UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Electrical Engineering

Activity No. 2

FAMILIARIZATION OF ELECTRICAL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS AND

DEVICES

DC Power Supply

A regulated DC power supply is one which can be manually adjusted to deliver any required
voltage within its range of operation. The voltage delivered by this supply remains constant despite
changes in load current, within specified limits. Thus, one manufacturer states that a given supply
will deliver 0 to 400 V at 150 mA. This means that the current drawn must not be greater than 150
milliamperes (mA).
A power supply may have facilities for providing two or more independent dc voltages, in
which case the instrument will have separate controls and separate output terminals.
The polarity of the dc terminals on the supply is usually marked either –, +, or gnd and V +. A
red jack is conventionally used for the positive and a black for the negative terminal of the supply.
Using the DC Power Supply
The following general precautions should be observed in using this device.
1. Read the operating instructions carefully and be certain that you understand them before
turning a power supply on for the first time.
2. Never short the dc or ac output terminals, or you may damage the supply. To prevent the
terminals from shorting, keep the leads issuing from these terminals from making contact.
3. Set the output voltage of the supply at the required level before you connect the supply leads
to the experimental circuit. After the leads are connected to the circuit, again measure the
output voltage to verify that it is still at the preset level.
4. If any component on the experimental circuit appears to be overheating after power is applied,
turn the supply off and determine the cause before you proceed with the experiment.
5. Do not grasp the uninsulated output terminals of a supply when it is on. Your body will
receive the output voltage, and you may experience a severe electrical shock.
6. To prevent damage to the power supply, do not switch the supply on and off excessively. If an
experiment requires power to be interrupted frequently, use an external switch on the
breadboard to apply and remove power from the circuit.
7. Do not operate the supply beyond its rated current capacity. If the current meter indicates that
you are exceeding the current capability of the power supply, turn it off and check the
experimental circuit to determine why it is drawing excessive current.

Operation Instructions

1. AC input
AC input should be within the range of line voltage + 10% 50/60Hz.
2. Installation
 Avoid using the supply in a place where the ambient temperature exceeds 40ºC. The heat sink
located at the rear of the supply must have sufficient air space for radiation.
3. Output voltage overshoot
Voltage between output terminals never exceeds the present value when the power is turned
on or off.
4. Constant-Voltage, Current Characteristics
The working output characteristics of this power supply SERIES called
constant-voltage/constant current automatic crossover type. Permits continuous transition
from constant-current to constant-voltage operation mode in response to the load change.
The intersection of constant-voltage and constant-current operation modes is called crossover
point. Figure 1 shows the relationship between this point and the load.
Description of Panel

Multimeter

A multimeter is an electrical instrument

capable of measuring voltage, current, and
resistance. Digital multimeters have numerical
displays, like digital clocks, for indicating the quantity of voltage, current, or resistance. Analog
multimeters indicate these quantities by means of a moving pointer over a printed scale.

Measuring voltage

Set your multimeter's selector switch to the highest-value "DC volt" position available. Autoranging
multimeters may only have a single position for DC voltage, in which case you need to set the switch
to that one position. Touch the red test probe to the positive (+) terminal of the dc supply (such as
battery), and the black test probe to the negative (-) terminal of the dc supply (such as battery). The
meter should now provide you with some sort of indication. Reverse the test probe connections to the
battery if the meter's indication is negative (on an analog meter, a negative value is indicated by the
pointer deflecting left instead of right).

If your meter is a manual-range type, and the selector switch has been set to a high-range position, the
indication will be small. Move the selector switch to the next lower DC voltage range setting and
reconnect to the supply. The indication should be stronger now, as indicated by a greater deflection of
the analog meter pointer (needle), or more active digits on the digital meter display. For the best
results, move the selector switch to the lowest-range setting that does not "over-range" the meter. An
over-ranged analog meter is said to be "pegged," as the needle will be forced all the way to the right-
hand side of the scale, past the full-range scale value. An over-ranged digital meter sometimes
displays the letters "OL", or a series of dashed lines. This indication is manufacturer-specific.

Be sure to measure more than one size of battery, and learn how to select the best voltage range on
the multimeter to give you maximum indication without over-ranging.

Measuring Current

The most common way to measure current in a circuit is to break the circuit open and insert an
"ammeter" in series (in-line) with the circuit so that all electrons flowing through the circuit also have
to go through the meter. Because measuring current in this manner requires the meter be made part of
the circuit, it is a more difficult type of measurement to make than either voltage or resistance.

Some digital meters, like the unit shown in the illustration, have a
separate jack to insert the red test lead plug when measuring current.
Other meters, like most inexpensive analog meters, use the same jacks
for measuring voltage, resistance, and current. When an ammeter is
placed in series with a circuit, it ideally drops no voltage as current
goes through it. In other words, it acts very much like a piece of wire,
with very little resistance from one test probe to the other.
Consequently, an ammeter will act as a short circuit if placed in
parallel (across the terminals of) a substantial source of voltage. If this
is done, a surge in current will result, potentially damaging the meter.
Be very careful to avoid this scenario!

Measuring Resistance
Set your multimeter to the highest resistance range available. The resistance function is usually
denoted by the unit symbol for resistance: the Greek letter omega (Ω), or sometimes by the word
"ohms." Touch the two test probes of your meter together. When you do, the meter should register 0
ohms of resistance. If you are using an analog meter, you will notice the needle deflect full-scale
when the probes are touched together, and return to its resting position when the probes are pulled
apart. The resistance scale on an analog multimeter is reverse-printed from the other scales: zero
resistance in indicated at the far right-hand side of the scale, and infinite resistance is indicated at the
far left-hand side. There should also be a small adjustment knob or "wheel" on the analog multimeter
to calibrate it for "zero" ohms of resistance. Touch the test probes together and move this adjustment
until the needle exactly points to zero at the right-hand end of the scale. Then measure the resistance
as shown in the illustration.

Although your multimeter is capable of providing quantitative values of measured resistance, it is

also useful for qualitative tests of continuity: whether or not there is a continuous electrical
connection from one point to another. You can, for
instance, test the continuity of a piece of wire by
connecting the meter probes to opposite ends of the wire and
checking to see the needle moves full-scale.

Digital multimeters set to the "resistance" mode indicate non-

continuity by displaying some non-numerical indication on the
display. Some models say "OL" (Open-Loop), while others
display dashed lines.