DigitalVoltmeter

I.Introduction
Ourgoalhereistobuildavoltmeter.Wewilldothisusingalmostalldigitalcircuitry
ratherthananalog.Thecircuitworkslikemanyotherdigitalmeasurementcircuitsinthatit
convertsthequantitytobemeasuredintoatimeinterval,thenmeasuresthattime.
CallthevoltagewewishtomeasureVin.Saywechargeacapacitorlinearlywithtime
(thatis,ataconstantchargingcurrentI),startingatzerovolts.Itwilltakeatimet=Vin/(dVin/
dt)=VinC/(dQ/dt)=VinC/IforthecapacitortochargeuptoVin.Soifwecanmeasurethis
timeinterval,wecandetermineVin.Tomeasuretimeindigitalelectronics,weproduceahigh
frequencypulsetrainandcountthepulsesoccurringduringthetimeintervaltobemeasured.
Thenumberofpulsescountedisameasureofthetimeinterval,andhenceofVin.Withsome
suitableconversionandadisplay,thismakesadigitalvoltmeter(DVM).
Torealizethisideawithactualcircuitelements(mostlyintegratedcircuitsorIC's)we
requireanumberofseparatesections.Thecompletecircuitdiagramfortheeventualprojectis
shownonthelastpageofthiswriteup(don'tletitfrightenyou!).Onthesecondtolastpageis
thesamecircuitwithitsfunctionalsectionsoutlinedandlabeled.Thesectionsneededforthis
projectare:
A) Apulsetraingenerator.Inelectronics,thisiscalledaclock.Wehavealreadylearnedhow
tobuildthisusingthe555timerchip.Thisistheclockgenerationsection.
B) Awaytomonitorthevoltageacrossthecapacitorandgeneratesignalswhenthe
chargingstartsatzerovoltsandwhenthevoltagebecomesequaltothevoltagetobe
measured,Vin.Icallthisthesectioncontrolandgating.
C) Awaytocountthenumberofclockpulsesthatoccurbetweenthestartandstop
chargingsignals.Thisisthecountingsection.
D) Aconstantcurrentcapacitorchargingcircuitthatcanbeturnedonandoffandresetto
zerovoltsbythestartandstopchargingsignals.analoginput/transducer
E)Ahumanreadablewaytodisplaythenumberofpulsescountedduringthisinterval.Thisis
thelatchinganddisplaysection.
Wewilllearnhowtobuildeachofthesesections,thenconnectthemtogetherintothe
functioningDVM.
II. SectionbySectionBuildUp
So,letusgetstarted.
A.ClockGeneration
PartAwealreadyhavelearnedtodointhepreviouslab.Digitalthings,though,prefertowork
at0or5V.Therefore,eitherpowerthe555from5Vinsteadof10or15V(seespecsheet),orput
pinthreeonavoltagedividertobringtheoutputdownto5V.Thisisthemethodchoseninthe
finalschematicattheend
B.BasicControlandGating
TocarryoutthefunctionofPartBweuseasolutionbasedonanintegratedcircuitcalled
acomparator.TheentirepurposeofthisICistosignalwhichoftwovoltagesislarger.Oneof
thevoltageswillbeVinandtheotherwillbethevoltageacrossthecapacitor.Thecomparator
hastodoitsjobwithoutdrawinganyappreciablecurrent,otherwiseitwillinterferewiththe
constantcurrentcharging.ToachievenearzeroinputcurrentwewilluseaLF355FETinput

opampasourcomparator.
Wewilldiscussopampsindetailinclass.Fornow,wecanjustlearnthattheopampis
achipwithtwoinputslabeled+and(withthevoltagesatthesepointscalledV+andV)and
calledthenoninvertingandinvertinginputs.Ithasjustoneoutput.OfcourselikeanyICit
requirespowerandgroundconnections,inthiscasetwopowersupplies(Vcc=+10VandVee=
10Vthesearejustconventionalnamesforthepowervoltages).
Ifthevoltageatthe+inputisgreater(morepositive)thanthevoltageattheinput(V+
>V),the355willdriveitsoutputhigh,neartoVcc.Iftheoppositebecomestrue,(V>V+),the
outputwillgolow,neartoVee.
Justforthispartofthelab,wewilluseacoupleofLED'stomonitorthestateoftheopamp
output.TheLEDissymbolizedby:

