EECS40/43 DMM

Experiment - The Digital Multimeter

I. Objective

To become familiar with a digital multimeter (DMM) and how it works. At the same time
to become familiar with resistors and to learn how to use a power supply.

II. Review of Basic Concepts

Resistor:
A resistor is schematically shown in Fig. 1. Its characteristic equation is given by
Ohm’s Law:
V = IR

+
I R V
_

Figure 1

Voltage source:
The circuit symbol for a voltage source is shown in Fig. 2. Its one characteristic
is that the voltage across its terminals is always V volts, no matter what the
current going through it is.

V +_

Figure 2

Current source:

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The circuit symbol for a current source is shown in Fig. 3. Its one characteristic is
that the current through it is always I amps, no matter what the voltage across it
is.

Figure 3

Series connection (see Fig. 4):

This is when the devices are connected in such a way that both devices have the
same current flowing through them.

V1 _
+

I1

Device 1

I2 V2
Device 2

Figure 4

I1 = I2

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Parallel connection (see Fig. 5):

This is when the devices are connected in such a way that they have the same
voltage across them.

+ +

I1 V1 I2 V2
Device 1 Device 2

_ _

Figure 5

V1 = V2

Resistors connected in series (see Fig.6):

I1

V1 _
+

R1 + +
IX IX

+ +
VX _ R2 V2 I2 VX _ Req V1 + V2 I2

_ _

Figure 6

Ix = I1 = I2

V x =i x R1 + i x R2
Vx
= Req = R1 + R2
ix

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Resistors connected in parallel (see Fig.7):

IX IX
+ + +
I1+I2

VX
+ VX
+
_ R1 I1 V1 R2 I2 V2 _ Req V1

_ _ _

Figure 7

Vx V
i1 = , i2 = x
R1 R2
i x = i1 + i 2
Vx Vx
ix = +
R1 R2
1 1 i 1
+ = x =
R1 R2 Vx Req

Voltage divider (see Fig. 6):

V x = i x R1 + i x R2
V1 = i x R1 ,V2 = i x R2
V2 i x R2
=
V x i x ( R1 + R2 )
R2
V2 = V x
R1 + R2
R1
V1 = V x
R1 + R2

Thevenin equivalent circuit:

Every circuit which consists of voltage sources, current sources and resistors can
be represented with a Thevenin equivalent circuit. The form of the equivalent
circuit is shown in Fig. 8a and the I-V characteristic is shown in 8b. The open
circuit voltage is denoted as Voc; the short circuit current is denoted as Isc and the
Thevenin resistance is denoted as Rt.
Voc = I sc Rt
The values of Voc, Isc and Rt can be determined by measuring the I-V
characteristic of a circuit and extracting the parameters from the graph.

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IT
IT

+ ISC Slope = -1/R

RT

VOC
+
_ VV
T2 VT
VOC

a) IT b)
Figure 8

III. Operation

The DMM is an instrument which can be used to measure DC (non-time-varying)

voltages and currents, AC (time-varying) voltages and currents, and resistance values.
The signal is input to the DMM through two leads (wires), and the value measured is
displayed.

The DMM uses an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter, which converts DC voltages to a

digital code. Therefore, internally the meter can read only DC voltages. Thus to
measure current or resistance, the signal must be converted into a voltage value. For
current, this is easily done by placing a (very small) precision resistor in the circuit and
measuring the voltage across the resistor, which will be linearly proportional to the
current (remember Ohm’s Law: V=IR). Resistance measurements require more
circuitry because a resistor is a passive element, thus a source must be provided in the
DMM. In the DMM there is a current source to force a current through the resistor and
the voltage is then measured. From this information the resistance value may be
determined by Ohm’s Law:

V
R=
I

Additional circuitry is necessary to allow variable ranges. For voltage and resistance
measurements this consists of various voltage-divider networks which are switched in.
For current measurements it consists of different resistors to be switched in. Also, an
RMS (root mean square) circuit is used to convert the AC voltages to DC voltages. The
DC voltage given is the square root of the average value of the input voltage squared.

VOUT = < (V IN ) 2 >

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The DC voltage is converted into a digital code by the A/D converter. This digital code
is decoded using the range of information and displayed.

Since a voltmeter measures the voltage across itself, it should be connected in parallel
(see Fig 9a) with the device to guarantee that the voltage across the device under test
(DUT) is the same as the voltage across the voltmeter.

An ammeter measures the current through itself, so it should be connected in series

(see Fig 9b) with the DUT in order to ensure that the current through the ammeter is the
same as the current through the DUT.

An ohmmeter sends out a current and measures the voltage produced across the DUT.
Because the ohmmeter is ultimately measuring a voltage, it should be connected in
parallel (see Fig 9c) with the DUT. When measuring a resistance, one end of the
resistor should be disconnected from the circuit so that all of the current from the
DMM’s current source is passing through the resistor to be measured. Otherwise one is
not measuring the resistance value of the resistor because the current going through
the resistor is unknown.

Voltmeter DUT
DUT

Ammeter

a) b)

Ohmeter Rest of
DUT
Circuit

c)

Figure 9

IV. Multimeter Controls

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There is a diagram of the front of the multimeter given in Fig. 10.

