1 class day

Lab 1: Introduction to Laboratory Equipment

For this first lab you will be working individually. When you enter the lab, please
find a bench that is not occupied. You will only be allowed one class period to
work on this lab. You must hand in your answers to the tasks contained in this
lab at the end of class.
This lab is easy to complete in 3 hours, if you have read the lab in advance.

I. The Breadboard
We will be watch the first video. You will need headphones for the computer.
Introduction to Breadboard, Part 1 (8 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiqNaSPTI7w
Optional: How Breadboards Work (10 min):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqw6ask5HK0

II. The DC Power Pack

There are two DC power supplies on your bench. The first is the black box sitting
on your desk. The power supply is plugged in to the connector on the
breadboard platform. The wires coming out of the back end of the breadboard
connector are as follows:
UNUSED
COM

+5V

-12V

+12V
GROUND

GROUND is a direct connection to the Earth through the ground terminal on the
three-prong wall plug. COM stands for Common Ground. It is the reference
point from which the other voltages (+5V, 12V) are measured. COM is a
floating reference point. . Floating means it is not connected to Earth ground.
All four terminals (+5V, 12V, and COM) are isolated by a transformer, whose
secondary windings power the circuitry that generates the output voltages. In
fact, COM can be biased by a different power supply to any potential (up to 30V

or so) and the three output voltages will likewise follow.

The key thing to note is that the output voltages are relative to the floating COM
terminal and not to the GND terminal. Thus, for all the labs it is recommended
to connect the COM terminal to the GND terminal.
Each voltage from the DC power pack (+5V, 12V) is sent through a separate
fuse on the breadboard mount. Make sure you only make connections to the
supply voltage after the fuse. In the case of a wiring error, the fuse will blow, thus
saving the power supply from possible damage. We do not provide an
unlimited supply of replacement fuses. Please check your circuits very
carefully before connecting to power!

The second DC power supply is the HP E3616A:

There are two knobs on the right: Voltage, and Current. These are used to adjust
the constant voltage output by the device, or the constant current output by the
device, if used as a current source. The three jacks on the front panel are the
positive (red, left), negative (black, middle), and ground (green, right) outputs.
These jacks allow for easy connections to a banana plug or a wire. To connect a
wire you unscrew the grey covering of the jack a few turns, thread a wire through
the hole in the jack connector post, and tighten the covering again. You can then
connect the wire to your breadboard. For constant voltage mode, the current
knob must be turned to a setting above any that need be supplied and then the
voltage knob is set for the desired voltage. For constant current mode, the
voltage knob must be turned to a setting above any that need be supplied and
then the current knob is set for the desired current. The potential at the red
terminal is always above that at the black terminal by the amount shown on the
readout, but this potential difference is, like the power pack, floating. If the black
terminal is wired to the green ground the red terminal will be at the potential given
on the readout. If the red terminal is wired to this ground, the black terminal will
be at a potential equal to the negative of the readout.

The supplies may already have the black terminal grounded (with an easy to
miss wire between them) for using the red terminal as a positive supply voltage.

The rest of this lab will require you use a +5V source to explore various
equipment. Please alternate between the power pack and the HP supply to
gain experience using both.

III. The Multimeter

(Taken in part from www.doctronics.co.uk)
A. What do meters measure?
A meter is a measuring instrument. An ammeter measures current, a voltmeter
measures the potential difference (voltage) between two points, and an
ohmmeter measures resistance. A multimeter combines these functions, and
possibly some additional ones as well, into a single instrument.
Before going in to detail about multimeters, it is important for you to have a clear
idea of how meters are connected into circuits. Diagrams A and B below show a
circuit before and after connecting an ammeter:

Left: Diagram A. Right: Diagram B.

