3/14/2019 How to Build a Hamon Resistor Divider Network

An Easy to Build 0.1X and 0.01X Resistive Divider

B.V. Hamon's Clever Trick

An accurate voltage divider is often needed to calibrate test equipment and the Mini-Metrology Lab
articles on this site show how to build a versatile Kelvin-Varley Divider (KVD). The KVD is in many
ways the king of dividers, covering almost any arbitrary ratio, acting as an entire side of a bridge and
having excellent accuracy. Unfortunately the construction of a KVD is time consuming and not for the
faint-of-heart, plus it's overkill for many applications that just need simple 0.1X or 0.01X dividers, say
calibrating the ranges of a DVM.

It isn't difficult, given a suitable bridge, or a high resolution DVM, to match resistors to near perfection.
The downside is that the yield can be frustratingly low and building up high ratios will thus require
starting with large numbers of stable close tolerance resistors, or possibly incorporating a trimming
method. The end result can be expensive, overly complex, difficult to trim and potentially unstable. There
may even be a loss of confidence in the ratio if the complexity is too great or the trimming too difficult.

A remarkably elegant divider was worked out by B.V. Hamon in 1954 that solves many of these
problems. Its construction is straightforward yet the details aren't as well known as might be expected.
Practical construction information for the hobbyist is non-existent, though commercially the Hamon
resistor is widely implemented. Fluke used Hamon's method in their model 752 divider to achieve sub
part-per-million accuracy and many NIST calibrations and comparisons use the Hamon configuration.
Hamon's method is based on his observation that slight matching errors in a set of resistors measured in
parallel will largely cancel out when those same resistors are connected in series. The conversion of a
parallel to series group of resistors makes possible an easy calibration based on equal values that results
in a highly accurate divider of much greater ratio. That may be hard to visualize at this point but it should
become clear when I describe the construction of the basic divider and how to adjust it.

Begin by choosing 3 resistors that are matched to a bit better than 100 parts-per-million. That's 0.01%,
not nearly as difficult as for a KVD that might require 0.001% or better on the first decade. As a real
world example I'll use the values from a Hamon resistor I recently built. I wanted a middle-of-the-road
impedance so that strict 4-terminal construction wouldn't be needed. I also wanted the impedance to be
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low enough such that high impedance bench DVMs wouldn't load it. As often happens, the value choice
was also determined by what was available in my junk box- a bag of 4.7K wirewound resistors. Three
resistors were chosen that measured 4699.00, 4699.22 and 4699.21 ohms. That's well within the 100
parts-per-million window needed. The resistors were simply measured on a 6 1/2 digit DVM, though
standard bridge methods would be as good or better. Remember, we only need a moderately good match,
not a specific value.

It's most convenient to wire up the divider using 5-way binding posts on a panel, matching the schematic
view below below. The resistors are wired in a zig-zag manner such that they are normally in series, but
can easily be placed in parallel by shorting two sets of binding posts with plugs or wires. Even a switch
can be used if the contact resistance is very low.

Using our 4.7K resistor example, when they are all placed in parallel the new value will be 1566.38
ohms. The remaining resistor of the divider must be trimmable to exactly 1566.38 ohms. Typically one
would use a slightly higher value, say 1.6K, shunted with a high value resistor and a low value pot. In my
case this was 75K and a 1K trimpot. This arrangement preserves the stability of the main resistor and
allows the value to be trimmed around the desired value by 1 or 2 ohms. This resistor assembly is placed
in series with our previous 3 resistors and typically has one end grounded.
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That's the entire 0.1X divider. To trim it the easy way, short the 3 resistors to put them in parallel and
apply 2.000000 VDC across the divider. Measure across the trimmable resistor and adjust it for a reading
of 1.000000 VDC (or half of whatever was applied). Measure across the top of the divider and confirm
that it too has 1.000000 VDC across it. Fine tune the trimmer until the upper and lower sections have
exactly the same voltage across them. The input voltage should be such that the output (0.5X) takes full
advantage of a meter range, and it should be low enough to avoid heating the divider excessively. Do not
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allow the meter to change ranges (unlikely) as that brings its internal divider accuracy into play. If your
resistors have good stability and a low temperature coefficient, 1-2 parts-per-million accuracy is
achievable.

You can also use tried and true bridge techniques to match the top and bottom of the divider. I may add a
complete description of bridge methods at some point, but if you're building this you probably already
know how to compare two identical resistors.

Finally, remove the shorting plugs or wires to change the divider from 0.5X to 0.1X. The voltage pickoff
point remains the same. To add the 0.01X range, 3 more resistors are used in exactly the same way as
previously. These 3 resistors, located above the previous 3, when placed in parallel with shorting plugs or
wires, will exactly equal the resistance of the rest of the divider. Using our example, the divider has a
total series resistance of 4699.00 + 4699.22 + 4699.21 + 1566.38 ohms (15663.81).

The next group of resistors will thus consist of 3 resistors, each being 3 x 15663.81 ohms (46991.43
ohms, about 10X the original divider values). Again, they should be selected to match within 0.01%. One
of the three resistors should be selected slightly high so a trimming network can be placed across it. The
trimming procedure is the same as the first; apply shorting plugs or wires to place the new resistor group
in parallel. Trim the one trimmable resistor in the group for exactly half voltage between the group and
the rest of the divider. This section can be tricky as the resistors need to be close to the optimal value
such that one can be sufficiently trimmed while keeping within the 100 parts-per-million matching
requirement. Remove the shorts and the original pick-off point will now be a 0.01X pick-off.

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This has been a somewhat abbreviated write-up, as I've omitted discussing resistor stability, lead
compensation and best wiring wiring practices to avoid voltage drops in the divider. Good sources for
more information include the Mini-Metrology articles on this site, the Fluke book "Calibration:
Philosophy in Practice" and the instruction manual for the ESI SR1010 (or 1030/1060) resistance transfer
standard. This divider should be constructed in a similar fashion as the ESI units, which can also be used
as Hamon resistors. You may also want to make up a simple Excel spreadsheet for the divider to show
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how errors in the groups of 3 resistors affect the final division. This is also useful if you want to create
other ratios by using more resistors in parallel or more groups.

Conrad R. Hoffman
5/6/2010

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