Woods DMMW1 Subcompact DMM Manual - 6 Test Functions with 16 Measuring Ranges

Buy Two ! Keep one by your bench, the other in your Electronics Box !

The meter was as expected

Great Multimeter for the low voltage technician or simple home improvement person, it is tiny, and fits very well and out of the way inside my tool bag... It is so small it sometimes gets lost in there!

I do not understand the strang symbology? Nothing is marked amps AC or DC.. need a manuel attached and I spend more time searching for manuels than I do any testing.

(This review is actually for the Woods DMMW1 digital multimeter. Amazon seems not to differentiate well between it and the higher end DMMW2 model.) If you're looking for a simple, inexpensive and reasonably safe multimeter for use around the house or where small size and light weight are important, put this Woods meter on your short list of choices. Amongst the six test ranges it offers are AC/DC voltage up to 500 volts, a battery load test (only for small batteries like AAA through D cells and 9 volt types), resistance up to 2M ohms, two very low current testing ranges and a diode test. (Yes, that's only five ranges. I suspect AC and DC voltage are counted separately on the spec sheet.) There's a "hold" button to freeze the most recent measurement on the display. The good: some attention was actually paid to safety. That's something you may not get with a cheaper meter. I tested the DMMW1 against precision resistors and a voltage reference, and found my example to be very accurate. This meter feels well made and like it would stand the rigors of everyday life. Even the test leads are of surprisingly good quality. The diode testing range can illuminate most LEDs, including higher voltage and current blue and white ones. Numbers on the display are surprisingly large and easily read in many lighting conditions. The bad: its power source is an A23 (12 volt) battery. Fortunately, one is included to get you started and it should last quite a while under normal use. All bets are off if you leave the power on, as there is no automatic shutoff to step in and save the battery. You don't get a display backlight. This is only a manual ranging multimeter. While that's preferable in some cases to autoranging meters, measurements of unknown resistance, voltage and so on must be done at the highest ranges, and by gradually working down until you reach the proper range. Doing so makes measurements take longer. At higher resistances (100K ohms and up), the DMMW1 takes a long time (several seconds) for its reading to stabilize. There is no kickstand to hold the meter at a convenient angle while taking measurements.

Bought one of these DMMW1 units at a box store to fix a problem on the road. It worked well for that, and I would add it to my road toolkit in an instant if it were not for the power button, which SHOULD BE INSET, not proud of the case (are you hearing this, Woods?). It's all too easy to activate the meter by accident, after which you find it DOA when you need it, and have to replace the (hard to find) battery. An even better alternative would be a selection on the dial for "OFF" instead of the pushbutton, like my 45 year old Radio Shack VOM has. With that caveat, it's a good buy.