Low-Cost Alternative for Signal Generators in the Physics Laboratory

Shirish Rajan Pathare, M. K. Raghavendra, and Saurabhee Huli

Citation: The Physics Teacher 55, 301 (2017); doi: 10.1119/1.4981039

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.4981039
View Table of Contents: http://aapt.scitation.org/toc/pte/55/5
Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers
Low-Cost Alternative for Signal
Generators in the Physics Laboratory
Shirish Rajan Pathare, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai
M. K. Raghavendra, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
Saurabhee Huli, St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, India
R
ecently devices such as the optical mouse1,2 of a com-
puter, webcams,3 Wii remote,4 and digital cameras5
have been used to record and analyze different physical
phenomena quantitatively. Devices like tablets and smart-
phones6-10 are also becoming popular. Different scientific
applications available at Google Play (Android devices) or the
App Store (iOS devices) make them versatile. One can find
many websites that provide information regarding various sci-
entific applications compatible with these systems.11-14 A vari-
ety of smartphones/tablets are available with different types of
sensors embedded. Some of them have sensors that are capable
of measuring intensity of light, sound, and magnetic field.10
The camera of these devices has been used to study projectile
motion, and the same device, along with a sensor, has been
used to study the physical pendulum.6 Accelerometers have
been used to study free and damped harmonic oscillations and
to measure acceleration due to gravity.7,8 Using accelerometers
and gyroscopes, angular velocity and centripetal acceleration
have been measured.9 The coefficient of restitution for a ball
bouncing on the floor has been measured using the applica-
tion Oscilloscope on the iPhone.8 In this article, we present the
use of an Android device as a low-cost alternative for a signal
generator. We use the Signal Generator application installed
on the Android device along with an amplifier circuit.
The Signal Generator Assembly
Signal generators (SG) are used in physics experiments that
require an alternating signal. SGs should drive circuits with
high as well as low input impedance. Commonly available low-
cost SGs have output impedance from 50  to 600 . Any cir-
cuit with input impedance lower than 50  will load the gen-
erator. Moreover, the frequency knob adjusted on a particular
frequency mark does not guarantee an alternating signal with
the same frequency.
To overcome some of these problems, we present a low-cost
but efficient alternative. An SG can be built with an Android
tablet/smartphone along with a commonly available ampli-
fier circuit obtained from a USB speaker. We call it a “Signal
Generator Assembly” (SGA). We also describe the results of
various experiments performed using this new assembly. The
low cost and easy availability of both of these devices make
this assembly versatile. This assembly can also run on power
banks, thereby making it portable and usable in countries with
frequent power shutdowns.
DOI: 10.1119/1.4981039
Description of the assembly
The assembly consists of:
1. An Android tablet with Signal Generator application
installed on it and
2. An amplifier circuit from a USB speaker.
Android tablet with Signal Generator application
The Android tablet used is a product from Swipe Telecom
(Model name: 3D Life+HDMI). The advantage of using a tab-
let is that the application interface is displayed over its wide
screen. It has various control buttons and ports.
The Signal Generator app is available at the Google Play
store, and it can produce sine, square, triangular, and saw
tooth signals. The icon and the application interface are
shown in Fig. 1.
Amplifier circuit from a USB speaker
The USB speakers have an inbuilt amplifier circuit, which
also acts as an impedance matching interface between input
audio source and the speaker (Fig. 2). We used the Logitech
USB Z120 speakers for our assembly [Fig. 2(a)]. The ampli-
fier circuit, inside the speaker, was removed and placed in a
plastic box as shown in Fig. 2(c). The output terminals of the
amplifier circuit [Fig. 2(b)] can be used to drive the external
circuits for different applications. Since these amplifiers are
meant for signals coming from music players, its fidelity
(frequencies do not get altered) is of high quality. Further, the
amplifiers are used for driving low impedance speakers and
hence the signal strength is good enough to drive low imped-
ance circuits [Fig. 2(c)].
The amplifier circuit gets its input signal from the audio
port of the tablet. The output of the amplifier circuit [Fig.
2(b)] is connected to two banana sockets on the amplifier
box, which will act as the output terminals of the SGA [Fig.
Fig. 1. Signal Generator application.
THE PHYSICS TEACHER ◆ Vol. 55, May 2017 301
 (a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2. (a) USB speaker. (b) The amplifier circuit in the speaker. (c) The amplifier box used in our assembly.

2(c)]. The amplifier circuit needs 5 V DC biasing, which can

be obtained from a USB charger or a regulated power supply.
The schematic diagram of the SGA is shown in Fig. 3.

