An Introduction To Electrical Measurements

Introduction
Measuring Voltage
Measuring Current
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Introduction
Electrical measurements often come down to either measuring
current or measuring voltage. Even if you are measuring frequency, you
will be measuring the frequency of a current signal or a voltage signal and
you will need to know how to measure either voltage or current. In this
short lesson, we will examine those two measurements - starting with
measuring voltage. However, first we should note a few common
characteristics of the meters you use for those measurements.
Many times you will use a digital multimeter - a DMM - to measure
either voltage or current. Actually, a DMM will also usually measure
frequency (of a voltage signal) and resistance. You should note the
following about typical DMMs.

Polarity is important. Usually the terminals of the DMM will be

coded to indicate polarity. Often that polarity is indicated by a red
terminal (positive) and a black terminal (negative). In other cases,
the polarity could be indicated by printed notes on the terminals.
Often one of the terminals on the DMM may be connected to the
ground. That would normally be the black terminal, or it may be
indicated with a ground symbol.

With that in mind, let's get on to measuring voltage.

Measuring Voltage
Voltage is one of the most common quantities measured. That's
because many other variables - like temperature, for example - are
measured by generating a voltage with a sensor. So, even if you want to
measure temperature you might end up having to measure a voltage and
convert that reading into the temperature reading you wanted.
Voltage is measured with a voltmeter. However, digital multimeters
(DMMs) - which can function as voltmeters - often have considerably
more capability and can measure current, resistance and frequency. And,
there are other instruments - like oscilloscopes - that measure voltage
and should be thought of as voltmeters. No matter what the instrument
is, if it measures voltage you have to treat the instrument as a voltmeter.
When you measure voltage you have to remember that voltage is an
across variable. When you measure voltage you have to connect the
voltmeter to the two points in a circuit where you want to measure
voltage. Here is a circuit with a voltmeter connected to measure the
voltage across element #4.

Note the following about this measurement.

Notice that the voltmeter measures the voltage across element #4,
+V4. (And, the plus sign is important. Remember the polarity issue.)

Notice the polarity definitions for V4, and notice how the red
terminal is connected to the "+" end of element #4. If you
reversed the leads, by connecting the red lead to the "-" terminal
on element #4 and the black lead to the "+" end of element #4, you
would be measuring -V4.

And, remember this as well.

When you measure voltage, the voltmeter should not disturb the
circuit where you are attempting to measure the voltage. In the
circuit above, that disturbance is the current drawn by the
voltmeter. You want that current to be as close to zero as it can
possibly be. That means that you need to have the resistance of
the voltmeter as large as possible. There's more discussion of that
effect in the lesson on measuring voltage. Ideally, the resistance of
a voltmeter would be infinite.
There are numerous different instruments, and we have a separate

lesson just on measuring voltage that discusses some of those instrument,

and you can get to that lesson by clicking here.

Measuring Current
Current is measured with an ammeter. While voltage is a more
common measurement, it is often necessary to measure current. When
measuring current, it is important to remember that current is a flow
variable. Current flows through electrical elements, and if you want to
measure current you have to get it to flow through the ammeter. Here's
the same circuit we used in the example above. Consider what we would
have to do to measure the current flowing through element #4.

If we want to measure the current through element #4, we have to get

that current to flow through the ammeter. Here's a way to insert an
ammeter into the circuit to measure that current.

However, this doesn't give the whole picture. Remember that polarity is
important. In the circuit the polarity for the voltage across element #4
is defined, but the current polarity is not defined. In the diagram below,
we have defined the direction of that current, and given it an algebraic
name, Im.

As with the voltmeter, you need to pay attention to the polarity, and you
also want to remember this.

When you measure current, the ammeter should not disturb the
circuit where you are attempting to measure the current. In the
circuit above, that disturbance is the voltage across the ammeter.
You want that voltage to be as close to zero as it can possibly be.
That means that you need to have the resistance of the voltmeter
as small as possible. Ideally, the resistance of an ammeter would be
zero.

Links to Related Lessons

Lessons
o Introduction to Electrical Measurements
o Measuring Voltage
o Measuring Frequency
o Digital Voltmeters
o Oscilloscopes
o Interfaces - A/D Converters
Labs
o

Measuring Voltage

Why Measure Voltage?

