npn pnp

transistors how do you tell them apart useing a ohm meter?

Scroll down to meter check: http://www.patchn.com/Semi/SEMI_4.html

Use the ohm meter probes to scrape the crud off the transistor and read the part number.

LOL

It's simple.

Using an ohmmeter, find the transistor pin that has some continuity to another two pins (that is, the transistor base).
If you found it with the positive probe on it- the transistor is NPN, with the negative- PNP.
For digital meters the positive probe is the red one, and for conventional arrow meters it is usually the black one.

The resistance should not be below 5-10 Ohm and it must be only one such pin.
Otherwise the transistor is out of order or it is not a transistor (it may be a FET, Darlington, IC, etc).

ot it has diode accross C-E...