Design and Development of Digital Volttmeter Using

Diifferent Techniques
4
1
Jatin Arora, 2
Gagandeep , 3Sarveshh S S Rawat Karthik Srinivasan, 5Vikram Puri
4-5
1-2
Department of Electronics & Communicaation Engineering. Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering
4
3
School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering.
E Sri Sai Ram Institute of Technology,
T Chennai, India
5
1
CTIEMT, Jalandhar, Punjab, India
I SBBSIET, Jallandhar, India
3
2
RIET, Phagwara, Punjab, Inddia SSS.Sarvesh8888@gmail.com
4
3
VIT University, Vellore, Inddia karthik.srinivasann2011@gmail.com
5
1
jatinaroraece@gmail.comm vikram0317@@hotmail.com
2
bbbjolly@gmail.com

Abstract- Electrical measurement of quantiities plays a crucial implementation. Block diagram

m of different techniques used
role in the real world. Measuring voltage is on
ne of the main tasks for developing DVM is shown in fig.1.
for developing large number of application ns. This paper is
focused on design and development of digital voltmeter using
different techniques. It has been shown how tot develop a Digital
Voltmeter (DVM) from simplest type to professional
p digital
voltmeter. Different types of techniques are adopted for making a
voltmeter and the result is compared for tessting the accuracy.
The simulation of all techniques is done on Prooteus ISIS 7.10 and
implemented on the hardware. The tech hniques used for
developing the digital voltmeter is comparatorr based DVM, 8051
based DVM and PIC based DVM. The accu uracy of DVMs is
shown by simulation in Proteus ISIS and through hardware
implementation.

Keywords- Operational amplifier, Microconntroller, Analog to

digital converter, accuracy, simulation.

I. INTRODUCTION Fig. 1 Block Diagram of Various Techniques used for DVM

Measuring the voltage is an essential partt of any measuring
circuit, that’s why DVM is used for thee measurement of
voltage [1], [2]. In this paper we havve used different
techniques for measuring the voltage which w is mainly
classified into two categories that is analoga IC based
techniques and Microcontroller based Technniques. Analog IC
based technique involves comparator bassed DVM which
makes use of operational amplifiers that doees not require any
kind of programming for its operation. Inn the comparator
based DVM, number of operational ampliifiers are used as
comparator and output of the comparator beecomes high when
input becomes more than its reference vooltage. Voltage is
measured by checking the status of LEDss connected at its
output. In the microcontroller based techniqque we have made
8051 based DVM and PIC based DVM. D AT89S52
microcontroller of 8051 family is implemennted in conjunction
with ADC0804. Voltage which is to be measured is given to
ADC and it converts the input voltage to corrresponding digital
output which is measured by 8051 microocontroller and is
displayed on LCD. It is more accurate than comparator based
DVM and it is capable of giving the outputt in millivolts. We
have prepared its simulative analysis as well as hardware
In PIC based DVM, PIC16F F877A microcontroller is used
which has a 10 bit internal ADC
A with 8 analog channels so
there is no need of an externall ADC. This DVM can measure
voltages from multiple sources simultaneously that can be
very useful in some applicatioons. In terms of accuracy, this
DVM is much better than otherr techniques. It can also give the
output in millivolts but more acccurately.
II. COMPARA ATOR BASED DVM
In comparator based DVM, opperational amplifier is used as a
comparator for developing thhe DVM. Comparator mainly
compares the input signal with the reference voltage (Vref) and
generates the output accordinggly. A number of comparators
are connected together and Vref of each comparator is
different. By doing this whenn input voltage is zero then the
output of every comparator willl remain low and LEDs remain
OFF but when input signal is in between the range of DVM
then corresponding LEDs willl glow to indicate the value of
voltage. When input signal is above
a the range of DVM then all
LEDs will glow. The simulatioon of comparator based DVM is
done on Proteus ISIS 7.10 and is shown in fig. 2 and fig. 3.
 As shown in fig. 3 when input signal is between 5V to 6V then
first five LEDs will glow to indicate that the signal is more
than 5V but the other LEDs remains OFF which indicates that
input signal is less 6V. So by this way we can measure input
voltage in this method. This technique is not efficient because
the accuracy is very poor. For example, when input voltage is
more than 2V and less than 3V as shown in fig.2 then we
don’t know the exact value of voltage whether it is 2.5V or
2.8V but we only get to know about its range that is between 2
to 3V. In case of hardware implementation, operational
amplifier like LM358 and LM324 can be used. To improve the
accuracy we need to use more and more comparators which
make the system more complex and expensive so this method
is basic method and it is not used at professional level where
accurate reading are required.

