I am in the market for a new multimeter as I have decided to try and learn electronics. I think I will get a manual-ranged one as auto-ranging ones cost more and I see little benefit (but what do I know…). My question is, what generally happens if you select the wrong range? Back in the analogue days of my high school years if you connected it to 100V with the range set to 10V, the needle could fly across the scale with such force you could damage it and the physics teacher got mad. Can you damage a DMM somehow, or do they have protection built in?
While I have got your attention, any advice for what features are worth getting and which less so?
The most obviously useful:
[ul]
[li]DC voltage - duh[/li][li]AC voltage - ditto[/li][li]DC current - what range is useful?[/li][li]AC current - ditto[/li][li]Resistance - no brainer[/li][li]Audible continuity tester - has proven most useful even before I became properly interested.[/li][/ul]
and the less obvious:
[ul]
[li]Diode tester[/li][li]Capacitor tester[/li][li]Transistor tester[/li][li]Temperature - really?[/li][li]Frequency - sound like it should be useful, but how useful?[/li][li]Any good ones I have left off[/li][/ul]