Experiment 1 - Measurements DC Voltages & Currents

EE 330 L

Edmond Basilan & Francis Santiago

The objective of this experiment is to familiarize the experimenters with voltage and

current. Utilizing lab equipment such as a digital multimeter (DMM) and power source (PS)

were crucial in the execution of this lab.

 The first step we made was setting up the DMM as a voltmeter. We connected the (-)

terminal of the power supply to its ground. We then connected the black lead of the DMM to the

power supply’s (-) terminal and red lead to the power supply’s (+) terminal.

In order for the voltmeter and ammeter to work they have to be connected differently.

The voltmeter needs to be wired to the circuit where it is in parallel with the resistor you are

trying to measure the voltage of. The ammeter, however, needs to be wired to the circuit in series

with the resistor you are trying to measure the current of. We set the power supply to the values

of 1V, 2.5V, and 6V and observed the measurements from the DMM.

Power Supply DMM

1V 1.0056V

2.5V 2.5064V

6V 5.997V
 We switched the leads to see if there was any difference in the measurements. We saw

how switching the leads gave us a negative voltage reading which makes sense since we are

reading in the opposite direction.

Power Supply DMM

1V -1.0056V

2.5V -2.5104V

6V -5.997V

The next step for us was setting the circuit up to resemble Figure 1 from the book. The

assigned resistor values for X was 1kΩ, 5kΩ, and 10kΩ. We then set the power supply to 10V.

The voltage measurements we observed from the DMM is as follows:

Resistor DMM

1kΩ 0.0024mV

5kΩ 0.0017mV

10kΩ 0.0019mV

We then recorded the resistor’s nominal value.

1kΩ - Brown, black, red, and gold - 10 x 10^2 = 1,000Ω with tolerance = 5%

5kΩ - Green, brown, red, and gold - 51 x 10^2 = 5,100Ω with tolerance = 5%

10kΩ - Brown - 10,000Ω with tolerance = 1%

 Prepare the digital multi meter by moving its red lead to the corresponding terminal

allowing the DMM to behave like a short circuit. Be sure to check the “Overload light” or the

CC light”, neither should be lit. Set the power source to 10V then use the dmm to measure

current flow of the 3 resistor values. Then compare the percent difference of the calculated

values and the predicted values.

 Resistor Value Calculated Value Predicted Value Percent Difference

1K 1.014mA 1mA 1.4

5K 1.991mA 2mA -0.45

10K 1.003mA 1mA 0.3

Reverse the leads and recalculate the values.

Resistor Value Calculated Value

1K -1.011

5K -1.982

10K -0.9993

Set up two DMM’s as per figure 4. This setup will allow the experimenters to measure

both current and voltage at the same time. Find two resistors with values betweens 2Ω and 12 Ω.

Measure the voltage and current of each respective resistor then switch the terminals and

measure again. With the terminals switched a negative output should be recorded.

10K Resistor mV mA 10K Resistor mV mA

0 0.79 0 0 -0.789 0

0.5 0.5031 0.051 -0.5 -0.5029 -0.049

1 1.0014 0.101 -1 -1.0009 -0.103

1.5 1.5072 0.152 -1.5 -1.4998 -0.149

 2 2.0084 0.203 -2 -2.0076 -0.201

2.5 2.5046 0.252 -2.5 -2.5041 -0.249

3 2.9955 0.302 -3 -2.9966 -0.299

5k Resistor mV mA 5k Resistor mV mA

0 0.0009 0.0 0 -0.0009 0.0

0.5 0.5003 0.1 -0.5 -0.4997 -0.1

1 1.0007 0.2 -1 -1.0002 -0.2

1.5 1.4926 0.298 -1.5 -1.4911 -0.297

2.0 2.0529 0.4 -2.0 -2.0527 -0.4

2.5 2.4954 0.497 -2.5 -2.4952 -0.495

3.0 2.9979 0.598 -3.0 -2.9976 -0.593