DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Faculty Of Engineering & Technology

ELECTRICAL WORKSHOP (TE-119)
Power Supplies and Measuring Instruments #01
Roll no: Date:
Checked by: Score:

Selection Utilization Experimental Experimental Lab Safety Teamwork Technical Score =

of of Lab Data Data Precaution During Cleanliness 2
Equipment Tools & Collection Analysis s LabTask and × obtained marks
35
(0 to 5) Calibratio (0 to 5) (0 to 5) (0 to 5) (0 to 5) Organization
n (0 to 5)
(0 to 5)

Performance Objectives: To become familiar with various types of Power Supplies and Electrical
Measuring Instruments.

Apparatus: Power Supply units and Measuring Instruments in the Workshop

Theory: [20 Minutes]

Power Supplies:

A power supply unit is a source of either a Constant Current or Constant Voltage irrespective of the load
resistance. Power sources can be classified as either varying or non-varying, i-e AC or DC. AC stands for
Alternating Current whereas DC stands for Direct current. Graphically speaking, the Alternating currents
are those that vary in some periodic fashion electrically and reverse polarity several times. The voltage
which causes an Alternating Current is called AC voltage. The figure below shows the waveshape of an
alternating power source.

Figure 1.1: The AC Power Source

The sinusoidal waveform is the most popular, mostly because it is the waveform generated by alternators.
Consequently, it is the form that comes in our house mains. It has a magnitude of 220V and a frequency

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of 60Hz, meaning that the voltage alternates polarity 60 times per second. The value 220V is the RMS
(Root Mean Square) value of the incoming mains supply. The RMS value of an AC voltage is the
equivalent DC energy delivered to the load.

The voltage that causes Direct Current is called DC Voltage. Unlike its AC counterpart, Direct Current
flows with the same polarity at all times. An example of a Voltage source would be that of a battery or
our home mains supply. The figure on the next page shows the response of an ideal DC power source.

Figure 1.2: The Ideal DC Power Source

The curve shown above is for an ideal source. A real power source behaves a little differently. The curve
for a real source shown in the figure below:

Figure 1.3: A Real DC power source

As seen in the above figure, the ideal voltage source is supposed to provide the same voltage for an
infinite amount of time, but for a real voltage source (e.g. a battery), the voltage begins to droop as more

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and more current is taken from the source. This is because a voltage source (the battery), cannot contain
an infinite amount of charge. The same is true for a current source too.
Symbols of some Current/Voltage Sources are:

Figure 1.4: Symbols of Power Sources

Measuring Instruments: [30 Minutes]

Measuring instruments allow us to get an estimate of some physical quantity. An instrument that can
measure Potential Difference (voltage) is known as a Voltmeter, one that measures current is known as an
Ampere Meter (Ammeter for short) and resistance is measured using an Ohmmeter. An instrument which
can measure all three quantities is known as a Multimeter or sometimes an AVO (Ampere-Volt-Ohm)
Meter. Traditionally all of the instruments consisted of a dial and a deflection pointer and thus were called
Analog instruments. These devices required the correction of errors which showed up in them from time
to time. This process of correcting the error is known is Calibration. Now digital instruments have
replaced their old analog counterparts, un necessitating the process for calibration. Also, Digital
Instruments display readings on an Liquid Crystal Display making them easier to read from as compared
to analog instruments which often consist of multiple and/or non linear scales.

Voltmeters have high impedance and hence are connected in parallel across the points between which
potential difference is to be measured. The reason that they have high impedance is that they do not steal
away any current from the measured circuit. Ammeters, on
the other hand exhibit a very small resistance, and hence are
connected in series, they should never be
connected in parallel since they may short out the circuit and
result in it getting damaged. The figure below illustrates how
to connect Voltmeters and Ammeters in a circuit.

Multimeters usually have a selectable switch

Figure 1.5: Connecting a Voltmeter and an Ammeter in a circuit
which allows you to select the quantity that
you want to measure and the maximum value
called Range, of that quantity that you want to
measure as shown in the figure:

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 Figure 1.6: Multimeter Functions

Procedure: [40 Minutes]

1. Look for of Power Supply Units of any kind in the Workshop, like AC Current Source, AC
Voltage Source, DC Current Source, DC Voltage Source, and list them all in Table 1.1. Note
down their Type, Model, and the Range. Some of them have a digital Display; some of them
might have a scale with a pointing needle.
2. Look for various kinds of Measuring Instruments e.g. Voltmeter, Ammeter, Ohmmeter etc,
available in the Workshop. Note down their Model No’s, Type and the Quantities which they can
measure and the range of measurement of each quantity in Table 1.2.
3. Take any voltage source, connect a Voltmeter to its output terminals and turn it ON. Select any
voltage from the voltage source, note down the selected value from its scale or display, against
the value that you measure, in Table 1.3. Is the value exactly the same as selected? Repeat the
same by selecting different magnitudes of voltage each time.
4. Finally, try measuring the mains AC Voltage. Take a Digital Multimeter (DMM), and set it to
measure AC voltage. Select the measurement range higher than 220 Volts, and insert the DMM
probes in anyone of the HALF POINTS in the Workshop.

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Observations:

1. List few of the Power Supply Units available in the Workshop.

S.
N.o Model Type (Tick the Relevant Choice) Range
AC DC Voltage Current
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Table 1.1: Determining the ranges and types of power supplies

2. List few of the Measuring Instruments available in the Workshop. [30 Minutes]

S. Type (Tick the Measurement

N.o Model Relevant Choice) Quantities Range
Analog Digital V I V I R Other
AC A D D
C C C
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Table 1.2: Determining the ranges and types of Measuring Instruments

3. Fill in the following table for any of the Voltage Sources [60 Minutes]

S Selected Voltage Observed Voltage Percent Error

N.o
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Table 1.3: Determining the error in voltage output of a voltage source

Questions:

1. What is the difference between a Voltage Source and a Current Source?

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2. Write down the voltage and current ratings of a few appliances in your home.

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