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UNIT-5

DIGITAL METERS

DIGITAL VOLTMETER
Voltmeter is an electrical measuring instrument used to measure the potential difference
between two points. The voltage to be measured may be AC or DC. Two types of voltmeters
are available for the purpose of voltage measurement i.e. analog and digital.

Working Principle of Digital Voltmeter

Input signal: It is basically the signal i.e. voltage to be measured.

Pulse generator: Actually it is a voltage source. It uses digital, analog or both techniques to
generate a rectangular pulse. The width and frequency of the rectangular pulse is controlled
by the digital circuitry inside the generator while amplitude and rise and fall time is
controlled by analog circuitry.
AND gate: It gives high output only when both the inputs are high. When a train pulse is fed
to it along with rectangular pulse, it provides us an output having train pulses with duration as
same as the rectangular pulse from the pulse generator.

Decimal Display: It counts the numbers of impulses and hence the duration and display the
value of voltage on LED or LCD display after calibrating it.

Now we are in situation to understand the working of a digital voltmeter as follows:

 Unknown voltage signal is fed to the pulse generator which generates a pulse whose
width is proportional to the input signal.
 Output of pulse generator is fed to one leg of the AND gate.
 The input signal to the other leg of the AND gate is a train of pulses.
 Output of AND gate is positive triggered train of duration same as the width of the
pulse generated by the pulse generator.
 This positive triggered train is fed to the inverter which converts it into a negative
triggered train.

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 Output of the inverter is fed to a counter which counts the number of triggers in the
duration which is proportional to the input signal i.e. voltage under measurement.
 Thus, counter can be calibrated to indicate voltage in volts directly.

The advantages of digital voltmeters

 Readout of DVMs is easy as it eliminates observational errors in

measurement committed by operators.
 Error on account of parallax and approximation is entirely eliminated.
 Reading can be taken very fast.
 Output can be fed to memory devices for storage and future computations.
 Versatile and accurate
 Compact and cheap
 Low power requirements
 Portability increased

SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION TYPE DVM:

The Successive Approximation Type DVM principle can be easily understood using a simple
example; the determination of the weight of an object. By using a balance and placing the
object on one side and an approximate weight on the other side, the weight of the object is
determined.

If the weight placed is more than the unknown weight, the weight is removed and another
weight of smaller value is placed and again the measurement is performed. Now if it is found
that the weight placed is less than that of the object, another weight of smaller value is added
to the weight already present, and the measurement is performed. If it is found to be greater
than the unknown weight the added weight is removed and another weight of smaller value is
added. In this manner by adding and removing the appropriate weight, the weight of the
unknown object is determined.

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The Successive Approximation Type DVM works on the same principle. Its basic block
diagram is shown in Fig. 5.10. When the start pulse signal activates the control circuit, the
successive approximation register (SAR) is cleared. The output of the SAR is 00000000.
Vout of the D/A converter is 0. Now, if Vin > Vout the comparator output is positive. During
the first clock pulse, the control circuit sets the D 7 to 1, and Vout jumps to the half reference
voltage. The SAR output is 10000000. If Vout is greater than Vin, the comparator output is
negative and the control circuit resets D7. However, if Vin is greater than Vout, the comparator
output is positive and the control circuits keep D7 set. Similarly the rest of the bits beginning
from D7 to D0 are set and tested. Therefore, the measurement is completed in 8 clock pulses.

At the beginning of the measurement cycle, a start pulse is applied to the start-stop
multivibrator. This sets a 1 in the MSB of the control register and a 0 in all bits (assuming an
8-bit control) its reading would be 10000000. This initial setting of the register causes the
output of the D/A converter to be half the reference voltage, i.e. 1/2 V. This converter output
is compared to the unknown input by the comparator. If the input voltage is greater than the
converter reference voltage, the comparator output produces an output that causes the control

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register to retain the 1 setting in its MSB and the converter continues to supply its reference
output voltage of 1/2 Vref.

