• Alphanumeric (Digital) Instruments

• An analogue system contains devices that manipulate the physical

quantities represented in analogue form. In analogue system the quantities
can vary continuously over a range of values. A digital system is a
combination of devices designed for manipulating physical quantities
represented in digital form. i.e., they can take only discrete values (that is
binary). Thus, digital instruments are Analog–to-Digital converters (ADC).
Digital techniques achieve much greater levels of accuracy in signal
processing than equivalent analogue methods. However the time it takes to
process a signal digitally is longer than that required carrying out the same
operations by analogue techniques, and the equipment required is more
expensive.
• Digital instruments can provide high input impedance, high accuracy, and
resolution, and a high speed of measurement. Additionally they can store
information, can be designed easily, programmable and less affected by
noise. Their limitations are that the real quantities are analogue in nature.
So there is a need to convert these variables to digital, for manipulating the
signal’s using digital circuits. Many devices and most instrumentation
transducers have an output signals in analogue form, while digital systems
like microprocessors, process binary coded data. So signals have to be in a
digital format. 1
• Summarized Comparison of Digital and Analog Instruments

• Main Units of Digital Instruments

• Logic Gates: perform logic functions detect the presence or absence of
pulses process digital signals.
• Flip – Flops: can stay in two different stable states. They can store
binary information, count pulses, control the operation of digital circuits,
synchronize digital circuit operations and produce required wave shapes.
• Clock: a series of pulses used as a timing device. The Clock is used to
synchronize two or more circuits that operate together or in parallel.
Many operations may be combined and synchronized by a clock timing
system. 2
• Counter: is a sequential digital circuit that counts and stores the number of input
pulses it receives.
• Register: temporarily stores binary information, acting as a link between main
digital system and input/output channels. Data can be manipulated within a
registers to increase functionality through selective utilization of Flip-Flops and
steering circuits.
• Analogue – to - Digital Converter (ADC): is required at the interface between
analogue transducer and the digital system, and DAC is often required at a later
stage to convert the signals back into analogue form. To take the advantages of
digital techniques while dealing with analogue inputs and outputs, the following
steps are necessary.
Conversion of analogue to digital.
Processing digital signals.
Again converting to analogue.
• The process of ADC consists of sampling the analogue signals at regular
intervals of time. Each sample of the analogue voltage is then converted into an
equivalent digital value. This conversion takes a certain finite time, during which
the analogue signal can be changing in value. The next sample of the analogue
signal cannot be taken until the conversion of the last sample to digital form is
completed. The representation within the a digital system of a continuous
analogue signals is therefore a sequence of samples whose pattern only
approximately follow the change of the original signal. This pattern of sample3
taken is successive, an equal interval of time is known as a discrete signal.
• Sample and Hold Circuit: is normally an essential element at the
interface between an analogue sensor or transducer and an ADC. It holds
the input signal at a constant level while the analogue to digital conversion
process is taking place. This prevents the conversion errors that would
probably result if variations in the measured signal were allowed to pass
through to the converter. The operational amplifier circuit shown in fig
below provides this sample and hold function.
• The input signal is applied to the circuit for very short time duration with
the switch S1 closed and S2 open, after which S1 is opened and the signal
level is then held until, the next sample is required, the circuit is reset by
closing S2.

-
Vo out put
V1 analoogue
input ++
SW1
C1 1 .0 u U1
SW2

operational amp. connected

as sample & hold circuit s
4
• Digital Display:is a device which indicates the value of the measured
quantity as a number. It is the digital display device which indicates the
value in decimal digits. The number of digits corresponds to the significant
figure needed to represent the value. Digital display units are used as the
output devices for digital measuring instruments.
• The input to the digital display is either a code on one or more input lines,
indicating the particular number to display, or the excitation of one of the
inputs lines designating the number to be displayed. There are a wide
variety of digital readouts available such as a:
• Projection Display: projects the desired digit on a small screen by means
of an optical system and an appropriate mask. Each digit appears at the
same plane.
• Light-Emitting-Diode (LED) Display: devices give out different lights to
indicate the level of measured quantity.
• Seven Segment Display: devices form the digits to be displayed by
illuminating the selected segments from a group. As all the available
segments are in the same plane, all digits will be displayed in the same
plane.
• Liquid Crystal Display (LCD): are usually arranged in the same seven-
segment numerical format as the LED display. They use much less energy
than LED displays. 5
• A Gaseous Glow Display: tubes have a set of electrodes, each shaped in
the form of a digit. The selected electrode is surrounded by a gaseous
discharge, or glow, when the digit is selected.
• A Dot-matrix Display: or grid of illuminated dots may be used to form the
digit to be displayed.
• Digital Multimeters
• A Digital multimeter is basically a digital voltmeter that can be configured
to express for the measurement of voltage, current (dc or ac) and resistance
through voltage. All quantities other than dc voltages are first converted
into an equivalent dc voltage by having additional processing circuits, after
which they can be measured by the basic DVM. The ADC is the central
element of a DVM. The ADC is therefore, as a limit input range operating
usually a unipolar dc signal.
• For measurement of dc voltage, the dc input stages provides high input
impedance together with attenuation amplification, and polarity sensing of
the signal to ensure that the voltage applied to the ADC is of the correct
polarity.
• For measurement of AC voltage the input voltage is converted into a DC
voltage by means of rectifier. A compensated attenuator is employed. Many
manufactures provide the same attenuator for both DC and AC
measurements. True RMS measurement can be obtained by the use of6
7
• For measurement of resistance a constant current technique is used,
depending on the range, supplied from a battery or a constant current
source is passed thorough the resistance under measurement and the
voltage developed across it is measured. The resistance value is displayed
in ohms.
• For measurement of current, the unknown current is passed through a
precision resistor in many commercial digital multi meters and the voltage
developed across the precision resistor is measured. Current is derived by
measuring the voltage drop across a known resistance and scaling the
digital read out accordingly. The current value is displayed in units of
current.
• For measurement of current, a current to voltage converter may also be
used, as illustrated by the Fig.
• The current under measurement is applied to summing junction of the
input of the op-amp. The current in the feedback resistor I R is equal to the
input current IIN because of very high input impedance of the op-amp. The
current IR causes a voltage drop across one of the resistors, which is
proportional to the input current IIN. Different resistors are employed for
different ranges.
8
• Fig. A current to voltage converter circuit