andisaLightEmittingDiode.
Wediscusseddiodesgenerallyinclass.Theyactasonewayvalvesforcurrent.The
arrowpointsinthedirectionconventional(positive)currentisallowedtoflow.Theshorterlead
wireonanLEDcorrespondstothetipofthearrow.(Forhistoricalreasonsthissideisalso
calledthecathode;theothersideofthedeviceiscalledtheanode.)Whenthediodeisbiased
(i.e.voltageisapplied)toconductinthisdirection,itissaidtobeforwardbiased.
IfyouforwardbiastheseLED'swithlessthanabout1.6Volt,littlecurrentflowsandno
lightisproduced.Ontheotherhand,ifyoutrytocausealargerforwardvoltagedropacrossa
diode,youwillfindthatyouwon'tbeabletodoit.Anydiodewillalwaystrytomaintaina
certainvoltagedropofabout1Voltacrossitself(seebelowfordetailsontheexactvalue).The
diodewillkeepitsforwardbiasvoltagedropconstantbydrawingmoreandmorecurrentfrom
thepowersupplyuntileitherthesupplysagsorthediodeburnsup.Theexactvalueofthe
forwardbiasvoltagedropdependsonthematerialthediodeismadeofandnothingelse.Red
LED'saremadeofgalliumarsenide(GaAs),amanmadematerialthatdoesnotexistinnature.
Theyhaveaforwardbiasvoltageofabout1.6voltsandtheyonlyemitlightwhentheforward
biasvoltageisatleastthisbig.Signaldiodesareusuallymadeofsiliconwithaforwardbias
voltageof0.6Volt.AnLEDwillnotlightwhenitisreversebiased(voltagepolarityis
reversed).
Inthecircuitbelow,onlyoneLEDshouldlightatatimetheoneontheleftwilllightif
theopampoutputispositive,ortheoneontherightwilllightiftheopampoutputisnegative.
LEDsshouldalwayshavearesistorof~500inserieswiththemtoguaranteethatthevoltage
theyseewillsagsufficientlyathighcurrenttoavoidburningoutthediode.
1)Buildthevoltagemonitorcircuitshownabove.TheSPDTswitchshownbelowthe9K
resistorcontrolsthecapacitorcharging.The1kpotentiometeriswiredtoformavoltage
divider,allowingustosetVintoanythingbetween0and10V.Thetimeconstantforcharging
thecapacitorisfixedbythecapacitorvalueandthe9Kresistor,andisslowenoughthatyou
shouldbeabletonoticethelongerchargingtimesasVinisincreased.(Note:Viniswhatwill
eventuallybethevoltagewearetryingtomeasure.Thecapacitorisalwayschargedinthis
schematicfrom0tosomeVinvaluelessthan10V.Butitwilltakeitlongertochargetoa
highervoltage,sothe355comparatorwillmeasurealongertimeforVtobecomegreaterthan
V+asVinisincreased.)Makesuretheelectrolyticcapacitorsareplacedwiththecorrect

polarity!!Thismeanstheleadmarkedpositiveshouldgotowardsthe+10V.
2)Inthisconfiguration,theopampwillputout10Vor10Vatpin6(actuallyslightlyless.
Measuretherealvalues).SinceourtwoLEDsarewiredwithoppositepolarity,ineithercase
onlyoneofthemwillbeforwardbiasedandhenceemitlight.ChooseoneoftheLED'sredand
theotheronegreenandorientthemsothatthegreenonelightswhenthecapacitorhasalarger
voltagethanVin.Whentheswitchisflippedtoconnectthe9Kresistortothecapacitor,the
chargingstarts.TheredLEDshouldinitiallylight,thenaftersomedelay,itshouldgooutand
thegreenoneshouldcomeon.IfVinisincreasedbyadjustingthe1Kpot,thedelayshouldget
longer.Aftertheswitchisflippedintheotherdirection(disconnectingfromthe9Kresistorand
shortingacrossthecapacitor),theredLEDshouldcomeonimmediately,sincethecapacitoris
dischargeddirectlytogroundwithoutaresistor.
3)Makingcertainthecapacitorhastherightpolarity,turnthepotentiometertoapplyits
maximumVin.Fliptheswitchtostartcharging.Youmaynotseethegreenlightgoon.Thisis
becausetheopampcannotworkwithinputsignalsverynearitspowersupplyvoltages.Back
offabitonthepotentiometertogetVinavoltorsolowerthanV+andtryagain.
C.CountingClockPulsestoMeasureElapsedTime
1.CountingPulseswiththe74LS192Chip
DigitalelectronicchipsofthetypeknownasTTLuse0Vforanoffsignal(0)and5V
foranonsignal(1).Thisisthedefiningcharacteristicofdigitalelectronics:anyinputoroutput
canonlybeinoneoftwopossiblestates.TheTTLoutputofthebreadboard'sfunction
generatorgeneratesapulsetrainforusewiththeTTLfamily.Sodoesanappropriate555
circuit.TheTTLchipsusedinthisclassarealldesignatedbythelettersLSinitsJEDEC
number(Example:74LS00isaquadNANDgate).
To"count"thepulsesgeneratedwhilethecapacitorischarging,wewillusea74LS192
integratedcircuit,whichisadividebytencountingchip.Itisaverycapablelittleguy,and
costsonlyaboutabuck.Thischipacceptsalogicpulsetrainasinputonpin5(UP
COUNT).Itcountspulsesfrom0(0000binary)to9(1001binary),continuouslyputtingout
thebinarybitscorrespondingtothenumberofpulsescountedonpins3,2,6,7(LSBtoMSB).
Whenitgetspast9itputsoutacarrysignalonpin12,thebinarybitoutputsrolloverto0000
again,andthenitrepeats.Itcanalsocountdownaswellasupbutwewon'tusethathere.
Securethedatasheetforthispartbyaskingyourinstructororentering74LS192datasheetinto
Googleandpickingtheappropriatereference.
Theinnardsofthechip(themagicinthesenseArthurC.Clarkeusedtheterm)will
beexplainedinclass.Tofamiliarizeourselveswiththischip,wewillsendsignalstoitoneata

timeusingapullupresistorandadebouncedswitch.ReadthesectionSwitchDebouncingon
pages506ff.ofHorowitzandHill(H&H).Thissectionexplainswhywemustusea
debouncedswitchtosignalthecountersothateachswitchpresssendsoneandonlyone
pulseintothecounter.Fortunatelythebreadboardsalreadyprovidedebouncedswitches,located
ontheleftside.