To measure current, the circuit must be broken to allow the ammeter to be
connected in series. Ammeters must have a LOW resistance.
Think about the changes you would have to make to a practical circuit in order to
include the ammeter. To start with, you need to break the circuit so that the
ammeter can be connected in series. All the current flowing in the circuit must
pass through the ammeter. Meters are not supposed to alter the behavior of the
circuit, or at least not significantly, and it follows that an ammeter must have a
very LOW resistance.

Diagram C shows the same circuit after connecting a voltmeter:

Left: Diagram A. Right: Diagram C.

To measure potential difference (voltage), the circuit is not changed. The
voltmeter is connected in parallel. Voltmeters must have a HIGH
resistance
This time, you do not need to break the circuit. The voltmeter is connected in
parallel between the two points where the measurement is to be made. Since the
voltmeter provides a parallel pathway, it should take as little current as possible.
In other words, a voltmeter should have a very HIGH resistance.
An ohmmeter does not function with a circuit connected to a power supply. If you
want to measure the resistance of a particular component, you must take it out of
the circuit altogether and test it separately.
To measure resistance, the component must be removed from the circuit
altogether. Ohmmeters work by passing a current through the component
being tested.
If you try this with the component connected into a circuit with a power supply,
the most likely result is that the meter will be damaged. Most multimeters have a
fuse to help protect against misuse.

Questions, Part III A:

1. If the potential difference (voltage) across a wire is constant, reducing the
resistance of the wire causes the current to . . . ?
2. If the potential difference (voltage) across a wire is increased, without
changing its resistance, the current will . . . ?
3. In the circuit below, which switches should be closed . . .

(A) to light lamp L1 only?

(B) to light lamp L2 only?
(C) to light lamps L1 and L2?
4. What would happen to lamps L1 and L2 if switches S1, S2 and S3 were all
closed at the same time? Why should closing all three switches be avoided?

B. Digital multimeters
The diagram below shows a switched range multimeter, very similar to the ones
we use in the lab:

The central knob has lots of positions and you must choose which one is
appropriate for the measurement you want to make. For volt measurements, you
should have the - connected into the COM input, and the + connected to V. If the
meter is switched to 20 V DC, for example, then 20 V is the maximum voltage
that can be measured. A display value of 1 means that the value youre trying to
measure is too high with respect to the knob position (max allowed measured
value). Try turning the knob to get a higher max range.
DC ranges are indicated by V--- on the meter. DC means direct current: current
flow is always in the same direction. AC means alternating current: current
reverses, or alternates, in direction. AC ranges are indicated by V~ on your
multimeter.
For current measurements, you should have - connected to the COM input, and
the + connected to mA. The dial should be switched to A--- for DC.
The current measurement components of the multimeter contain overload
protection fuses. If no current measurements are possible, your fuse may be
blown.
Always connect the COM to ground(-) before connecting your + to the
multimeter!

When an ammeter is placed in series with a circuit, it ideally drops no voltage as

current goes through it. In other words, it acts very much like a piece of wire, with
very little resistance from one test probe to the other. Consequently, an ammeter
will act as a short circuit if placed in parallel (across the terminals of) a
substantial source of voltage. If this is done, a surge in current will result,
potentially damaging the meter
Ammeters are generally protected from excessive current by means of a small
fuse located inside the meter housing. If the ammeter is accidentally connected
across a substantial voltage source, the resultant surge in current will blow the
fuse and render the meter incapable of measuring current until the fuse is
replaced. Be very careful to avoid this scenario! We do not provide an
unlimited supply of replacement fuses.
You may test the condition of a multimeter's fuse by switching it to the resistance
mode and measuring continuity through the test leads (and through the fuse).
Connect the red lead to V and the black lead to mA. Touch the leads together. A
high resistance (off-scale) indicates a blown fuse. A low resistance means the
fuse is still good. When in doubt, please ask the instructor.