Operation
The application interface has a waveform selector that can
be used to choose the different types of signals that can be
supplied (Fig. 4). The amplitude and frequency of the wave-
form can be varied in different ways.

Amplitude variation Fig. 4. Amplitude and frequency variation.

The amplitude of the signal can be varied in three ways:
1. The amplitude slider on the application interface (Fig.
4)
2. The volume up/down button of the tablet
3. The variable knob of the amplifier circuit [Figs. 2(c)
and 3]
The maximum voltage that a signal can have varies with
each Android device. The SGA (with our tablet) delivered up
to 5.0 Vp-p.
Fig. 5. Frequency changing field.

Signal Generator Assembly testing

In this section we show a comparison between the SG and
SGA in terms of the frequency of the signal and the imped-
ance matching capabilities.

Frequency of the signal

Fig. 3. The Signal Generator Assembly (SGA).
Frequency variation
The frequency of the signal, in this application, can be
varied from 1 Hz to 10 kHz. It can be done in two ways:
1. The frequency slider on the application screen (Fig. 4)
2. By typing the desired value in the frequency field (Figs.
4 and 5)
302 THE PHYSICS TEACHER ◆ Vol. 55, May 2017
The signal generator application was tested for its accuracy
in terms of frequency delivered by it. A sinusoidal signal of
1 kHz was adjusted as “displayed” on the application interface
of the SGA and on the front panel of a conventional SG. A
cathode ray oscilloscope (CRO) was used to check the fre-
quency. It was found that the frequency of the signal from the
SGA, as measured using the CRO, matches accurately with
the frequency “displayed’ on its application interface. The
frequency of the signal from the SG on the CRO was differ-
ent from its value displayed on its front panel. The frequency
measurement using the CRO is shown in Fig. 6. Similar tests
were conducted at several other frequencies and found to be
matching with the displayed frequencies.
Impedance matching capability 7
Sinusoidal signals (5.0 Vp-p, 1 kHz) from the SG and SGA 6
were observed on the CRO as shown in Figs. 7(a) and (c).

SGA Output Voltage / V

Two identical low-resistance (1.5 ) coils were connected to 5
each of these sources and the waveforms were observed on 4
the CRO. The signal from the SG reduced to 0.3 Vp-p [Fig.
3
7(b)], whereas the signal from the SGA remained practically
unaltered [Fig. 7(d)]. 2

1
Frequency response of SGA
The output voltage delivered by the SGA for various fre- 0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
quencies is as shown in Fig. 8. Other than very low frequen-
cies, the output power is almost a constant. This is one of the f/Hz
highlights of the SGA. Fig. 8. Frequency response of the SGA.

Applications
We describe some laboratory experiments where the SGA
can be used in the following categories:

Fig. 6. (a) Actual frequency from SG. (b) Actual frequency from
SGA.

Fig. 9. (a) Traditional resonance tube apparatus. (b) Modified

resonance tube apparatus. (c) Screenshot of Sound Meter app.
(d) Graph to determine the velocity of sound.
Fig. 7. (a) Waveforms without any coil. (b) Waveforms with coil
connected. (c) Waveforms without any coil. (d) Waveforms with
coil connected.
Experiments involving speakers
A USB speaker, which is usually used for entertainment
purposes, can be used for doing experiments in physics. The
output of the SGA can be used to drive speakers. Some of
the experiments that can be performed using this assembly
include:
– Resonance tube experiment
In this experiment, the velocity of sound in air is deter-
mined using resonance phenomena. The conventional appara-
tus consists of tuning forks of fixed frequencies for generating
sound waves. It also consists of a long tube immersed in a cyl-
inder filled with water. The tuning fork is hit on a hard surface
and is held at the open end of the movable tube [Fig. 9(a)]. The
length of the air column inside the tube can be varied by mov-
ing the tube up and down until we get maximum amplitude of
sound. The length of this air column is measured. Using the
equation v = 4fl, the velocity of sound in air is calculated. The
problem faced with a tuning fork is that, with time, its inherent
frequency changes.
The modern resonance tube experiment involves the
replacement of the tuning fork by a speaker. The speaker
is driven by a specially designed function generator with a