Using A Voltmeter - Intro
Voltmeters
Oscilloscopes
Why Measure Voltage?

If you are an Electrical Engineering student:

o Voltage is a fundamental quantity that is important in every
phase of electrical engineering from power systems to
voltages inside VLSI chips.
If you are an Mechanical Engineering student:
o You will want to measure things like temperature. If you do
that, you will use some sort of temperature sensor, and the
odds are high that it will produce a voltage that you have to
measure.
If you are a Chemical Engineering student:
o You will want to measure things like pH. If you do that, you
will use some sort of pHsensor, and the odds are high that it
will produce a voltage that you have to measure.
If you are a Civil Engineering student:
o You will want to measure things like strain. If you do that, you
will use a strain gage in an electrical circuit, and you will need
to know how to measure voltage, and quite possibly you will
need to know how to set up the circuit.
If you are a Bioengineering student:
o You may want to measure voltages produced by nerve cells.

Whatever your engineering persuasion, you will need to make

measurements that will invariably require you to deal with a voltage from
a sensor. You might not need to be the world's greatest expert on how to
measure voltage, but you will need to be knowledgable even if you just

want to talk to the person who designs the measurement system.

(And, click hereif you need to review basic ideas about voltage.)
That leads us to the question of what you should know at the end of
this lesson. Consider the following:

Given a need for a physical measurement:

o Be able to select and use basic sensors to measure
temperature, strain, etc.
Given a voltage output from a sensor:
To be able to connect a voltmeter - or other voltage
measurement instrument - to the circuit at proper points,
o

Be able to use a voltmeter, oscilloscope or A/D card to

measure the voltage

Eventually, you will also want to do the following - even though it is not
explicitly covered in this lesson.

Given a voltage measurement problem:

o Be able to record voltage measurements in a computer file,
and,
o Be able to use that file in an analysis program, including
Mathcad, Matlab or Excel.

The conclusion that you have to come to is that everyone who makes
measurements - of almost any physical variable - is going to deal with
voltages, voltage measurements and digital representations of voltages,
whether they are a biologist, a mechanical engineer, an automobile
mechanic or any number of other occupations. Voltage is ubiquitous, and
you have to deal with it - whether you want to or not. You may not want
to be an electrical enginer, but you will probably need to understand
enough about basic electrical measurements to be able to use modern
sensors, instruments and analysis programs in your work.

Using a Voltmeter
In this section we'll look at how you use a voltmeter. Here's a
representation of a voltmeter.

For our introduction to the voltmeter, we need to be aware of three

items on the voltmeter.

The display. This is where the result of the measurement is

displayed. You meter might be either analog or digital. If it's
analog you need to read a reading off a scale. If it's digital, it will
usually have an LED or LCD display panel where you can see what the
voltage measurement is.
The positive input terminal, and it's almost always red.
The negative input terminal, and it's almost always black.

Next, you need to be aware of what the voltmeter measures. Here

it is in a nutshell.

A voltmeter measures the voltage difference between the positive

input terminal of the voltmeter and the negative input terminal.

That's it. That's what it measures. Nothing more, nothing less just that voltage difference. That means you can measure voltage
differences in a circuit by connecting the positive input terminal and the
negative input terminal to locations in a circuit.
We'll show a voltmeter connected to the circuit diagram - a mixed
metaphor approach. Forgive us for that, but let's look at it.

This figure shows where you would place the leads if you wanted to
measure the voltage across element #4.

Notice that the voltmeter measures the voltage across element #4,
+V4.
Notice the polarity definitions for V4, and notice how the red
terminal is connected to the "+" end of element #4. If you
reversed the leads, by connecting the red lead to the "-" terminal
on element #4 and the black lead to the "+" end of element #4, you
would be measuring -V4.

There are some important things to note about taking a voltage

measurement. The most important point is this.

Voltage is an across variable.

o That means that when you measure voltage you measure a
difference between two points in space.
o There are other variables of this type. For example, if you
use a pressure sensor, you measure the pressure difference
between two points, much like you measure a voltage
difference.
o There are other kinds of variables. For example, there are
numerous variables that are flow variables. Current and fluid
flow variables are example of flow variables. They usually
have units of something per second. (Current is
couloumbs/sec, while water flow might be in gallons/sec. - for
example.)

