Use of instruments

Glmoyo May 2015

212.55 Explain the functions of the main

controls of an oscilloscope.
Controls: channel gain, time base speed, sync/trigger, time base mode
(alternate scan or switching)

 The electron beam emitted by the heated cathode at the rear end of the tube is
accelerated and focused by one or more anodes, and strikes the front of the
tube, producing a bright spot on the phosphorescent screen.
The electron beam is bent, or deflected, by voltages applied to two sets of plates
fixed in the tube.
The horizontal deflection plates, or X-plates produce side to side movement.
They are linked to the time base. This produces a sawtooth waveform.
During the rising phase of the sawtooth, the spot is driven at a uniform rate from
left to right across the front of the screen.
During the falling phase, the electron beam returns rapidly from right to left, but
the spot is 'blanked out' so that nothing appears on the screen.
In this way, the time base generates the X-axis of the V/t graph.
The slope of the rising phase varies with the frequency of the sawtooth and can
be adjusted, using the TIME/DIV control, to change the scale of the X-axis.

 Dividing the oscilloscope screen into squares allows the horizontal scale to be
expressed in seconds, milliseconds or microseconds per division (s/DIV, ms/DIV,
s/DIV).
The signal to be displayed is connected to the input. The AC/DC switch is usually
kept in the DC position (switch closed) so that there is a direct connection to the Yamplifier.
In the AC position (switch open) a capacitor is placed in the signal path. The
capacitor blocks DC signals but allows AC signals to pass.
The Y-amplifier is linked in turn to a pair of Y-plates so that it provides the Y-axis of
the V/t graph.
The overall gain of the Y-amplifier can be adjusted, using the VOLTS/DIV control, so
that the resulting display is neither too small or too large, but fits the screen and
can be seen clearly. The vertical scale is usually given in V/DIV or mV/DIV.
The trigger circuit is used to delay the time base waveform so that the same section
of the input signal is displayed on the screen each time the spot moves across. The
effect of this is to give a stable picture on the oscilloscope screen, making it easier
to measure and interpret the signal.
X-POS and Y-POS controls - to change the positions of the axes. Adjusting Y-POS
allows the zero level on the Y-axis to be changed, Adjusting X-POS allows the zero
level on the X-axis to be changed.

For a start ensure that:

all push button switches are in
the OUT position
all slide switches are in the UP
position
all rotating controls are CENTRED
the central TIME/DIV and
VOLTS/DIV and the HOLD OFF
controls are in the calibrated, or
CAL position

Oscilloscope Controls
1. On/Off switches help to control electrical transients which can be harmful to
sensitive circuit components.
2. Intensity - Adjust the brightness of the trace
3. Beam finder - The screen will display what quadrant the trace is in; then use
the horizontal (#10) and vertical controls (#15) to move the trace to the middle
of the screen.
4. Triggering source and mode enables the scope to start the sweep at the same
point on the waveform to produce a stable image on the screen. Use "internal"
or "auto trigger.
5. Trigger Slope - enables selection of voltage potion to trigger the scope on(up or
down)
6. Trigger Level -Triggering allows horizontally alignment of repetitions of the
signal waveform.
7. Sweep calibration. It adjusts the horizontal scale.

Triggering

A continuous input waveform and four successive sweeps on the

scope screen. The trigger is set for positive slope with the trigger level
at the dashed line.
Trigger inorevakuti wave ngaritangire apa
I-Trigger ithi i wave kaliqalisele lapha .

8. Sweep. This determines the horizontal scale for the oscillograph. The scale is
read in the upper white window. Its units are seconds/division.
9. Horizontal position. This enables movement of the signal back and forth along
the X-axis.
10. Channel select. Most oscilloscopes are dual trace. This means that they can
display two signals at once hence have a set of two channel knobs
11. Signal ports. There is one signal port for each channel. It is a BNC connector for
this oscilloscope. BNC bayonet connector
12. Sensitivity calibration. This knob is used to change the vertical scale. It must be
turned all the way clockwise.
13. Sensitivity. This determines the vertical scale. It is read in the left hand white
window. The units are volts/division.
14. Vertical position. This knob controls the vertical position of the trace.
15. AC/DC select. When this is set to "AC" the DC part of the signal is filtered out by
a capacitor placed in series between the signal input and the scope. When the
selector is set to "ground", the beam will move to zero volts. When the selector
is set to "DC", the entire signal will be displayed on the scope.

