Electronics

Laboratory Manual

Experiment # 1
Familiarization

Arranged by Eng. Abdisalam Abdullahi

Intended for fall 2016/2017

September 26th , 2016

General Precautions

Be calm and relaxed, while working in Lab.

When working with voltages over 40V or with currents over 10A,
there must be at least two people in the lab at all times.

Keep the work area neat and clean.

No paper lying on table or nearby circuits.

Use rubber door mats to insulate yourself from ground, when working
in the Lab.

A switch should be included in each supply circuit so that when

opened, these switches will de-energize the entire setup. Place these
switches so that you can reach them quickly in case of emergency,
and without reaching across hot or high voltage components.

Precautions to be taken when preparing a circuit

Use only isolated power sources (either isolated power supplies or

AC power through isolation power transformers). This helps in using
a grounded oscilloscope. This reduces the possibility of risk of
completing a circuit through your body. This also reduces the
possibility of destroying the test equipment.

Precautions to be taken before powering the circuit

Check for all the connections of the circuit and scope connections
before powering the circuit, to avoid shorting or any ground looping
that may lead to electrical shocks or damage of equipment.

Check any connections for shorting two different voltage levels.

Check if you have connected load at the output.

Double check your wiring and circuit connections. It is a good idea to

use a point- to- point wiring diagram to review when making these
checks.

Precautions while switching ON the circuit

Apply low voltages or low power to check proper functionality of

circuits.

Once functionality is proven, increase voltages or power, stopping at

frequent levels to check for proper functioning of circuit or for any
components is hot or for any electrical noise that can affect the
circuits operation.

Precautions while switching on or shutting down the circuit

Reduce the voltage or power slowly till it comes to zero.

Switch of all the power supplies and remove the power supply
connections.

Let the load be connected at the output for some time, so that it
helps to discharge capacitor or inductor if any, completely.

Precautions while modifying the circuit

Switch on the circuit.

Modify the connections as per your requirement.

Again check the circuit

Other Precautions

No loose wires or metal pieces should be lying on table or near the

circuit, to cause shorts and sparking.

Avoid using long wires, that may get in your way while making
adjustments or changing leads.

Keep high voltage parts and connections out of the way from
accidental touching and from any contacts to test equipment or any
parts, connected to other voltage levels.

When working with inductive circuits, reduce voltages or currents to

near zero before switching open the circuits.

BE AWARE of bracelets, rings, metal watch bands, and loose

necklace (if you are wearing any of them), they conduct electricity
and can cause burns. Do not wear them near an energized circuit.

When working with energized circuits (while operating switches,

adjusting controls, adjusting test equipment), use only one hand
while keeping the rest of your body away from conducting surfaces.

Digital
Multimeters

Front panel description

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Model
LCD display
Shine diode
Range knob
20A current jack
Less than 200mA current test jack.
Ground.
"+" pole jack for volt, resistance and diode.
Transistor test jack.
10. LCD backlight and Auto power off/on

Digital Multimeters

Resistance Function Ranges from 200

ON / OFF power switch

Continuity / Diode Test Function

Transistor Test Function

DC Current Function Ranges from 2mA to 20A.

DC Voltage Function Ranges from 200mV

AC Current Function Ranges from 2mA to 20A.

AC Voltage Function Ranges from 200m

Capacitance Function Ranges from 2nF to 200F

V, jack
A jack
Use this jack for the red test lead when measuri
Use this jack for the red test lead when measuring current from 200mA to 20A

mA jack
COM jack
Use this jack for the red test lead when measuring
0 toblack
200mA.
Use current
this jackfrom
for the
test lead.

Figure P-1

Multimeters are very useful test instruments. By operating a multi-position

switch on the meter they can be quickly and easily set to be used as a
voltmeter, an ammeter or an ohmmeter. Some meters have additional
features used to measure capacitance and frequency as well. They have several
settings called ranges for each type of meter and the choice of either
alternating or direct current measurements.
Voltmeter
To test for voltage, first determine whether the application you're testing uses
AC or DC voltage. Then set the dial to the appropriate function and plug the
red test lead into the correct jack used to measure voltage.

