International Islamic University

Islamabad

Instrumentation and Measurement LAB

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Measuring Instruments

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Lab conducted on: ________________________________

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 Introduction to Measurement Instruments
1. Objective
 To get familiarize with the basic electronic measurement instruments.
2. Equipment:
1. Digital Multimeter
2. Wattmeter
3. Kilowatt Hour Meter
4. Function Generator
5. Oscilloscope
3. Introduction of Tools:
Moving Coil Instruments:
Permanent Magnet Moving Coil: Principle of Working
When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a force and tends to
move in the direction as per Fleming’s left hand rule.
Fleming left hand rule:

If the first and the second finger and the thumb of the left hand are held so that they are at right angle
to each other, then the thumb shows the direction of the force on the conductor, the first finger points
towards the direction of the magnetic field and the second finger shows the direction of the current in
the wire.
Construction:
A coil of thin wire is mounted on an aluminum frame (spindle) positioned between the poles of a U
shaped permanent magnet which is made up of magnetic alloys like alnico.
The coil is pivoted on the jewelled bearing and thus the coil is free to rotate. The current is fed to the
coil through spiral springs which are two in numbers. The coil which carries a current, which is to be
measured, moves in a strong magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet and a pointer is attached
to the spindle which shows the measured value.

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Working:
When a current flow through the coil, it generates a magnetic field which is proportional to the current
in case of an ammeter. The deflecting torque is produced by the electromagnetic action of the current
in the coil and the magnetic field.
The controlling torque is provided by two phosphorous bronze flat coiled helical springs. These springs
serve as a flexible connection to the coil conductors.
Damping is caused by the eddy current set up in the aluminum coil which prevents the oscillation of
the coil.
Applications:
The PMMC has a variety of uses onboard ship. It can be used as:
Ammeter:
When PMMC is used as an ammeter, except for a very small current range, the moving coil is connected
across a suitable low resistance shunt, so that only small part of the main current flows through the coil.
The shunt consists of a number of thin plates made up of alloy metal, which is usually magnetic and
has a low temperature coefficient of resistance, fixed between two massive blocks of copper. A resistor
of same alloy is also placed in series with the coil to reduce errors due to temperature variation.
Voltmeter:
When PMMC is used as a voltmeter, the coil is connected in series with high resistance. Rest of the
function is same as above. The same moving coil can be used as an ammeter or voltmeter with an
interchange of above arrangement
Galvanometer:
Galvanometer is used to measure small value of current along with its direction and strength. It is mainly
used onboard to detect and compare different circuits in a system.
Ohm Meter:
The ohm meter is used to measure resistance of the electric circuit by applying a voltage to a resistance
with the help of battery. A galvanometer is used to determine the flow of current through the resistance.
The galvanometer scale is marked in ohms and as the resistance varies, since the voltage is fixed, the
current through the meter will also vary.

- The moving coil instrument can only be used on D.C supply as the reversal of current produces reversal
of torque on the coil.

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1. Ammeter:
An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to measure the electric current in a circuit. Electric
currents are measured in amperes, hence the name. The word “ammeter” is commonly
misspelled or mispronounced as “amp meter” or “ammeter” by some.

Figure 1. Analog Voltmeter & Digital Ammeter.

Figure 2. Ammeter Circuit Connection.

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For the measurement of current through any circuit ammeter is connected in series (Why?). For
this purpose just break the circuit and connect one knob of the ammeter to the one broken end
and the second knob to the other broken end of the circuit as shown in the diagram below. The
reading can be obtained digitally by digital ammeter or manually by looking at the scale of
analog ammeter.

2. Voltmeter:
A voltmeter is and instrument used for measuring the electrical potential difference between
two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale in proportion
to the voltage of the circuit. Digital voltmeters give a numerical display of voltage by use of an
analog to digital converter.

Figure 3. Analog Voltmeter & Digital Voltmeter.

Figure 4. Voltmeter Circuit Connection.

For the measurement of voltage difference between any two points in a circuit voltmeter is
connected in parallel (Why?). For this purpose just connect one knob of the voltmeter to the
one point and the other knob to the second point on the circuit as shown in the diagram below.
The reading can be obtained digitally by digital voltmeter or manually by looking at the scale
of analog voltmeter.

