Digital Voltmeters: Consider A Voltmeter Built Around A 10 Bit A/D Converter. We Will Assume The Following

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 L Ds or L!Ds to display the result in a floating point format. "hey are an instrument of choice for voltage measurements in all #inds of situations. $bviously% if voltage measurements are ta#en and the results are displayed digitally &ith L!D or L D 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 '-'.(v% '-(v% '-('v% '-(''v% etc. )t is not clear &hy those ranges &ere chosen but they are commonplace. *o&% consider some of the implications of these facts. !+ample !, onsider a voltmeter built around a ,' bit A/D converter. -e &ill assume the follo&ing. "he range of the voltmeter is from '-(v% and it does D voltage measurements. )t does not measure negative voltages. "hen% &ith ,' bits &e can dra& these inferences. "en bits &ill produce .10 intervals. "hat/s ,'.0 intervals. )f there are ,'.0 intervals over a range of (v% each interval &ill be (/,'.0 1 . ''.2(v. )t is easier to compute the displayed voltage if the interval is ad3usted to .''(v. "hat &ould ma#e the range '-(.'4.v. ("hat/s .''( + ,'.0.) )f you are measuring a voltage that varies around (v% that &ould allo& you to #eep the range the same% but still change the range (if the instrument also has a '-('v range% for instance) &hen the voltage got large enough. Manufacturers li#e to build in a little 5hysteresis5 to prevent constant range changes in situations li#e that and it might be especially hard on autoranging meters. )f you &anted to measure negative voltages and have the range be from -(v to 6(v% you &ould have intervals of .''7v% and the meter &ould measure from -(.'4.v to 6(.'4.v. )f you &anted to measure voltages on a '-('v scale% you &ould probably use a voltage divider or some other &ay to reduce the voltage by a factor of (e+actly) ,' (i.e.% multiply it by e+actly '.,) and then use the same converter as on the '-(v
scale. )f &e could use a ,. bit A/D% then some conclusions &ould change. "&elve bits &ill produce .12 intervals. "hat/s 0'27 intervals. )f there are 0'27 intervals over a range of (v% each interval &ill be (/0'27 1 . '''4(.v. )t is easier to compute the displayed voltage if the interval is ad3usted to .''48v. "hat &ould ma#e the range '-(.'4.v - 3ust as it &as in the case of the ,' bit converter% "hat produces the same advantages as you had &ith the ,' bit converter. )f you &anted to measure negative voltages and have the range be from -(v to 6(v% you &ould have intervals of .'',8v% and the meter &ould measure from -(.'4.v to 6(.'4.v.
A *ote on Voltmeter 9pecifications

)n the e+ample you sa& a fe& typical voltmeter possibilities. :or some reason voltmeters have had scales li#e '-(v% '-('v% etc. for a long time. ;ou might have e+pected '-,v and '-,'v% etc. to be more common. <o&ever% that/s not the &ay it is% and it probably &on/t change any time soon. "hat situation has led to some interesting &ays to specify voltmeters. )f you had a voltmeter that had a '-,v range% and it had ten bits% it &ould probably be designed to have a range from '-,.'.0v% and it &ould measure voltages in steps of . '',v. "hen% the measurement results &ould be things li#e '.(,0v or '.8=.v% things li#e that. Displayed values &ould all have e+actly three decimal places% and the instrument &ould be referred to as a ( digit meter. )f you use the same converter on a '-,'v scale (and put the voltage through a '.,+ voltage divider>)% then the results &ould be things li#e (.,0v or 8.=.v. ;ou &ould get e+actly the same number of significant figures% and you &ould still refer to the meter as a ( digit meter. Let/s thin# about this situation. )f you have a voltmeter &ith a '-,v scale that can read increments of .'',v the meter is a ( digit meter. )f you have a voltmeter &ith a '-,v scale that can read increments of .''',v the meter is a 0 digit meter. )f you have a voltmeter &ith a '-,'v scale that can read increments of .'',v the meter is a 0 digit meter. )f you have a voltmeter &ith a '-,''v scale that can read increments of .'',v the meter is a 8 digit meter.
*o&% &hat if you have a meter that has a '-(v scale that can read increments of .'',v? <o& many digits is that meter?
"he *umber $f Digits )n A DVM

;ou need to be able to ans&er the @uestion in the last section. -hen you buy a meter it may tell you the number of digits and you need to #no& &hat that means% especially &hen the scales are '-(v% etc. <ere is the story. A meter that reads in increments of .'',v and has a '-,v range is a ( digit meter. A meter that reads in increments of .'',v and has a '-,'v range is a 0 digit meter. A meter that reads in increments of .'',v and has a '-,''v range is a 8 digit meter. *otice the logarithmic nature of the relationship% summariAed in this table.
Bange (v) '-, '-,' '-,''
Digits (for .'',v) ( 0 8
)f the high limit of the scale is (% that/s almost half&ay bet&een , and ,' on a logarithmic scale. ("he mid point is really at the s@uare root of ten.) A meter that has a range of '-(v is said to be a ( ,/. digit meter &hen it has intervals of .'',v. "hat/s half&ay bet&een ( and 0 digits. "here is another &ay to loo# at the @uestion of digits. )f you have a meter that has a '-,'v scale that reads in increments of .',v that/s a ( bit meter. "hat meter has ,''' steps% and ,'''1,'3. Let/s repeat the table from above% but include the log 10 of the number of steps.
Bange '-,v '-,'v '-('v '-,''v
Digits (for .'',v) ( 0 0.8? 8
C9teps ,''' ,'%''' ('%''' ,''%'''
log10(C9teps) ( 0 0.04 8
-e included an e+tra ro& for a '-('v meter. -e also included the number of steps
and a suggestion for the number of digits &e can claim for the meter. )t loo#s reasonable to call a '-('v meter &ith ('%''' steps a 0.8 digit meter% and that/s the &ay they are sold. "hat/s it for digits in a voltmeter. "hat/s the &ay that they are specified% and that/s &hat you pay for &hen you buy a DVM. "he number of digits is determined by the number of bits in the A/D% and &e need to loo# at that idea 3ust a little bit more. Click here for a lab e+ercise that gets you thin#ing about the topic.

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Digital Voltmeters

A *ote on Voltmeter 9pecifications

"he *umber $f Digits )n A DVM

Bange (v) '-, '-,' '-,''

Digits (for .'',v) ( 0 8

Bange '-,v '-,'v '-('v '-,''v

Digits (for .'',v) ( 0 0.8? 8

C9teps ,''' ,'%''' ('%''' ,''%'''

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