DC VOLTMETERS

Chapter 2
Lecturer: Ahmed Elkomy
 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF ANALOG METER

◦ The permanent magnet moving coil (PMMC)meter movement is the basic

movement in most analog (meter with a pointer indicator hand) measuring
instruments. It is commonly called d'Arsonval movement because it was first
employed by the Frenchman d'Arsonval in making electrical measurements.
◦ This type of meter movement is a current measuring device which is used in the
ammeter, voltmeter, and ohmmeter. Basically, both the ammeter and the
voltmeter are current measuring instruments, the principal difference being the
method in which they are connected in a circuit. While an ohmmeter is also
basically a current measuring instrument, it differs from the ammeter and
voltmeter in that it provides its own source of power and contains other auxiliary
circuits.
Basic Principle Operation Of Permanent-Magnetic
Moving-Coil Movement
◦ A permanent-magnet moving-coil movement is based upon a
fixed permanent magnet and a coil of wire which is able to move,
When the switch is closed, causing current through the coil, the
coil will have a magnetic field which will react to the magnetic
field of the permanent magnet. The bottom portion of the coil
will be the north pole of this electromagnet. Since opposite poles
attract, the coil will move causing the deflection of the pointer.
Deflection Torque
 DC VOLTMETER
◦ Basic d’Arsonval movement can be
converted into dc voltmeter by adding in
series resistor multiplier as shown in figure
◦ The basic function of multiplier is to
1. extend the voltage range of the meter
2. Limit the current in the d’Arsonval
movement meter to its full scale current.
 DC VOLTMETER
◦ Basic d’Arsonval movement can be converted into dc voltmeter by adding in series
resistor multiplier as shown in figure
Example 1
Sensitivity (S)
Example 2
HOMEWORK
Multi-Range Voltmeter:
◦ DC voltmeter can be converted into a multirange voltmeter by connecting a number of
resistors (multipliers) in series with the meter movement. A practical multi-range DC
voltmeter is shown in Figure
Example 3
◦ Convert a basic D’ Arsonval movement with an internal resistance of 100Ω and a full scale deflection
current of 1mA into a multirange dc voltmeter with voltage ranges of 0-15V and 0-50V.
◦ Sol.
 Example 4
◦ Calculate the value of multiplier resistors for dc voltmeter shown in figure
HOMEWORK
 DC Voltmeter loading effect
◦ When a voltmeter is used to measure the voltage across a circuit component, the
voltmeter circuit itself is in parallel with the circuit component.
◦ Total resistance will decrease, so the voltage across component will also
decrease. This is called voltmeter loading. The resulting error is called a loading
error.
◦ The voltmeter loading effect can be reduced by
1- using a high sensitivity voltmeter.
2- increasing the voltmeter range.
Example 5
Solution
Solution
Solution
Example 6
Solution:
Solution:
Solution:
HOMEWORK