When you measure a voltage the two terminals of the voltmeter (in
the figure, the red terminal and the black terminal) are connected
to the two points where the voltage appears that you want to
measure. One terminal - say it is the red terminal - will then be at
the same voltage as one of the points, and the other terminal - the
black terminal - will be at the same voltage as the other point. The
meter then responds to the difference between these two voltages.

Let's look at an example. Here are three points. These points could
be anything and may be located in a circuit, for example. Wherever they
are, there is a voltage difference between any two of these points, and
you could theoretically measure the voltage difference between any two
of these points. There are actually three different choices for voltage
differences. (Red/Green, Green/Blue, Blue/Red) Then, for each
difference, there are two different ways you can connect the voltmeter switching red and black leads.

Let's check to see if you understand that. Here are the same three
points, but now they are points within a circuit. In this particular circuit,
the battery will produce a current that flows through the two resistors in
series.

This circuit has a schematic representation shown below.

And, here is the same circuit with the measurement points (see above)
marked.

Now, if you want to measure the voltage across Rb, here is a connection
that will do it.

And, the physical circuit would look like this one.

Now, the reason for taking this so slowly is that students often have
trouble moving between circuit diagrams and the physical circuit and
understanding how to translate between them. What looks clear on a
circuit diagram is not always as clear in the physical situation. We'll get a
little closer to physical reality in this exercise.
Exercise 1
Here's a portion of a circuit board. You want to measure the voltage
across R27. Click on both places where you should put the voltmeter
leads.

When you measure a voltage difference - whatever the instrument

you use - you will always have two leads coming from the instrument that
will have to be connected to the two points in your circuit across which
the voltage appears.
And, remember, the voltage might be any of the folowing.

The voltage might be across an element embedded in a circuit.

The voltage might be the output of a transducer measuring some
physical variable like temperature, pH, rotational velocity (a
tachometer), etc.

Instruments for Measuring Voltage

In the material above, we assumed that you would measure voltage

with a voltmeter. Actually, there are often numerous options for the
instruments you use to measure voltage. Here are three common options.

A Voltmeter
An Oscilloscope
An A/D card in a computer

We will examine each of these options separately in the next section.

Before we get there, however, note these common points for each of
these three instruments.

Each measures voltage.

To measure voltage, remember that voltage is an "across" variable.
Each instrument will therefore have two leads to be connected to
the circuit where you want to measure voltage, and those leads
should be placed across the two points defining the voltage you want
to measure.

Internal Resistance
Voltmeters (including oscilloscopes, etc. as voltmeters) will have an
effect on any circuit when they are used. Any time you take a
measurement - no matter what the measurement is - you disturb the
thing you are measuring. Attaching a voltmeter to a circuit will change
the circuit - i.e. disturb the circuit - and modify the voltage you are
trying to measure. You just have to ensure that the disturbance is
negligible. That's what we want to look at here.
Let's examine measuring the outut voltage of a voltage
divider circuit. Here is the circuit.

Now, the voltmeter is really equivalent to a resistor, so we can - for

purposes of analysis - replace the voltmeter by its equivalent resistance.
Here is the circuit with the voltmeter equivalent resistance. (Rm is the
resistance of the voltmeter.)

Now, you should be able to see that this isn't the same circuit that
you thought you were measuring. The addition of the voltmeter
resistance changes the circuit and the changed circuit will have a
different output voltage than the original circuit. The question is
whether the output voltage of the changed circuit is significantly
different from the output voltage of the original circuit.
To determine if the output voltage has changed, you need to
consider that the voltmeter and the resistance, Rb, are now in parallel.
That means that the output of the voltage divider is different. However,
you can compute the output without the meter and with the meter.