The ring counter then advances one count, shifting a 1 in the second MSB of the control
register and its reading becomes 11000000. This causes the D/A converter to increase its
reference output by 1 increment to 1/4 V, i.e. 1/2 V + 1/4 V, and again it is compared with
the unknown input. If in this case the total reference voltage exceeds the unknown voltage,
the comparator produces an output that causes the control register to reset its second MSB to
0. The converter output then returns to its previous value of 1/2 V and awaits another input
from the SAR. When the ring counter advances by 1, the third MSB is set to 1 and the
converter output rises by the next increment of 1/2 V + 1/8 V. The measurement cycle thus
proceeds through a series of Successive Approximation Type DVM. Finally, when the ring
counter reaches its final count, the measurement cycle stops and the digital output of the
control register represents the final approximation of the unknown input voltage.

RAMP TYPE DIGITAL VOLTMETER:

i). Liner Ramp type DVM

The basic principle of such measurement is based on the measurement of the time taken by l1
linear ramp to rise from a V to the level of the input voltage or to decrease from the level of
the input voltage to zero. This time is measured with the help of electronic time interval
counter and the count is displayed in the numeric form with the help of a digital display.
Basically it consists of a linear ramp which is positive going or negative going. The range of
the ramp is ± 12 V while the base range is ± 10 V. The conversion from a voltage to c1 time
interval is shown in the fig

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At the start of measurement, a ramp voltage is initiated which is continuously compared with
the input voltage. When these two voltages are same, the comparator generates a pulse which
opens a gate i.e. the input comparator generates a start pulse. The ramp continues to decrease
and finally reaches to 0 V or ground potential. This is sensed by the second comparator or
ground comparator. At exactly 0 V, this comparator produces a stop pulse which closes the
gate. The number of clock pulses are measured by the counter. Thus the time duration for
which the gate is opened, is proportional to the input voltage. fn the time interval between
start and stop pulses, the gate remains open and the oscillator circuit drives the counter. The
magnitude of the count indicates the magnitude of the input voltage, which is displayed by
the display. The block diagram of linear ramp DVM is shown in the Fig

ii).STAIRCASE TYPE DVM

Principles of ADC – The input signal is compared with an internally generated voltage which
is increased in steps starting from zero. The number of steps needed to reach the full
compensation is counted. A simple compensation type is the staircase ramp.

Block diagram of Staircase Ramp Type:

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The basic principle is that the input signal Vi is compared with an internal staircase voltage,
Vc generated by a series circuit consisting of a pulse generator (clock), a counter counting the
pulses and a digital to analog converter, converting the counter output into a dc signal. As
soon as Vc is equal to Vi, the input comparator closes a gate between the clock and the
counter, the counter stops and its output is shown on the display. The basic block diagram is
shown in Fig. 5.8.

The clock generates pulses continuously. At the start of a measurement, the counter is reset to
0 at time t1 so that the output of the digital to analog converter (DAC) is also 0. If Vi is not
equal to zero, the input comparator applies an output voltage that opens the gate so that clock
pulses are passed on to the counter through the gate. The counter starts counting and the DAC
starts to produce an output voltage increasing by one small step at each count of the counter.
The result is a staircase voltage applied to the second input of the comparator, as shown in
Fig. 5.9.

This process continues until the staircase voltage is equal to or slightly greater than the input
voltage Vi. At that instant t2, the output voltage of the input comparator changes state or
polarity, so that the gate closes and the counter is stopped.

The display unit shows the result of the count. As each count corresponds to a constant dc
step in the DAC output voltage, the number of counts is directly proportional to V c and hence

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to Vi. By appropriate choice of reference voltage, the step height of the staircase voltage can
be determined. For example, each count can represent 1 mV and direct reading of the input
voltage in volts can be realized by placing a decimal point in front of the 10 decade.

The advantages of a staircase type DVM are as follows:

1. Input impedance of the DAC is high when the compensation is reached.

2. The accuracy depends only on the stability and accuracy of the voltage and DAC. The
clock has no effect on the accuracy.

The disadvantages are the following:

1. The system measures the instantaneous value of the input signal at the moment
compensation is reached. This means the reading is rather unstable, i.e. the input
signal is not a pure dc voltage.

2. Until the full compensation is reached, the input impedance is low, which can
influence the accuracy.

INTEGRATING TYPE DVM (VOLTAGE TO FREQUENCY CONVERSION):

The principle of operation of an Integrating Type DVM is illustrated in Fig. 5.5.

