Experiment 3: DC Measurements (Voltage)

Ireneo Jude P. Llana II, Matthew John C Santos

UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Institute
Velasquez Street, University of the Philippines Diliman,
Quezon City, Philippines
ijude1015@gmail.com
santosmatthewjohn@gmail.com

Abstract--- The focus of this experiment is to work on the

different methods on DC voltage measurements and to
know its limits and inaccuracies. Values and
measurements gathered from the experiment was used to
evaluate the efficiency of each method used.

Rs

When measuring voltages on different circuits,

experimenter might encounter problems. These problems
include loading effects, the tendecy to draw more current that
the circuit can withstand without going out of its normal
operation. Experimenters must be familiar with these problem
and know how to deal with it.

II. EXPERIMENTATION
The experiment was divided into four parts, each with its
own type of objective. Safety precautions were observed
within the scope of the experiment.
A. Determining the Internal Resistance of the 1mA Movement
Using an ohmmeter, we measured the internal resistance
of the 1mA movement. This was done by directly connecting
the ohmmeter to the 1mA movement. The value we gathered
for the internal resistance Rm=52.
Getting the internal resistance of the 1mA movement is
important because this can affect the percentage error and
accuracy for measuring values involving the 1mA movement.

C. Errors in Voltage Measurements Due to Loading Effects

a
R
Vx

10V
-

bA

Fig. 2. Investigating loading effects in voltage measurements

Using the circut in Figure 2 as the voltmeter, we were

able to measure the values of Vx.
D. The Potentiometer Bridge Method of Measuring Voltage
In this part of the experiment, the potentiometer bridge
method was used as shown in Figure 3 to measure the values
for corresponding Vx.
W

10K

X
A

10V

Vx

B. The DC Voltmeter Using 1mA Movement

We measured the voltage using a DC ammeter by
connecting it in series with a resistor as shown in Figure 1.

Rs

Fig. 1. Measuring an unknown voltage using 1mA movement

Analog DC voltage measurements can be achieved through

different methods. Each method has its own downside so it is
important to know when to use each in order to attain greater
precision and accuracy and efficiency in finding certain values
needed.
In this experiment, the researchers were able to see these
problems and to try each method on measuring DC voltages.

Vu

I. INTRODUCTION

Ifs

Y
b

Fig. 3. Potentiometer Bridge method

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Determining the Internal Resistance of the 1mA Movement
The measurement was done by directly connecting the
ohmmeter to the 1mA movement. The value of the internal
resistance is Rm=52.
B. The DC Voltmeter Using 1mA Movement
We need a total resistance of at least 10 k to measure up
to 10 V using 1mA movement. So in this experiment we used
Rs = 10 k.
Table I below shows the 1mA movement reading and
corresponding reading of Vu with different calibration
voltages.

TABLE III.
LOADING EFFECTS IN VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS

R()
1*103
10*103
100*103

Theoretical
Vx(V)
5
5
5

3.6*103
4*103
4.24*103

7.5*103
7.5*103
7.5*103

Corresponding
Vx (V)
4.8
5.33
5.65

IV. REQUIRED DISCUSSION

With the concept of ohms law (V=IR), R th can be

measured and is equal to 10 k. Therefore,
Rs = Rth Rm
Vcalibration vs. Vreading Graph

12

Vu = ImRth

10

TABLE I.
DC VOLTMETER USING 1mA MOVEMENT

Calibration
Voltage (V)

1mA Movement
Reading
(Deflection)

Corresponding
Reading of Vu (V)

2
4
6
8
10

0.2 mA
0.4 mA
0.6 mA
0.79 mA
0.97 mA

2.0104
4.0208
6.0312
7.94108
9.75044

We can observe here that lower calibration voltages have

more accurate readings.

Measured Vx(V)
4.825
3.518
1.0052

10 11

Loading effects are encountered on these

measurements that cause errors.
With the adjustable knobs of the potentiometer, Vu
can be measured using voltage division on Rxy and
Rwy. When the 1mA movement hits the zero scale,
10V voltage source will be in series with the
potentiometer and Vu = Vxy.
Measuring voltages directly in a circuit may
encounter many problems.

D. The Potentiometer Bridge Method of Measuring Voltage

Resistances between node X and node Y, node W and
node Y are measured and recorded in Table III. Corresponding
Vx is computed as follows:

We plotted our datas in Table I as well as the ideal

function Vcalibration=Vreading. The two graphs overlaps
and the voltages we measured are accurate within
2.5%.
R()
Predicted
Actual
Accuracy
Accuracy
1*103
96.15%
96.5%
10*103
99.6%
70.36%
100*103
99.96%
20.1%

Using Figure 2, we are able to measure Vx directly using

an Analog Multimeter. Loading effects can be observed on
higher resistances. The datas are recorded below in Table II:
TABLE II.
LOADING EFFECTS IN VOLTAGE MEASUREMENTS

C. Errors in Voltage Measurements Due to Loading Effect

Theoretical Vx(V)
5
5
5

RWY ()

Measured values using the potentiometer is accurate

within 13%.

Rth = Rs + Rm

R()
1*103
10*103
100*103

RXY ()

Using Potentiometer Bridge Method can avoid

loading effects and can measure DC voltages
accurately.

The researchers found out that high resistor values in

series with the power supply experience loading effect when
measured. This voltage measurement error can be prevented
using the potentiometer bridge method.
1mA movement can measure up to 10V or higher with
corresponding Rs values. The measured values here is linear
with the ideal values and accurate within 2.5%.

V. CONCLUSION

REFERENCES