THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER

ENGINEERING

ENEL 343 ELECTRIC CIRCUITS II

Laboratory Experiment #1

Laboratory Equipment and Multisim

Objective
To be familiar with standard laboratory test instruments, namely the digital
multimeter, waveform generator, and oscilloscope.
To be familiar with a circuit simulation software such as Multisim.

Part 1: Pre-lab - Multisim

The objective of this part of the lab experiment is to become familiar with the use of
a circuit simulation software such as Multisim. We will be simulating some of the
circuits before experiments in the lab to have a prior idea about the results and
expectations from the actual experiments.

Please see the following demo video for an introduction to Multisim.

http://www.ni.com/video/646/en/

Download the attachments from the following page.

http://www.ni.com/white-paper/5642/en/
Unzip the file and run the following simulations in Multisim. Study the schematic
and analyze the results.

006 Current Analysis.ms10

013 AC Voltage Measurement.ms10

Now enter a new schematic to simulate the following circuit. Please bring a print
out of your schematic with the simulation results displaying all the node voltages
and branch currents.
1.0 K

R1
4.7 K R2 6.8 K R3
DC
5.0 V
1.0 K
V1

R6
4.7 K R5 6.8 K R4
DC
5.0 V
V2 1.0 K

R7
Fig. 1
Note:
(i) At the end of this lab we will implement this circuit to measure all the node voltages and branch currents to verify
the simulation results.
(ii) All the subsequent experiments are connected together sequentially. For example, if you miss part 1.6 you may
not able to finish part 3.3. Please make sure you follow the steps and finish the previous experiments before moving
to the next.
(iii) For background theoretical questions, you can refer to the equipment datasheet or user manual. Ask the assigned
TA in case you face any difficulty.
Part 2: Digital Oscilloscope

The objective of this part of the lab experiment is to become familiar with the use of
digital oscilloscope in a standard laboratory setting. We will be frequently using the
digital oscilloscope throughout this term for recording various readings and
observing voltage signals at different circuit nodes during the experiments. It is
incumbent upon the students to be thoroughly acquainted with the use of
oscilloscope. For a brief outline about the use of oscilloscope the following
document, uploaded on the blackboard, can be referred to as and when needed.

AGILENT 3052A Oscilloscope Referance.pdf

The user manual for the digital oscilloscope can be downloaded from the following
web link.
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/75019-97073.pdf

1. How many channels does your oscilloscope have?

2. Understand the bandwidth and sample rate specification of the oscilloscope and
record it below.

Bandwidth: __________ MHz

Sample rate: _________ GSa/s

3. What is the maximum input voltage level that can be applied to the oscilloscope
analog input channels?
4. What is the difference between a 1x (1.0:1) and 10x (10.0:1) probe? How does it
affect your reading on the oscilloscope display?

5. Power on the oscilloscope and locate the WaveGen key on the front panel of
the oscilloscope. This oscilloscope has the capability to generate
different waveforms apart from its primary function of displaying the
input probe signals. Generate a sine wave of frequency 1.0 KHz and
peak-to-peak amplitude
of 1.0 V. In order to
adjust frequency and
amplitude, press the
corresponding softkey
from the display panel.
Press the illuminated
Push to select knob
from the front panel and change to value as desired. Locate the physical waveform
output port on the front panel and connect it to channel 1 input port of
the oscilloscope. Do you see any waveform on the oscilloscope
display? This option shouldnt be used for any other purpose other
than testing the oscilloscope. For generating signals for use in
our circuits, we will be using another equipment called function
generator (FG) or arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) which
is being introduced in the next part.

6. Understand the function of following physical keys/knobs on the front panel of

the oscilloscope. Once you have a stable waveform display on the oscilloscope, try
operating these keys/knobs one at a time and observe their effects on the waveform
displayed.
(i) Trigger
(ii) Mode/Coupling
(iii) Run/Stop
(iv) Horizontal Controls
(v) Vertical Controls
Help:
(i) A trigger setup tells the oscilloscope when to acquire and display data. For example, you can set up to trigger
on the rising edge of the analog channel 1 input signal.
You can adjust the vertical level used for analog channel edge detection by turning the Trigger Level knob.
A triggered waveform is one in which the oscilloscope begins tracing (displaying) the waveform, from the left
side of the display to the right, each time a particular trigger condition is met. This provides stable display of
periodic signals such as sine waves and square waves, as well as nonperiodic signals such as serial data streams.
(ii) DC coupling allows DC and AC signals into the trigger path.
AC coupling places a 10 Hz high- pass filter in the trigger path removing any DC offset voltage from the
trigger waveform.

