Product Description
A camera that flickers or goes black at night is often a power problem, and guessing is a slow way to find out. The DM25 Digital Multimeter Yellow (the Greenlee DM-25) is a handheld digital meter that lets you read the voltage instead of assuming.
Before you buy
- Measuring limit: up to 600V AC and DC. AC is mains-type supply; DC is what a typical camera power adapter delivers.
- Manual-ranging: you pick the measurement range on the meter yourself, rather than the meter choosing for you. It suits someone who knows roughly what reading to expect.
- Handheld: a self-contained meter you carry to the job.
- Yellow body: easy to find again in a bag of cable, connectors and tools.
A simple night-time check
IR LEDs (the infrared lights that give a night-time picture) draw more current in the dark. If the cable run is long or thin, the voltage reaching the camera can sag, which shows up as flicker or a black screen.
- Set the meter to DC and read the voltage at the power adapter.
- Read it again at the camera end of the cable.
- Compare both figures with the rating on the adapter.
A large gap between the two points to voltage lost along the cable.
A meter tells you about the supply, not the camera itself, so a healthy reading narrows the search rather than ending it. Work on mains circuits should be left to someone competent to do it.
Specifications
- Product Type
- DM25-Digital-Multimeter
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest voltage the DM-25 is designed to measure?
Its ceiling is 600V, and that figure applies to AC and DC readings alike.
Does the DM-25 choose its own range?
No. It does not pick a range automatically, so you set the range on the meter yourself.
Can I use it to check why a camera flickers at night?
It can help. Reading DC at the power adapter and again at the camera end shows whether voltage is being lost along the cable, a common cause of night-time flicker.