1)Wiretheswitchandresistorpartofthecountingcircuitabove,usinganormallyclosed,
debounced,pushbuttonswitch.A500pullupresistorshouldrunfrom5Vtotheswitch.
Theresistorwillthenbetiedtogroundwhenevertheswitchisclosed,presentingalogic0tothe
COUNTUPinput(pin5).Whentheswitchpushbuttonispressed,theswitchisopenedand
thereforebreakstheresistorconnectiontoground.A5VinputisthenpresentedtotheCOUNT
UPinput(minusofcourse,thevoltagedropacrosstheresistorbutrememberthatinputsto
logicchipsdrawlittlecurrentsothisdropisneglibigle.).Thistransitionfrom0to5Vis
countedasonepulse.
2)Wiretherestofthecircuitasshown.The74LS192isasophisticateddevicewithanumber
ofinputswearenotusing.Theseunusedinputpinsmustbetiedtoeithergroundor+5V,
becausepinsleftfloating(unconnected)candrifttorandomvoltagesandcausespuriousinputs
tothechip.TheCOUNTDOWN(4)and LOAD (11)pinsmustbetiedhigh(5V).The
CLEARinput(pin14)mustbetiedto0V.Wirethe74192binarybitoutputs3,2,6,and7tothe
firstfourlogicindicatorLEDsontherightsideoftheboard.(Theselogicindicatorsalready
haveseriesresistorsbuiltintoprotecttheLED'sfromovercurrent.)Makesuretheleast
significantbit(LSB,pin3)iswiredtotherightmostLED,andthemostsignificantbit(MSB,
pin7)iswiredtotheleftmostLEDsothatthebinarydisplaywillreadnormally.
3)Nowpushandreleasetheswitchrepeatedly.Youshouldseethelogicindicatorscountupone
unitforeachbuttonpress,from0000to1001(inbinaryfor0to9),thengobacktozeroand
repeat.Thisshouldrepeataslongasyoucontinueactuatingtheswitch.
4)Disconnectpin5fromthepullupresistorandconnectitinsteadtoaTTLsignalfromthe
functiongeneratorrunningatalowfrequency.Observethatthebinaryoutputsnowcountup

withoutyourbuttonpushing.Next,tietheCLEAR(pin14)toapullupresistorandaDIP
switch(seenotebelow)andnoteitsfunction.Lastly,tietheCARRY( CO ,pin12)toafifth
logicindicatorLEDandnoteitsbehavior.Keepthiscircuittogether.
NoteonDIPswitchpullupsetup:

Somepeoplewouldcallthisapulldownresistorsinceitconnectstogroundratherthan5Vasin
thedebouncedswitchsetupabove.TosetthisupusetherowofDIPswitchesonthelowerleftof
theprototypingboard.Theslideswitchonthefarrightinternallyconnectsonesideofallthe
DIPstoeither0or+5V.Makesurethisswitchissetto5V.Toavoidshortingthe5Vsupply
directlytoground,a~500resistortogroundisneeded.Fromthehighside(5V)ofthis
resistor,runyourinputtotheCLEARpin(orwhereeverelseinthecircuitamanuallyoperated
logicinputisneeded).
2.Switchingtheinputto74LS192OnandOffwithaNANDGate

Thevoltmeterwillworkbycountingthepulsesfromthe555betweenthetimethecapacitor
chargingstarts,andthetimethe355comparatordetectsthatthecapacitorvoltagehassurpassed
V andthereforechangesitsoutputstate.ToaccomplishthiswewilluseasimpleNANDgate
in

inthecircuitshownabove.
TheNANDgatewasdiscussedinclass.ANANDisaNOTANDbooleancircuit
element.Thetruthtableisgiveninthediagramabove.Thepullupresistorwillprovidealogic
1toinputAoftheNANDwhentheswitchisclosed(thisimitatesthesituationwewillhave
whilethecapacitorisstillcharging),and0iftheswitchisopen.InputBoftheNANDis
connectedtothepulsetrainoutputofthe555.TheoutputoftheNANDwillthereforefollowthe
555pulsetrain(inverted)iftheswitchisclosed,andtheNANDoutputwilljustsitatlogic0
otherwise.Thesignalfromthepullupresistorandswitchissaidtogatethecountingofthe555
pulsetrain.
1)FirstexploretheoperationoftheNAND.Finda74LS00ICandalsoitsdatasheet.The7400
actuallyhasfourindependentNANDgatesinonepackage.Justpickoneofthemforthis
exercise.TodrivetheNAND,assemblethe555timercircuitfrompage287ofH&H.You
couldusetheTTLgenerator,butthe555willbeneededlateranyway.Selectresistorsand

