General > General Technical Chat
Seriously, anyone know the story and meaning of "OL" on multimeters?
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steve30:
I've used meters that have said OFL which I always jokingly said could stand for 'Over F****ing Limit'  as if the meter is annoyed at getting overloaded. Of course in reality it probably means Overflow.
themadhippy:
Its actually an abbreviation for an ancient scottish  phrase, "oot the lum" ,and relates to the fact if you continue smoke will flow.
SeanB:
OL to say Over Range, because a 7 segment display historically is poor at showing alpha characters, so L is used instead of R, as L is unambiguous on the display, while the R can be confused with 8, A, B and cause confusion if a segment has failed.
vk6zgo:
The very first digital meters were voltmeters.

The only time they are likely to say "Overload" is if they are reading a voltage higher than the limit of the maximum range & hence, the max display reading they can produce.
 
An analog meter will let you know in no uncertain manner, if you do this, as you will "twang" the meter pointer against the RH stop.
A digital meter may "try" to display the over range voltage, & omit the leading figure, so OL gives you the equivalent of "twanging" the needle.

When proper DMMs appeared, "OL" was pretty well unassailable.
ajb:
Keithley DMM6500 says "Overflow" when the leads are open in either resistance mode. 
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