Vout = Vin Rb/( Ra + Rb) - without the meter

and

Vout = Vin Re/( Ra + Re) - with the meter, and

Re = Rm Rb/( Rm + Rb)

These two expressions are very similar, and the how the close the two
voltages will be depends upon how close the equivalent resistance and the
original resistance are. Note that the equivalent parallel resistance is:
Re = Rm Rb/( Rm + Rb)
Re = Rb [Rm/( Rm + Rb)]
So, if the factor multiplying Rb is close to one, there won't be much
difference between the original voltage and the voltage you have when
you attach the voltmeter. In order to be sure that is true, we need to
have the factor multiplying Rbas close to one as possible.
[Rm/( Rm + Rb)] = 1
or at least get as close to 1 as we can. That's going to happen when the
meter resistance is much larger than Rb.
The conclusion that you come to is that you want the resistance of a
voltmeter - any voltmeter, including osciloscopes, etc. - to be as large as
possible. We'll look at typical values for instruments that are sold as we
examine individual instruments.
Voltmeters
Voltmeters are perhaps the commonest or most widely used
instruments for measuring voltage. While there are still many analog
voltmeters, most voltmeters today have digital displays, so that you get
an LCD display with several digits of resolution.

If an instrument has other capabilities (for example being able to

measure current and/or resistance) then it is amultimeter. If it is a
digital multimeter it is often referred to as a "DMM". A digital voltmeter
can be referred to as aDVM.
There are several things you will need to worry about when using a
voltmeter or DMM.

Voltmeters can often measure either DC or AC voltages.

o When measuring AC voltages, a voltmeter will give you values
for the RMS value - not the peak value of the sine wave. And,
if the signal isn't sinusoidal, you may have trouble getting the
measured value(s) you want.
In many instances, it is possible to connect the voltmeter to a
computer. That allows you to import your data into a computer and
then use analysis programs like Mathcad, Matlab, spreadsheets, etc.
to extract information from your data. You may need to learn how
to use those kinds of connections.
Voltmeters have range settings. Some common range settings are
0-0.3v, 0-3v, 0-30v, etc. On lower ranges you will get more
accuracy. On digital voltmeters, for example these ranges are
really:
o 0-3.0000 v
o 0-30.000 v
o As you go to higher ranges you will get as many significant
digits in the measured value.
o If you want more significant digits in a meter the cost will go
up, and each additional digit is more expensive.
Voltmeters are not ideal. The most common aspect of a voltmeter
that you need to take into account is the resistance of the
voltmeter. Typically a DMM will have a resistance of 10 M. When
you connect the voltmeter to a circuit it would be like connecting a
10 M resistance to the circuit. In many circuits that won't be a
problem because that will be a negligible disturbance to the circuit.

Voltmeters measure voltages that are constant or at least do not

change rapidly. A typical digital voltmeter will measure voltage and
display the results, then hold the results long enough for you to see
the number.

The last point in the bullets above has a hidden question. That
question is "What if you have a voltage that changes rapidly and you want
to see details as it changes?". If you have that situation, a voltmeter may
not be your instrument of choice. You may need an oscilloscope or an A/D
card in a computer. That's what we will examine next.
Oscilloscopes
Oscilloscopes can measure time-varying voltages and give you a graph
of voltage vs. time. When you think about how to connect them to a
circuit, they are exactly like voltmeters. You connect an oscilloscope
across the two points where you want to measure the voltage. However,
what you get from an oscilloscope is not what you get from a voltmeter.
When you measure a signal with an oscilioscope, you get a scaled picture
of the voltage time-function. That picture might look like this one if you
were measuring a sinusoidal voltage.

Currently oscilloscopes will also perform some computations using data

taken from the voltage waveform that is presented on the oscilloscope
face. These usually include things like the following.

The RMS value of the waveform.

The average value of the waveform.
The peak-to-peak value of the waveform.
The frequency of the waveform.

Also, once those signal parameters are computed and are in numerical
form within the oscilloscope, they can be transmitted - using a variety of
ways - to a computer where you can use a program to compute other
properties you might be interested in. For example, you might capture a
transient temperature and measure the time it takes your temperature
control system to reach a steady state by computing a time constant. You
could use any number of analysis programs for that including Mathcad,
Matlab and spreadsheets.
If you want a more complete description of oscilloscopes, you can go
to the lesson on oscilloscopes by clicking here. (That lesson has a number
of interesting simulations you can try, so that you can learn a little before
you go into lab. It also has links to laboratories that help you learn to use
oscilloscopes.)
A/D Boards
You can purchase numerous A/D (short for Analog-to-Digital
Converter) (Click here to go to the lesson on A/D converters.) converters
that come on boards that plug into computers. And, there are numerous
ways to interface with such boards including at least the following.