A constant input voltage is integrated and the slope of the output ramp is proportional to the
input voltage. When the output reaches a certain value, it is discharged to 0 and another cycle
begins. The frequency of the output waveform is proportional to the input voltage. The block
diagram is illustrated in Fig. 5.6.

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The input voltage produces a charging current, ei/R1 that charges the capacitor ‘C’ to the
reference voltage er. When er is reached, the comparator changes state, so as to trigger the
precision pulse generator. The pulse generator produces a pulse of precision charge content
that rapidly discharges the capacitor. The rate of charging and discharging produces a signal
frequency that is directly proportional to ei.

The voltage-frequency conversion can be considered to be a dual slope method, as shown in

Fig. 5.7.

Referring to Eq. 5.3 we have

But in this case er and t2 are constants.

Let

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The output frequency is proportional to the input voltage e i. This DVM has the disadvantage
that it requires excellent characteristics in linearity of the ramp. The ac noise and supply noise
are averaged out.

DUAL SLOPE INTEGRATING TYPE DVM (VOLTAGE TO TIME CONVERSION):

Dual Slope Integrating Type DVM – In ramp techniques, superimposed noise can cause large
errors. In the dual ramp technique, noise is averaged out by the positive and negative ramps
using the process of integration.

Principle of Dual Slope Type DVM:

As illustrated in Fig. 5.3, the input voltage ’ei’ is integrated, with the slope of the integrator
output proportional to the test input voltage. After a fixed time,

equal to t1, the input voltage is disconnected and the integrator input is connected to a
negative voltage – er The integrator output will have a negative slope which is constant and
proportional to the magnitude of the input voltage. The block diagram is given in Fig. 5.4.

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At the start a pulse resets the counter and the F/F output to logic level ‘0’. S i is closed and
Sr is open. The capacitor begins to charge. As soon as the integrator output exceeds zero, the
comparator output voltage changes state, which opens the gate so that the oscillator clock
pulses are fed to the counter. (When the ramp voltage starts, the comparator goes to state 1,
the gate opens and clock pulse drives the counter.) When the counter reaches maximum
count,

i.e. the counter is made to run for a time ‘t 1‘ in this case 9999, on the next clock pulse all
digits go to 0000 and the counter activates the F/F to logic level ‘1’. This activates the switch
drive, ei is disconnected and –er is connected to the integrator. The integrator output will have
a negative slope which is constant, i.e. integrator output now decreases linearly to 0 volts.
Comparator output state changes again and locks the gate. The discharge time t 2 is now
proportional to the input voltage. The counter indicates the count during time t 2. When the
negative slope of the integrator reaches zero, the comparator switches to state 0 and the gate
closes, i.e. the capacitor C is now discharged with a constant slope. As soon as the
comparator input (zero detector) finds that eo, is zero, the counter is stopped. The pulses
counted by the counter thus have a direct relation with the input voltage.

During charging

During discharging

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Subtracting Eqs 5.2 from 5.1 we have

If the oscillator period equals T and the digital counter indicates n1 and n2 counts
respectively,

Now, n1 and er are constants.

Let

From Eq. 5.3 it is evident that the accuracy of the measured voltage is independent of the
integrator time constant. The times t1 and t2 are measured by the count of the clock given by
the numbers n1 and n2 respectively. The clock oscillator period equals T and if n1 and er are
constants, then Eq. 5.4 indicates that the accuracy of the method is also independent of the
oscillator frequency.

The dual slope technique has excellent noise rejection because noise and superimposed ac are
averaged out in the process of integration. The speed and accuracy are readily varied
according to specific requirements; also an accuracy of ± 0.05% in 100 ms is available.

POTENTIOMETRIC TYPE DIGITAL VOLTMETER(DVM):

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In the previous posts we have already discussed working of digital voltmeter and its
types, now we will discuss Potentiometric type digital voltmeter.A potentiometric type of
digital voltmeter employs voltage comparison technique.In this DVM the unknown voltage is
compared with a reference voltage whose value is fixed by the setting of the calibrated
potentiometer.

The potentiometer setting is changed to obtain balance (i.e., null conditions).When null
conditions are obtained, the value of the unknown voltage is indicated by the dial setting of
the potentiometer.In potentiometric type DVMs , the balance is not obtained manually but is
arrived at automatically. Thus, this DVM is, in fact, a self-balancing
potentiometer.The potentiometric DVM is provided with a readout which displays the voltage
being measured.