capacitorstogiveapulserepetitionrateofafewHzsothatyoucanseetheoutputchange
visually.Thenconnectthe555outputpulsetraintooneinputoftheNAND,andthesecond
inputtotheDIPswitchwithapullupresistor.
2)VerifywithascopethattheoutputoftheNANDonlyoscillateswhentheDIPswitchisclosed
andtheinputisthereforepulledupto+5volts(logic1)
3)NowwiretheNANDoutputtotheCOUNTUPpinofthe74LS192counterfromthe
precedingsection.VerifythatthecounteronlycountswhentheDIPswitchispulledup.Ifthe
555pulserepetitionrateistoohigh,youwon'tbeabletoseethefourindicatorLEDsswitching
asthecountprogresses.Theywilllookasiftheyareallonatthesametime,withareductionin
brightness.WhentheDIPswitchisoffthough,theLED'sshouldfreezeinasteadypattern.
4)Usetwoprobesandascopetoverifythatthe555signalisbeinginvertedbytheNAND.You
willneedtodisplaybothscopechannelsatonce.
D.ImprovingtheAnalogInput/TransductionSection
1.ConstantCurrentCharging
Whyisitunsatisfactorytochargethecapacitorthroughafixedresistorusingafixed
voltage?(Hint:V=V0(1exp(t/RC)).Wenowneedaconstantcurrentcapacitorcharging
circuitthatcanbeturnedonandoffandresettozerovoltsbythestartandstopchargingsignals.
Thisisacomplextask,andthuspartDwillhaveseveralsubsections.
Asexplainedattheverystartofthiswriteup,thecapacitormustbechargedlinearly
withtime,sothereisafixedvoltageriseperunitoftime.Howdowechargeacapacitor
linearly?RecallthatV=q/Candthat1Amp=1Coulomb/Sec.So,onlyifwechargethe
capacitorwithaconstantcurrentdoweincrementthechargebythesameamountineach
second,hencealsoincrementingthevoltagebyaconstantamountineachsecond.Thisgivesa
linearV(t).FortheconstantcurrentdrivewewillusetheLM334,athreeterminalcurrent
sourcethatjustrequiresoneexternalresistortosetthecurrent.
Anidealcurrentsourcewouldprovideafixedcurrentnomatterwhatloaditwas
connectedto.But,aswiththevoltagedivider,anyrealcurrentsourcewillsagundercertain
conditions.Notice+VINandVonthediagrambelow.The+VINterminalisthepowersupply
voltageinputtothechip.TheVterminalistheoutputpinfromwhichthecurrent(ISET)willbe
suppliedtoourload(thecapacitor).Asthesignsindicate,Vmustbelessthan+VIN.Ifthe
loadingissuchthatVgetstooclosetothesupplyvoltage,theoutputcurrentwillsagorcease
altogether.Forcorrectoperationwemustsatisfythecondition+VINV>0.5V.Naturallythis
meanswecannotchargeourcapacitorabove(+VIN.5V).AswithmostIC's,therearemany
possibleapplicationsandcircuitsforthe334.Thefigurebelowshowsthesimplest
configuration.Vincanbeanywherebetween1and40V.RSETdeterminesthecurrentbythe
followingformula:ISET=(227V /K )*Tambient/RSET.Forthisproject,assumeTambient=300K.
Inarealinstrument,wewouldhavetobuildintemperaturecompensationtomakethecharging
currentindependentoftheambienttemperature.

1)Usingtheaboveformula,calculateRSETtoproduceacurrentof0.5mA.
2)SecureacopyofthedatasheetfortheLM334soyoucanidentifytheleads.Assemblethe
littlefragmentshownabove,poweredbyVIN=5V,andmeasuretheoutputcurrenttoverifyyour
calculations.The334istemperaturedependent,sowarmitalittlewithyourfingerandseehow
thecurrentchanges.Itshouldbeasmallchange.

