12-10-2013, 11:53 PM
Well if you want to create a current, pass electric field lines through a magnetic field (or the other way around, if you are the electron you can't really tell which if not both are moving). With AC the electric field is pulsating (since the two fields really co-exist, one 90 degrees out of phase with the other both are doing it but that can muddy the waters) and I'm assuming the clamp is a field coil then a current is induced into this coil and the meter can deduce the amperage.
With DC you have the initial field build up which will generate a pulse but once it hits the steady state there is no movement in the fields and no current generated in a pickup coil. So you have be more clever in finding the amps.
When I got my multimeter the Internet was still pretty small and commercial use was frowned upon in the extreme. Oh man how things have changed.
Dang, I sound like an old man there.
Just thinking out loud here, there is a "cheap" voltage indicator consisting of a bang of LED's. They start with a red light, some yellows and ending in green.
http://www.kuryakyn.com/products/872/led-battery-gauge
I installed this on the Quota as it had a weak electrical system. At a glance you can tell if the battery is being charged or not. Seems to me one of these guys could also tell you if you were over loading the electrical system with your gear and preventing the battery from being charged. On a really cold day you could judge how badly you were doing and cycle the heat on and off, knowing just how far you had to go.
With DC you have the initial field build up which will generate a pulse but once it hits the steady state there is no movement in the fields and no current generated in a pickup coil. So you have be more clever in finding the amps.
When I got my multimeter the Internet was still pretty small and commercial use was frowned upon in the extreme. Oh man how things have changed.
Dang, I sound like an old man there.
Just thinking out loud here, there is a "cheap" voltage indicator consisting of a bang of LED's. They start with a red light, some yellows and ending in green.
http://www.kuryakyn.com/products/872/led-battery-gauge
I installed this on the Quota as it had a weak electrical system. At a glance you can tell if the battery is being charged or not. Seems to me one of these guys could also tell you if you were over loading the electrical system with your gear and preventing the battery from being charged. On a really cold day you could judge how badly you were doing and cycle the heat on and off, knowing just how far you had to go.