Primeasia University

TXE 208 Elements of Electrical Engineering and Electronic Laboratory

Experiment No. 4 Use of the oscilloscope. Familiarization with

the sinusoidal wave shape in ac circuits; measurement of
frequency and phase difference

Objective:
This experiment is in two parts. The objective of the first part is to learn how to use the
oscilloscope. The objective of the second part is to observe the shape of 50Hz ac voltages in a
circuit.

Theory:
Part A

The purpose of an oscilloscope is to display voltage waveforms. We can consider the

oscilloscope display as a Cartesian graph paper made upon a television screen. The
remaining parts of the oscilloscope instrument are all designed to make it easy to draw a
graph upon that screen. Each part has a function that makes it easy to perform a motion
necessary to draw the graph.
The front panel of the oscilloscope can be divided into four parts: the screen, the horizontal
controls, the vertical controls and the trigger controls.
(i) The screen is marked like a graph paper that has ten horizontal (or x-axis)
divisions and eight vertical (or y-axis) divisions.
If we were to draw a graph on paper we would mark dots on the paper and join them.
Each dot would have a horizontal location (the x-coordinate) and a vertical location (the y-
coordinate). The oscilloscope also draws a graph by placing points successively on the screen.
(ii) The horizontal control moves a dot from the left side of the screen to the right at a
constant speed and repeats.
( i i i ) The vertical control moves the dot vertically proportional to the y- coordinate of
the graph. In order to display two different voltages, the vertical control is in two sets,
channel 1 and channel 2.
( i v ) The trigger causes the dot to repeat from the left side of the screen every time at
the same value of the y-coordinate of the graph.
 P ar t B

An ac voltage is sinusoidal:

If it is applied by means of an ac source in a circuit as in Fig. 5.1, then sinusoidal

voltages appear across the resistance and inductance:

We can display and on the oscilloscope. We can measure the phase difference
- .

Apparatus:
1. Oscilloscope
2. Light bulb (40W 1 piece)
3. Lamp bank
4. Inductor bank
5. Power supply cord
6. Connecting wires

Procedure:

Part A

1. Turn on the POWER switch (1) on the oscilloscope front panel (Fig. 5.2). INTEN (6)
controls the brightness of the spot, FOCUS (4) controls the sharpness of the spot.
Observe their effects.

2. The horizontal controls cause the spot to move from left to right across the screen. The
SWP VAR (sweep variable) knob (26) should be rotated clockwise to the CAL
(calibrated) position. This means that the TIME/DIV (21) knob now indicates the amount
of seconds per horizontal division: ten horizontal divisions divide the screen. Rotate the
TIME/DIV knob clockwise to make the spot move fast across the screen. You should be able
to see only a horizontal line. Now rotate the TIME/DP/ knob anticlockwise to make the spot
move slowly across the screen. When the spot is slow enough you can see the spot move from
the left edge of the screen to the right edge of the screen. The spot moves off the right edge
of the screen and then reappears at the left edge to move again across the screen. The
horizontal control is therefore able to locate the x-coordinate of any point on the graph.

3. The vertical control section of the oscilloscope is divided into two subsections by a line
down the middle. On the left is CH1(channel 1) and on the right is CH2 (channel 2). Each
channel is capable of drawing a separate graph, therefore, the oscilloscope can draw at most
two different graphs at the same time.
Connect the oscilloscope probe to channel 1 BNC socket (43). Select ‘xl0’ on the probe.
Connect the red and black wires of the probe to the supplied voltage. Set the TIME/DIV
knob to 5ms/div. Set the Mode switch (8) to CH1. Press the button 19 (GND). Rotate
the position knob (10) until the channel 1 line is placed at the middle horizontal line
of the screen. Then again press the button 19 (GND). Set the VOLTS/DIV knob (13)
to 5V/div. The oscilloscope draws the graph of the voltage connected to channel 1.
You should see the ac voltage waveshape.
4. The waveshape may be moving across the screen. In the TRIGGER section
move the source switch (40) to CH1. The waveshape may become still. If the
waveshape continues to move across the screen, adjust the LEVEL knob (39) until
the waveshape becomes still. If the waveshape continues to move, call the teacher.

Part B

5. Disconnect the probe of channel 1 from the supplied voltage. Connect the circuit
as in Fig. 5.3. The black probe of channel 2 should be left unconnected. The
reason for this is that the black probes of the oscillo scope channels are (internally
connected) connected together inside the oscilloscope. Set the controls of channel 2
to the same settings as those of channel 1. Press the CH2 INV button (12). Press in
the ALT/CHOP button (9). Set the MODE selector (8) to DUAL. You should see
two sinusoidal waveshapes on the oscilloscope screen.
6. Set the MODE selector to CH1. Measure the time period T of the ac waveshape
as in Fig. 5.4.
7. Set the MODE selector to DUAL. Draw the picture that you can see on the screen
on a sheet of graph paper. Measure the phase angle difference between the two
voltage waveshapes as in Figure 5.5.

Questions:
1. What happens if you display channel 1 by putting the MODE switch in the CH1

position but set the TRIGGER SOURCE switch to CH2?

2. What happens on the oscilloscope screen if the CH2 INV button is not pressed in
when displaying and .

3. Compare the ideal and measured values of the phase angle between and .
Fig. 5.1 Fig. 5.3

Fig. 5.4 Fig. 5.5

Fig. 5.2 Diagram of Oscilloscope front panel