3)PuttheaboveconstantcurrentsourceintothecapacitorchargingcircuitofsectionB1,in
placeofthe9Kresistortothepositivesupplyasshowninthefullcircuitdiagramonthelast
pageofthiswriteup.
Verifythefunctionofthecircuitbyplacinganammeterinserieswiththecurrentsource
andcapacitor,andwatchingthevoltageonthecapacitorwiththeoscilloscope.Youshould
observeonthescopethatthecapacitorneverchargesabove(+VIN.5V)=4.5Vasmentioned
previously.Theammetershouldshowa.5mAreadinguntilthecapacitorvoltagelevelsoutnear
4.5V,thenitshouldreadzero.Replacethe5Vsupplyvoltagewith10V.Noticethatthecurrent
isstillthesame.The334outputcurrentisindependentofsupplyvoltage.
4). Next,measuretheslopeofthecapacitorchargingcurveV(t)ontheoscilloscopeandverify
thatV(t)increaseslinearlywithtime.Comparethemeasuredslopewiththevalueyouexpect
fromcalculation.
2.AutomatedControloftheChargingCircuit
Giventhemeasuredcurrentofyour334,calculateacapacitorvaluetogiveacharging
rateinVolts/secondbetween100and200V/s.Thischoicewillallowthefinalmetercircuit
torereadtheinputvoltageatafairlyhighrepetitionrate,allowingittofollowiftheinput
voltagevarieswithtime.Forexample,ifI=0.5mAandC=3.3x106F,V(t)=.5mC/s/3.3x
106F=150V/s.Thisimplies.006secondspervolt.
Tostartandstopthecapacitorchargingcircuitautomatically,wewilluseadevicecalled
aMOSFETtransistorasanelectronicswitch.TheMOSFETtobeusedhereiscalledan
RFP4N05L.MOSFETsareextremelysensitivedevicesmeaningtheyareeasytodestroyby
staticelectricity.GroundyourselftotheshellofaBNCconnectoronthebreadboardbefore
handlingtheMOSFET.Theterminalsofthisdevicearenamedgate,source,anddrain.The
gateisthecontrolterminalwhichcontrolshowmuchcurrentpassesfromdraintosource.Much
ofthemagicofMOSFETsisrelatedtothefactthatthegatedrawsanexceedinglysmallcurrent,
picoampsorless.Withthattinycurrent(andcorrespondinglytinycontrolpowerIgateVgate)we
cancontrolamuchlargercurrentIdrainofhundredsofmA(andcorrespondinglymuchlarger

powerIdrain*(VdrainVsource))goingfromdraintosource.Thesedevicescomeinavarietyof

typeswithdifferentcharacteristics,butwedonotneedtoconcernourselveswiththatnow.
Wewillbuilduptheautomatedcontrolofthechargingcircuitinsteps.
1)Firstlet'sseehowtousetheMOSFETtostartandstopthecharging.Thedevicewillact
essentiallylikeaswitchacrossthecapacitorthatwecanopenandclosebutitwillopenand
closeinresponsetoalogicsignalpresentedtoitsgate.Rearrangeyourcapacitorcircuitfrom
partBonceagain,thistimetolooklikethefigureabove(the0.5mAcomesfromthe334current
sourceasbefore).SupplyavariableVin(asbefore)usinga1kpotentiometerbetweengroundand
10V.MeasureVinwithaknownworkingvoltmeter.NoticewearetyingthegateoftheMOS
FETtoaDIPswitchandpullupresistor.Wearestillgoingtooperateamanualswitchtostart
andstopthecharging,butnowthemanualswitchisactuallyjustpresentingalogicsignaltothe
MOSFETgate.ThatsignalcausestheMOSFETswitchtoopenandclose.Lateron,the
logicsignalwillbesuppliedbyyetanotherchip(the74LS74flipflop)insteadofamanual
switch.
2)VerifythatwhentheDIPswitchattheMOSFETgateisopenedandclosed,theLEDstoggle
asbefore.Whenthegateistakenlow,theMOSFETactslikeanopencircuitfromdrainto
source,allowingthecapacitortocharge.Whenthegateistakenhigh,theMOSFETactslikea
closedswitchshortingacrossthecapacitorandbringingthechargetozero.Observethatthe
MOSFETgetswarmtothetouch.Itispassingcurrent(~.5mA)wheneverthegateishigh.
3)Thoughcharginglinearly,thecapacitorchargestoofasttovisuallyseethedelaybetweenred
andgreenLED'scausedbythechargingtime.Toverifythedelay,attachtheprobeofan
oscilloscopeacrossthecapacitorandwatchitchargeanddischargeforseveraldifferentvalues
ofVin.Itmaybedifficulttogetthescopetotriggerproperly(youshouldbeonnormal
triggering),butpersevere!Verifythattheslope,etc.arestillthesameastheywereinD1step5)
above.
B.ControllingtheMOSFETwitha74LS74FlipFlop
The74LS74isaclockedDtypeflipflop.Wewilluseittomediatebetweenthe
comparatorandthecapacitorchargingcircuit.Thisdevicehaspowerandgroundconnections
likeanylogicIC.ItalsohasinputscalledD,CLOCK,and R RbarandoutputscalledQand
Q .ThepresenceofaCLOCKpulsedetermineswhetherornotthedevicelistenstotheD
input.Withoutalogic1signalatCLOCK,theoutputsstayconstantnomatterwhathappensat
D.IfbothCLOCKandDaredrivenwithlogic1atthesametime,thenQwillgotologic1and
Q willgotologic0.IfCLOCKisdrivenwithlogic1andDisdrivenwithlogic0atthesame
time,thenQwillgotologic0and Q willgotologic1.If R isdrivenwithlogic0itwill
forceQtologic0and Q tologic1regardlessofthelogiclevelpresentedtoCLOCK.

