# Video guide surveys current sensor types from shunt resistors to fiber optics

> **Key takeaway:** A new video by ElectrArc240 explains the full range of current sensing technologies, from inexpensive shunt resistors to high-end fiber-optic interferometers.

**Published:** 2026-10-21T23:00:21+00:00 
**Source:** Hackaday Hardware 
**Category:** open-hardware 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/video-guide-surveys-current-sensor-types-from-shunt-resistor.html 

## Summary
ElectrArc240 has published a video tutorial covering every major type of current sensor. The guide starts with shunt resistors, commonly used in low-voltage applications like GPU power limiting on videocards, then progresses through transformer-based clamp meters, Hall-Effect, TMR and fluxgate sensors, and finally fiber-optic sensors that exploit the Faraday effect. For each type, the video covers construction, use cases, and practical pitfalls.

## Sensor types covered
- **Shunt resistors**: measure voltage drop across known resistance; cheap and reliable for low-voltage, low-current DC applications
- **Transformer-based clamp meters**: contact-free sensing via electromagnetic flux; works for AC and some DC applications
- **Hall-Effect, TMR, and fluxgate sensors**: solid-state alternatives with varying performance characteristics
- **Fiber-optic current sensors**: use interferometry to detect phase changes from the Faraday effect; highest resolution but most expensive
- Each type's construction, optimal use case, and potential gotchas are demonstrated in the video