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NAME: AMANDA SENIOR ID#2003804

EXPERIMENT#6

TITLE: IMPROVING THE RANGE OF AN INSTRUMENT AND TESTING

AND REPAIRING OF SYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS

AIM: 1. To learn how to conduct passive and active tests on a measuring

instrument and/or systems and components.

2. To learn how to de-solder, test and replace damage components and

also, how to conduct passive active tests on systems and components.

APPARATUS: Multimeter, solder-iron, insulated wire, coax cable, solder

board, cable end, sleeve, diagonal pliers, solder sucker,

resistors, basic hand tools, 12V DC supply, 100-200ohms

variable resistor and a single function instrument.

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THEORY: i) Improving the Range of an Instrument-:A measuring instrument is a device used to measure a physical quantity.

In physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical

quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the process of

measurement gives a number related to the item under study and the referenced unit of measurement. All measuring instruments

are subject to varying degrees of instrument error and measurement uncertainty.

The type of instrument to be purchased for general use in the electrotechnical industries is a difficult choice because there are so

many different types on the market. However, most instruments can be broadly grouped into two categories, analogue displays,

and digital displays.

These meters have a pointer moving across a calibrated scale. They are the only choice when a general trend or variation in

value is to be observed. Hi-fi equipment often uses analogue displays to indicate variation in power levels with time. Red or

danger zones can be indicated on industrial instruments. The fuel gauge on a motor car often indicates full, half full or danger on

an analogue display, this provides more information than the exact number of litres of petrol remaining in the tank. These meters

are only accurate when used in the calibrated position.

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ii) Testing and Repair of Systems and Components

Soldering is the act of connecting two or more parts to provide a solid mechanical and electrical connection. The wire used in

soldering is an alloy of multiple metals and has a relatively low melting point. The wire is melted, using the soldering iron, then

applied to the joint.

When a device prone to heat damage is to be soldered, care is exercised to limit the temperature and time period to which the

device is exposed to heat. Some techniques applied during this process are using a correctly rated wattage soldering iron, heat

sinks and solder sucker.

PRE-LAB: i) Improving the Range of an Instrument:

1 Draw a labelled diagram of the Amp-meter and explain how it may be used for measuring current in a load.

Current is constant in a series circuit and therefore when an ammeter is being measured the current load in circuit is placed in series with the

other components of the circuit. The most common way to measure current in a circuit is to break the circuit open and insert an “ammeter” in

series (in-line) with the circuit so that all electrons flowing through the circuit also have to go through the meter.
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2 Explain how two meters may be used to measure power in a DC circuit, what are the instruments and how are they connected in the

circuit.

To calculate the power in a circuit the equation P=I ×V can be used. So, the two meters that can be used to determine the power in a

circuit are an ammeter and a voltmeter. The ammeter should be connected in series with the components of the circuit. Voltage is

constant in a parallel circuit therefore the voltmeter should be connected in parallel.

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3 Explain the two possible connection of measuring resistance in a circuit using the voltmeter and an ammeter.

In order to measure the resistance in a circuit an ammeter to measure a device’s current, must be connected in series to that device. This

is necessary because objects in series experience the same current. They must not be connected to a voltage source and the voltmeter

parallel to device objects allowing the same flow of potential difference. Once the readings have been collected the equation V =I × R

can be used to calculate the resistance.

ii) Testing and Repair of Systems and Components:

1. Draw a circuit diagram for a continuity tester using two D cell batteries and a 3V/0.5W buzzer.
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2. Prepare a detailed, list of the materials needed to construct the circuit.

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Item # Name Description/ Specification Quantity

1 D cell batteries To act as a voltage supply for the circuit 2
2 3V/0.5W buzzer Buzzes when an electric charge passes through it 1
3 Alligator clip Used to connect the components in a circuit 4
connecting wires
4 Multi-meter Used to test for continuity 1
5 2-slot D cell battery Used to hold both batteries 1
holder

3. Get an estimated cost of the materials.

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Item # Name Cost

1 D cell batteries $470
2 3V/0.5W buzzer $280
3 Alligator clip connecting wires $360
4 Multi-meter $1,949
5 2-slot D cell battery holder $397

4. List and explain the test that can be done using this tester.

A quick audible alarm test using a digital multimeter to determine whether an electrical circuit or wire is complete or broken.

