6

Electrical indicating and

test instruments
The magnitude of voltage signals can be measured by various electrical indicating and
test instruments, such as meters (both analogue and digital), the cathode ray oscillo-
scope and the digital storage oscilloscope. As well as signal-level voltages, many of
these instruments can also measure higher-magnitude voltages, and this is indicated
where appropriate.

6.1 Digital meters

All types of digital meter are basically modified forms of the digital voltmeter (DVM),
irrespective of the quantity that they are designed to measure. Digital meters designed
to measure quantities other than voltage are in fact digital voltmeters that contain
appropriate electrical circuits to convert current or resistance measurement signals into
voltage signals. Digital multimeters are also essentially digital voltmeters that contain
several conversion circuits, thus allowing the measurement of voltage, current and
resistance within one instrument.
Digital meters have been developed to satisfy a need for higher measurement accur-
acies and a faster speed of response to voltage changes than can be achieved with
analogue instruments. They are technically superior to analogue meters in almost
every respect. However, they have a greater cost due to the higher manufacturing
costs compared with analogue meters. The binary nature of the output reading from
a digital instrument can be readily applied to a display that is in the form of discrete
numerals. Where human operators are required to measure and record signal voltage
levels, this form of output makes an important contribution to measurement reliability
and accuracy, since the problem of analogue meter parallax error is eliminated and
the possibility of gross error through misreading the meter output is greatly reduced.
The availability in many instruments of a direct output in digital form is also very
useful in the rapidly expanding range of computer control applications. Quoted inac-
curacy figures are between š0.005% (measuring d.c. voltages) and š2%. Additional
advantages of digital meters are their very high input impedance (10 M compared
with 1–20 k for analogue meters), the ability to measure signals of frequency up
to 1 MHz and the common inclusion of features such as automatic ranging, which
prevents overload and reverse polarity connection etc.
 Measurement and Instrumentation Principles 103

The major part of a digital voltmeter is the circuitry that converts the analogue
voltage being measured into a digital quantity. As the instrument only measures d.c.
quantities in its basic mode, another necessary component within it is one that performs
a.c.–d.c. conversion and thereby gives it the capacity to measure a.c. signals. After
conversion, the voltage value is displayed by means of indicating tubes or a set of solid-
state light-emitting diodes. Four-, five- or even six-figure output displays are commonly
used, and although the instrument itself may not be inherently more accurate than some
analogue types, this form of display enables measurements to be recorded with much
greater accuracy than that obtainable by reading an analogue meter scale.
Digital voltmeters differ mainly in the technique used to effect the analogue-to-digital
conversion between the measured analogue voltage and the output digital reading. As a
general rule, the more expensive and complicated conversion methods achieve a faster
conversion speed. Some common types of DVM are discussed below.

6.1.1 Voltage-to-time conversion digital voltmeter

This is the simplest form of DVM and is a ramp type of instrument. When an unknown
voltage signal is applied to the input terminals of the instrument, a negative-slope ramp
waveform is generated internally and compared with the input signal. When the two
are equal, a pulse is generated that opens a gate, and at a later point in time a second
pulse closes the gate when the negative ramp voltage reaches zero. The length of time
between the gate opening and closing is monitored by an electronic counter, which
produces a digital display according to the level of the input voltage signal. Its main
drawbacks are non-linearities in the shape of the ramp waveform used and lack of noise
rejection, and these problems lead to a typical inaccuracy of š0.05%. It is relatively
cheap, however.

6.1.2 Potentiometric digital voltmeter

This uses a servo principle, in which the error between the unknown input voltage
level and a reference voltage is applied to a servo-driven potentiometer that adjusts
the reference voltage until it balances the unknown voltage. The output reading is
produced by a mechanical drum-type digital display driven by the potentiometer. This
is also a relatively cheap form of DVM that gives excellent performance for its price.

