Fundamental of Electrical Circuits, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Electrical Circuit Analysis

Download Fundamental of Electrical Circuits and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Electrical Circuit Analysis in PDF only on Docsity! CIRCUITS 1: LAB EXPERIMENT #2 Page 1 of 5 LABORATORY EXPERIMENT #2: BREADBOARD AND MULTIMETER FAMILIARIZATION OBJECTIVES: At the end of the exercise, the students should be able to:  identify the orientation of holes in a breadboard  know the characteristics of a breadboard  know the proper use and care of a multimeter  properly connect circuit elements on a breadboard MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT:  1 breadboard  1 multimeter (digital or analog)  1 regulated power supply (0 -12V)  1 LED  1 bulb (10 V)  1 bulb receptacle  alligator clips  connecting wires (2-gauge solid copper wire) PRINCIPLES: Breadboard A breadboard is a set of connected holes. It is a device used for temporary construction of circuits, where component terminals are inserted into holes on a plastic grid, metal spring clips underneath each hole connecting certain holes to others. It is used to develop electronic prototypes. The secret to successful use of a breadboard is knowing how the holes are connected. Figure 1 shows a typical breadboard hole distribution. CIRCUITS 1: LAB EXPERIMENT #2 Page 2 of 5 Multimeters A multimeter is an electrical instrument designed to measure electrical quantities such as voltage, current, and resistance. There are two types: analog and digital. Digital multimeters present the measured value in a numerical display. Analog multimeters present the measured value by means of a pointer moving across a graduated scale. For novice students, it is more beneficial and recommended to learn how to use analog multimeters before moving on to digital multimeters. Figure 3 shows typical analog and digital multimeters. Voltage is measured with a voltmeter (refer to Figure 4a) connected across the load or current path. The positive side of the meter (red probe) must be connected towards the positive terminal of voltage source (refer to Figure 4b). Current is measured with an ammeter (refer to Figure 5a) connected in series with the component whose current is to be determined (refer to Figure 5b). With a suitable ammeter, the resistance of a circuit component can be determined using Ohm’ Law. Ohmmeter (refer to Figure 6a) is an electrical device that is used to measure resistance. Just like the voltmeter, in an ohmmeter, resistance is measured across the load (refer to Figure 6b). The load must be removed from the circuit, or the voltage source/s must first be disconnected. Meters which are capable of measuring two or more electrical quantities are known as multimeters. There are two types of multimeters, analog multimeter (VOM) and digital muitimeter (DMM). VOM has more than one scale printed on the face of the meter. The VOM (multimeter) has four functions: (DCV, ACV, Q, and DCMA) as indicated by the four circular brackets around the large selector switch in the lower center of the meter. Within each function, a number of ranges are available. Except for the ohm function, the range indicates the maximum amount of a quantity that can be measured on a given range setting.