C. Making measurements
1. Voltage measurements:
The first task is to verify that the fuses on the back of the breadboard are all
working, and that you know how to use the multimeter to test the three voltages
coming out of the black DC power box (+5, +12, -12).
- Connect the black box DC power supply to your breadboard.
- Connect the COM wire from the breadboard to the COM hole in your multimeter
using the alligator clip wires.
- Connect one of the three fused wires to the V hole in your multimeter using the
alligator clip wires.
- Turn the multimeter knob to 20V DC.
- Turn the multimeter on.
- Record the measurement. If you dont see any value, please check youre your
power supply is turned on. Repeat for the other two fused wires on the back of
the breadboard.

Next, build the circuit shown below using prototype board and four 10 resistors:

Were really using a +5V power supply, provided by either DC power supply.
Using the multimeter as a voltmeter, measure the power supply voltage and then
measure the voltages at points A, B and C.
Question IIIC, 1: What do you notice about your results?
The four resistors are connected in series, making a chain known as a voltage
divider. The total voltage is shared between the four equal resistors and, allowing
for tolerance, each resistor receives an equal share.
Modify the circuit, replacing one or more of the four resistors with 1K or 100K
values.
Question IIIC, 2 : Record the resistor value(s) you used as a replacement
and remeasure the voltages at A, B, and C. Explain your results.

2. Resistance measurements:
Remove one of your resistors from the circuit and measure its resistance. To get
the multimeter to function as an ohmmeter you will need to select an appropriate
resistance range.
You can check the value of any fixed value resistor in the same way, and confirm
that you have worked out the color code correctly.

Question IIIC, 3: Record the expected value of your resistor, and your
measured value. What is the percent deviation between the measured and
color code resistance?
Percent deviation: ( ( |measured expected| / expected) * 100 )
Small variations, up to 5%, can be attributed to the tolerance of the resistors.
Question IIIC, 4: By what percent do your measurements vary? Are they all
within 5% of each other?

3. Current measurements:
The diagram below shows a prototype board set up for the measurement of
current:

Remember, were using +5V. Note that the current must flow through the
ammeter in order to flow through the resistors.
Question IIIC, 5: Take a reading of the current with the link wire to 0 V in
position A. Write down the current value you observe. Take new readings
after moving the link to positions B, C and D and record your observations.
Don't forget to write in the measurement units of your answer. As the
resistance increases the current decreases. Calculate the current expected
in each case using the formula V= IR.

IV. The Oscilloscope

(Taken in part from Hands-On Electronics, Kaplan and White)
With its many switches and knobs, a modern oscilloscope can easily intimidate
the faint of heart, yet the scope is an essential tool for electronics troubleshooting
and you must become familiar with it. Accordingly, the rest of this laboratory
session will be devoted to becoming acquainted with such an instrument and
seeing some of the things it can do.
The oscilloscope we use is the Tektronix TDS210.

Illustration of the Tektronix TDS210 digital oscilloscope. The basic features to be

used in this tutorial are marked. Note and remember the location of the
AUTOSET button when all else fails, try autoset!

A digital scope operates on the same principle as a digital music recorder. In a

digital scope, the input signal is sampled, digitized, and stored in memory. The
digitized signal can then be displayed on a computer screen.
One of your first objectives will be to set up the scope. After that, you can learn
about multiple traces and triggering. Start by using the built-in calibrator signal
provided by the scope on a metal contact labeled Probe Comp, located near the
lower right-hand corner of the display screen.