6.1.3 Dual-slope integration digital voltmeter

This is another relatively simple form of DVM that has better noise-rejection capa-
bilities than many other types and gives correspondingly better measurement accuracy
(inaccuracy as low as š0.005%). Unfortunately, it is quite expensive. The unknown
voltage is applied to an integrator for a fixed time T1 , following which a reference
voltage of opposite sign is applied to the integrator, which discharges down to a zero
output in an interval T2 measured by a counter. The output–time relationship for the
integrator is shown in Figure 6.1, from which the unknown voltage Vi can be calculated
104 Electrical indicating and test instruments

Output Vi applied
Vref applied

Time
T1 T2

Fig. 6.1 Output–time relationship for integrator in a dual-slope digital voltmeter (DVM).

geometrically from the triangle as:

Vi D Vref T1 /T2  6.1

6.1.4 Voltage-to-frequency conversion digital voltmeter

In this instrument, the unknown voltage signal is fed via a range switch and an amplifier
into a converter circuit whose output is in the form of a train of voltage pulses at a
frequency proportional to the magnitude of the input signal. The main advantage of
this type of DVM is its ability to reject a.c. noise.

6.1.5 Digital multimeter

This is an extension of the DVM. It can measure both a.c. and d.c. voltages over
a number of ranges through inclusion within it of a set of switchable amplifiers and
attenuators. It is widely used in circuit test applications as an alternative to the analogue
multimeter, and includes protection circuits that prevent damage if high voltages are
applied to the wrong range.

6.2 Analogue meters

Analogue meters are relatively simple and inexpensive and are often used instead
of digital instruments, especially when cost is of particular concern. Whilst digital
instruments have the advantage of greater accuracy and much higher input impedance,
analogue instruments suffer less from noise and isolation problems. In addition, because
analogue instruments are usually passive instruments that do not need a power supply,
this is often very useful in measurement applications where a suitable mains power
supply is not readily available. Many examples of analogue meter also remain in use
for historical reasons.
Analogue meters are electromechanical devices that drive a pointer against a scale.
They are prone to measurement errors from a number of sources that include inaccurate
 Measurement and Instrumentation Principles 105

scale marking during manufacture, bearing friction, bent pointers and ambient tempera-
ture variations. Further human errors are introduced through parallax error (not reading
the scale from directly above) and mistakes in interpolating between scale markings.
Quoted inaccuracy figures are between š0.1% and š3%. Various types of analogue
meter are used as discussed below.

6.2.1 Moving-coil meters

A moving-coil meter is a very commonly used form of analogue voltmeter because
of its sensitivity, accuracy and linear scale, although it only responds to d.c. signals.
As shown schematically in Figure 6.2, it consists of a rectangular coil wound round a
soft iron core that is suspended in the field of a permanent magnet. The signal being
measured is applied to the coil and this produces a radial magnetic field. Interaction
between this induced field and the field produced by the permanent magnet causes
a torque, which results in rotation of the coil. The amount of rotation of the coil is
measured by attaching a pointer to it that moves past a graduated scale. The theoretical
torque produced is given by:
T D BIhwN 6.2
where B is the flux density of the radial field, I is the current flowing in the coil, h
is the height of the coil, w is the width of the coil and N is the number of turns in
the coil. If the iron core is cylindrical and the air gap between the coil and pole faces
of the permanent magnet is uniform, then the flux density B is constant, and equation
(6.2) can be rewritten as:
T D KI 6.3
i.e. the torque is proportional to the coil current and the instrument scale is linear.
As the basic instrument operates at low current levels of one milliamp or so, it is
only suitable for measuring voltages up to around 2 volts. If there is a requirement
to measure higher voltages, the measuring range of the instrument can be increased
by placing a resistance in series with the coil, such that only a known proportion of

Permanent magnet

Pointer

N
S
Moving coil
Iron core
Spring

Fig. 6.2 Moving-coil meter.

106 Electrical indicating and test instruments

the applied voltage is measured by the meter. In this situation the added resistance is
known as a shunting resistor.
Whilst Figure 6.2 shows the traditional moving-coil instrument with a long U-shaped
permanent magnet, many newer instruments employ much shorter magnets made from
recently developed magnetic materials such as Alnico and Alcomax. These materials
produce a substantially greater flux density, which, besides allowing the magnet to be
smaller, has additional advantages in allowing reductions to be made in the size of the
coil and in increasing the usable range of deflection of the coil to about 120° . Some
versions of the instrument also have either a specially shaped core or specially shaped
magnet pole faces to cater for special situations where a non-linear scale such as a
logarithmic one is required.