Pre-written programs you can buy

Programming in C or C++
Programs that allow you to build good-looking GUIs (That's
Graphical User Interfaces) including:
o Programming in Visual C++
o Programming in LabView
o Programming in Matlab

o
o

Programming in Visual Basic

and others!

The ability to use these boards to get data into a computer allows you to
use analysis programs like Mathcad, Matlab and spreadsheets to analyze
your data, plot it, and to extract other information from your data.
In many cases you may have soft instruments on the computer. Soft
instruments are computer programs that simulate voltmeters and
oscilloscopes. In other words, they look and feel like instruments (except
that they are interactive images on a computer screen). They are often
designed to look and act like real instruments as much as possible.
Links to Related Lessons

Lessons
o Introduction to Electrical Measurements
o Measuring Voltage
o Measuring Frequency
o Digital Voltmeters
o Oscilloscopes
o Interfaces - A/D Converters
Labs
o

Digital Voltmeters
Digital Voltmeters (DVMs) are a special case of A/Ds. DVMs are
voltmeters - i.e. they measure voltage - and are general purpose
instruments commonly used to measure voltages in labs and in the field.
DVMs display the measured voltage using LCDs or LEDs to display the
result in a floating point format. They are an instrument of choice for
voltage measurements in all kinds of situations.

Obviously, if voltage measurements are taken and the results are

displayed digitally with LED or LCD displays, the instrument has to
contain an A/D converter. Digital voltmeters have some characteristics
that you might need to understand.

Digital voltmeters usually have scales that are 0-0.3v, 0-3v, 0-30v,
0-300v, etc.

It is not clear why those ranges were chosen but they are commonplace.
Now, consider some of the implications of these facts.
Example
E1 Consider a voltmeter built around a 10 bit A/D converter. We will
assume the following.

The range of the voltmeter is from 0-3v, and it does DC voltage

measurements. It does not measure negative voltages.

Then, with 10 bits we can draw these inferences.

Ten bits will produce 210 intervals. That's 1024 intervals.

If there are 1024 intervals over a range of 3v, each interval will be
3/1024 = .00293v.
It is easier to compute the displayed voltage if the interval is
adjusted to .003v.
o That would make the range 0-3.072v. (That's .003 x 1024.)
o If you are measuring a voltage that varies around 3v, that
would allow you to keep the range the same, but still change
the range (if the instrument also has a 0-30v range, for
instance) when the voltage got large enough. Manufacturers
like to build in a little "hysteresis" to prevent constant range
changes in situations like that and it might be especially hard
on auto-ranging meters.

If you wanted to measure negative voltages and have the range be

from -3v to +3v, you would have intervals of .006v, and the meter
would measure from -3.072v to +3.072v.
If you wanted to measure voltages on a 0-30v scale, you would
probably use a voltage divider or some other way to reduce the
voltage by a factor of (exactly) 10 (i.e., multiply it by exactly 0.1)
and then use the same converter as on the 0-3v scale.

If we could use a 12 bit A/D, then some conclusions would change.

Twelve bits will produce 212 intervals. That's 4096 intervals.

If there are 4096 intervals over a range of 3v, each interval will be
3/4096 = .000732v.
It is easier to compute the displayed voltage if the interval is
adjusted to .0075v.
o That would make the range 0-3.072v - just as it was in the
case of the 10 bit converter,
o That produces the same advantages as you had with the 10 bit
converter.
If you wanted to measure negative voltages and have the range be
from -3v to +3v, you would have intervals of .0015v, and the meter
would measure from -3.072v to +3.072v.