(iii) When the [Run/Stop] key is green, the oscilloscope is running, that is, acquiring data when trigger
conditions are met. To stop acquiring data, press [Run/Stop]. When stopped, the last
acquired waveform is displayed.
When the [Run/Stop] key is red, data acquisition is stopped. "Stop" is displayed next to
the trigger type in the status line at the top of the display. To start acquiring data, press
[Run/Stop].
(iv) Turn the large horizontal scale (sweep speed) knob marked to change the horizontal time/div
setting.
To adjust the horizontal
delay (position) turn the
horizontal delay (position)
knob . The trigger
point moves horizontally,
pausing at 0.00 s
(mimicking a mechanical
detent), and the delay
value is displayed in the
status line.
(v) Vertical controls are
similar to horizontal
controls
Did you learn:
(i) How to change the ground level of a signal on the display?
(ii) How to measure only AC part a signal which has got both AC and DC
components?
(iii) How to change time scale per horizontal division?
(iv) How to change voltage scale per vertical division?

7. Adjust the settings on the scope so that you have at least two full cycles of the
sine wave and amplitude level displayed on the full
oscilloscope screen to its maximum limit. Press Cursor
key and see the changes on the oscilloscope display.
Choose horizontal cursors by pressing Push to select
knob and move the horizontal cursors such that they cover one complete cycle of the
sine wave. Note X1, X2 and X readings on the oscilloscope display.
X1: _______
X2: _______
X: _______
Is 1/X same as 1.0 KHz?

Press Cursor key and see the changes on the oscilloscope display. Choose vertical
cursors by pressing Push to select knob and move the vertical cursors such that
they cover peak to peak amplitude of a complete cycle of the sine wave. Note Y1,
Y2 and Y readings on the oscilloscope display.
Y1: _______
Y2: _______
Y: _______
Is Y same as 1.0 V?
Help:
(i) Cursors are horizontal and vertical dashed lines/markers
that indicate X- axis values and Y- axis values on a selected
waveform source. You can use cursors to make custom
voltage, time, phase, or ratio measurements on oscilloscope
signals.
(ii) The X1/Y1 cursor is the short-dashed vertical line, and
the X2/Y2 cursor is the long- dashed vertical line.
(iii) The difference between X1/Y1 and X2/Y2 (X/Y)
and 1/X are displayed in the Cursors box in the right- side
information area.

Press Meas key and see the changes on the oscilloscope display. By pressing
softkeys, choose to measure frequency and peak to peak
amplitude of the sine wave displayed. Do these numbers
match with the above? Add and record following

measurements for the sine wave.

(i) Average Full Screen: _________
(ii) DC RMS value: ___________
(iii) AC RMS value: ___________
(iv) Frequency: ______________
(v) Peak-to-peak amplitude: ____

Part 3: Function Generator

The objective of this part of the lab experiment is to become familiar with use of
function generator in a standard laboratory setting. We will be occasionally using
the function generator to generator input signals for our circuits during experiments.

The user manual for the function generator can be downloaded from the following
link.
http://www.home.agilent.com/upload/cmc_upload/All/6C0633120A_USERSGUI
DE_ENGLISH.pdf?&cc=CA&lc=eng

1. What are the different types of signals and their corresponding maximum
frequency which the function generator can generate?
2. What is the range of peak-to-peak signal amplitude for the function generator?
What is the use of Offset key?

Help:
At power-on, the function generator outputs a sine wave with a dc offset voltage of 0 volts (into a 50
termination). With the help of Offset key, the dc offset value of the output waveform can be changed to any
other desired value.
To change the offset value, do Offset>Enter Number>Shift>VDC

3. Generate a sine wave signal of 5.0 V peak-to-peak amplitude and 1.0 KHz
frequency. Connect the output to a 1.0 K resistor on the breadboard. Now connect
the oscilloscope probe across this resistor and make sure that the ground terminal of

To function generator and

oscilloscope ground probe

To function generator and

oscilloscope signal probe

function generator is connected to the ground probe of the oscilloscope.