6.2.2 Moving-iron meter

As well as measuring d.c. signals, the moving-iron meter can also measure a.c. signals
at frequencies up to 125 Hz. It is the cheapest form of meter available and, conse-
quently, this type of meter is also commonly used for measuring voltage signals. The
signal to be measured is applied to a stationary coil, and the associated field produced is
often amplified by the presence of an iron structure associated with the fixed coil. The
moving element in the instrument consists of an iron vane that is suspended within the
field of the fixed coil. When the fixed coil is excited, the iron vane turns in a direction
that increases the flux through it.
The majority of moving-iron instruments are either of the attraction type or of the
repulsion type. A few instruments belong to a third combination type. The attraction
type, where the iron vane is drawn into the field of the coil as the current is increased,
is shown schematically in Figure 6.3(a). The alternative repulsion type is sketched in
Figure 6.3(b). For an excitation current I, the torque produced that causes the vane to

Coil

Stationary
coil Pointer

Spring
Pointer

Iron vane Spring

Iron vane

(a) (b)

Fig. 6.3 Moving-iron meter: (a) attraction type; (b) repulsion type.
 Measurement and Instrumentation Principles 107

turn is given by:

I2 dM
TD
2 d
where M is the mutual inductance and  is the angular deflection. Rotation is opposed
by a spring that produces a backwards torque given by:

Ts D K

At equilibrium, T D Ts , and  is therefore given by:

I2 dM
D 6.4
2K d
The instrument thus has a square-law response where the deflection is proportional to
the square of the signal being measured, i.e. the output reading is a root-mean-squared
(r.m.s.) quantity.
The instrument can typically measure voltages in the range of 0 to 30 volts. However,
it can be modified to measure higher voltages by placing a resistance in series with
it, as in the case of moving coil meters. A series resistance is particularly beneficial
in a.c. signal measurements because it compensates for the effect of coil inductance
by reducing the total resistance/inductance ratio, and hence measurement accuracy is
improved. A switchable series resistance is often provided within the casing of the
instrument to facilitate range extension. However, when the voltage measured exceeds
about 300 volts, it becomes impractical to use a series resistance within the case of
the instrument because of heat-dissipation problems, and an external resistance is used
instead.

6.2.3 Electrodynamic meters

Electrodynamic meters (or dynamometers) can measure both d.c. signals and a.c.
signals up to a frequency of 2 kHz. As illustrated in Figure 6.4, the instrument has
a moving circular coil that is mounted in the magnetic field produced by two sepa-
rately wound, series-connected, circular stator coils. The torque is dependent upon the
mutual inductance between the coils and is given by:
dM
T D I1 I2 6.5
d
where I1 and I2 are the currents flowing in the fixed and moving coils, M is the mutual
inductance and  represents the angular displacement between the coils.
When used as an ammeter, the measured current is applied to both coils. The torque
is thus proportional to current2 . If the measured current is a.c., the meter is unable to
follow the alternating torque values and it displays instead the mean value of current2 .
By suitable drawing of the scale, the position of the pointer shows the squared root of
this value, i.e. the r.m.s. current.
Electrodynamic meters are typically expensive but have the advantage of being more
accurate than moving-coil and moving-iron instruments. Voltage, current and power can
108 Electrical indicating and test instruments

Scale

Pointer

Moving coil

Fixed stator coils

Fig. 6.4 Electrodynamic meter.

all be measured if the fixed and moving coils are connected appropriately. When used
for voltage measurement, the instrument can typically measure voltages in the range
of 0 to 30 volts. However, it can be modified to measure higher voltages by placing a
resistance in series with it, as in the case of moving-coil and moving-iron meters. Also,
as in the moving-iron meter, a series resistance is particularly beneficial in a.c. signal
measurements because it compensates for the effect of coil inductance by reducing the
total resistance/inductance ratio, and hence measurement accuracy is improved. This
series resistance can either be inside or outside the instrument case, as discussed above
for the case of moving-iron meters.