A Note on Voltmeter Specifications

In the example you saw a few typical voltmeter possibilities. For
some reason voltmeters have had scales like 0-3v, 0-30v, etc. for a long
time. You might have expected 0-1v and 0-10v, etc. to be more common.
However, that's not the way it is, and it probably won't change any time
soon. That situation has led to some interesting ways to specify
voltmeters.
If you had a voltmeter that had a 0-1v range, and it had ten bits, it
would probably be designed to have a range from 0-1.024v, and it would

measure voltages in steps of .001v. Then, the measurement results would

be things like 0.314v or 0.582v, things like that. Displayed values would
all have exactly three decimal places, and the instrument would be
referred to as a 3 digit meter. If you use the same converter on a 0-10v
scale (and put the voltage through a 0.1x voltage divider!), then the
results would be things like 3.14v or 5.82v. You would get exactly the
same number of significant figures, and you would still refer to the meter
as a 3 digit meter.
Let's think about this situation.

If you have a voltmeter with a 0-1v scale that can read increments
of .001v the meter is a 3 digit meter.
If you have a voltmeter with a 0-1v scale that can read increments
of .0001v the meter is a 4 digit meter.
If you have a voltmeter with a 0-10v scale that can read increments
of .001v the meter is a 4 digit meter.
If you have a voltmeter with a 0-100v scale that can read
increments of .001v the meter is a 5 digit meter.

Now, what if you have a meter that has a 0-3v scale that can read
increments of .001v? How many digits is that meter?
The Number Of Digits In A DVM
You need to be able to answer the question in the last section. When
you buy a meter it may tell you the number of digits and you need to know
what that means, especially when the scales are 0-3v, etc. Here is the
story.

A meter that reads in increments of .001v and has a 0-1v range is a

3 digit meter.
A meter that reads in increments of .001v and has a 0-10v range is a
4 digit meter.

A meter that reads in increments of .001v and has a 0-100v range is

a 5 digit meter.

Notice the logarithmic nature of the relationship, summarized in this

table.

Range (v)

Digits
(for .001v)

0-1

0-10

0-100

If the high limit of the scale is 3, that's almost halfway between 1 and 10
on a logarithmic scale. (The mid point is really at the square root of ten.)
A meter that has a range of 0-3v is said to be a 3 1/2 digit meter when it
has intervals of .001v. That's halfway between 3 and 4 digits.
There is another way to look at the question of digits. If you have a
meter that has a 0-10v scale that reads in increments of .01v that's a 3
bit meter. That meter has 1000 steps, and 1000=103. Let's repeat the
table from above, but include the log10 of the number of steps.

Range

Digits
(for .001v)

#Steps

log10(#Steps)

0-1v

1000

0-10v

10,000

0-30v

4.5?

30,000

4.47

0-100v

100,000

We included an extra row for a 0-30v meter. We also included the

number of steps and a suggestion for the number of digits we can claim
for the meter. It looks reasonable to call a 0-30v meter with 30,000
steps a 4.5 digit meter, and that's the way they are sold.

That's it for digits in a voltmeter. That's the way that they are
specified, and that's what you pay for when you buy a DVM. The number
of digits is determined by the number of bits in the A/D, and we need to
look at that idea just a little bit more. Click here for a lab exercise that
gets you thinking about the topic.
Problems
o
o
o

Interface Problem ConvDVMP01 - Properties of a DVM

Interface Problem ConvDVMP02 - Properties of a DVM
Interface Problem ConvDVMP03 - Properties of a DVM

Lab Exercises
o

Interface Laboratory ConvAD1 - Getting the Number of Bits

in an Instrument's A/D

Links to Related Lessons

o
o
o
o

Interfaces
Interfaces
Interfaces
Interfaces

- Comparators
- D/A Converters
- A/D Converters
- Digital Voltmeters

Using An Oscilloscope

What Is An Oscilloscope Used For?

What Is An Oscilloscope?
How Do You Use An Oscilloscope?
Displaying a Signal from a Function Generator

What is an oscilloscope used for?

Measuring time-varying signals - by showing details of the

waveshape
Measuring aspects of time-varying signals
o Frequency of a signal
o Peak value of a signal

The oscilloscope is the most powerful instrument in our arsenal of

electronic instruments. It is widely used for measurement of timevarying signals. Any time you have a signal that varies with time - slowly
or quickly - you can use an oscilloscope to measure it - to look at it, and to
find any unexpected features in it.
The features you see in a signal when you use an oscilloscope to look
at a signal are features you cannot see otherwise. In this lesson you will
learn about oscilloscopes and you should keep this goal in mind as you
proceed through the lesson.
Given a time varying signal that you need information about,
Be able to use an oscilloscope to portray the signal as a function of
time.
Be able to measure signal parameters with an oscilloscope.
What does an oscilloscope look like?