Wireupa74LS74andconnectthe R inputto5V.UsingpullupresistorsandDIP
switchesconnectedtoDandCLOCK,andlogicindicatorLED'sconnectedtoQand Q ,verify
thattheabovedescriptionofitsoperationiscorrect.
Nextexploretheeffectof R .ConnectDto+5Vsothatitisalwayshigh(logic1),and
Rbartoaswitchandpullupresistor.WhatshouldhappenwhenRbarinputisgrounded?
(HintremembertheTriggerbarinputona555?).VerifythattheeffectofRbaristojamQ
tozeroregardlessofthesignalpresentedtoCLOCK.
InthefinalDVMcircuit,thecomparatorwilldrive R andCLOCKwillbedrivenby
apushbutton,orbytheTTLpulsetrainfromthefunctiongenerator.TheDinputwillbetiedto
+5V.Howtheseconnectionsperformthenecessarymeasurementcyclewillbeexplainedinthe
nextsection.
PartD.3
Nowwewillputtogetherthepartsdiscussedsofarandgettheautomatedcharging
operationcycletowork.Wewillthenaddonerefinement,andthenmoveontothelatchingand
displaysectionoftheDVMcircuit.

1)Onceagainamendyourcapacitorchargingcircuit,makingitlooklikethatabove.The
debouncedswitchconnectstothe74LS74CLOCKinputandiswiredasinpartC.1stepone.
Theswitchistheretoallowustomanuallygeneratealogicsignaltostartonechargingcyclejust
fortesting.Thislogicsignalcouldalternativelybegeneratedautomatically.
2)RunQtoanindicatorLED.Also,run Q toanindicator,aswellastotheMOSFETgate
(determinewhichMOSFETpiniswhichfromadatasheet).Tie R toathirdindicatorLED,
aswellastotheopamp(comparator)output.Asever,the355opamptakesasitsinputsthe
voltagewewishtomeasureandthevoltageofthechargingcapacitor.WheneverVin>VCapthe
comparatoroutputis+10V.Intheothercase,VCap>Vin,theoutputis10V(thepowersupply
voltages+/10Vareoftenreferredtoastherails).Theopampoutputcontrolstheoperationof
theDflipflop(through R ).
So,letsgothroughacycleofoperation.Assumethatinitially(atpowerup)the
capacitorisuncharged.ThereforeVin>VCap, R =1,Q=0,and Q =1.The Q =1signal
pullstheRFP4N05Lgatehigh,sotheMOSFETswitchisclosed,shortingacrossthe
capacitor.
NowwepressthedebouncedswitchandsendasignaltotheCLOCKinputofthe
74LS74.ThatchipthenreadsthesignalatitsDinput,whichisalwayslogic1(Distiedto
+5V).Thereforethe74LS74outputstatechangestoQ=1and Q =0. Q =0immediately

openstheMOSFETswitch,allowingthecapacitortostartcharging.LaterwewillusetheQ
outputtostartthecountinganddisplaysections(notshowninthediagramabove).
ThecapacitorcontinuestochargeuntilVCap>Vin.AssoonasVCapexceedsVin,the
outputoftheopampcomparatorgoeslow,drivingthe R inputtologic0.Thisresetstheflip
floptothestateQ=0and Q =1,whichclosestheMOSFETswitchagainandinstantly
drainsthecapacitor.Thestateofthecircuitisnowexactlythesameasitwasatpowerup.
Nothingmorewillhappenunlessanotherlogic1ispresentedtoCLOCK.
Theoutcomeofallthisisthateverytimethedebouncedswitchispressed,thecapacitor
goesthroughonecycleofchargingat.5mAuptoVCap=Vin,thengetsinstantlydischarged.The
Qsignalofthe74LS74islogic1duringthechargingtimeandlogic0otherwise.Thisswitching
ofQand Q intimewiththecapacitorchargingistheheartoftheDVMwearebuilding.We
willusethistocontrolthecountinganddisplaycircuitryinthefollowingsections.
3)PowertheabovecircuitanduseindicatorLED'soranoscilloscopetocheckthatitactually
goesthroughthecycleexplainedindetailabove.Basically,youshouldseeQ=Oand Q =1at
powerup.ThenpressingtheswitchshouldreversethestatesofQand Q forashorttime,after
whichtheyshouldreturntotheirinitialstates.Itwillbeverydifficulttosee R switchfromits
powerupvalueof1,to0,andbackto1again,sinceitisonlyinthelogic0stateforthat
incrediblybriefperiodoftimeittakesthecapacitortostartdischarging.
4)Atthebeginningofthissection,theneedforacoupleofrefinementswasmentioned.Hereis
thesymptomofaneedforoneofthem:Noticethatifyouholddowntheswitch,thecapacitor
willchargeup,butitwillnotdischargeuntilyouletgo.
PartD.4:ARefinement
Whydoesthecapacitornotdischargeiftheswitchishelddown?Thepoor74LS74is
gettingcontradictorymessagesfromitsinputs,that'swhy.Aslongastheswitchispressed,the
74LS74issensitivetoitsDinput,whichisheldhigh.Sothisshouldmaketheoutputstategoto
Q=1and Q =0.Howeveroncethecapacitorgetsfullycharged,theopampcomparatoroutput
issignaling R =0,whichissupposedtodrivetheoutputstoQ=0and Q =1instead.
Accordingtothe74LS74specs,theDinputwinsthisconflictandthecapacitornevergets
discharged.
Therearetwowaystofixthis.1)Useanedgetriggered74LS74,whichdoesexistandis
calleda74LS74A.Wediscussededgetriggeredlogicdevicesinclass.Or,2)sendonlyavery
shortpulsetotheCLOCKinputnomatterhowlongtheswitchishelddown.Thecircuitshown
belowaccomplishesfixnumber2)inacrudebuteffectiveway.