212.56 Describe be applications of the

oscilloscope.
Applications: waveform observation, measurement of amplitude,
time, frequency and phase

Frequency measurement
The frequency (f) of the signal is defined as the rate at which a periodic
signal repeats. It is usually measured in units of Hertz (Hz), where 1 Hz =
1 cycle per second.
It can be seen that four(4) cycles occur within one second; therefore, the
signal has a frequency of 4 Hz.
The frequency, f, of a wave is inversely related to its period (T):f = 1/T
The period of the signal is 250 milliseconds, therefore the frequency of
that signal is:
f = 1/T
f = 1/250 milliseconds
f = 4 hertz

Amplitude measurement

Assuming the Volts/Div knob reads 2 V/div, the above peak-to-peak voltage
would be: Vpp = 2 volts/div * 5.2 div = 10.4 volts
Assuming the Sec/Div control knob read 50ms, the above period would be:
T = 50 milliseconds/div * 5.25 div = 2625.0 milliseconds = 2.625 seconds
Frequency =1/2.625sec =

212.57 Describe the use of probes to Improve the

performance of oscilloscopes and electronic
instruments at high frequencies.
Types of probe:
Low capacitance impose low capacitance to the load
Multiplier - Scope probes are generally classified according to the
level of attenuation of the signal they provide. Types including 1X
(giving a 1 : 1 attenuation ratio), 10X (giving a 10 : 1 attenuation ratio)
and 100X (giving a 100 : 1 attenuation ratio) are available:
Rectifier this type rectifies ac to dc for measurement in the
oscilloscope

1X scope probes or low frequency probe

The most basic form of oscilloscope probe, or scope probe, is what is
often termed the 1X probe.
It does not attenuate the incoming voltage as many other probes do.
It consists of a connector to interface to the oscilloscope (generally a BNC
connector), and a length of coaxial cable which is connected to the probe
itself.
This comprises a mechanical clip arrangement so that the probe can be
attached to the appropriate test point, and an earth or ground clip to be
attached to the appropriate ground point on the circuit under test.
The 1X probes are suitable for many low frequency applications.
They typically offer the same input impedance of the oscilloscope which is
normally 1 M Ohm.
However for applications where better accuracy is needed and as
frequencies start to rise, other test probes are needed

Probe

10X scope probes or low capacitance probe

To enable better accuracy to be achieved higher levels of impedance are
required.
To achieve this attenuators are built into the end of the probe that connects
with the circuit under test.
The most common type of probe with a built in attenuator gives an
attenuation of ten, and it is known as a 10X oscilloscope probe.
The attenuation enables the impedance presented to the circuit under test
to be increased by a factor of ten, and this enables more accurate
measurements to be made.
In particular the level of capacitance seen by the circuit is reduced and this
reduces the high frequency loading of the circuit by the probe.

212.58 Define the terms 'resolution' and 'accuracy' of instruments

and determine typical values from manufacturer's data.
1) Accuracy: It is defined as the degree of the closeness with which instrument
reading approaches the true value of the quantity being measured. Accuracy
can be expressed in three ways (a) Point accuracy (b) Accuracy as the
percentage of scale of range. (c) Accuracy as percentage of true value.
2) Sensitivity: It is defined as the ratio of the magnitude response of the output
signal to the magnitude response of the input signal.
3) Precision /Reproducibility: It is defined as the degree of the closeness with
which a given quantity may be repeatedly measured. High value of
reproducibility means low value of drift.
4) Resolution measures the capability of an instrument to articulate or detect
the smallest difference or change in the quantity being measured. That is what
is the smallest change that an instrument can detect and indicate as a different
reading?

Accuracy versus Precision

precision
Poor precision, Good
(Good
poor accuracy
repeatability)
Poor accuracy
(high deviation
from position)

Poor precision
(repeatability)
Improved
accuracy

Good precision
(Good
repeatability)
Good accuracy
(No deviation
from position)

Resolution

That tickmark is a tenth of a

second. The best a good eye can do
is resolve a reading to 1/10 second,
which is therefore the resolution of
the stopwatch.

