Group Leader (Name): Instructor: Engr.

Date Performed: Marks Obtained: /10

Group Members (ID):…………………………………………………………………………………….

Checked By:_____________________ Date:___________

EXPERIMENT # 01
Familiarization with the Lab equipment, DMM,Bread Board,
DC Power Supply,Oscilloscope and Function Generator

General Laboratory Operating Procedures:

Listed below are the operating procedures that you are expected to follow in the laboratory.

1. Please treat the instruments with care as they are very expensive.
2. Read the laboratory documentation prior to each lab meeting.
3. Follow the instructions carefully.
4. Return the components to the correct bin when you are finished with them.
5. Before leaving the lab place the stools under the lab bench.
6. Before leaving the lab, turn off the power to all instruments.
Objectives:
• Use of Digital Multimeter (DMM)
• Introduction to Bread Board
• Introduction to DC Power Supply
• Introduction to Oscilloscope
• Introduction to Function Generator
Equipment Required:
• Digital Multimeter
• Bread Board
• DC Power Supply
• Oscilloscope
• Function Generator
Procedure:
1. Use of Digital Multimeter (DMM)
How to Measure Resistance
• Rotate the knob of digital multimeter from OFF to Ω.
• Connect the red and black leads across the resistor.
• The resulting value will appear on the display.
NOTE: The unit for resistance is Ohm (symbol Ω). The bigger units are Kilo Ohm (symbol KΩ) and
Mega Ohm (symbol MΩ).
What do meters measure?
A meter is a measuring instrument. An ammeter measures current, a voltmeter measures the
potential difference (voltage) between two points, and an ohmmeter measures resistance. A multi-
meter combines these functions and possibly some additional ones as well, into a single instrument.

Before going in to detail about multi-meters, it is important for you to have a clear idea of how
meters are connected into circuits. Diagrams A and B below show a circuit before and after connecting
an ammeter:

How to Make DC Current Measurements..

• Rotate the knob to A.
• Verify that the red lead plugs into the A (or mA) jack and the black lead plugs into the COM jack.
• To make a current measurement, the tip of the red lead and the tip of the black lead must be inserted in
series with the element whose current is to be measured.
A positive meter reading means the point where the red tip is connected has current entering it.
NOTE: The unit for current is the ampere (symbol A – upper case). Smaller units of current are the.
milliampere (10-3 (10 ampere) symbol mA, and the microampere 10-6) symbol μA

to measure current, the circuit must be broken to allow the ammeter to be

connected in series

ammeters must have a LOW resistance

Think about the changes you would have to make to a practical circuit in order to include the
ammeter. To start with, you need to break the circuit so that the ammeter can be connected in series.
All the current flowing in the circuit must pass through the ammeter. Meters are not supposed to alter
the behavior of the circuit, or at least not significantly, and it follows that an ammeter must have a very
LOW resistance.
 How to Make DC Voltage Measurements
• Rotate the knob from OFF to V.
• Verify that the red lead plugs into the V jack and the black lead plugs into the COM jack.
• To make a measurement, connect the tip of the red lead and the tip of the black lead across the points
where you want to measure voltage (potential difference). A positive meter reading means the point
where the red tip is connected is higher in voltage than the point where the black tip is connected.
NOTE: The unit for voltage is the volt (symbol V). Smaller units of voltage are the millivolt (10-3 volt)
symbol mV, and the microvolt (10-6 volt) symbol μV

Diagram C shows
the same circuit
after connecting a
voltmeter:

to measure potential difference (voltage), the circuit is not changed:

the voltmeter is connected in parallel

voltmeters must have a HIGH resistance

This time, you do not need to break the circuit. The voltmeter is connected in parallel between
the two points where the measurement is to be made. Since the voltmeter provides a parallel pathway,
it should take as little current as possible. In other words, a voltmeter should have a very HIGH
resistance.

Which measurement technique do you think will be the more useful? In fact, voltage
measurements are used much more often than current measurements.
 The processing of electronic signals is usually thought of in voltage terms. It is an added
advantage that a voltage measurement is easier to make. The original circuit does not need to be
changed. Often, the meter probes are connected simply by touching them to the points of interest.

An ohmmeter does not function with a circuit connected to a power supply. If you want to
measure the resistance of a particular component, you must take it out of the circuit altogether and
test it separately, as shown in diagram D:

to measure resistance, the component must be removed from the circuit altogether

ohmmeters work by passing a current through the component being tested

Ohmmeters work by passing a small current through the component and measuring the
voltage produced. If you try this with the component connected into a circuit with a power supply, the
most likely result is that the meter will be damaged. Most multi-meters have a fuse to help protect
against misuse.
 The Bread Board is the white board with holes. The components and wiring is inserted in these holes.
No soldering is involved so the components and the wiring can be easily removed and reconnected.
The Bread Board is divided in to strips. There are two types of strips seen on the bread board. The
‘Thin’ strips are used to distribute power, ground and clock signals across the Bread Board. To use the
Bread Board place the four terminals (black, red, yellow and green) on the left hand side. These four
terminals are used to connect the power leads from power supply.
Five horizontal Thin strips:
Each horizontal strip (Thin strip) has two rows of holes. The two rows are divided in to two sections A
and B. The upper row in section A is divided into five groups of holes (25 holes) that are internally
connected to each other. Similarly all the five groups of holes in the bottom row of section A are
connected to each other. There is no connection between the holes in the upper row and the holes in
the bottom row. Similarly, the five groups of 25 holes in the upper and bottom row of section B are
internally connected. There is no connection between any of the four row segments.
Two vertical Thin Strips:
Each vertical strip is identical to the horizontal strips described above. Like the horizontal strips, each
of the two vertical strips has four column segments.
Four horizontal Thick Strips:
Each of the four horizontal strips (thick strips) is divided in to two with a notch in the middle. There are
a total of 10 rows of holes, five on each side of the notch. If you look carefully, the rows are A to J. The
internal connection of the holes is different from the connections in the thin strips. Here the holes are
connected together column wise rather than row wise. The columns have been numbered from 1 to
64. Thus for example, all the five holes (rows A to E) in the column 1 are connected together and all the
five holes (rows F to J) in column 1 are connected together. There is no connection between holes on
one side of the notch with holes on other side of the notch.
3. Introduction to DC Power Supply
The power supply (PS) has two variable (0 to 30Volts) and one fixed (5Volts) dc voltage source. The
variable supply has a current limit which can be set by the user.
• Press the Power On button.
• If using the variable dc supply, connect the red lead with + and the black lead with - .
• The vlotage and current can be set to desired level by rotating the knobs & the resulting value
appears on the display.
• If using the fixed 5 Volts supply, connect red lead with + and black with -.
4.Oscilloscope
The Oscilloscope is the most important instrument available to the Practicing Technician or engineer. It
permits the visual display of a signal that can reveal a range of information regarding the operating
characteristics of a circuit or system that is not available with a standard multimeter. At first glance the
instrument may appear complex and difficult to master. Be assured, however that once the function of
each section of oscilloscope is explained and understood and the system is used throughout a set of
experiments, your expertise with this important tool will develop quite rapidly. In addition to the
display of a signal, it can also be used to measure the average value, rms value, frequency and period
of a sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal signal. The screen is divided into centimeter division in the vertical and
horizontal directions. The vertical sensitivity is provided in volts/cm, while the horizontal scale is
provided in time. If a particular signal occupies 6 vertical centimeters and the vertical sensitivity is 5
mV/cm, the magnitude of the signal can be determined from the following equation:

Signal voltage (unknown) = voltage sensitivity V/cm × deflection cm

Vs = (5mV/cm) × (6cm) = 30 mV

If one cycle of the same signal occupies 8 cm on the horizontal scale with a horizontal sensitivity of
5us/m, the period and frequency of the signal can be determined using the following equations:

Period of waveform = horizontal sensitivity (s/cm) × deflection (cm)

T = (5u/cm) (8cm) = 40 us
5.Function Generator
The function Generator is a supply that typically provides a sinusoidal, square-wave, and triangular
waveform for a range of frequencies and amplitudes. Although the frequency of the function generator
can be set by the dial position and appropriate multiplier, the oscilloscope can be used to precisely set
the output frequency. The scope can also be used to set the amplitude of the function generator since
most function generators simply have an amplitude control with no level indicators.
The Function Generator
Set up
• Turn On the oscilloscope and adjust the necessary controls
to establish a clear, bright, horizontal line across the center
of screen.

• Connect the function generator to one vertical channel of

the oscilloscope and set the output of the generator to a
100Hz sinusoidal waveform,

• Set the vertical sensitivity of the scope to 1V/cm and adjust

the amplitude control of the function generator to establish
a 4V peak to peak sinusoidal waveform on screen.

Lab Tasks
1.Draw a sinusoidal waveform below, 8volt peak with frequency of 1KHz also mention
about Horizontal and Vertical sensitivity.

Question # 02: Write the answers of the following questions

1. What is electric current?
2. What units are used to measure current?
3. Which materials allow current to flow easily?
4. Which materials prevent the flow of electric current?
5. What is a circuit?
6. What is potential difference (voltage)?
7. What is a battery?
8. How is the capacity of a cell measured?
9. What is the direction of flow of conventional current?
10. Can the behavior of electronic circuits be analyzed by assuming current flow in this direction?
11. Which part of the torch limits the flow of current?
12. What units are used to measure resistance?
13. What symbols are used to represent current, potential difference (voltage), and resistance?
14. If the potential difference (voltage) across a wire is constant, reducing the resistance of the wire
causes the current to . . . ?
15. If the potential difference (voltage) across a wire is increased, without changing its resistance, the
current will . . . ?
16. Calculate the resistance of a lamp filament if 150 mA of current flow when the lamp is connected
to 3 cells in series (4.5 V).
17. In the circuit below, which switches should be closed . . .

(A) to light lamp L1 only?

(B) to light lamp L2 only?
(C) to light lamps L1 and L2?

18. What would happen to lamps L1 and L2 if switches S1, S2 and S3 were all closed at the same time?
Why should closing all three switches be avoided?
19. What are the important features of ammeters, voltmeters and ohmmeters?
20. Which type of meter is used most often?