Here's a photo of a Hewlett-Packard (HP) 54601A

Note the following features of the oscillscope

There is a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) screen on which the signals will
be presented. That's at the left.
There are numerous controls to control things like:
o The time scale of the presentation
o A vertical scale
A cable (IEEE-488) to connect the oscilloscope to a computer. That
lets you:
o Take measurements with the scope
o Put the measurements in a computer file
o Analyse the data with Mathcad, Matlab, Excel, etc.
Notice that this oscilloscope has two input channels. The controls
for the two channels are just to the right of the screen.

How do you use an oscilloscope?

Plug it in. That's not facetious.

Turn it on. There is a push button at the lower right edge of the
screen. It says "Line" and indicates a "0" and a "1" setting. Depress
that button.

Apply a signal to the input terminals.

o Your oscilloscope may have provision for more than one signal
input. Choose Channel 1 if that is the case.
Make sure that the settings match the signal. For example:
o If you have a signal at 1000 Hz, then the period of the signal
is 1 millisecond (.001 sec) and you would not want the time
scale set so that you only display a microsecond of data, and
you also probably won't see much if you display 10 seconds
worth of data.
o If you have a signal that is 10 millivolts high, you won't see
much if you set the oscilloscope to shown you a signal at 20
volts full-scale. Conversely, you won't see much of a 20 volt
signal if the scope is set for 10 millivolts full-scale.

Showing a Simple Signal on the Scope

To get familiar with the scope, you can show a sine signal on the
scope. We're going to ask that you show a signal with the following
characteristics

1 volt (2v peak-to-peak) signal. In other words, it has a peak of 1

volt and a negative "peak" at -1 volt.
A frequency of 1000 Hz (i.e. 1 KHz).
A sinusoidal signal. In other words, it looks like a familiar sine wave.

What will the signal look like?

The oscilloscope has an illuminated dot that moves across the
screen. With no signal, it would look like the following.

When a sinusoidal signal is applied, then the vertical position is

proportional to the voltage at any instant. If you applied a low frequency
sine signal, you would get a track like the one below.

If you have a sinusoidal signal that repeats every half millisecond - a

frequency of 2kHz - you would get a picture like this one. It would
appear to be stationary on the oscilloscope screen, but it really isn't.
It's just that it repeats so frequently that you see it as a constant image.

Simulation

In this simulation, a simulated function generator is connected to a

simulated oscillscope. Both are simplified versions of real instruments.
Note the following.

The function generator can produce a number of signals, including

sine and cosine, square, triangular and sawtooth signals. You can
choose which signal the function generator produces by clicking on
the appropriate button.

Notice the following in this simulation.

An oscilloscope displays a signal, and there is a unique time when the

oscillscope trace begins to move across the screen. There may be a
unique event that triggers the start of the display - when the
oscilloscope trace begins to move across the screen. In the
simulation above, we have given you a button that starts the trace
moving across the screen - a trigger button.

Clearly you cannot trigger an oscilloscope by hitting a button every time

you want to observe a new trace on an oscilloscope. Another alternative

might be to let the oscilloscope free-run. In other words, let the

oscilloscope start another trace as soon as a trace is finished. Here is a
simulation of that situation.
Simulation - Free Running Oscillscope
In this simulation, the signal trace begins anew as soon as it reaches
the right hand side of the oscilloscope screen.

Notice the following about this situation.

The value at which the trace starts is equal to the last value
displayed at the end of the previous trace.
That implies that the signal is displayed continuously, and that you
see ever bit of the signal.
If the sweep speed - the speed at which the trace moves across the
screen - were much higher, the display would be a jumble.
We can't speed up the sweep enough to really show you that. We
can, however, speed it up just a bit, and here is the simulation.
o Use the buttons to change the sweep speed.

Adjust the frequency so that you don't have an integral

number of cycles in one sweep.

Note the following about what happens when the sweep speed changes.