6.2.4 Clamp-on meters

These are used for measuring circuit currents and voltages in a non-invasive manner that
avoids having to break the circuit being measured. The meter clamps onto a current-
carrying conductor, and the output reading is obtained by transformer action. The
principle of operation is illustrated in Figure 6.5, where it can be seen that the clamp-
on jaws of the instrument act as a transformer core and the current-carrying conductor
acts as a primary winding. Current induced in the secondary winding is rectified and
applied to a moving-coil meter. Although it is a very convenient instrument to use,
the clamp-on meter has low sensitivity and the minimum current measurable is usually
about 1 amp.

6.2.5 Analogue multimeter

The analogue multimeter is a multi-function instrument that can measure current and
resistance as well as d.c. and a.c. voltage signals. Basically, the instrument consists of a
moving-coil meter with a switchable bridge rectifier to allow it to measure a.c. signals,
 Measurement and Instrumentation Principles 109

Clamp-on jaws

Measured
current

Secondary winding

Rectifier

Meter

Fig. 6.5 Clamp-on meter.

− +

100 V d.c.
10 V d.c. 300 V d.c.
100 mA d.c. 1000 V d.c.
10 mA d.c.
Ω

Fig. 6.6 Analogue multimeter.

as shown in Figure 6.6. A set of rotary switches allows the selection of various series
and shunt resistors, which make the instrument capable of measuring both voltage and
current over a number of ranges. An internal power source is also provided to allow it
to measure resistances as well. Whilst this instrument is very useful for giving an indi-
cation of voltage levels, the compromises in its design that enable it to measure so many
different quantities necessarily mean that its accuracy is not as good as instruments
that are purpose designed to measure just one quantity over a single measuring range.

6.2.6 Measuring high-frequency signals

One major limitation in using analogue meters for a.c. voltage measurement is that the
maximum frequency measurable directly is low, 2 kHz for the dynamometer voltmeter
110 Electrical indicating and test instruments

Bridge rectifier

Moving-coil
meter

Fig. 6.7 Measurement of high-frequency voltage signals.

and only 100 Hz in the case of the moving-iron instrument. A partial solution to this
limitation is to rectify the voltage signal and then apply it to a moving-coil meter, as
shown in Figure 6.7. This extends the upper measurable frequency limit to 20 kHz.
However, the inclusion of the bridge rectifier makes the measurement system particu-
larly sensitive to environmental temperature changes, and non-linearities significantly
affect measurement accuracy for voltages that are small relative to the full-scale value.
An alternative solution to the upper frequency limitation is provided by the thermo-
couple meter (see below).

6.2.7 Thermocouple meter

The principle of operation of the thermocouple meter is shown in Figure 6.8. The
measured a.c. voltage signal is applied to a small element. This heats up and the
resulting temperature rise is measured by a thermocouple. The d.c. voltage generated
in the thermocouple is applied to a moving-coil meter. The output meter reading is an
r.m.s. quantity that varies in a non-linear fashion with the magnitude of the measured
voltage. Very high-frequency voltage signals up to 50 MHz can be measured by this
method.

Moving-coil
Thermocouple meter

a.c.

Heater

Cold
junctions

Fig. 6.8 Thermocouple meter.

