OW you can have a volt- meter that measures from 500 microvolts to 100 volts full-scale, in 12 ‘overlapping ranges, costing less than $20. Designed for use on circuits where a little voltage makes a big dit- ference, the sensitive Minivolter is idea! for use on solid-state equip- ment. In these low-voltage circuits, many conventional meters can't be used because of their relatively low input resistance. The input resistance of the Minivolter is one megohm per volt, drawing a current of one UA. The Minivolter can also measure ac voltages if a 1.2 multiplier is used And it will serve to indicate r- levels. In orienting TV antennas and to peak the low-level stages of transmitters, How It Works. As shown in Fig. 1, op amp ICI is used as a voltage fol lower and IC2 as a linear rectifier. Any voltage applied to the (—) input of 12 is multiplied by the gain of the op amp. and inverted. The difference between the input (pin 2) and the output (pin 6) is high enough that the fixed voltage drop across D1 and D2 can be hidden by the drop across the series portion of 15. So the difference can be con- sidered not to exist. Also, the diode barrier potential (0.7 volt) does not place a lower limit on the value being 6 ‘measured since any practical value of voltage applied to the input causes some current to flow through the meter circuit If a positive voltage is applied to pin 2 of IC2, current flows through D2, controlied by $3 (PROBE +), the meter, and part of R15. if a negative voltage is applied to pin 2 of IC2, the current flow is from the positive out- put and through D1 back to the input The current is actually from the input source since no current can be taken from the input terminal of the op amp. This current is between two and three times the meter rating for full-scale deflection. (In the prototype, the cur- rent was 2.8 times the 50-yA meter current or 140 UA) The sensitivity of the meter has been reduced from 30,000 ohmsivoit to 6800 ohmsivolt, but we have gotten around the diode barrier drop. For a full-scale indica- tion of §00 microvolts, the input re- sistance of IC2 now looks like 3.6 ‘ohms (500/140), which is not very good for a voltmeter. Thus itis neces- sary to use [C1 as a voltage follower The voltage follower has a high input impedance and low output im: pedance due to the high open-loop {gain of the 741 op amp. This makes it easy to match the high input impe- dance required of a voltmeter to the joanradiahistarv.com low impedance required by the linear rectifier. Some compromises have been made in the design of the range selec tion circuit due to the high offset cur. rent of the 741 op amp. A voltage- divider type of selection (as in con- ventional VIVM's) would be preferred because of the better input resistance on low ranges. However the voltage divider would have a value of shunt- ing resistance across the input of the voltage follower which would require a rezeroing of the meter each time the range is switched, With the conven- tional 10-megohm resistance, the bias voltage generated across the nput would be 10 X 10° times 500 nA 0 5 volts for the 500-microvolt range. Thus the conventional resistor ap- proach was used instead of a voltage divider. Construction. Most of the compo. nents can be wired point-to-point. A ‘small board is required to mount the sockets for the IC's. Two 8-pin mmini-DIP's can be accommodated in one 16-pin socket The potentiometers (except for AI7\ can be fastened with epoxy ce- ment at convenient locations within the cabinet. Once they are adjusted, it is not necessary to have access to them. Install R17 on the rear apron for easy access. Connect the range selector resistors to the appropriate terminals on $1. As noted in the Parts List, the high-value resistors can be made up of smaller units The $-volt power supplies are made up of conventional AA cells in plastic holders. Calibration. Before applying pow- er to the Minivolter. connect a 10,000-ohm potentiometer across the meter and set the potentiometer to its minimum value, Adjust 13 and R14 to the far ends of their adjustments, Then back them off about 13 turns Set R17 to its midposition, and set A16 to its maximum value. Apply power to the Minivolter. Ad- just the potentiometer across the meter until the meter gives an up- scale reading. Then adjust A13 and R14 to make this reading a minimum Progressively increase the value of the meter-shunting potentiometer and adjust the two trimmer poten- tiometers to obtain a zero until the shunting potentiometer can be re- moved {rom the circuit. Trim A13 and. 14 a final time POPULAR ELECTRONICSPARTS LIST BI, B2—6 AA cells each D1, D2—IN914 diode ICI, 12741 op amp Ji—Phono jack MI—0-50-UA meter (Radio Shack No. 22.051 or similar) Following resistors are ¥4-watt, 5%: RI—100 megohms (five 20 megohms in series) R2—S0 megohms (five 10 megohms in series) R310 megohms RAS megohms RS—I megohm R6-—$00,000 ohms 710,000 ohms 850,000 ohms R910,000 ohms, R10—4500 ohms (two 9100 ohms in paral rep RI, RI2-$00 ohms R13, R14=10,000-ohm, miniature, mul titurn trimming potentiometer R15—S000-ohm, miniature multiturn ‘wimming potentiometer R1G—S0-ohm, miniature multiturn trim ming potentiometer RIT—I-megohm potentiometer S1—Single-pole, 12-position rotary switch (Radio Shack 275-1385 or similar) ‘S2-Dpst switeh 83, S4—Normally closed momentary- ‘action pushbutton switch Mise.—IC socket(s, battery holders (Ra dio Shack 270-384). battery clips, suit- able enclosure (LMB No. N463). mounting hardware, rubber feet (4), wire, solder, ete Fig. 1. C2 forms a linear rectifier for the meter, while IC1 is a voltage follower to give high input impedance. ee ee Photo shows how components were laid out in prototype, APRIL 1975 Www amerionaradiahistarv.com Set $1 to a range suitable to meas- ure a voltage known to be accurate (voltage reference or battery) and ad- just 76 until the meter indicates the known voltage. Disconnect the refer- ence and rezero the meter with R19 and A14, Repeat these last two steps Until calibration and meter zero are obtained, ‘The last part of calibration should be repeated if the meter tends to drift because of temperature effects on ICT. This drift will be about 1/50 of the meter range. After calibration, if the meter has been out of operation for ‘some time, the drift will cause an up- scale deflection when the Minivolter is first turned on, Do not re-adjust for this condition; it will disappear after a few minutes of warm-up. To balance the polarity of indica tion, alternately apply the known de voltage to the input and, operating the appropriate switch, adjust R15 to remove halt of the difference of each reading. Do this until both readings are the same to insure the indepen- dence of polarity at the meter input. Use and Applications. After turn- ing on the Minivolter, allow a couple of minutes for the 1U's to warm up, noting that the meter goes to the zero mark. If it does not do so after a reasonable period, adjust R17 to ob- tain a zero, Make this adjustment with S1 in the 100-V position ‘One can think of many unusual Uses for the Minivolter. Here are some examples. @ It can measure the voltage across a junction of dissimilar metals when heated (thermoelectric effect) or the voltage generated across a conven- tional glass-enclosed semiconductor diode when exposed to light. © Voltages across a solder joint or connector can be measured for either an ac or de drop with normal current flowing through the circuit, @ With a loop of wire connected across the input, the Minivolter can be used to trace stray magnetic fields from power transformers, power lines hidden in walls, ete. © By connecting the Minivoltor across an unknown resistor having a 1-mA current flowing through it, the instrument becomes an ohmmeter with readings down to 0.02 ohm. © Switching to the 500-pV range, the Minivolter can be used as a 1-yA meter having an internal resistance of 500 ohms. (It can measure currents down to 10 nanoamperes.) ® a