Like all test procedures, when testing voltage, set the meter to the range just
higher than the expected voltage and decrement it down as needed to increase
the accuracy of the reading. If you don't know the expected range, set the
range to the highest one available. Take the black test lead and place it on the
negative polarity point of the circuit you want to measure. The red test lead will
go on the more positive polarity point. When measuring voltage, the test leads
of the meter must always be connected in parallel or across the component
or circuit to be measured as in Figure P-2 on the next page.

Ammeter
To measure current, break the circuit where you want to take the reading. Set
the meter to AC or DC current depending on the source being tested. Plug the
test lead into the correct jack to measure the expected current.
Note: Most meters have a separate jack that needs to be used to measure
current from 0 to 200mA and from 200mA to 10A or sometimes 20A.
Insert the meter in series or in line with the circuit to be measured by placing
the red test lead on the positive polarity point and the black lead on the negative
polarity point (see Figure P-3). Similar to the voltage, the correct current range
needs to be selected. Start by selecting the next range higher than the expected
reading. If the meter ever reads 0 when an actual reading should be present,
check the fuse for the 200mA port.

Ohmmeter
To test for resistance, first remove the power from the circuit component to be
tested. This prevents the meter from becoming damaged by the source. After
ensuring that all power is off, set the dial to the resistance function. Select the
appropriate range on the dial. Remove the component to be measured from the
circuit (This prevents false readings from any other components in the circuit).
Make sure the test leads are plugged into the correct jack to measure resistance.
Connect your test leads to the component and take the reading.
It's important that you have good contact between the test leads and the
component being tested. Dirt, oil and poor test lead connection can undesirably
alter resistance readings.

Power

Supply

This linear
mode
power supply
with
tuning for output current and voltage has one main screw type output and 2
snap on outputs at 5V and 12V. Display meters are analogue type.

One 0 - 30V adjustable output

One 5V 500mA snap-on output

One 12V 500mA snap-on output

Current limiting with Indicator

Adjustable current control

Overload and short circuit protection

Falvanized steel case

Model

EP-603

Output Current

0-2.5A A

Main Output
Voltage

0-30V

Fixed Voltage
Outputs

5V & 12V

Display Meters

Analogue

Figure P-5

Function / Signal Generator

Function generator is capable of producing sine, square and triangle
waveforms. The frequency of this generator is variable from one hertz to over 1
MHz in the following five ranges: 10-Hz. A fine adjustment control makes for
easy selection of any frequency between these ranges. The output voltage
amplitude is variable between 0 and 15-V P-P. The output of the function
generator may be taken from one terminal through a BNC probe.
Frequency Range Selector
Selects 5 frequency ranges
from 10 to 100,000 hertz.

Waveform Selection
Use to select square,
triangle or sine
waveforms.

Fine Frequency Control

Allows easy selection of
desired function generator
frequency.

Amplitude Control
Controls the voltage
amplitude of the
waveform. 0 15VP-P

Figure P-6

Signal Output
Terminal provides
connection point for
output signal (with
respect to ground).

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Breadboard Section
The Normal breadboards containing a total of 1660 tie points
including 6 independent bus lines.

Figure P-

The board is made of plastic with a matrix of holes. Wires and

component leads can be pushed into the holes to make appropriate
connections. Each hole on the board contains a metal spring contact.
When a wire or component lead is pushed down into the hole an
electrical connection is made with that holes spring contact.
The breadboards provide an interconnection between certain holes on
the board using metallic bus connections made underneath the
surface. The holes are internally connected so that each 50 hole
horizontal bus line is independent from the other and each small 5 hole
vertical bus line is also connected independently. Figure P-14 shows the
internal connections of the holes on the breadboard.

Vertical bus line

Horizontal bus line

Figure P14

Because of the built-in interconnections and the typical circuit

board layout, some of the following techniques are commonly used
when working with a breadboard.

A jumper wire can be used to connect the positive source lead to

one of the horizontal buss lines marked with a plus (+) sign.
Another jumper wire can be used to connect the negative source

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lead or GND to one of the horizontal buss lines marked with a

minus (-) symbol.
A short jumper wire can then be used to connect each horizontal
source connection row to the appropriate point(s) in the circuit on the
vertical bus line portion of the board.
When connecting component leads, plug one lead of a component into
a vertical column hole and the other lead of the component into
another vertical column hole in a separate bus line. Connect the
component, spaced as necessary for the size of the component.