Measure the following signal parameters from the oscilloscope.
(i) Average Full Screen: _________
(ii) DC RMS value: ___________
(iii) AC RMS value: ___________
(iv) Frequency: ______________
(v) Peak-to-peak amplitude: ____

Help:
The function generator has a fixed output impedance of 50 ohms on the OUTPUT terminal. You can specify
whether you are terminating the output into a 50 ohms load or an open circuit (i.e. high impedance). Incorrect
impedance matching between the source and load will result in an output amplitude or dc offset which does not
match the specified value. The required output impedance for our experiment is HIGH Z. You can set the
function generator output impedance as High Z by doing the following.
4. Add an offset of 1.0 V to the output signal and repeat the above measurements.
(i) Average Full Screen: _________
(ii) DC RMS value: ___________
(iii) AC RMS value: ___________
(iv) Frequency: ______________
(v) Peak-to-peak amplitude: ____

5. Add an offset of -1.0 V to the output signal and repeat the above measurements.
(i) Average Full Screen: _________
(ii) DC RMS value: ___________
(iii) AC RMS value: ___________
(iv) Frequency: ______________
(v) Peak-to-peak amplitude: ____

Part 4: Digital Multimeter

The objective of this part of the lab experiment is to become familiar with the use of
digital multimeter (DMM) in a standard laboratory setting. We will be frequently
using the digital multimeter to measure resistances, ac/dc currents in any circuit
branch or ac/dc voltage across any circuit component.

The user manual for the digital multimeter can be downloaded from the following
web link.
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/34401-90004.pdf
1. Understand and note down the DMM specification ranges on ac/dc voltage
measurement, ac/dc current measurement, resistance value measurement and
different probe configurations for these measurements.

Help:
1. Voltmeter configuration (to measure voltage)
 2. Ammeter configuration (to measure current)

3. Ohmmeter configuration (to measure resistance, use two wire configuration)

2. Set the offset from function generator output to 0.0 VDC [ref. step 3.2]. Configure
the DMM as ammeter to measure current and connect it in series with the 1.0 K
resistor that is connected to the function generator on breadboard. Measure dc and
ac current through the resistor [ref. step 4.1]. How do you interpret the results?
(i) AC current: _______
(ii) DC current: ______

3. Configure the DMM as voltmeter to measure voltage accross the 1.0 K resistor
that is connected to the function generator on breadboard. Measure dc and ac
voltages across the resistor [ref. step 4.1]. How do you interpret the results? How do
they compare with the results obtained from oscilloscope?
(i) AC voltage: _______
(ii) DC voltage: ______

4. Configure the DMM as ohmmeter to measure the actual resistance value of the
1.0 K resistor that is connected to the function generator on breadboard [ref. step
4.1].
(i) Resistance: _______

Part 5: DC Power Supply

The objective of this part of the lab experiment is to become familiar with use of DC
power supply in a standard laboratory setting. We will be frequently using the DC
power supply to bias different integrated circuits (IC, e.g. op-amps) during
experiments.

The user manual for the DC power supply can be downloaded from the following
web link.
http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/E3631-90002.pdf

1. How many different power supplies can be generated simultaneously using the
DC power supply available? What are their voltages and currents ranges?
2. How do we limit the current from any power supply? What happens if the ground
and the output terminal of a power supply are shorted together?

Help:

Display limit key shows the voltage and current limit values on the display and allows knob adjustment for
setting limit values.
Output On/Off key enables or disables all three power supply outputs. This key toggles between two states.
Voltage/current adjust selection key selects the knob function to voltage control or current control.
To change the voltage or current limit, do the following.

Move the blinking digit to the appropriate position using the resolution selection keys.
Change the blinking digit to the desired value using the control knob.
3. Generate 1.0V supply (max. current limited to 200 mA [ref. step 5.2]) using 6.0
V, +25 V and -25 V power supplies. Disconnect the function generator from 1.0 K
resistor mounted on the breadboard. Connect the supply (one at a time) across 1.0
K and measure dc current through the resistor and dc voltage across the resistor
using DMM.
(i) Using 6.0 V supply
(a) DC current: _______
(b) DC voltage: _______
(ii) Using 25.0 V supply
(a) DC current: _______
(b) DC voltage: _______
(iii) Using -25.0 V supply
(a) DC current: _______
(b) DC voltage: _______

4. Generate -5.0 V and 5.0 V from the DC power supply and implement the circuit
of Fig. 1 on breadboard. Power on the supplies and measure all the node voltages
and branch currents. Compare the measured voltages and currents with the ones
obtained from simulation.