Block diagram of Potentiometric type digital voltmeter(DVM):

The block diagram of the basic circuit of a potentiometric DVM is shown in the
below figure.

Working principle of Potentiometric type digital voltmeter:

The unknown voltage is filtered and attenuated to a suitable level. This input voltage is
applied to a comparator (also known as error detector). This error detector may be
chopper.The reference voltage is obtained from a fixed voltage source.This voltage is applied
to a potentiometric R. The value of the feedback voltage depends upon the position of the
sliding contact. The feedback voltage is also applied to the comparator.

The unknown voltage and the feedback are compared in the comparator. The output
voltage of the comparator is the difference of the above two voltages.The difference
of voltage is called the error signal.The error signal is amplified and is fed to a potentiometer
adjustment device which moves the sliding contact of the potentiometer. This magnitude by
which the sliding contact moves depends upon the magnitude of the error signal.

The direction of movement of slider depends upon whether the feedback voltage is
larger or the input voltage is larger. The sliding contact moves to such a place where the
feedback voltage equals the unknown voltage. In that case, there will not be any

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error voltage and hence there will be no input to the device adjusting the position of the
sliding, contact and therefore it (sliding contact) will come to rest.

The position of the potentiometer adjustment device at this point is indicated in

numerical form on the digital readout device associated with it. Since the position at which
no voltage appears at potentiometer adjustment device is the one where the unknown voltage
equals the feedback voltage, the reading of readout device indicates the value of unknown
voltage.

The potentiometer adjustment device i.e., the device which moves the sliding contact is a
2 phase servo motor.The automatic action of adjustment of sliding contact with the help of a
servomotor has already been explained in chapter 12. The reference voltage source must be
extremely stable and generally consists of a standard cell or Zener diode sources.

Digital Tachometer Working Principle:

Digital Tachometer Working Principle technique employed in measuring the speed of a
rotating shaft is similar to the technique used in a conventional frequency counter, except that
the selection of the gate period is in accordance with the rpm calibration.

Let us assume, that the rpm of a rotating shaft is R. Let P be the number of pulses produced
by the pick up for one revolution of the shaft. Therefore, in one minute the number of pulses
from the pick up is R x P. Then, the frequency of the signal from the pick up is (R x P)/60.
Now, if the gate period is G s the pulses counted are (R x P x G)/60. In order to get the direct
reading in rpm, the number of pulses to be counted by the counter is R. So we select the gate
period as 60/P, and the counter counts

and we can read the rpm of the rotating shaft directly. So, the relation between the gate period
and the number of pulses produced by the pickup is G = 60/P. If we fix the gate period as one
second (G = 1 s), then the revolution pickup must be capable of producing 60 pulses per
revolution.

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Digital multimeter
Before going into the details of how digital multimeter works, let us see its applications. It is widely used
laboratory instrument for different types of measurements. Its important features are given below –

1. It can measure AC/DC voltage, AC/DC current and resistance very accurately.
2. Accuracy is maximum due to minimum loading effects.
3. Audio and visual indication for continuity testing in electrical wiring.
4. Automatic sign indication i.e. (+) or (–) indication.
5. Automatic null setting.

Working

To understand how digital multimeter works, let us see the block diagram of DMM is given
below. The working of each block to measure different types of electrical quantities is as
follows.

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Block diagram of basic digital multimeter

Measurement of resistance
To measure unknown resistance using digital multimeter, connect an unknown resistor across
its input probes. Keep rotary switch in position-1. The proportional current flows through the
resistor, from constant current source. According to Ohm’s law voltage is produced across it.
This voltage is directly proportional to its resistance. This voltage is buffered and fed to A-D
converter, to get digital display in Ohms.

Measurement of AC voltage
Connect an unknown AC voltage across input probes. Keep rotary switch in position-2. The
voltage is attenuated, if it is above the selected range and then rectified to convert it into
proportional DC voltage. It is then fed to A-D converter to get the digital display in Volts.

Measurement of AC current
Current is indirectly measured by converting it into proportional voltage. Connect an
unknown AC current across input probes. Keep the switch in position-3. The current is
converted into voltage proportionally with the help of I-V converter and then rectified. Now
the voltage in terms of AC current is fed to A-D converter to get digital display in Amperes.

