Hi all,
I've got a WEIRD issue testing the resistance of various 1/4W resistors with my multimeters.
I initially thought my BM235 meter was busted, since any resistors over around ~10kOhms measured by hand with my probes across the leads were way off from their stated values (which were verified with my component tester). For my birthday I ordered the 121GW and figured the matter must be solved so paid no more attention - until recently.
When measuring resistors 10k and up with the 121GW the other day, I realized they were quite off! Generally LOWER in value than I would expect, by a significant amount. I figured there was no way the same issue would crop up with a second meter and it must be an error in my test setup.
In the end, I found that if I connected the resistors up to the meter via a pair of test clips, the problem vanished. But, measuring any resistors over around ~10kOhms by hand with a standard probe pressed onto the leads causes the issue mentioned above.
I don't remember having this problem in the past - what's going on here? In particular, why are the measured resistances LOWER than their real values?
Thought this might be an interesting topic for discussion and that (hopefully) a lot of people could learn from this.