THE PHYSICS TEACHER ◆ Vol. 55, May 2017 303


Fig. 10. Schematic diagram of the IPhO 2015 apparatus.
built-in impedance matching facility. Instead, the SGA with
USB speaker can be used in place of the specially designed
function generator to generate sound waves of different fre-
quencies [Fig. 9(b)]. Generally the change in the amplitude is
detected with our ears. In the experiment done by us, the fun-
damental harmonics were detected using the mobile phone
application Sound Level Meter (from the App Store). Another
smartphone was used for this purpose [Fig. 9(c)]. Figure 9(d)
shows the graph obtained using the modified resonance tube
apparatus.
Fig. 11. The vibrator-speaker assembly.
– Using speaker in a vibrator assembly
In the International Physics Olympiad 2015 (IPhO 2015)
held in India, we developed an experiment on the determina-
tion of surface tension and viscosity of water using diffraction
due to surface tension waves (Fig. 10). The experiment need-
ed the generation of waves on the liquid (water) surface. Us-
ing a vibrator-speaker assembly (Fig. 11), driven by the SGA,
waves with very small wavelengths (called surface tension
waves) were produced.15 A red laser was incident at a glanc-
ing angle of 4° on the surface of the water. The surface tension
waves acted as reflection grating. The laser upon reflection
from this grating gives a diffraction pattern. This diffraction
pattern was analyzed using a light intensity meter. This dif-
fraction pattern was studied for various frequencies. The rela-
tion between the frequency of the applied signal and the wave
number of the surface tension waves is used to determine the
surface tension of water. These waves get attenuated due to
the viscosity of water. The relation between the attenuation
coefficient and frequency applied is used to determine the
viscosity of water. The vibrator-speaker assembly is shown in
Fig. 11.
304 THE PHYSICS TEACHER ◆ Vol. 55, May 2017
R
1.0
0.9
Voltage gain A
SGA C 0.8
0.7
0.6
(a) 0.5
0.4
0.3
2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
(b) Log f
Fig. 12. (a) Low-pass filter circuit. (b) Frequency response of low-
pass filter.
Fig. 13. (a) Circuit diagram. (b) Waveforms of an integrator cir-
cuit.
Fig. 14. (a) Schematic diagram of the apparatus. (b) Graph between
the secondary voltage and the distance between two coils.
Experiments with filter circuits
Experiments involving RC and LR filter circuits are regu-
larly conducted in the undergraduate physics laboratory. SGs
are used to study frequency response of these circuits. In a
low-pass filter circuit [Fig. 12 (a)], all the signals below cutoff
frequency are passed, whereas those above cutoff frequency
are blocked. The frequency response of a low-pass filter cir-
cuit for the frequency range offered by the SGA is shown in
Fig. 12(b). A low-pass filter circuit using a 4.7-k resistor
and 10-nF capacitor was designed. The cutoff frequency was
3.39 kHz. The experimentally observed value was 3.40 kHz.
The experiments discussed in the above categories in-
volve the frequency variation to study other parameters. In
this experiment it is essential to know the value of frequency
accurately, and power of the supplied signal should remain
constant with frequency. The SGA [as shown in Fig. 6(b)] has
a clear advantage over the SG in both aspects.
Experiments with operational amplifier circuits
The SGA can be used effectively to drive different op-
erational amplifier circuits like the inverting amplifier,
non-inverting amplifier, summing amplifier, integrator, and
differentiator. Figure 13 shows the circuit diagram and the
waveforms of an integrator circuit using the SGA.
Experiments with magnetic circuits
Solenoids with very low input resistance of 1.5  can be
driven using the SGA. As an example we present an experi-
ment on studying mutual induction between two coils [Fig.
14(a)]. The graph in Fig. 14(b) represents the variation in the
induced voltage in the secondary coil with change in distance
between the coils, for a constant alternating voltage given to
the primary coil.
The experiment from International Physics Olympiad
1998 on magnetic shielding due to eddy currents was also
performed using the SGA.16
Conclusion
The examples given in the article indicate the capability
of the SGA to work as a low-cost alternative for traditional
signal generators in the physics laboratory. They can be built
easily even by students. Our objective is to introduce to the
readers the effectiveness of SGA in some applications, but this
assembly can be used for several other physics experiments.
We urge the readers to explore many such applications.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the entire staff of Physics Olympiad
Cell in Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education for their
support. We would like to thank the Indian Physics Olympiad
Programme for funding this activity.
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Shirish Pathare is a scientific officer and a research scholar at Homi
Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research, Mumbai, India. His research topic is students’ alternative con-
ceptions in heat and thermodynamics. He is in charge of the experimental
development programme for the Physics Olympiad activity in India.
shirpat@gmail.com
M. K. Raghavendra is working as faculty of Undergraduate Programme,
Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Banglore, India. He is also involved in a
teacher training programme Of IISc for high school and college teachers.
He has been participating in the Indian Olympiad programme at different
stages—being coordinator for conducting the first selection test to being
team leader for the Indian team representing at the International Physics
Saurabhee Huli is an assistant professor in St. Xaviers College, Mumbai.
She is involved in conducting physics laboratory sessions for undergradu-
and Physics Education Research.
305