Measurement of DC current
The DC current is also measured indirectly. Connect an unknown DC current across input
probes. Keep the switch in position-4. The current is converted into voltage proportionally
with the help of I-V converter. Now the voltage in terms of DC current is fed to A-D
converter to get the digital display in Amperes.

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Measurement of DC voltage
Connect an unknown DC voltage across input probes. Keep the switch in position-5. The
voltage is attenuated, if it is above the selected range and then directly fed to A-D converter
to get the digital display in Volts.

Digital Frequency Meter

An electric signal can be represented as a sinusoidal waveform, where each wave has a
positive edge and a negative edge. The basic parameters for measuring the strength of the
wave is amplitude and frequency, where the amplitude is the maximum vibration taken from
an equilibrium position of a sinusoidal wave and frequency is the reciprocal of the time
period. Frequency can be measured using different types of frequency meters like deflection
type which can measure frequency in the range of lower frequencies to 900Hz, Weston
frequency meter which is usually not deflection type, it can measure frequency in the range
10 to 100Hz, and the advance frequency meter named digital frequency meter, which can
measure the approximate value of frequency in binary digit form up to 3 decimals and
displays on the counter. The advantage of these kinds of frequency meter is that they can
measure the lower value of frequency.

A digital frequency meter is an electronic instrument that can measure even the smaller value
of frequency up to 3 decimals of a sinusoidal wave and displays it on the counter display. It
counts the frequency periodically and can measure in the range of frequencies between 104 to
109 hertz. The entire concept is based on the conversion of sinusoidal voltage into continuous
pulses ( 01, 1.0, 10 seconds) along a single direction.
Construction of Digital Frequency Meter

The main components of digital frequency meter are

Unknown Frequency Source: It is used to measure the unknown value of input signal
frequency.
Amplifier: It amplifies low-level signals to high-level signals.
Schmitt Trigger: The main purpose of the Schmitt trigger is to convert the analog signal into
a digital signal in a pulse train form. It is also known as ADC and basically acts as a
comparator circuit.
And Gate: The generated output from AND gate is obtained only when the inputs exist at the
gate. One of the terminals of the AND gate is connected to Schmitt Trigger output, and
another terminal is connected to a flipflop.

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Counter: It operates based on the clock period, which starts from “0”. One input is taken
from the output of the AND gate. The counter is constructed by cascading many flip flops.
Crystal Oscillator: When a DC supply is given to a crystal oscillator (frequency of 1MHz) it
generates a sinusoidal wave.
Time-Based Selector: Depending on reference the time period of signals can be varied. It
consists of a clock oscillator which gives an accurate value. The clock oscillator output is
given as input to Schmitt trigger which converts sinusoidal wave into a series of a square
wave of the same frequency. These continuous pulses are sent to frequency divider decade
which is in series that are connected one after the another, where each divider decade consists
of a counter decade and the frequency is divided by 10. Each decade frequency divider
provides respective output using a selector switch.
Flip Flop: It provides output based on input.
Working Principle
When an unknown frequency signal is applied to the meter it passes on to amplifier which
amplifies the weak signal. Now the amplified signal is now applied to Schmitt trigger which
can convert input sinusoidal signal into a square wave. The oscillator also generates
sinusoidal waves at periodic intervals of time, which is fed to Schmitt trigger. This trigger
converts sin wave into a square wave, which is in the form of continuous pulses, where one
pulse is equal to one positive and one negative value of a single signal cycle.
The first pulse which is generated is given as input to the gate control flip flop turning ON
AND gate. The output from this AND gate count decimal value. Similarly, when the second
pulse arrives, it disconnects AND gate, and when the third pulse arrives the AND gate turns
ON and the corresponding continuous pulses for a precise time interval which is the decimal
value is displayed on the counter display.

Formula

The frequency of the unknown signal can be calculated by the following formula

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F = N / t …………………..(1)
Where

F =frequency of the unknown signal

N = Number of counts displayed by the counter

t = time interval between the start-stop of the gate.

Advantages

The following are the advantages of digital frequency meter

 Good frequency response

 High sensitivity
 The production cost is low.
Disadvantages

The following are the disadvantages

 It does not measure the exact value.