When the sweep speed changes, the horizontal scale - the time
scale - changes. Although this is a simulated oscilloscope and
function generator, we have designed things so that it is real-time.
In real oscilloscopes, everything is real time and when you change
the time scale you change the sweep speed accordingly. On an
oscilloscope, you can always adjust the sweep speed to "match" the
time-scale of the signal you are displaying.
o Example: If you have a 1.0 kilohertz signal, the period is one
millisecond and you would probably want a scale than ran over
2 milliseconds or something like that.

In a real oscilloscope, the trigger signal can be generated when the

signal value reaches some particular level - thetrigger level. In most
cases you can set the trigger level to a voltage value of your choosing.

Now that you have had a chance to experiment with the simulations
above, it's time to define a few terms - and these are items you can
control on most oscillscope.

You can control the sweep speed. Sweep speed is usually measured
in units of time per distance, likemilliseconds/centimeter. This
might also be referred to as the horizontal sensitivity.
You can control the vertical sensitivity. That's the measure of how
sensitive the display dot is to voltage applied to the input terminals.
It is usually measured in volts/centimeter.

Problems
P1 In this simulation, determine the sweep speed. Note that the grid
lines are all 1 cm apart. (Your monitor setting might change the scale!
Assume that the grid lines are all 1 cm apart.)

Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your
answer. You will get a grade on a 0 (completely wrong) to 100 (perfectly
accurate answer) scale.

Your grade is:

P2 What is the vertical sensitivity of the simulated oscillscope?
Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your
answer.

Your grade is:

Here is another kind of question.
Question
Q1 You have a signal that is somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 KHz.
That's a period of 10 sec. The oscilloscope screen is 10 cm wide. What
sweep setting would you use if you wanted to display a few cycles of your
signal across the screen?

Measuring Frequency
You are at: Basic Concepts - Measurements - Frequency
Return to Table of Contents

Introduction
When you measure frequency, you are often measuring the frequency
of a voltage signal, so the first thing you need to remember is that you

are making a voltage measurement, so that everything that is important

to a voltage measurement will be important when you measure a
frequency. In particular, you need to remember the following.

When you measure a voltage the two terminals of the voltmeter (in
the figure, the red terminal and the black terminal) are connected
to the two points where the voltage appears that you want to
measure. One terminal - say it is the red terminal - will then be at
the same voltage as one of the points, and the other terminal - the
black terminal - will be at the same voltage as the other point. The
meter then responds to the difference between these two voltages.
When you measure voltage, the voltmeter should not disturb the
circuit where you are attempting to measure the voltage. In the
circuit above, that disturbance is the current drawn by the
voltmeter. You want that current to be as close to zero as it can
possibly be. That means that you need to have the resistance of
the voltmeter as large as possible. There's more discussion of that
effect in the lesson on measuring voltage. Ideally, the resistance of
a voltmeter would be infinite.

In most cases, when you measure frequency you take the above into
consideration, and then you adjust the meter to take a frequency
measurement. That's usually just a matter of a adjusting a single control
on the instrument.
If you want to measure frequency, there are some things to
understand about that kind of measurement.
Measuring Frequency
When you measure the frequency of a voltage signal, the typical
instrument will do the following.

First, the instrument is connected like a voltmeter, and set to

measure frequency.

When the measurement is taken, the instrument counts the signal.

It might count zero crossings of the signal, or it might just assume
that the signal is a sequence of pulses, and count the pulses. In
either case, the instrument counts for a predetermined length of
time, T (which you might be able to control).
Then, the frequency is computed by dividing the count by the time
period, T.
o The computation of frequency cannot have a resolution better
than one count. For example, if the instrument counts for one
second, a count of ten would compute as 10 Hz, and a count of
11 would compute as 11 Hz. You couldn't get a good
measurement of 10.5 Hz, and would always be off by 0.5 Hz.
What you got would depend upon the timing of the count when it started.
o The resolution is probably not a problem if you are interested
in a 20KHz signal and the instrument counts for a second, but
you have to be cognizant of what is taking place.

That's the one thing you need to be cognizant of when you take a
frequency measurement. Remember that and the instrument won't fool
you.
Links to Related Lessons

Lessons
o Introduction to Electrical Measurements
o Measuring Voltage
o Measuring Frequency
o Digital Voltmeters
o Oscilloscopes
o Interfaces - A/D Converters
Labs
o