YoushouldhavelearnedaboutNOT,NOR,andNANDinlecture.InBooleanlogicthey
performtheirfunctionsinstantaneously,butintherealmofelectronicsthereissomepropagation

10

delay.Forexample,theinvertingofasignal(NOT)maytakearound20ns.Sohereisthedeal:
withthedebouncedswitchopen,theupperinputtotheNORis1.Thelowerinput,producedby
thethreeNOTs,is0.RecallthataNORonlyoutputsa1whenbothinputsare0,sohereit
outputs0.Nowweclosetheswitch.TheupperinputtotheNORimmediatelygoesto0.Dueto
thepropagationdelaythroughthethreeNOTs,thelowerinputstaysat0also,forabout60nsof
propagationdelay.Thenitturnsto1.TheeffectofthisisthattheNORoutputgivesa60ns
pulseof1,thenreturnsto0.Whenwereleasetheswitch(longafterthe60nspulseisfinished),
theupperinputimmediatelygoesbackto1,and60nslaterthelowerinputgoesto0.Butnone
ofthischangestheoutput,sinceatanytimeoneoftheinputsis1.Acircuitthatgeneratesa
shortpulselikethisiscalledaoneshot.SingleICsthatperformthisfunctionareactually
availableandarediscussedinH&Hp.517ff.
1)AddintheNORandthreeNOTsbetweentheswitchandflipflop.TheNORisa74LS04
andtheNOTisa74LS02.You,ofcourse,needthedatasheetfortheseparts.Donotforgetto
givethem5Vandground!Observeonthescopethatthecapacitorwillnowdischargeevenif
youholddowntheswitch.
PartE:LatchandDisplaySection
Hereweneedtocreateahumanreadabledisplayofourpulsecounting.Thiswill
involveasevensegmentdisplay,adisplaydriver,andalatch.
1.DisplayandDriver
TheMAN71AisasevensegmentLEDdisplayusedfordisplayingasinglehuman
readablenumberorothercharacter.ItcontainssevenbarshapedLED'sarrangedintheshapeof
asquaredoff8.Theanode(+terminalinforwardbias)connectionsofalltheLED'sare
massedtogetherintoasinglecommonanodeterminal.Thecathodeofeachsegmenthasits
ownwirecomingoutoftheDIPpackage.Thesegmentsaredesignatedwithlettersag.To
lightanyoneormoreofthesegmentssimplygroundthecorrespondingpin(s)ontheDIP.
Todisplayagivendigitonehastotakethedesireddigitanddecodeitintoalistof
whichpinsaretobegrounded.TheICchip7447containsallthecircuitryneededtodothis
decoding.Asitsinputitreceivesthe(four)binarydigitsofanumberbetween0and9,and
decodesthisinformationintowhichLEDsegmentsshouldlight,groundingthecorresponding
pinsofitsoutput.
Lookupthedatasheetsforthe7447andMAN71A.NotethattheMAN71ALED'sare
notinternallyovercurrentprotected,soa500resistorisrequiredoneachsegment'slineto
ground,meaningbetweentheMAN71Aandthe7447.[Whywouldn'titbeagoodideatoput
onesuchresistorinthecommonanodeline?]
2.Latch
Thelatchallowsustostaticallydisplaythefinalresultofonecapacitorchargingcycle
operation,evenwhilethenextcycleisinprogress.
Thelatchweusehere,the74LS175,hasfourinputsandfouroutputs.Itjustpasses
alongthelogicstatesonitsinputsthroughtoitsoutputsbutonlywhenanENABLEsignalis
driventologic1.EachtimeanENABLE=1signalisreceived,the74LS175transfersitsinput
datatoitsoutputs,whereuponitfreezestheoutputsuntilanotherENABLEsignalarrives.
Obtainthedatasheetforthe74LS175.Youwillseethatfortunatelyforus,theENABLE
(alsosometimescalledCLOCK)inputispositiveedgetriggered,meaningthechiponlypasses
theinputbitstotheoutputsontheCLOCKtransitionfrom0to5V.Noworriesaboutmultiple
passalongsfromoneoverlongCLOCKpulse,andnoneedforahomemadeoneshotlikewith