The digital stopwatch has two digits

beyond the seconds, so it subdivides
time in hundredths of a second. Since
it is easy to read to 1/100 of a second,
that is its resolution.

212.59 Calculate errors in instrument readings and the

tolerance which must be applied arising from
practical limitations.
Limitations:
loading due to instrument impedance
resolution and accuracy of the instrument

 Digits Displayed and Over-ranging shows the number of digits displayed the DMM.
It is often specified as a certain number of full digits (i.e. digits that can display
values from 0 to 9) and an additional over-range digit referred to as a 1/2 digit.
That 1/2 digit typically shows only the values 0 or 1.
For example, a 6 1/2 digit display has a 7-digit readout, but the most significant digit
can read 0 or 1 while the other 6 digits can take any value from 0 to 9.
Hence, the range of counts is 1,999,999. This should not be confused with
resolution; a DMM can have many more digits displayed than its effective
resolution.
Note: The 1/2 digit has been referred to by DMM manufacturers as any digit that is
not a full digit. A full digit can take any value from 0 to 9.
Number of Counts -- the number of divisions into which a given measurement range
is divided. For example, a traditional 5 1/2 digit voltmeter has 199,999 counts
(from +199,999 to -199,999) or 399,999 total counts.

Error due to resolution limitation

The resolution of a measurement system is the smallest yet to distinguish
different in values.
Digital measuring systems
A digital system converts an analog signal to a digital equivalent with an AD
converter. The difference between two values, the resolution, is therefore
always equal to one bit.
Or in the case of a digital multimeter, this is 1 digit.
It's also possible to express the resolution in other units than bits.
As an example a digital oscilloscope which has an 8 bit AD converter.
If the vertical sensitivity is set to 100 mV/div and the number of divisions is 8,
the total range will be 800 mV. The 8 bits represent 28 = 256 different values.
The resolution in volts is then 800 mV / 256 = 3125 mV.

Calculation of resolution
In order to determine the resolution of a system in terms of voltage, we
have to make a few calculations.
First, assume a measurement system capable of making measurements
across a 10V range (20V span) using a 16-bits A/D converter.
Next, determine the smallest possible increment we can detect at 16
bits.
That is, 216 = 65,536, or 1 part in 65,536, so 20V65536 = 305 microvolt
(uV) per A/D count.
Therefore, the smallest theoretical change we can detect is 305 uV.

Error due to accuracy limitation

Accuracy -- a measure of the capability of the instrument to faithfully indicate the
value of the measured signal. Accuracy can never be better than the resolution of
the instrument because accuracy is:
Accuracy = % of reading + off set
A reading device that has a specified accuracy of 0.015% will actually give a
reading that is between 0.99985 and 1.00015 times the actual value. Note here
that the 0.015% number is in reality the error.
For example, a 5 1/2 digit voltmeter can have an accuracy of 0.0125% of reading +
24 V on its 2.5 V range which results in an error of 0.00125% x 1V +24uV = 149
V when measuring a 1V signal.
On the other hand, the resolution of this same voltmeter is 12 V, 12 times better
than the accuracy.
Precision -- a measure of the stability of the instrument and its capability of
resulting in the same measurement over and over again for the same input signal
For instance, if you are monitoring a constant voltage of 1 V, and you notice that
your measured value changes by 20 V between measurements, for example,
then your measurement precision is Precision = (1-20uV/1V) x 100% = 99.998%

 Accuracy: 5 % reading (3 % full scale)

Range: 100 V, Reading: 70 V
The total measurement uncertainty is now calculated as follows:
=
=

%
%

%

%

70 = 3.5

70 = 3

a total uncertainty of 7.5 V up and down. The real value should be

between 62.5 and 77.5 volts.

Digital
A digital multimeters can hold a specification of 2.0 % reading + 4 digits.
This means that 0.04 have to be added to the reading uncertainty of 2 %.
An example based on the 3 digit digital readout:
This will read 5.00 V while the 20 V range is selected.
2 % of the reading would mean an uncertainty of 0.1 V.
Add to this the inaccuracy of the digits (= 0.04 V).
The total uncertainty is therefore 0.14 V. The real value should be between
4.86 and 5.14 volts.

