Department of Electronics & Telecommunication

PUNE INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, PUNE - 411043
Department of Electronics & Telecommunication

CLASS:
S.E. E &TC
SUBJECT: EIT
EXPT. NO. : 2
DATE:
TITLE
: DIGITAL MULTIMETER
OBJECTIVE
1. AC Voltage Measurement: Line-Neutral, Line-Earthing, Earthing-Neutral

2. DC Voltage Measurement: Vary the DC Power Supply
DC Current Measurement: LED Current Measurement.
3. AC Current Measurement: Using Variable Dimmerstat.
4. All types of resistors (MFR, CFR, Variable and Fixed) to be tested &
measured
5. Color code Measurement of resistor and wattage measurement on DMM.
To explain Resolution concept of DMM, measurement on 3, 4 and 6
digit DMM.
6. Measurement and comparison of hfe BJT BC547/BC548
Testing of BJT, Diodes, FET: Forward / Reverse Biased, faulty conditions,
Open and Short Circuit conditions.
APPARATUS
: 1.
2.
3.
4.
THEORY
:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Digital multimeter with probes

Sample resistor, capacitor, LED, Transistor
Signal generator
CRO with probes
Advantage and features of DMM

DMMS have improved the accuracy, stability and versatility
of older analog meters.
Low cost, portable and easier to use than analog meters.
Auto ranging facility Some of the DMMs select the correct
range for displaying the measured with maximum number
of significant digits.
Auto-polarity selection: It enables the instrument to read
either polarity of voltage or current or display the polarity.
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5. Overload protection: Protection against the excessive
measured.
6. Peak hold: To measure and hold the peak value of the
signal.
7. Logic sensing: To check logic 0 and logic1 levels in the
digital logic circuits.
8. For industrial applications ruggedized meters are also
designed for protection against sprayed water heat or
accidental overload.
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF DMM:
Display
Ac
attenuator
and
converter
ac
dc
High
Dc
Attenuator
A/D
Converter
Optional
IEEE-488
output
Ohms
Amps
Ohms
Converter
Control
logic and
precision
reference
Optional
BCD
Output
Shunts
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF BLOCK DIAGRAM:

DC Voltage attenuator:
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The DC signals that can be handled by the input of an A/D
converter are in general limited to less than 10V. This means that
DC voltages of more than 10V have to be attenuated in the input
stage of a DMM before they can be passed on to the ADC.
The circuit shows a simple form of attenuator.
1K
200mV
Vin
To ADC
2V
9M
20V
900K
200V
90K
2000V
10K
In 200mV and 2V settings the input signal is directly applied
to the ADC. In the other settings it is attenuated first. The
attenuator offers a fixed input impedance of 10M in all the
settings.
Current to voltage converter:
DC currents are converted into voltages by shunt in way that
the voltage across the shunt at full range is some for all the current
ranges.
The following circuit shows a current to voltage converter .
Overload protection is provided in lower current ranges by
connecting two diodes in anti parallel. In case of overloads one of
the diode starts conducting and the fuse blows off.
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Iin
200uA
900
2mA
90
20mA
To ADC
9
200mA
0.9
2A
0.1
Fuse
0
AC / DC converter:
A widely used system for AC/DC conversion is average
detector as shown in below
R2
D1
i2
R3
Vin
D2
Vd
R1
R1
OP-AMP
In average detector it can be shown that

Thus Vd is linear function of Vin(ac)
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2.4
R2
R1
Vd Vin
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Resistance to voltage converter:
Resistances are measured by passing a constant current
through unknown resistance Rx and then measuring voltage across
it. A possible circuit is shown below.
Constant
current
generator
R2
R1
DC o/p
Rx
RL
In this case the input voltage to the OP-AMP is constant, while

the output voltage is Rx(Vin/R1), that is proportional to Rx.
Analog to digital converter (ADC):
The function of ADC is to convert the analog input signal into
discrete number of steps that can easily be counted and presented
in decimal form on a numerical display. A/D conversion can be
divided into two process like sampling and quantization as shown
below.
Analog
Input
Sampler
Quantizer
Digital
output
The process of converting the sampled analog quantity to

digital number is quantization.
RMS and TRUE RMS measurement:
Most DMMs rectify ac and measure the average of the rectified
ac waveform. The value is converted in rms value for display by
scaling the result by a factor of 1.11 (ratio of rms to average for
sine waveform). This is referred as an RMS measurement. If the
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input signal contains a dc component or if the input signal is nonsinusoidal waveform, the results of RMS measurement are
inaccurate.
Some new DMMs incorporate true RMS reading feature. This is
achieved by having an circuit which does have true rms to dc
conversion like IC AD736(True rms to dc converter).
Bandwidth of the meter:
The ac voltage measurements are inaccurate if the input
signal frequency is not within the limits of bandwidth of the meter.
Typically the lower frequency of the meter is 45Hz and the upper
frequency limit depends upon the meter design (from less than 1
KHz to 1MHz).
Hence it is important to check the specification before
attempting any ac measurements.
Composite voltage measurement:
When a signal comprising of AC and DC components as shown
in the following figure is measured with multimeter, the meter reads
only the dc portion only in the dc voltage range and it measures the
AC portion (RMS value) in the AC voltage range.
AC waveform
DC level
For eg. If sine wave off 10 Vp-p with +5V dc shift is measured with
the multimeter, it will show following readings
DC voltage range:
5.0V
AC voltage range:
3.535V
10VP P
2 2
DIGITAL MULTIMETER SPECIFICATION:

Resolution:
Resolution can be expressed by the number of digits,
which can be displayed or it can be expressed as the smallest
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difference in voltage, current or resistance that the meter can
display.
The number of digits shown on the DMM is expressed as
mixed number as 3 or 3 or 5 etc. The whole number
indicates the number of nines the display is able to show. The
fraction indicates the display is unable to show all possible
decimal numbers in most significant position. For eg. The
fraction indicates that MSD can be either 0 or 1, a
indicates the MSD can either be 0,1 or 3. A 3 display can
show the number from 000 to 3999 or 1 part in 4000 or .
025%.
Resolution of DMM depends upon the resolution of A/D
converter used within it.
Accuracy:
Accuracy is specified as a percentage of the reading plus
or minimum a number of counts to reflect the behavior of the
circuit. Accuracy is also specified as percentage of the reading
plus a percentage of the full scale reading. Accuracy
specification depends upon the type of measurement as well
as the range of measurement.
Sensitivity:
It is the ratio of output response to the input cause
under static condition. It is related to the lowest range
available for a given function. It can be expressed as division
per volt or millimeter per volt.
Response Time:
It is the time required for the meter to respond to an
input signal change. It is dependent on A/D conversion time
and setting time. For automatic measurement, it is an
indication of how many readings can be taken per second
(measurement rate).
Fuses and batteries used in DMM:
Large current surges from overloads or short circuits can lead
to component destruction or electric shocks in DMM. To guard the
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DMM a fuse is used. In DMM the fuse used is a glass encapsulated
fuse within which a length of fine wire or thin metal is fitted. It is
heated up and melts if its maximum current rating is exceeded.
This maximum current rating is written on the fuse.
FUSE can be tested on the multimeter by checking the
continuity between the metal end contacts.
Metals end
Contacts
Special alloy wire element
Glass envelope
Battery:
All circuits and electrical equipment require sources of electric
power. The battery is most common sources of the dc power. It
utilizes energy from electromechanical reaction to supply this
power.
The battery used in DMM is generally a high-power zinc
carbon battery of 9 volts. Zinc carbon batteries are commonly
used because of their low cost and general application capability.
The quantity termed as capacity of a battery indicates the number
of ampere-hours (A-h). A battery can deliver before terminal
voltage drops below certain designated level. Manufacture some
times specify the shelf life (maximum life) of battery which is
defined as the period of time required to reduce the battery
voltage to around 90% of its original value if it is not used.
Observation Table:
AC Voltage Measurement
Line-Neutral
Line-Earth
Earth-Neutral
Observed
Standard
DC Voltage Measurement
Observed
Theoretical
Experimental set up for AC Current Measurement:

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Using Variable Dimmer stat
Experimental set up for DC Current Measurement:

LED Current Measurement
Resistor Measurement
Type of the
Resistor
Value Observed by
Color Code
Measurement Using
DMM
Transistor Measurement Diagram:
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component measurement
Forward
Voltage
Reverse
Voltage
Open
Condition
Close
Condition
Transistor
BC547
BE
BC
CE
hfe
BC548
BE
BC
CE
hfe
SL100
BE
BC
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CE
hfe
BE
BC
CE
hfe
BE
BC
CE
hfe
SK100
2N3055
Diode
1N4007
1N4148
References:
1. Helfrick
and Cooper, Modern

Measurement. Tata Mcgraw Hill
2. DMM Instruction Manual
3. http://www.epanorama.net/links
Electronic
Instrumentation
and
QUESTION: DIGITAL MULTIMETER

1. What is the percent resolution of
a. A 10 bit A/D converter
b. A 15 bit A/D converter
2. What is the resolution in volts for the following meters?
a. 3 digit meter on 2V range
b. 3 digit meter on 20V range
c. 4 digit meter on 20V range
3. Can a 2 digit meter measure 1mV if the basic range is 0
to 200V
4. If 2 DMMs have following specification, compute the
possible error for given specifications for a 3 digit meter
operating at 250C with input of 100V.
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5.
6.
7.
8.
Meter 1:- Accuracy 0.05 % rdg (reading) +1 digit

at 250C
Meter 2:- Accuracy 0.05 % rdg (reading) +0.03%
FS (full scale) at 250C
For the multimeter you are using write
a. Battery voltage
b. Fuse rating
What is the use of logic on the DMM?
What is the input impedance of the DMM you are using,
while doing the voltage measurements?
What will be the expected readings if following waveforms
are measured in
a. AC range
b. DC range of DMM
i. Half wave rectified output with 15Vp amplitude.
ii. Half wave rectified output with 15Vp amplitude.
iii. Sine wave with Vp=10V and a DC of 5V.
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PUNE INSTITUTE OF COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, PUNE - 411043