Need multimeter: Do inexpensive ones allow testing through insulated wire?

Please ignore my previous reply. You MUST be a troll.

Sorry to say, but based on your adventures below, you are not only very inexperienced but worse, you are applying what knowledge you have incorrectly. You really shouldn't be playing with this stuff.

That is horribly WRONG!

As in you felt a shock??

No, it's probably just doing it's job! I do hope you have an earth leakage circuit breaker installed too. If not you should get an electrician to install one, it could save your life.

OMG, you are seriously asking for trouble.

Then seriously you should not be touching this stuff, it will kill you and/or your family. Get an electrican in to fix it all and install an earth leakage circuit breaker.

No, no one who knows what they are doing "knows how it is".

Dave.

Apparently it was missed that this was pure fiction.

No troll here. My follow up post was indeed intended as directed sarcasm. I came up with as preposterous a story as I could so it could be only interpreted as a statement from me to a select few: you wish to engage in unwarranted extrapolation, then I shall provide you with what *should* have warranted your reply.

Nope: nothing subtle at all in my fictional follow up. Had it BEEN subtle it would have wasted time with responses. Ironcially, it wasn't meant as a time-waster either: more of something to respond to with "OMG, ok, ok, I get your point, your initial post wasn't that bad." I'm more than surprised that it was responded to with sincerety at all----the sarcastic intent being as blatant as it was.

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Suddenly Proteus and Archemides Lever and some others seem quite acceptable compared to this guy. jeez....try to earnestly help a guy from killing himself and get sarcastic comments in return. Anyone involved with electrical installations who does not know what a tong ammeter (clamp-on) is should not be dealing with electrical installations. And as far as bringing Usenet into disrepute...you do not need any help from me...you're doing just fine.

Because of the long thread. I forget who claimed not to be in over his head. Obviously, someone was in over their capability.

Bill

Too stupid to live.

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te:

The WAY to earnestly help someone is not to adopt an admonishing tone without warrant. You launched off with a lecture based upon two falsehoods: 1. that I implied that I had not consulted proper manuals before doing anything (you had not yet heard a bit of what I had yet done) and 2. that not knowing the precise term "clamp-on" somehow invalidates someone from installing something.

Your response didn't say "If this is something you haven't done before, then you may like this site ". It used words to the effect of "Someone who knows what you do is asking for trouble". When you do not even know what I knew.

Your response had NOTHING to do with keeping someone else alive. It had EVERYTHING to do with posturing, and posturing alone. Hence the tone you chose.

Resorting to ad hominem? Ok asshole, it's what you seem to understand.

And THAT statement solidifies your capability to jump to conclusions. Running to posturing first and asking questions later.....Again.

te:

rote:

OK then. You win. Please continue working on electrical installations. The sooner you get electrocuted, the sooner you'll be off this group. Just how many people do you really want to brass off? So far you're doing really well. Calling people AH's is the icing on the cake. usually when people join a group (usenet or otherwise) they tend to be a bit circumspect out of respect for the group. No such reservations with you. No Siree!!! straight in and cuss people out..people who, like it or not, are more knowledgable than you and really would like to save ur sorry arse. Well that's about it from me...you got ur answer...any 1st year apprentice would have told you what a tong ammeter was...but you displayed your ignorance and then started with the insults when people were trying to help you. Most of us do not play games like you obviously do. We are mostly professionals or time served tradesmen or engineering academics and for the most part we act professionally. Electricity CAN KILL!!! it's not a game for posturing!...GET IT!!!??? If you do not know the rules...then don't play!

I think he's done spectacularly well! There should a prize for this. A Golden PLONK award perhaps?

Dave.

Yawn. You won't live long with your stupid attitude about safety.

These guys are continuing to address your usenet offenses in terms of electrical safety, but it has nothing to do with safety now -- it's really your impolitic approach. It's not the first time a guy has gone to the barricades over his ego and hurled bombs and brickbats at all and sundry. Doesn't make you a bad man. Believe it or not, when this has blown over you can still come back to this group and enter into communications, initiating or participating in threads that have rational contributions from various group members. Don't let the slashing drive you away. You gave as good as you got, so let it go for now.

e:

rote:

I have said nothing that shows carelessness on any kind. I *do* the research. I *do* pay attention to the wiring diagrams. I don't do a THING electrical without shutting down the area and testing everything in sight. There is nothing that I have done that is the slightest suspect (other than the spoof I wrote to prove a point---FICTION to supply you with the example of what *would* justify your initial suspicions).

You seem to think that it is ok to lecture people as if they're idiots; that it's ok to pontificate and further admonish as if the person was doing something without forethought. All I did was ask something innocuous and assumptions about my fitness for doing *any* projects started flying. Because I didn't know of the term "clamp- on". That's how this started.

And I won't put up with your attitude. Not in usenet. Not IRL.

Pay more than convenient attention to the causality. That was in direct response to "too stupid to live". Ad hominem for ad hominem. That's not something I will put up with either.

No, targetted clearly to a few.

*Almost* wise. You're using an old arguing technique. This attempt at the high road also served you to vehicle to slip in a couple digs under the disguise of the appeasement. *MY* impolitic approach? *MY* ego? There is enormous ego in finger pointing toward me using words to the effect of "please at least do a modicum of research". As *IF* not knowing the term "clamp-on" means I haven't.

I have no worries about coming back and asking questions. It seems fairly well understood now that I won't tolerate people launching into assumption based effrontery.

You want to pretend that people don't know a thing and deserve to be spoken down to without warrant, then you get what you deserve.

Guy's I'm done with this thread. Have fun, blast away.

In any event, thanks for the product suggestions.

Guys, I'm done with this thread. Have fun, blast away.

In any event, thanks for the product suggestions.

You shouldn't have targeted anyone, that's your problem. A sensible person posting a basic question like that would have simply ignored the advice or comments they did not like.

Yep, and Yep.

Then you must be really bad at it.

You showed more than just not knowing what such an instrument is called, you clearly didn't know anything about basic AC theory or how a basic test instrument like a clamp meter works. This gave people reason to question the safety up-front of you using a such device to do your own work.

You are just having a whinge because you don't want people to think you are massively inexperienced (there's nothing wrong with that of course, that why this .basics group exists).

Play nice next time.

Dave.