3. Wattmeter:

Electric power is measured by means of a wattmeter. This instrument is of the electrodynamics type. It
consists of a pair of fixed coils, known as current coils, and a movable coil known as the potential coil.
The fixed coils are made up of a few turns of a comparatively large conductor. The potential
coil consists of many turns of fine wire. It is mounted on a shaft, carried in jeweled bearings, so that

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it may turn inside the stationary coils. The movable coil carries a needle which moves over a suitably
marked scale. Spiral coil springs hold the needle to a zero position.

Figure 5. Analog Wattmeter & Digital Wattmeter.

Figure 6. Wattmeter Circuit Connection.

The current coil (stationary coil) of the wattmeter is connected in series with the circuit (load), and the
potential coil (movable coil) is connected across the line. When line current flows through the current
coil of a wattmeter, a field is set up around the coil. The strength of this field is proportional to the line
current and in phase with it. The potential coil of the wattmeter generally has a high-resistance resistor
connected in series with it. This is for the purpose of making the potential-coil circuit of the meter as
purely resistive as possible. As a result, current in the potential circuit is practically in phase with line
voltage. Therefore, when voltage is applied to the potential circuit, current is proportional to and in
phase with the line voltage.
The actuating force of a wattmeter comes from the field of its current coil and the field of its potential
coil. The force acting on the movable coil at any instant (tending to turn it) is proportional to the
instantaneous values of line current and voltage.
The wattmeter consists of two circuits, either of which will be damaged if too much current is passed
through them. This fact is to be especially emphasized in the case of wattmeter, because the reading of
the instrument does not serve to tell the user that the coils are being overheated. If an ammeter or
voltmeter is overloaded, the pointer will be indicating beyond the upper limit of its scale. In the
wattmeter, both the current and potential circuits may be carrying such an overload that their insulation
is burning, and yet the pointer may be only part way up the scale. This is because the position of the
pointer depends upon the power factor of the circuit as well as upon the voltage and current. Thus, a
low power-factor circuit will give a very low reading on the wattmeter even when the current and
potential circuits are loaded to the maximum safe limit. This safe rating is generally given on the face
of the instrument. A wattmeter is always distinctly rated, not in watts but in volts and amperes.

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4. Kilo-Watt Hour Meter:

It is a device that measures the amount of electrical energy supplied to a residence or business. These
are customers of an electric company. The most common type is more properly known as a (kilo) watt-
hour meter or a joule meter. Utilities record the values measured by these meters to generate an invoice
for the electricity. They may also record other variables including the time when the electricity was
used.

Figure 7. A Kilo-Watt Hour Meter.

5. Function generator:

We can get different types of wave shapes from a function generator. 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.

For using a function generator we plug its probe in any of the output jack. Select the required frequency
and amplitude from there select switches. Moreover different wave shapes are available. The wave
shape can be observed on the oscilloscope and can be easily adjusted.

Figure 8. A Function Generator.

6. Oscilloscope:

An oscilloscope (also known as a scope, CRO, DSO or, an O-scope) is a type of electronic test
instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional
graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function
of time, (horizontal or 'x' axis). Although an oscilloscope displays voltage on its vertical axis, any other
quantity that can be converted to a voltage can be displayed as well. In most instances, oscilloscopes

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show events that repeat with either no change or change slowly. Oscilloscopes are used in the sciences,
medicine, engineering, and telecommunications industry.
Oscilloscopes are commonly used to observe the exact wave shape of an electrical signal. In addition
to the amplitude of the signal, an oscilloscope can show distortion, the time between two events (such
as pulse width, period, or rise time) and relative timing of two related signals.

Types of Oscilloscope:

1. Cathode Ray Oscilloscope

2. Digital Storage Oscilloscope

Figure 9. A Cathode Ray Oscilloscope & A Digital Storage Oscilloscope

7. Digital Multimeter (DMM):

A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a volt/ohm meter or VOM, is an electronic measuring

instrument that combines several measurement functions in one unit. A typical multimeter may include
features such as the ability to measure voltage, current and resistance. Multimeters may use analog or
digital circuits—analog multimeters and digital multimeters (often abbreviated DMM or DVOM).
A multimeter can be a hand-held device useful for basic fault finding and field service work or a bench
instrument which can measure to a very high degree of accuracy. They can be used to troubleshoot
electrical problems in a wide array of industrial and household devices such as electronic equipment,
motor controls, domestic appliances, power supplies, and wiring systems.

Figure 10. A Digital Multimeter.