I have a panel mount milliamp meter that I would like to use to monitor the amperage draw of any radio that I am powering up with a variac. How do I do this without destroying the meter?

Hi,
You will need to use your math skills and "Ohm's Law" to devise a resistor network that will allow your meter to read the current across a low resistance shunt in series with another low value resistor, and you may need to use a selector switch for multiple ranges.

: I have a panel mount milliamp meter that I would like to use to monitor the amperage draw of any radio that I am powering up with a variac. How do I do this without destroying the meter?

: Hi,
: You will need to use your math skills and "Ohm's Law" to devise a resistor network that will allow your meter to read the current across a low resistance shunt in series with another low value resistor, and you may need to use a selector switch for multiple ranges.

: : I have a panel mount milliamp meter that I would like to use to monitor the amperage draw of any radio that I am powering up with a variac. How do I do this without destroying the meter?

If you are measuring the AC current input and have a DC milliammeter, a diode bridge will work. But you still need the shunt resistors as noted above.

: I have a panel mount milliamp meter that I would like to use to monitor the amperage draw of any radio that I am powering up with a variac. How do I do this without destroying the meter?

Sorry, to break up your question, but I have been wondering, what *is* a milliamp? Is it a smaller than a volt? What is it?