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Measure Frequency (Hertz)

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Multimeter basics

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What happens here

To measure the frequency of the AC power, turn the multimeter's dial to the 'Hertz' (Hz) setting. Insert the red and black probes into a standard household electrical outlet. The multimeter will display the frequency in Hertz. In many regions, including North America, the standard household power operates at 60 Hertz, so the multimeter should show a reading close to 60 Hz (e.g., 59.99 Hz).

Goal: Measure the frequency (Hertz) of household alternating current.

Tools and materials

  • Black Test Lead — Probing the neutral terminal of the outlet
  • Electrical Outlet — The source of AC frequency to be measured
  • Multimeter Klein Tools MM400 — Measuring frequency
  • Red Test Lead — Probing the live terminal of the outlet

What they say

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volts. That's your standard outlet. And now we'll do direct current for cars, batteries, stuff like that. You can see this battery reads 20 volts. Next up is hertz. And hertz measures frequency. Normal household power operates at 60 hertz. You can see that's 60 hertz. Ohms measure resistance. With the probes apart, there is no path. If I go ahead and touch them together, there's almost no resistance, and it's going to read close to zero. Continuity

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