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Circuit measurement is used to monitor the operation of an electrical or electronic device or to determine the reason a device is not operating properly.
Damping
Damping is the process of smoothing out the oscillation of the pointer. The coil itself provides damping by inducing an opposing current as the coil moves. A vane may also be attached to provide friction against the nearby air molecules.
The moving-vane meter operates on a principle of magnetic repulsion between like poles. The current to be measured flows through a coil, productin a magnetic field that is proportional to the strength of the cureent. Suspended in this field are two iron vanes. One is in a fiex position;p the other, attached to the meter pointer, is movable. The magnetic field magnetizes these iron vanes with the same polarity regardless of the direction of current flow in the coil. Because like poles repel, the movable vane pulls away from the fixed vane, moving the meter pointer to indicate a value of current.
AMMETERS
An ammeter is a device which measures current. The analog DC ammeter is almost always a Weson-type instrument. The moving coil typically carries currents not larger than 30 uA. To handle larger currents a shunt resistor (parallel connected) is placed across the moving coil leads. Current going thourhg the meter divides with part of the current going thrugh the coil.
I sh/ I m = R m / R sh R sh shunt resistance
Ammeter Placement
The ammeter is always connected in series with the curcuit path you with to test.
Ammeter Sensitivity
Ammeter sensitivity is the amount of current I m necessary to cause full-scale deflection (FSD) of the ammeter pointer. Typical FSD values are from 10 uA to 30 mA. The resistance is from 1 ohm to 2000 ohm. The smaller the FSD current, the more sensitive the ammeter
Multirange Ammeter
Several values of shunt resistors and a rotary switch are used to select the desired range of current to measure. A make-before break rotary switch insures that there is a shunt resistor connected at all times. An Aryton shunt uses a combination of resistors.
Measuring Current
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The curcuit path must be opened and the ammeter inserted in series. Always set the range to the highest scale and then reduce as needed. Observe polarity. Reading should be as close to full scale as possible Better quality analog meters include a mirror along the scale. This eliminates parallax error.
VOLTMETERS
A multiplier resistor is connected in series with the meter movement to allow measuring voltage.
R mult = V full-scale / I m R m V full-scale = full scale voltage at extended range I m = full-scale meter current R m = meter-movement resistance
Multirange Voltmeters
Through the use of a range-selector switch, a multirange voltmeter can be made that switches the appropriate individual multiplier resistance in series with the meter movement. R mult = V full-scale / I m (Rm + all previous R mult values)
Voltmeter Sensitivity
Voltmeter sensitivity is expressed in ohms/volt. A voltmeter is considered more sensitive if it draws less current from the circuit. The sensitivity of a voltmeter varies inversely with the current required for full-scale deflection. Sensitivity = 1 V / I fsd Where I fsd = current required for FSD of the meter movement A 50 uA meter movement is 1 / 50 uA or 20000 ohm/volt Lab quality voltmeters should have a min sensitivity of 20k ohm/volt.
Voltmeter Resistance
The multiplier resistance is usually a high value in order to limit the current flow throught the meter movement. On a 100V range a 20k ohm/V voltmeter has a resistance of 2000 k ohm or 2 M ohm. The sensitivity is constant and remains the same for all ranges. The voltmeter resistance is different for each range. Since the voltmeter is placed in parallel, the higher the resistance the better. This ensures that the circuit performance is not hindered by the meter.
OHMMETERS
The basic meter movement can also be used to measure resistance. The resulting circuit is called an ohmmeter. In its basic form, the ohmmeter is nothing more than a meter movement, a battery, and a series resistance. An ohmmeter forces current to flow through an unknown resistance and then measures the resulting current. For a given voltage, the current is determined by the unknown resistance. When using an ohmmeter it is first necessary to zero it. The ohmmeter scale is nonlinear. Voltmeter and ammeter scales are linear. Because zero is on the right side of an ohmmeter it is referred to as a back-off scale. 1. Zero before using or changing ranges. 2. Ensure that power is removed from the circuit being measured 3. Connect the leads across the component and read the resistance multiplying by 1, 10, etc. depending on the range. 4. If the component under test has a parallel connection of another component, an invalid reading may be obtained due to the parallel combination of resistances. To overcome this isolate the component. THE ANALOG MULTIMETER (VOM)
The analog multimeter combines the ammeter, voltmeter, and ohmmeter into one unit. The name multimeter comes from the term multiple meter. It is also commonly called a VOM (volt-ohm-meter). The VOM is a DC ammeter, an AC ammeter, a DC voltmeter, an AC voltmeter, and an ohmmeter all in one package.
Most multimeters use the DAronval metermovement and have a built-in rectifier for AC measurement.
Many DMMs include additional types of measurements such as frequency, capacitance, inductance, and transistor testing. Many DMMs also have a diode test feature to measure the junction voltages.