EMO Phy 120 Lab 04

Lab 04
To measure AC Signals using Oscilloscope and
Function Generator

Objective:
To measure the “AC signals” using Oscilloscope and Function Generator .

Apparatus:
Oscilloscope
Function Generator

Oscilloscope
Oscilloscope is also known as a O-scope, CRO, DSO or simply Scope. Oscilloscope is a
graphical display device which is used to visualize time-varying signals such as a voltage signal
changing rapidly or slowly w.r.to time which cannot be measured with multimeter. The
displayed waveform can then be analyzed for properties such as amplitude, frequency, rise time,
time interval, distortion, and others.
EMO Phy 120 Lab 04

Uses
 To view the signals coming directly from devices such as sound cards, allowing the real-
time display of waves.
 In medicine, to display the waveform of the heartbeat as Electrocardiogram.
 In engineering,
 To test the circuits (how much noise is in your circuit)
 Determining the frequency and amplitude of a signal,
 Identifying the shape of a waveform -- sine, square, triangle, sawtooth,
complex, etc

Analog Oscilloscope or CRO

It works on the principle of CRT (TV), so it is also called as Cathode Ray Oscilloscope. CRT
displays the signal in X-Y plane. Here, Y-axis represents the incoming voltage and X-axis
represents the ramp waveform.
An electron beam is made to fall on the screen where it becomes visible as a bright blue dot. The
beam (trace) is then moved along a horizontal line using the ramp waveform voltage (saw-tooth
voltage) i.e., the trace moves across the screen as the ramp waveform voltage increases. When
the trace reaches the screen end, the waveform trace sets back to the beginning.
The fast-moving dot gives the appearance of a blue line. Then the signal to be graphed on the
screen is applied vertically so that the beam of electrons moves in a vertical access accordingly.
The result is a plot of the time varying applied signal on the oscilloscope screen.

Digital Oscilloscope or DSO

It shows the sampled version of analog signal , so termed as Digital Storage Oscilloscope. A
storage oscilloscope can capture a single event and display it continuously.
Advantages:
1. Cheaper
2. Data can be stored, transferred, or modified easily for further analysis.
EMO Phy 120 Lab 04

Using the Oscilloscope

Horizontal Section
The horizontal section changes the divisions using the center of screen as reference.
Seconds per division (s/div) Knob: Rotating the Sec/Div knob clockwise will decrease the
number of seconds per division (“zooming in”) and counterclockwise will increase.
Position Knob: Moves the waveform to the right or left of the display, adjusting the horizontal
offset.

Vertical Section
Vertical section controls the amplitude of the signal.

Volts/Div (Vertical scale) knob: controls the amplitude per division setting for a waveform, using
ground as a reference.

Rotating the Volts/Div knob clockwise will decrease the scale, and counter-clockwise will increase. A
smaller scale – fewer volts per division on the screen – means you’re more “zoomed in” to the
waveform.

Position knob: The position knob controls the vertical offset (position) of the waveform on the screen.
Rotate the knob clockwise, and the wave will move down, counter-clockwise will move it up the display.

AUTOSET button:
Automatically sets the scales according to the input waveform.

Trigger Section
 The trigger determines when to display or store the captured data.
 It controls the start event of a sweep.
 It tells the scope what parts of the signal to “trigger” on and start measuring.
 It is used to stabilize the waveform. It converts unstable displays or blank screens into
meaningful waveforms.
 The trigger can be set to restart automatically after each sweep or can be configured to
respond to an internal or external event.
EMO Phy 120 Lab 04

 The principal controls of this section are the source and coupling selector switches, and an
external trigger input (EXT Input) and level adjustment.

Function generator
A function generator is a device to generate arbitrary time varying waveforms. It is used for
testing and designing circuits in a lab environment. The function generator used in this lab is
Instek AFG 2225. A function generator has a frequency range, and we can get varying amplitude
from its main output. We can verify its frequency and wave shapes by applying its output to
oscilloscope.

Generating a Signal
 Turn the power on and press the output key.

 Press the sine key, if not already active.

 Enter a value of 2 using numeric keypad and then choose units to be kHz. We can also specify time period
instead of frequency if we press the “Freq” soft key and then specify the time period.

 Similarly press the Amplitude soft key to enter amplitude and offset soft key to enter DC offset. 
EMO Phy 120 Lab 04

 The units can be changed by pressing first the +/- key and then entering new units.

 Similarly, by pressing the square, ramp, pulse etc. keys we can generate arbitrary waveforms of
different characteristics.

Lab Task: Measuring AC Signals using Oscilloscope

Procedure:
1. Turn on the oscilloscope and function generator.
2. Set the function generator to 1 KHz frequency by pressing 1 KHz button and multiplier to
X1. 
3. Generate different types of waveforms from function generator.
4. Now observe the signal by attaching the probe of the function generator to any probe of
the oscilloscope channel.
5. Adjust volt/div and time/div to observe proper signal.
6. Measure the amplitude of the signal (Peak and RMS value of the voltage).
7. Time per div = t =
8. No of divisions in which wave complete its 1 cycle = N =
9. Time period = T = Total No of divisions (N) x Time per div (t) =
10. Repeat the process.

Observation & Calculation

For Sinusoidal Waveform

No. of V rms
Frequency V olts V rms
S. No Vertical V P−P VP V
(Hz) ¿ V rms = P VP
Divisions √2
1              

2              
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3              

For Square Waveform

No. of V rms V rms

Frequency V olts V P−P VP
S. No Vertical
(Hz) ¿ V rms =V P VP
Divisions
1              

2              

3              

For Triangular Waveform

No. of V rms
Frequency V olts V rms
S. No Vertical V P−P VP V
(Hz) ¿ V rms = P VP
Divisions √3
1              

2              

3