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It is important to point out that milliamps can also be
expressed as thousandths of an Ampere; therefore 500
milliamps is 500 thousandths of one Amp. The 500mA
function of your multimeter is commonly used by
electronics repair technicians and hobbyists to
troubleshoot various low voltage circuits. Although not
normally used for electrical troubleshooting around
house, this function can be used to measure the milli-
amperage draw of household items such as flashlights
and other battery operated devices that do not draw
more than 500 mA. In fig. 2 the red (+) test lead is
hooked up to the (+) terminal of the lantern battery
while the black (-) test lead is hooked up to the bulb. The
meter will indicate the milli-amperage draw when the
flashlight switch is thrown in the ON position.