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the74LS74.ThefreezetheoutputstillthenextCLOCKpulseactionisjustwhatweneedfor
ourstaticdisplay.
1)InthecircuitfrompartB,connectthefouroutputbitsfromthecountertotheinputsofthe
latch.(YoucanleavetheindicatorLEDsconnectedtooifyouwish).
2)Runtheoutputofthe74LS175tothethe74LS47decoderfortheMAN71A.Makesureto
connecttheLSBoutputofthecountertotheLSBinputofthedecoder,andnotLSBtoMSBor
somethingelse.
3)ConnecttheCOUNTUPpinofthecountertotheTTLouputofthefunctiongeneratorandset
therepetitionrateforabout1Hzusingyouroscilloscope.Setupadebouncedswitchwithpull
upresistorsothatactuatingtheswitchpresentsalogic1signaltotheCLOCKinputofthe
74LS175latch.
4)Verifyoperationofthecircuit:Nonumbershouldappearonthedisplayuntilyouhitthe
switch,enablingthelatch.Nomatterthatthefunctiongeneratorisrunning,nochangeonthe
displayshouldthenoccuruntilyouactuatetheswitchagain.Presstheswitchtwicein
succession5or10secondsapartandverifythatthechangeinthenumberdisplayedagreeswith
whatyouexpectfromtheTTLpulserateandthetimeintervalbetweenbuttonpresses.Toavoid
havingtosubtractthestartingandendingvalues,youcouldpresentalogic1signaltothe
CLEARinputofthe74LS192counteraftereachcount,usingyetanotherswitchandpullup.
Thedisplaywillofcoursehavetobeclearedlikethisinthefinalcircuitaftereachcharging
cycleiscountedanddisplayed.
PartF:CompletingtheDVM
TocompletetheDVMwefinallyconnecttheanaloginput/transductionsection,the
clockgenerator,thecountingsection,andthelatchanddisplaysection.Seethemarkedup
drawingattheendofthiswriteup.
1)Reconnectadebouncedswitchastheinputtotheoneshotgoingtothe74LS74CLOCK
input.
2)Removealltheothermanualswitchandpullupsetupsfromthecircuits.ConnecttheQ
outputfromthe74LS74andalsothe555timeroutputtothetwoinputsoftheNAND.Thiswill
passalongthe555pulsetrainonlyduringthecapacitorchargingphase.
3)ConnecttheoutputoftheNANDtotheCOUNTUPofthe74LS192counter.Thecounter
willcountthepulsesthatcomeduringthecapacitorchargingphase.
4)Connectthe Q outputofthe74LS74totheENABLE(orCLOCK)pinofthe74LS175
latch.Thiswillcausetheresultofthecounttobelatchedintotheoutputbitsofthe74LS175
when Q goeshighattheconclusionofeachcapacitorchargingphase.
5)Inadditiontolatchingthecount,itisalsonecessarytoclearthecountereachcycle.This
couldbedonesimplybyconnectingthe74LS74 Q outputtotheCLEARpinofthe74LS192
counter.Butthiswouldnotquitework,because Q isalsodoingthelatching.Wecouldn'tbe
surethatthedatawaslatchedanddisplayedbeforethecounterwasclearedandtheinformation
lost.Thistypeoftimingconditioniscalledalogicrace.Itissimpletoavoidconnectthe Q
toCLEARafterrunningitthroughtwo74LS02inverters(NOTgates)todelayitbyabout20ns.
6)Atlast,makeafinalcheckwiththeoscilloscope:connectthecapacitorvoltagetoone
channelonthescope,andthepulsetrainfromtheNANDtothesecondchannel.SetVINtosay
3voltswiththepotandthenstartameasuringcycleusingthedebouncedswitchonthe74LS74
CLOCKinput.Visuallycountthenumberofpulsesyouseeduringthecapacitorchargingtime.
VaryVINandgetanideaofthenumberofpulsespervoltofVIN(ifyoufollowedinstructions,

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itshouldbearound1).
7)Letherrun!TakeseveralreadingseachforseveralvaluesofVIN.MakeatableofVINvs.
displayedcounts.Demonstratethattherelationshipislinear(therewillbesomeerrorduetothe
countinguncertaintyof1puls eandtheslowpulseratechosenfora1digitdisplay.).
Demonstratethatthemeasurementsarerepeatable(measure,say1V,then8V,then1Vagainand
seeifyougettheresultsameasthefirsttime).Ifanyofthesethingsarefalse,explainwhy
(maybeacircuitelementhasheatedduetodissipativepowerandchangeoperating
characteristics?).
PartFinal+extendedlab(optional)
Onlyhavingaonedigitdisplayisabitofadrawback,especiallysinceweseesome
variationinthisdigit.YoucaneasilyexpandittobeatwodigitdisplaybysendingtheCARRY
outputofthe74LS192countertoasecondidenticallatchinganddisplaysection.Also,with
twodigitsyoucancount100pulsesduringthechargingtimeratherthanonly10withasingle
digit.Thereforetheclockrategeneratedbythe555shouldbeincreasedbyafactorofroughly
ten.Ifyoudothispart,makeanothergraphofVINvs.countstochecktherangeandlinearity,
andverifythereproducibility.

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Fullcircuitwithsectionsoutlinedandnamed.

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