FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

TECHNOLOGY

STUDENT LABORATORY GUIDE

FOR

ELECTROTECHNOLOGY 1A

ELTELA1
February 2022
Course Coordinators and Facilitators (Electrical):

Mr Sula B.K. Ntsaluba

sulan@uj.ac.za
(011) 559 9090
Office no. 5158
5th Floor John Orr Building
Doornfontein Campus

Ms G.A.Z. Dlamini
goodnessd@uj.ac.za
Office no. 5130
5th Floor John Orr Building
Doornfontein Campus
Contents

1. Safety .................................................................................................................................................. 3
2. Practical One ....................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................. 4
2.2 Equipment and Apparatus ....................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Task ......................................................................................................................................... 4
3. Practical Two – Ohms Law................................................................................................................. 6
3.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................. 6
3.2 Equipment and Apparatus ....................................................................................................... 6
3.3 Task ......................................................................................................................................... 6
4. Practical Three – Charging and Discharging of a Capacitor............................................................... 8
4.1 Overview ................................................................................................................................. 8
4.2 Equipment and Apparatus ....................................................................................................... 8
4.3 Task ......................................................................................................................................... 8

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1. Safety

The safety of people and protection of university property/equipment are of utmost importance.
Therefore every precaution must be taken and the laboratory rules must be observed at all times.
Please note the following key rules:

1) No eating or drinking in the laboratory.

2) Closed shoes must be worn in the laboratory.
3) Equipment that is not fully operational or missing equipment must be reported to the
lab assistant or instructor at the beginning of the practical session. Students, who fail to
do so, will be held responsible for missing or dysfunctional equipment that was not
reported at the beginning of the practical session.

Further instructions regarding safety will be given depending on the laboratory in which the
practical is being conducted and the nature of the practical.

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2. Practical One
Previously, you were introduced to the signal generator and oscilloscope. Ensure that you study
the videos (available on Ulink/BlackBoard) properly before the practical. For the first practical
assessment of this course, you will gain experience this equipment and learn further about the
functionality. The experience gained during this session will assist in the latter practical
sessions where you will apply what you have learnt to build, test, analyse and troubleshoot
your circuits.

2.1 Overview

During this practical session, you will learn how to set up a signal generator to generate a
specific signal, and measure and analyse this signal using the oscilloscope.

2.2 Equipment and Apparatus

 Signal generator
 Oscilloscope
 Leads/probes

2.3 Task

You will need to generate a signal using the function generator and then measure this signal
using the oscillscope.

The values for the amplitude (𝐴) and the kHz frequency (𝑓) will be obtained from the last two
digits of your student number respectively. The amplitude for your wave will be the value of
the second last digit of your student number divided by 10 and the frequency will be same as
the last digit.

For example: Student number 217037252 (𝐴 = 𝟎. 𝟓𝑉𝑝 and 𝑓 = 𝟐𝑘𝐻𝑧)

Note: If any of the last two digits of your student number are zero, replace that digit with a
value of 1.

You may use the additional materials given below during your practical.

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Notes:

𝐴 = _________________𝑉𝑝 = _________________𝑉𝑝−𝑝

𝑓 = _________________𝑘𝐻𝑧

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑣: __________________________

𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑣: __________________________

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3. Practical Two – Ohms Law

3.1 Overview

The aim of this experiment is to verify Ohm’s Law practically as well as to demonstrate the
linearity of resistance under variable DC supply.

3.2 Equipment and Apparatus

 1 x Breadboard
 1 x Variable DC Power Supply (0-30V)
 1 x Ammeter
 1 x Voltmeter
 1 x 5kΩ Potentiometer, or two suitable resistors (one low and one high resistance)
 Connecting wire

3.3 Task

Figure 1: Circuit configuration for Ohm’s law experiment

Ensure the power supply is switched off before commencing this experiment.

i. Construct the given circuit above on a breadboard.

ii. Set the resistance of the potentiometer to a low value (not less than 60Ω).

iii. Switch on the DC supply and in intervals of 5 Volts (0V to 30V), measure and record
the current through, and the voltage across the potentiometer.

iv. Turn off the DC supply and set the resistance of the potentiometer to its maximum
value.

v. Repeat steps iii and iv.

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vi. Using the recorded values, plot the V-I Characteristic for both values of resistance
(Label your graph plots)

vii. Using the results obtained, verify Ohm’s Law.

Table 1: Measurements of Practical Two

Low Resistance =

VS (V) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

I (A)

VR (V)

High Resistance =

VS (V) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

I (A)

VR (V)

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4.Practical Three – Charging and Discharging of a Capacitor

4.1 Overview

The aim of this experiment is to observe and understand the charging and discharging
characteristics of a capacitor and the associated time constant.

4.2 Equipment and Apparatus

 1 x Breadboard
 1 x Variable DC Power Supply (0-30V)
 1 x Oscilloscope
 1 x Resistor (100kΩ)
 1 x Capacitor (10uF)
 1 x SPDT Switch
 Connecting wire

4.3 Task

Figure 2: Circuit configuration for Capacitor charging and discharging

Ensure the power supply is switched off before commencing this experiment.

i. Connect the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram, with the oscilloscope measuring
the voltage across capacitor C. Ensure that SW1 is turned to discharge and the supply
is turned off.
ii. Calculate the expected time constant, Tau, using the provided equation.
𝜏 = 𝑅𝐶
iii. Scale the oscilloscope appropriately to display the charge time of the capacitor, using
Tau as a guide.
iv. Turn on the supply and set it to 30V.
v. Turn SW1 to charge and observe the charging curve on the oscilloscope. (You may
have to stop/freeze the oscilloscope display in order to analyse the curve).

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 vi. Locate the point at which the capacitor’s voltage is at 63% of the supply voltage. Does
the time taken for the capacitor to charge from 0 to this point correlate with your
calculated Tau?
vii. At 5𝜏, what is the voltage across the capacitor?
viii. Turn SW1 to discharge position and observe the graph. Verify that the capacitor is at
37% of the applied voltage after a time of Tau has elapsed.
ix. How long will it take for the capacitor to fully discharge?