A. Probes and probe test

Oscilloscopes come with probes: cables that have a coaxial connector (similar to
that used for cable TV) on one end, for connecting to the scope, and a special tip
on the other, for connecting to any desired point in the circuit to be tested. To
increase the scopes input impedance and affect the circuit under test as little as
possible, we generally use a 10X attenuating probe, which has circuitry inside
that divides the signal voltage by ten. Some scopes sense the nature of the
probe and automatically correct for this factor of ten; others (such as the
TDS210) need to be told by the user what probe attenuation will be.
Your scope has a built-in calibrator circuit that puts out a standard square wave
you can use to test the probe. The probes coaxial connector slips over the CH 1
or CH 2 input jack and turns clockwise to lock into place. The CH 1 and CH 2
menu buttons can be used to turn the display of each channel on or off; they also
select which control settings are programmed by the push-buttons just to the right
of the screen. You must have the Probe setting on 10X when you are using
the probe! The probe tip has a spring-loaded sheath that slides back, allowing
you to grab the calibrator-signal contact with a metal hook or grabber.
An attenuating scope probe can distort a signal. The manufacturer therefore
provides a compensation adjustment screw, which needs to be tuned for
minimum distortion. The adjustment screw is located on the assembly that
connects the probe to the scope. Display the calibrator square-wave signal on
the scope by hooking the probe tip to the Probe Comp. (If you have trouble
achieving a stable display, try AUTOSET.) Carefully adjust the probe
compensation using a small screwdriver and try to observe the overshoot and
undershoot at the transitions in the square wave. Adjust the screw to where the
overshoot is just barely eliminated.
Question IV A, 1: Check two probes. Make sure that both probes work, are
properly compensated, and have equal calibrations. Sketch the observed
waveform. Include the values for CH1, CH2, and M at the bottom of the
screen.
Note that each probe also has an alligator clip (sometimes referred to as the
reference lead or ground clip). This connects to the shield of the coaxial cable.
It is useful for reducing noise when looking at high-frequency (time intervals of
order nanoseconds) or low-voltage signals. Since it is connected directly to the
scopes case, which is grounded via the third prong of the AC power plug, it must
never be allowed to touch a point in a circuit other than ground! Otherwise you
will create a short circuit by connecting multiple points to ground, which could
damage circuit components.

This is no trouble if you are measuring a voltage with respect to ground. But if
you want to measure a voltage drop between two points in a circuit, neither of
which is at ground, first observe one point (with the probe) and then the other.
The difference between the two measurements is the voltage across the element.
During this process, the reference lead should remain firmly attached to ground
and should not be moved! (Alternatively, you can use two probes and configure
the scope to subtract one input from the other.)
Warning: A short circuit will occur if the probes reference lead is
connected anywhere other than ground.

B. Display
Your oscilloscope users manual will explain the information displayed on the
scopes screen. Record the various settings: timebase calibration, vertical scale
factors, etc.
Question IV B, 1: Explain briefly the various pieces of information
displayed around the edges of the screen.

C. Vertical controls
There is a set of vertical controls for each channel. These adjust the sensitivity
(volts per vertical division on the screen) and offset (the vertical position on the
screen that corresponds to zero volts).
Question IV C, 1: Display a waveform from the calibrator on channel 1.
What happens when you adjust the POSITION knob? The VOLTS/DIV
knob?

D. Horizontal sweep
To the right of the vertical controls are the horizontal controls. Normally, the
scope displays voltage on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. The
SEC/DIV knob sets the sensitivity of the horizontal axis, i.e. the interval of time
per horizontal division on the screen. The POSITION knob moves the image
horizontally on the screen.
Question IV D, 1: How many periods of the square wave are you displaying
on the screen? How many divisions are there per period? What time
interval corresponds to a horizontal division?

Question IV D, 2: Adjust the SEC/DIV knob to display a larger number of

periods. Now what is the time per division? How many divisions are there
per period?