Digital Frequency Meter Applications

The following are the applications

 The equipment’s like radio can be tested using a digital frequency meter
 It can measure parameters like pressure, strength, vibrations, etc.

Q Meter
The instrument which measures the storage factor or quality factor of the
electrical circuit at radio frequencies, such type of device is known as the Q-meter.
The quality factor is one of the parameters of the oscillatory system, which shows
the relation between the storage and dissipated energy. The Q meter measures the quality
factor of the circuit which shows the total energy dissipated by it. It also explains the
properties of the coil and capacitor. The Q meter uses in a laboratory for testing the radio
frequency of the coils.

Working Principle of Q meter:

The Q meter works on series resonant. The resonance is the condition exists in the circuit
when their inductance and capacitance reactance are of equal magnitude. They induce energy
which is oscillating between the electric and magnetic field of the capacitor and inductor
respectively.The Q-meter is based on the characteristic of the resistance, inductance and

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capacitance of the resonant series circuit. The figure below shows a coil of resistance,
inductance and capacitance connected in series with the circuit.

At resonant frequency f0,

The value of capacitance reactance is

At inductive reactance,

At the resonant frequency,

and current at resonance becomes

The phasor diagram of the resonance is shown in the figure

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The voltage across the capacitor is expressed as

Input voltage

The above equation shows that the input voltage E is Q times the voltage appears across the
capacitor. The voltmeter is calibrated for finding the value of Q factor.

Applications of the Q-meter

The following are the applications of the Q-meter.

1. Measurement of Q – The circuit used for measurement of Q is shown in the

figure.

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The oscillator and tuning capacitor adjust to the desired frequency for obtaining the
maximum value of E0. Under this condition, the value of the quality factor is expressed as

True value is given as The value of

the quality factor is obtained by the voltmeter which is connected across the capacitor. The
measured value is the Q factor of the whole circuit and not only of the coil. Thus, errors occur
in the reading because of the shunt resistance and distributed capacitance.

The above equations show that the measured value of the

Q is smaller than the true value.

2. Measurement of Inductance – The inductance is measured by the equation shown below.

The value of f0 & C is required for calculating the value of inductance.

3. Measurement of Effective resistance – The equation computes the value of effective

resistance

4. Measurement of Self-Capacitance – The self-capacitance is determined by measuring the

two capacitance at different frequencies. The capacitor is adjusted to the high value, and the
circuit is resonated by adjusting the oscillator frequency. The resonance of the circuit is

determined by the Q meter.

Thus, or distributed capacitance

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5. Measurement of Bandwidth – The equation below calculates the bandwidth

6. Measurement of Capacitance – The capacitance is determined by connecting the dummy

coil across the terminal T1 and T2. Let the capacitor under test is connected across the
terminal T3 and T4. The circuit is again resonated by varying the value of tuning capacitor C 2.
The value of testing capacitance is determined by subtracting the C1 and C2.

Lissajous Patterns in CRO for Measurement of Phase & Frequency

Lissajous Patterns of Cathode Ray Oscilloscope:

We have already discussed Cathode Ray Oscilloscope or CRO. It is a very

important oscilloscope used to analyse the waveform and measure them. Now here we will
discuss how the measurement of waveform i.e measurement of phase difference and
frequency using CRO which are Lissajous patterns.

It is interesting to consider the characteristics of patterns that appear on the screen of

a CRT when sinusoidal voltages are simultaneously applied to horizontal and vertical plates.
These patterns are called ‘Lissajous Patterns’.

Phase measurement of Cathode Ray Oscilloscope:

When two sinusoidal voltages of equal frequency which are in phase with each
other are applied to the horizontal and vertical deflection plates, the pattern appearing on the
screen is a straight line as is clear from the below figure.

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Fig: Lissajous pattern with equal frequency voltages and zero phase shift.

Thus when two equal voltages of equal frequency but with 90° phase displacement are
applied to a CRO, the trace on the screen is a circle. This is shown in the below figure.

When two equal voltages of equal frequency but with a phase shift (I) (not equal to 0°
or 90°) are applied to a CRO we obtain an ellipse as shown in the below figure. An ellipse is
also obtained when unequal voltages of the same frequency are applied to the CRO.