Error due to loading

Typically the 1M resistor is in parallel with the circuit to be

measured
Thus total resistance Rp = Rc //Ri
Thus extra current flowing (error current) is I = Vi/Ri

Example

A typical specification for an AC power sources voltage meter is given

below: Range: 0.0 - 400 V, Voltage Resolution =0.1 V; Accuracy = (1% of
reading + 2 counts)
The user has set the voltage to 277V and the source is indicating an output
of 277V on the display.
1) Calculate the % of reading. The accuracy indicates 1% of reading:
277V*0.01 = 2.77V. So at this point the accuracy can be displayed as (
2.77V + 2 counts)
2) Calculate the multiple of the resolution and add to the percentage:
multiple of resolution = 2 counts = 2*0.1V = 0.2V. Thus accuracy = (
2.77V + 0.2V) = ( 2.97V)
3) Value is first added to the base reading of 277V to get the high end of the
range: 277V + 2.97V = 279.97V
4) Value is then subtracted to the base reading of 277V to get the low end
of the range: 277 2.97V = 274.03V 5. This means that if the display is
registering an output of 277V, it could actually be outputting anywhere
from 274.03-279.9V

212.60 Describe the operation and use of a

simple logic probe.
10X scope probes or low capacitance probe circuit

 As the 10X probe attenuates the signal by a factor of ten, this obviously
means that the signal entering the scope itself is reduced.
This has to be taken into account. Some oscilloscopes automatically adjust
the scales according to the probe present, although not all are able to do
this. It is worth checking before making a reading.
The 10X scope probe uses a series resistor (9 M Ohms) to provide a 10 : 1
attenuation when it is used with the 1 M Ohm input impedance of the
scope itself.
A 1 M Ohm impedance is the standard impedance used for oscilloscope
inputs and therefore this enables scope probes to be interchanged
between oscilloscopes of different manufacturers.
10X oscilloscope probes also allow some compensation for frequency
variations present.
A capacitor network is embodied into the probe as shown.
The capacitor connected to ground can then be used to equalize the
frequency performance of the probe.

7.12 Describe an r.f. oscillator as a self-driven amplifier with a parallel LC circuit as

the load.

Tuned frequency oscillators (LC)

+VCC
L2

R1

C1

L1

C4
T1

R2

C2

R3

Vo

C3
0v

6. (a) conditions for sinewave oscillations are [3]

Gain must be infinite
loop gain must be 1and must occur at a single frequency
phase angle of the feedback signal must be = 0o or 360o at the input to
ensure positive feedback
(b) Two advantages of using crystal oscillators are
[2]
crystal oscillator are highly precise or preset frequency that was set on design
i.e. they always give very close to the exact frequency they are designed for
they are highly stable that is they give a constant frequency output

(c) given L1 =1mH and C1 =4nF

[3] (i) circuit operation of the LC tuned oscillator

The circuit is a tuned LC oscillator. It has the following parts

Amplifiers: Provided by the transistor R1, R2, and R3 as bias and stability components for
class A operation. C1 and L2 acts as the collector load. This circuit provides the required
gain to maintain oscillations
Feedback, is provided by the turns ratio of L1 to L2. It determines the amount of Vout
that is fed back.
fosc- the main frequency of oscillation is provided by L1,and C1 tank circuit, which acts as
the collector load of the transistor and develops a voltage at a frequency that is its
natural resonant frequency given by fosc= 1/2LC. When power is switch ON a voltage
surge occurs on this circuit and generates the first ac pulse that is feedback to the
transistor and hence oscillations start..
Phase correction Transistor output obtained from the collector is 180o out of phase
with the input hence L2 to L1 transformation provides a phase change of 180o so that
the feedback signal is maintained in the same phase or direction as the previous input.
The oscillations are maintained by the operation of all the units each doing its function

(ii) Frequency of oscillation is given by

[2]

fosc= 1/2LC = 1/2(1m x4n) =1/24-12) =1/2 x2-6 = 79577.47

=80kHz

Typical circuit