III. 8051 BASED DVM

After observing the poor accuracy of comparator based DVM,
we use microcontrollers to develop DVM in which we can add
further features as required. To meet the aim 8051 based MCU
is used. It does not have any internal ADC so external ADC is
required to be connected with 8051 for developing DVM.
ADC0804 is used for converting the signals. To meet the
Fig. 2 Proteus Simulation of comparator DVM at 2 to 3V input
necessary requirement an attenuator circuit is designed using
operational amplifier. The basic configurations of operational
The range of comparator based DVM is 0-7V but it can be
amplifier are Inverting amplifier and non-inverting amplifier.
increased by increasing number of comparators. In this DVM
The gain of non-inverting amplifier is given as:
the reference voltage (Vref) of each comparator is different i.e.
1V, 2V, 3V, 4V, 5V, 6V and 7V so that it can indicate the
Af = 1+ Rf/Rin – (1)
range of magnitude of input voltage. As shown in fig. 2 when
Where, Af is gain, Rf is feedback resistor and Rin is input
magnitude of input signal is between 2 to 3V then only first
resistor.
two LEDs will glow to indicate that the signal is more than 2V
If the ratio of Rf/Rin is kept very low so that it can be neglected
but third LED and rest of LEDs remains OFF which indicates
even then the magnitude of output signal will be equal to input
that input signal is less 3V.
signal and thus attenuator cannot be made using non-inverting
amplifier. The other configuration is inverting amplifier whose
gain is given as:

Af = -Rf/Rin - (2)

By keeping the value of Rin more than Rf we can design an

attenuator but the output will be of reverse magnitude so we
need to connect two inverting amplifiers in series so the o/p
will not be of reverse magnitude. For example if we keep the
values of Rf and Rin are equal to 1kΩ and 10KΩ respectively
in the first stage then the feedback gain Af1 will be equal to -
0.1. The second stage which is connected in series has equal
values for Rf and Rin so its feedback gain Af2 will be -1. The
total gain of this configuration will be equal to:

Af = Af 1 * Af 2 - (3)

Af = -0.1 * -1 - (4)

Af = 0.1 - (5)

The attenuator is designed by using the inverting amplifier.

After observing the mathematical results we simulated it on
Proteus ISIS. The simulation of inverting amplifiers as
attenuator is shown in fig. 4.
Fig. 3 Proteus Simulation of comparator DVM at 5 to 6V input

Fig. 4 Simulation of inverting amplifier as attenuator
This final output of inverting amplifiers can be connected
at input of ADC so as to limit the magnitude of voltage
reaching at ADC input. Voltage divider circuit is best suited
for our attenuator because it can operate at higher voltage by
selecting the proper value and wattage of resistors. It is also
preferable because of its simplicity, less complexity and less
cost. We use the voltage divider circuit which divides input
voltage by 10 so by doing this 0–50V DVM can be
successfully implemented by using voltage divider circuit with
ADC0804 and 8051 microcontroller. The simulation of 8051
based DVM is done on Proteus and it is shown in fig. 5 and
fig. 6.
Fig.5 Simulation of 8051 based DVM measuring low voltage
The accuracy of the system can be checked by comparing
the reading of the LCD with inbuilt voltmeter of Proteus ISIS
as shown in fig. 5 and fig. 6. Both low and high voltage is
given to ADC0804 in Proteus simulation. 8051 based DVM
seems very accurate in simulations as shown in fig.5 and fig. 6
Fig.6 Simulation of 8051 based DVM measuring high voltage
The hardware implementation of 8051 based DVM is shown
in fig. 7 and fig. 8. The hardware is implemented on general
purpose PCB and it is remained spare on the left side so as to
make improvements or changes to it. The accuracy of this
DVM is being checked by comparing the reading on LCD
with the multimeter in fig. 7 and fig. 8.
Fig.7 Hardware implementation of 8051 based DVM showing
accuracy at low voltage
Fig.8 Hardware implementation of 8051 based DVM showing
accuracy at higher voltage
The accuracy on the hardware implementation is not that
much which is observed in simulations. Accuracy is one of the
most important aspects when designing any measuring circuit
so high accuracy is needed [3], [4].
IV. PIC BASED DVM
The accuracy was very poor in case of comparator based
DVM which was improved in 8051 based DVM. It is further
tested using PIC16F877. It has internal ADC of 10 bit with 8
analog channels which directly increases the accuracy and
resolution. There is flexibility to set the reference voltage
(Vref) externally or internally equals to Vdd. In our design we
have used internal reference voltage for internal ADC and two
channels of ADC has been used for measuring the voltages
from two different sources simultaneously. The range of this
DVM is 0 – 100V so voltages having high magnitude can also
be measured by this technique. The voltage at any analog
channel should not exceed 5V so voltage divider circuit made
of two resistors 2.2kΩ and 100Ω is implemented which
divides input voltage by 20 so as to limit the voltage at analog
input. The Proteus simulation of PIC based DVM is shown in
fig. 9 and fig. 10. In the simulation the reading accuracy of the
system is shown by comparing the reading with internal dc
voltmeter of proteus connected at both sources.