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A number of conclusions can be drawn from the above discussions. When two sinusoidal
voltages of the same frequency are applied :

(i) A straight line results when the two voltages are equal and are either in phase with each
other or 180° out of phase with each other. The angle formed with the horizontal is 45° when
the magnitudes of voltages are equal. An increase in the vertical deflection voltage causes the
line to have an angle greater than 45° with the horizontal. On the other hand, a greater
horizontal voltage makes the angle less than 45° with the horizontal.

(ii) Two sinusoidal waveforms of the same frequency produce a Lissajous pattern, which
may be a straight line, a circle or an ellipse depending upon the phase and magnitude of the
voltages.

A circle can be formed only when the magnitude of the two signals are equal and
the phase difference between them is either 90° or 270°. However, if the two voltages are
not equal and/or out of phase an ellipse is formed. If the Y voltage is larger, an ellipse with
vertical major axis is formed while if the X plate voltage has a greater magnitude, the major
axis of the ellipse lies along the horizontal axis.

(ii)) It is clear from the below figure, that for equal voltages of same frequency progressive
variation of phase voltage causes the pattern to vary from a straight diagonal line to ellipses
of different eccentricities and then to a circle, after that through another series of ellipses and
finally a diagonal straight line again.

Regardless of the two amplitudes of the applied voltages, the ellipse provides a simple
means of measuring phase difference between two voltages. Referring to figure, the sine of
the phase angle between the voltages is given by :

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For convenience, the gains of the vertical and horizontal amplifiers are adjusted so
that the ellipse fits exactly into a square marked by the lines on the graticule.

If the major axis of the ellipse lies in the first and third quadrants (i.e., its slope is
positive) as in the below figure(a) the phase angle is either between 00 to 90° or between
270° to 360°.When the major axis of ellipse lies in second and fourth quadrants i.e. when its
slope is negative as in the figure(b), the phase angle is either between 90° and 180° or
between 180° and 270°.

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Frequency measurement of cro or cathode ray oscilloscope :

Lissajous patterns may be used for accurate measurement of frequency.The signal,

whose frequency is to be measured, is applied to the Y plates. An accurately calibrated
standard variable frequency source is used to supply voltage to the X plates, with the internal
sweep generator switched off.

The standard frequency is the adjusted unit the pattern appears as a circle or an ellipse,
indicating that both signals are of the same frequency. Where it is not possible to adjust the
standard signal frequency to the exact frequency of the unknown signal, the standard if
adjusted to multiple or a submultiple of the frequency of the unknown source so that the
pattern appears stationary.

Let us consider an example.Suppose sine waves are applied to X and Y plates as

shown in the figure below.Let the frequency of wave applied to Y plates is twice that of the
voltage applied to X plates.This means that the CRT spot travels two complete cycles in the
vertical direction against one in the horizontal direction.

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The two waves start at the same instant.Lissajous pattern may be constructed in the
usual way and a 8 shaped pattern with two loops is obtained. If the two waves do not start at
the same instant we get different patterns for the same frequency ratio.The Lissajous
patterns for other frequency ratios can be similarly drawn. Some of these patterns are shown
in the below figure.

It can be shown that for all the above cases, the ratio of the two frequencies is

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where fy = frequency of signal applied to Y plates

fx = frequency of signal applied to X plates

The above rule, however, does not hold for the Lissajous pattern with free ends as
shown in the below figure(a). The simple rule mentioned above needs the following
modifications :

Two lines are drawn, one horizontal and the other vertical so that they do not pass through
any intersections of different parts of the Lissajous pattern curve. The number of
intersections of the horizontal and the vertical lines with the Lissajous pattern curve is
individually counted. The frequency ratio is given by :

The application of this rule to below figure gives a frequency ratio fy/fx = 5/2.

The modified rule is applicable in all cases whether the Lissajous pattern is open or
closed. The ratio of frequencies when open-ended Lissajous patterns are obtained can also
be found by treating the open ends as half tangencies as shown in the below figure(b). The
pattern of figure(a) is reproduced

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There are some restrictions on the frequencies which can be applied to the
deflection plates.One obviously, is that the CRO must have the bandwidth required for these
frequencies. The other restriction is that the ratio of the two frequencies should not be such as
to make the pattern too complicated otherwise measurement of frequency would become
difficult. As a rule ratios as high as 10 : 1 and as low as 10 : 9 can be determined
comfortably.

Digital Energy meter:

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