
6Upper display unit indicators
7Main display unit indicators
8Zoom indicator for bar graph
9Diode check indicator
10 Maximum, Minimum, Maximum – Minimum, and
Average indicators
11 AC, DC, and AC+ DC voltage indicators
12 Battery indicator (low battery)
13 Memory indicator

DMM912/914/916 1–9
14 High voltage input warning (>42 VDC, 30 VACRMS)
15 Continuity indicator
Indicator Unit Indicator Unit
V Volts micro
A Amperes n nano
F Farad m milli
Hz Hertz M mega
min minute k kilo
_F Fahrenheit delta
_C Celsius % percent
ohm dB / dBm decibel
(1 V / 1 mV ref)

DMM912/914/9161–10
Buttons
The blue button toggles between dual functions (white or
blue) located on the dial. It also exits the Setup mode.
Blue
button
STORE. The meter stores the present reading in memory
and the mem indicator is displayed momentarily. Use
RECALL to display the stored reading.
NOTE. The memory is erased anytime the meter
turns off.
SETUP. This button displays and scrolls through the user
adjustable menu items. Refer to page 1–14 for the Setup
menu functions.
BAR. This button scrolls through the types of bargraph
displays.
Zero at left
Zero at left, graph zoomed 10, displayed
Zero at center
Zero at center (graph zoomed 10, displayed)
Bar off

DMM912/914/916 1–11
HOLD. This button toggles the hold mode on and off.
With hold on, the instrument beeps, freezes the display,
and displays the indicator.
RANGE. This button selects the manual ranging mode and
then selects the range. The indicator turns off.
Press and hold the RANGE button for two seconds to
return the multimeter to auto-range mode (or turn the
dial).
M/M/A. This button scrolls through the MIN, MAX, MAX
– MIN, and AVG functions. Elapsed time from beginning
of test to the latest event appears in the upper display.
Events must be stable for 100 ms. The warning beeper
signals if the function is not applicable. Refer to page
1–34 for more details about these functions.
NOTE. You may want to adjust the auto power off
time limit. Refer to page 1–32 about auto power
off.

DMM912/914/9161–12
Shifted buttons
The gold button shifts the button functions to the gold
labels. GOLd is displayed while shift is activated.
Gold
button
LIGHT. Push to activate the LCD backlight. Press the gold
button twice or hold down until the light turns on. Repeat
to turn off. Refer to page 1–15 about auto off time
adjustment.
HI/LO. Push to put the meter in a comparison mode,
comparing present readings to high and low limits
defined in the Setup menu. The beeper signals pass or
fail.
RECALL. Push to display the memory information. The
mem indicator appears in the display. Press again to
return to the set function display.
RESET. Push to set the minimum, maximum, average, and
peak hold values to the displayed measurement. This also
sets the timer to zero.

DMM912/914/916 1–13
/ %. Push to enter the delta display mode, displaying the
difference (delta) between the measured value and a
reference value. The reference value is set when entering
Delta mode or using the Setup function. The difference is
displayed in the measurement units or as a percent
(selected by repeating the / % button press).
AUTO H. Hold mode is activated when a stable reading is
first achieved.
DIGITS. Push to toggle the display count between 40,000
and 4,000. The low count provides a faster response.
PEAK H. Peak hold operates similar to M/M/A except that
events as fast as 1 ms are captured and average values are
not available. The indicator appears in the display.
Peak hold disables the bargraph. Peak hold operates for
DC volts.

DMM912/914/9161–14
Setup buttons
SETUP. Push to display and scroll through a list of menu
prompts. Use these menus to adjust the meter operation or
sets values for various operations. Turning the meter off
does not affect saved setups.
.Scrolls left through the digits and polarity for selec-
tion.
.Scrolls right through the digits for selection.
+.Increases selected digit values or toggles default
settings.
–.Decreases selected digit values or toggles default
settings.
EXIT SETUP. Push to exit the setup mode, applying the
changes and saving them as new defaults. Turn the dial to
exit the setup mode, cancelling all changes.

DMM912/914/916 1–15
The following table lists the prompts and a brief descrip-
tion of their action/purpose.
Display
prompt Parameter
rEF1Changethe reference value (from the automatically
set value) for delta measurements
HI L High limit
LO L Low limit
AG Average ACV or True RMS ACV
dB dBm or dB
bEEP BeeperON/OFF2
POFF Auto power off time adjustment
bOFF Auto backlight off time adjustment
5060 50 or 60 Hz noise suppression
HAZ Hazard warning indicator off
1Displayed only if Delta mode is active.
2HI/LO, continuity, and probe input beepers are not
affected.

DMM912/914/9161–16
Rotary dial functions
OFF. Turns the power off and erases display memory.
V/ dBm / Hz. AC voltage measurements. Blue button
toggles upper readout between frequency and dBm (dB).
V . DC voltage measurements.
mV . High resolution DC voltage measurements for
voltages less than 400 mV.
AC + DC. Computes a true RMS voltage measurement
based on both the AC and DC components of the input
signal.
Hz / % DF. Frequency measurements. Blue button toggles
display reading to duty factor.