Yep, guys thanks for the input. I well understand the warning about checking the meter before use and the reminder is very good to have - my old radio shack analog meter had such puny wiring inside the leads that they just broke during the course of normal use and led me to detect no voltage on a circuit that was actually live.
My fault for not doing a resistance test first I guess. No matter who's fault - a very dangerous circumstance.
And thanks for the warnings about the 'flash that hurts the eyes', I got a laugh out of that but its equally serious I guess. My instructions read to let 15minutes go between current reading and not to leave it in circuit for longer than 10 seconds.
I guess I could get an eye hurting flash if I ignored those instructions on sufficiently beefy circuit.
I think I won't be using the ammeter part at all - I can't see where it would be useful when I'm constrained to one measurement every 15 minutes.
But I'm very satisfied with what I've got especially considering the price. A better replacement for the analog meter plus the transister checker is nice (even if I'm only playing) and it operates as a signal generator, too, it says, that'll be good, something else to explore.
I test wall plugs, light sockets, computer wiring, car wiring, that's it.
And I nearly got zapped that time with the broken lead on the analog, so I'm a bit wary. Not wary enough, though, that was a timely reminder. Thanks.
regards,
ab