E. Triggering
Triggering is probably the most complicated function performed by the scope. To
create a stable image of a repetitive waveform, the scope must trigger its display
at a particular voltage, known as the trigger threshold. The display is
synchronized whenever the input signal crosses that voltage, so that many
images of the signal occurring one after another can be superimposed in the
same place on the screen. The LEVEL knob sets the threshold voltage for
triggering.
You can select whether triggering occurs when the threshold voltage is crossed
from below (rising-edge triggering) or from above (falling-edge triggering) using
the trigger menu (or, for some scope models, using trigger control knobs and
switches). You can also select the signal source for the triggering circuitry to be
channel 1, channel 2, an external trigger signal, or the 120 V AC power line, and
control various other triggering features as well.
Since setting up the trigger can be tricky, the TDS210 provides an automatic
setup feature (via the AUTOSET button) which can lock in on almost any
repetitive signal presented at the input and adjust the voltage sensitivity and
offset, the time sensitivity, and the triggering to produce a stable display.
In normal trigger mode, the scope acquires new readings only on a valid trigger
(you can see the ready/trigger indicator at the top of the display change to trigger
on a valid trigger. Auto mode works like normal mode when valid triggers are
present, but switches to free running mode when triggers are not present.
Question IV E, 1: After getting a stable display of the calibrator signal,
adjust the LEVEL knob in each direction until the scope just barely stops
triggering. What is the range of trigger level that gives stable triggering on
the calibrator signal? How does it compare with the amplitude of the
calibrator waveform? Does this make sense? Explain.

F. Coupling
DC coupling means that whatever voltage is connected to the scope input will be
displayed; this is usually what you want. AC coupling places a capacitor in series
with the input which blocks any DC voltage in the input waveform. Sometimes

this is handy to see a small signal on top of a constant offset. The ground setting
just shows you where zero volts is on the display and does not ground the input
lead.
Question IV F, 1: Try looking at the calibration square wave as you
change the coupling from DC to AC and describe the changes in the scope
display.

V. The Function Generator

Next connect the scope to the function generator using a co-axial (BNC) cable.
Connect the cable to the FUNC OUT connector on the front panel of the function
generator.
Turn the generator on. This automatically produces a 1000 KHz, 1V peak to
peak, sine wave. Adjust your scope accordingly to see the sine wave. Notice
the 50 on the left side of the function generator is green. The factory default
assumes a 50 load. Accordingly, the function generator supplies a voltage that
would produce the desired waveform in a 50 load. If your actual load differs
from 50, the waveform at your load will differ from the desired waveform. In this
class you should always use the HIGH-Z setting of the function generator. To
change to HIGH-Z, press the SHIFT/MHz key once (SHIFT will be lit), and then
press the number 6. Note that if the menu is set to 50 and the actual load is
high impedance, the voltage that appears across the high impedance load will be
2 times the voltage shown on the display.
The function generators amplitude and frequency are adjusted by means of the
FREQ and AMPL buttons.
Question V 1: Look at each of the waveforms available from the function
generator: square, sine, and triangle. Try out the frequency and voltage
controls and explain how they work.
Adjust the function generators frequency to about 1 kHz. Display both scope
channels, with one channel looking at the output of the function generator and
the other looking at the scopes calibrator signal. Make sure the vertical
sensitivity and offset are adjusted for each channel so that the signal trace is
visible.

Question V 2: What do you see on the screen if you trigger on channel 1?

On channel 2?
Question V 3: What do you see if neither channel causes triggering (for
example, if the trigger threshold is set too high or too low)?
Question V 4: How does this depend on whether you select normal or
auto trigger mode? Why? (If you find this confusing, be sure to ask for
help, or study the oscilloscope manual more carefully.)

The TDS210 oscilloscope has many more features than the ones described so
far. Particularly useful are the digital measurement features. Push the MEASURE
button to program these. You can use them to measure the amplitude, period,
and frequency of a signal.
Using the measurement features, determine the amplitude, frequency, and period
of a waveform of your choice from the function generator.
Question V 5: Explain which waveform you used, the settings on the
function generator for amplitude and frequency, how you made these
measurements and what your results were.
You can also use the on-screen cursors to make measurements. Use the
cursors to measure the half-period of the signal you just measured.
Question V 6: Explain how you made these measurements and what your
results were.
A feature that comes in particularly useful on occasion is signal averaging; this is
programmed via the ACQUIRE button and allows noise, which tends to be
random in time, to be suppressed relative to signal, which is usually periodic.