VΩ

HI

LO

Figure 10

To measure voltage:
1. use the right ports labeled HI and LO (see Fig. 10)
2. choose either AC or DC voltage by hitting the AC V or the DC V key
3. connect the DMM in parallel as shown in Fig. 10a
4. adjust the range of the measurement using the level up and down keys
VΩ

HI
DC

LO

Figure 10a

To measure current:
1. use the right ports labeled I and LO (see Fig 10)
2. choose either AC or DC current by hitting shift AC V (AC I) or the shift DCV
(DC I) key
3. connect the DMM in series as shown in Fig. 10b
4. adjust the range of the measurement using the level up and down keys
VΩ

HI

LO
DC

Figure 10b

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To measure resistance
1. use the right ports labeled HI and LO (see Fig 10)
2. choose resistance by hitting the Ω 2W key
3. connect the DMM in parallel with the resistor disconnected as shown in Fig. 9c
4. adjust the range of the measurement using the level up and down keys

Note: Be very careful that when set up to measure current you don’t put the DMM in
parallel with the voltage source (see Fig. 11). The wrong way will blow the fuse in the
multimeter. This is because of the small resistance of the ammeter (Ra). The
resistance seen by the voltage source is approximately Ra, which is very small so the
current Ia would be very large, thus exceeding the maximum current that the fuse can
handle.

+ DC Power
Ammeter _
Supply

Figure 11

V. DC Voltage Supply Controls

The voltage source that we have actually contains three variable voltage sources, with
maximum voltage values of +25V, -25V and 6V (see Fig. 12 for a diagram of the three
sources and the power supply connections).
To set a voltage source:
1. Make sure that the supply’s output is off. This can be toggled by hitting the
output on/off key. The display will say OUTPUT OFF when it is off or it will
display the output voltage and current.
2. Select which source you would like to set, the +25V, the –25V or the +6V by
hitting the corresponding key on the supply. The supply you have selected
will be displayed along the bottom of the display screen.
3. Then hit the display limit key. You will know that you are changing the limit
because LMT will be displayed along the bottom of the display.
4. Select to set the voltage or current limit by hitting the voltage/current key.
The one that is blinking is the one that you are editing.
5. When done setting the limits, hit the display limit key again to return to
displaying the actual output.
6. Turn the output on once you have connected the supply to the circuit.

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Front of the DC power supply

_
+ +25V com -25V

+6V

+ + 25V

+ +
6V _ 25V _

_
com

_
25V
+

-25V
Figure 12

VI. Hands On

a. Resistance

Read Appendix 1 to review the color coding of resistors.

Turn the meter on and set it up to measure resistance in the manner explained above.
Measure the resistance of a 1kΩ resistor. Initially have the meter set on auto ranging
(i.e. the word MAN is not lit up on the bottom of the display). The value will not be
exactly what is marked on the resistor because they are built to a specific tolerance.
Then adjust the range as described above (adjusting the range will set the meter to
manual scaling). Get another resistor and measure its resistance. Hook the two
resistors in series, predict what the measured value should be, measure it. If it
disagrees by more than 10%, try again. If the measurement is still too far off, get help.
Connect the two resistors in parallel, predict the resistance value, and measure it.

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Again confirm that the measured value is reasonable considering the resistor
tolerances.

A potentiometer (pot) is a variable resistor. It has a constant resistance between pins 1

& 3 (see Fig. 13) and the knob controls the resistance between pins 1 & 2 and 2 & 3.

Circuit
Real Pot
Real Pot Symbol
Top View 1
Knob 1
3 1 2
2

123 3
Knob
Figure 13

Measuring the resistance of the potentiometer (only connect one leg at a time).
1. With the dial of the pot facing you and the legs pointing down, what is the
resistance between the two outside legs?
2. Does this correspond to the value on the pot?
3. When you connect one outside leg and the middle leg to the DMM, does the
resistance increase or decrease when you turn the knob clockwise?
4. What happens when you connect the DMM to the other outside leg?

b. DC Voltages

Change the function select to measure DC voltage by pushing the DC V button. Turn
on the power supply. Set the current limit to 0.2A, and the voltage limit to 5.0V (note:
The display when the output is on is the voltage across the terminals and the current
drawn from the supply not the limits.). Measure the voltage across the supply with the
DMM. This should indicate how accurate the power supply’s meter is. Now try varying
the voltage and observe the results.

C. DC Current

Reread the part of the operation of the DMM that deals with current measurements.
Measure the current with the DMM (see Fig. 9b). Does this agree with your calculated
value? If the measurement is way off, check if the function selected is DC; the leads
are connected to Right side LO and I; and if the DMM is connected in series (see Fig.
9b).

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Connect a 1kΩ resistor across the power supply with the voltage limit set to 5V and the
current limit set to 0.2A. Predict and measure the current through the resistor. (Note:
Remember what was said about connecting the DMM in parallel when it is being used
as an ammeter. If you accidentally do this you will blow the fuse in the DMM and it
won’t work as an ammeter anymore.)

Get a 51 Ω power resistor from the TA; this is about 2 inches long and 0.5 inches wide-
not one of the small resistors. Set the voltage to 10V and the current limit to 0.1A.
Connect the 51Ω power resistor across the supply. What should the current through
the resistor be? Measure it, and measure the voltage across the resistor. Why is
V≠10V? Change the current limit to 0.4A and measure the current. Can you explain
why the first measurement wasn’t as calculated? It is possible to look at the voltage
supply and tell whether the output is controlled by the current limit or the voltage limit.
There is a CV (controlled by voltage) in the lower right corner of the display if the
voltage limit controls the output and a CC (controlled by current) if the current limit is the
controlling factor in the output. What is the purpose of the current limit? What is the
minimum resistance you would use with a current limit of 0.1A to have V=10V still?

.
1/24/03 Manu Seth, Dan Hazen

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