5. Draw circuit diagram showing how you can use a voltmeter and an ammeter to determine the resistance of a resistor.

PROCEDURE: Improving the Range of an Instrument:

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1. A passive test was conducted on a single function instrument to determine the full scale deflecting current and the internal resistance of

the instrument.

2. A supply voltage, variable resistor and multi-meter were used to conduct an active test on the test instrument, voltmeter, to

verify/establish the full-scale current and the resistance of the given instrument.

3. Once the parameters of the test instrument were determined, the information was used to design a multi-range voltmeter to measure, 15V

DC, 20V DC, 25V DC, and 30V DC.

4. The resistor values that were calculated were used to modify the test instrument.

Testing and Repair of Systems and Components:

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Soldering:

1. Two wires were stripped, one had 1 inch of insulation removed from the end of wire 1, and the other had 1 inch of insulation removed

from the middle of wire 2.

2. After the wires were stripped the strands of wire 1 were split into two groups of 3 and 4 then wrapped around the exposed strands of wire

3. A soldering iron was used to melt soldering wire to connect the wires at the T-joint created.

Testing:

1. An ammeter, voltmeter, and breaker were examined. After examining each component, they were tested using active and passive tests, in

order to draw a final conclusion about their condition.

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CALCULATIONS: Improving the Range of an Instrument:

Internal current measured (full scale deflection current) : 0.982mA

Voltage range of voltmeter: 10V

Internal resistance measured: 40Mꭥ

voltage to be measured – voltage range of voltmeter

Resistance to increase voltage range=
full scale deflection current

Table 3: Table Showing Results for Improving the Range of a Voltmeter

Voltage to be measured Resistance needed to increase voltage range Reading on voltmeter

15 5092 10

20 9817 9.8

25 15275 9.4

30 20367 9.4

DISCUSSION:
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Improving the Range of an Instrument:

The full-scale deflection current of the voltmeter being tested was 0.982mA. The multi-range voltmeter was used to measure

15V DC, 20V DC 25V DC, and 30V DC. The readings on the voltmeter from the active test were the same as the expected value,

10V. This was more likely because of the low deflection current reading that was generated. The reading from the source was kept

as steady and low as possible to avoid the fluctuation of the reading.

LIMITATION AND SOURCE OF ERROR:

 Properly attaching the measuring probe to the modules. The values would fluctuate if the measuring probes were not properly attached.

 The voltmeter scale was not aligned properly. This was remedied by correctly aligning the scale.

Testing and Repair of Systems and Components:

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Soldering:

When the two wires were initially connected before soldering the wires that wound around to form the joint didn’t lay flat and as

a result the final product after soldering was lumpier than expected. The roughness of the final solder could have also been

contributed due to the lack of further smoothing out the surface after applying the solder.

At the end we were shown how to use the solder

pump to remove and add a resistor from a circuit board.

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Testing:

After observing it was determined that the breaker had blown and needed to be replaced. The switch on the breaker was flipped

towards the on position, however, it would not remain in the on position indicating that it had been blown.

Further testing was done on both the voltmeter and ammeter. The passive test conducted on the voltmeter gave a resistance

reading of 100.9kΩ. Voltmeters are expected to have very high internal resistance values therefore the resistance reading obtained

shows that the voltmeter is functional. The power supply was set to output 29.1V, when the voltmeter was connected to the power

supply a reading of 29V was displayed, this further confirmed that the voltmeter was working.
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A passive test was conducted on the ammeter and a reading of 0.5Ω was obtained. Given that an ammeter is supposed have an

internal resistance similar to that of a conductor the 0.5Ω resistance shows that the ammeter is operational. The ammeter was

connected to the power supply, outputting a 0.85 A current, the ammeter pointer deflected showing a reading of 0.85A.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion the lab showed that in order to increase the range of a voltmeter the resistance in the circuit would need to be

varied based on the full range deflection current of the voltmeter being used. Based the results of the tests conducted on the

components it was determined that the breaker was not operational, but the voltmeter and ammeter were fully functional.
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