Fig.9 Proteus ISIS simulation of PIC based DV
VM measuring low
and high voltage from two sourrces
Fig.10 Proteus ISIS simulation of PIC based DVM measuring
average and high voltage from two sources
Although the simulation results of PIC bassed DVM is very
much accurate but it is necessary to implemment it in the real
world to check the performance and accuracy
a [7]. For
developing the hardware in better way, the PCB
P layout of this
technique is being developed in Proteus Arres 7.10. The PCB
layout of this DVM is shown in fig. 11.
Fig.11 PCB layout of PIC based DVM in Prooteus ARES 7.10
The system becomes much compact c and less complex by
designing the PCB [6]. Proteuss ARES 7.10 has the availability
of 3D visualization of the desiggn which is very important from
the designer perspective. 3D visualization
v of complete design
is shown in fig. 12.
Fig.12 3D view of PIC based
d DVM in Proteus ARES 7.10
After designing the PCB layoout of the system, the PCB is
implemented on hardware. We developed the PCB by using
screen printing technique. Scrreen printing technique is used
for professionally developing the PCBs and it is adopted by
the most of the PCB manuufacturers of India. Hardware
implementation of PIC based DVM
D is shown in fig. 13.
Fig.13 Hardware implemeentation of PIC based DVM
The accuracy of this technique needs to be observed on the
hardware which is done by comparing
c the reading of both
sources with the reading of multimeter. In the hardware
implementation, we don’t havee the regulated power supply up
to 100V but we observed the hardware results by using the
regulated power supply up to 30V. Fig. 14 shows the
accuracy of the system when comparing the voltage of source
1 with the reading of multimetter. The accuracy of source 2 is
also observed in same manner as for source 1 as shown in fig.
15.

Fig.14 Accuracy of source 1 being observed by comparing with
reading of multimeter
Fig.15 Accuracy of source 2 being observed by comparing with
reading of multimeter
PIC based DVM is preferable in all aspects whether it is
accuracy, compactness or reliability as compare to other
techniques. The fig. 14 and fig. 15 shows that this DVM is
very much accurate because the difference between the
reading of DVM and professional multimeter is negligible.
This technique has the advantage of measuring two voltages
simultaneously which is not available in normal multimeter. It
can also measure ac voltages by adding precision rectifiers in
the system. PIC16F877A is used in this system but other
microcontrollers like Atmega 32, MSP430 can also be used
depending upon the requirement of the application [5].
V. CONCLUSION
DVM is a one of the most important equipment for engineers
so this paper describes how we can develop a beginner level
DVM to professional level DVM. We showed simulations of
every technique and hardware implementation of main
techniques. We have used Proteus ISIS 7.10 software for
simulation purpose and Proteus ARES 7.10 for PCB designing
because Proteus is one of the most popular software used in
embedded systems and in other electronic systems. This paper
will be very useful for those researchers and engineers who
like to experiment more and more to achieve best results.
VI. FUTURE RESEARCH
Advancements are always necessary in this technical world.
This system can also become digital wattmeter by measuring
the voltage from one source and current from other source by
using current to voltage converter for it. Then the power
consumption can be known by taking the product of both the
electrical quantities. Beside this it can also become ac
voltmeter by adding precision rectifier made of operational
amplifier in it. For making it more attractive, reading of DVM
can be transmitted to any distant wirelessly using RF module,
Xbee module or GSM module.
REFERENCES
[1] Haque, M. M., Hossain, M. K., Ali, M. M., & Sheikh, M. R. I. (2011).
Microcontroller Based Single Phase Digital Prepaid Energy Meter for
Improved Metering and Billing System. International Journal of Power
Electronics and Drive Systems (IJPEDS), 1(2), 139-147.
[2] Koutroulis, E., Kalaitzakis, K., & Voulgaris, N. C. (2001). Development
of a microcontroller-based, photovoltaic maximum power point tracking
control system. Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions on, 16(1), 46-54.
[3] Cook, R. D., Saulnier, G., Gisser, D. G., Goble, J. C., Newell, J. C., &
Isaacson, D. (1994). ACT3: A high-speed, high-precision electrical
impedance tomograph. Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions
on, 41(8), 713-722.
[4] Li, X. Z., Zhang, J. L., Zou, W. S., & Kang, Y. M. (2012). Intelligent
Digital Voltage Meter Design and Implement Based on
AD7715. Advanced Materials Research, 490, 1176-1180.
[5] Shi, Y., Wan, Y., Zhou, Q. P., & Kuang, J. (2011). Design and
implementation of optical multi meter based on MSP 430. Computer
Engineering and Design,32(7), 2324-2327.
[6] Ryu, K. H., Shin, S. H., Park, H. C., & Hwang, T. S. (2012, February).
Development of laser-based application system with high precision and
speed. In SPIE LASE (pp. 824319-824319). International Society for
Optics and Photonics.
[7] Patil, G. D., Helonde, J. B., & Mohril, R. M. (2012). Designing a
microcontroller and pc based system for measurement and testing of
penetration level of safety mask. International Journal of Global
Technology Initiatives, 1(1), C92-C98.