 Measurement and Instrumentation Principles 111

6.2.8 Electronic analogue voltmeters

Electronic voltmeters differ from all other forms of analogue voltmeters in being active
rather than passive instruments. They have important advantages compared with other
analogue instruments. Firstly, they have a high input impedance that avoids the circuit-
loading problems associated with many applications of electromechanical instruments.
Secondly, they have an amplification capability that enables them to measure small
signal levels accurately.
The standard electronic voltmeter for d.c. measurements consists of a simple direct-
coupled amplifier and a moving-coil meter, as shown in Figure 6.9(a). For measurement
of very low-level voltages of a few microvolts, a more sophisticated circuit, known as a
chopper amplifier, is used, as shown in Figure 6.9(b). In this, the d.c. input is chopped
at a low frequency of around 250 Hz, passed through a blocking capacitor, amplified,
passed through another blocking capacitor to remove drift, demodulated, filtered and
applied to a moving-coil meter.
Three versions of electronic voltmeter exist for measuring a.c. signals. The average-
responding type is essentially a direct-coupled d.c. electronic voltmeter with an addi-
tional rectifying stage at the input. The output is a measure of the average value
of the measured voltage waveform. The second form, known as a peak-responding
type, has a half-wave rectifier at the input followed by a capacitor. The final part of
the circuit consists of an amplifier and moving-coil meter. The capacitor is charged
to the peak value of the input signal, and therefore the amplified signal applied to
the moving-coil meter gives a reading of the peak voltage in the input waveform.
Finally, a third type is available, known as an r.m.s.-responding type, which gives an
output reading in terms of the r.m.s. value of the input waveform. This type is essen-
tially a thermocouple meter in which an amplification stage has been inserted at the
input.

Direct-coupled
amp.
Meter
Low
d.c.

(a)

Low-pass
filter Meter
Low
d.c.
Chopper Amp.
(b)

Fig. 6.9 D.c. electronic voltmeter: (a) simple form; (b) including chopper amplifier.
112 Electrical indicating and test instruments

6.2.9 Calculation of meter outputs for non-standard

waveforms
The examples below provide an exercise in calculating the output reading from various
types of analogue voltmeter. These examples also serve as a useful reminder of the
mode of operation of each type of meter and the form that the output takes.

Example 6.1
Calculate the reading that would be observed on a moving-coil ammeter when it is
measuring the current in the circuit shown in Figure 6.10.
Solution
A moving-coil meter measures mean current.

   2 
1 5ωt
Imean D dωt C 5 sin ωt dωt
2 0  
  
1 5 ωt2 2
D C 5 [ cos ωt]
2 2
0
 

1 5 2
1 5 5 
D 055 D  10 D 2
2 2 2 2 2 2
D 0.342 amps

Example 6.2
Calculate the reading that would be observed on a moving-iron ammeter when it is
measuring the current in the circuit shown in Figure 6.10.

Current

p 2p
wt

−5

Fig. 6.10 Circuit for example 6.1.

 Measurement and Instrumentation Principles 113

Solution
A moving-iron meter measures r.m.s. current.
  
1 
25 ωt2 2
I2r.m.s. D dωt C 2
25 sin ωt dωt
2 0 2 
  2 
1 25 ωt2

25 1  cos 2ωt
D dωt C dωt
2 0 2  2
 
 

25 ωt3 ωt sin 2ωt 2 25  2 
D C  D C 
2 32 0 2 4  2 3 2 2


25  25 1 1
D C D C D 10.416
2 3 2 2 3 2
 
Thus, Ir.m.s. D I2r.m.s. D 3.23 amps

Example 6.3
A dynamometer ammeter is connected in series with a 500  resistor, a rectifying
device and a 240 V r.m.s. alternating sinusoidal power supply. The rectifier behaves as
a resistance of 200  to current flowing in one direction and as a resistance of 2 k
to current in the opposite direction. Calculate the reading on the meter.
Solution 
Vpeak D Vr.m.s. 2 D 339.4 V

For 0 < wt < , R D 700  and for  < wt < 2, R D 2500 . Thus:
  
1 
339.4 sin ωt2 2
339.4 sin ωt2
I2r.m.s. D dωt C dωt
2 0 7002  25002
  
339.42 
sin2 ωt 2
sin2 ωt
D dωt C dωt
2104 0 49  625

  2 
339.42 1  cos 2ωt 
1  cos 2ωt
D dωt C dωt
4104 0 49  625


 
339.42 ωt sin 2ωt  ωt sin 2ωt 2
D  C 
4104 49 98 0 625 1250 


339.42  
D C D 0.0634
4104 49 625
p
Hence, Ir.m.s. D 0.0634 = 0.25 amp.