Chapter 4

Output Presentation
 INTRODUCTION

After collecting information about the state of some process using the measuring instrument, the next consideration is

how to present it in a form where it can be readily used and analyzed. The purpose served by the instrument is, first, to

determine or ascertain the value (magnitude) of some particular phenomena. The instrument may be required to indicate

or record the value of the measured quantity in different forms such as graphically or numerically.
The output presentation is classified in to display, recording
or both.
1. Display or Indicating
a. Pointer deflection
b. Graphically
c. Numerically/Alpha numerically
2. Recording
a. Chart recording
b. Magnetic digital recording
 Display or Indicating

• Display or indicating is one of output presentation mechanism in which a device gives an

instantaneous visible indication of the signal.

• It is a real time device that indicates the phenomena happening at present, and it does not save it for

future use or reference.

• Often the output presentation is either in analog or digital display form.

• The analog display instruments usually uses pointer deflection or graphical means of presenting.

• The digital display instruments use numbers such as using the seven segment light emitting diodes
Pointer deflection
 Pointer deflection is an indicating device that refers to an instrument
that indicates the measured variable in calibrated scale by pointer
defection.
 The value of the quantity is presented to the observer on the scale to
any fraction with the limitations of the instrument and the human
eye.
 Basically the pointer deflection displays are analogue electrical and
electronic instruments.
 Cathode ray oscilloscopes
 The oscilloscope, or more generally the cathode ray oscilloscope
(CRO), is the most versatile electronic measuring instrument which
displays electrical signals as a wave form with high accuracy and
precision.
 It is an indispensable instrument for the measurements of frequency,
time duration, and phase differences at audio and higher frequencies
 Besides the CRO can mainly be regarded as a true analog instrument
in that it serves both as a voltmeter and as an electrical-to-optical
transducer.
 Numerical/Digital display

• The electronic circuitry of these digital instruments uses the analog to digital converter (ADC) and

display driver to present the number to the observer.

• The display driver is an electronic circuit that is used to drive the seven segment light emitting

diodes (LED) or light crystal display (LCD).

• The seven segment display is a method of forming the characters of 0 to 9 by selectively highlighting

and blanking appropriate segments arranged in the form of 8.

 The light emitting diode (LED)
 LED is one of the very commonly numeric displays comprising of
diodes which glows when supplied with very small current.
 There are different colors of LED such as Green, red, orange and
yellow etc.
 Single LED is also used to show two states such as high and low or
ON and OFF.
 LED are small, inexpensive and reliable; and have a fast responses
time as compared to LCD. These days due to the advances of
technology in LED, LCD is getting replaced by LED.
 Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD)

• LCD is a film of liquid crystals sandwiched between two transparent electrodes. Applying a potential difference

across the electrodes causes the refractive index of the liquid to change.
• Selectively energizing the individual segment forms different characters, alphanumeric or more complex characters

are produced by using a sixteen segment display or a dot matrix array.

 Recording

• Recording is another way of output presentation mechanism in which

is a device is used to make permanent record of a measured value or

signal.

• The recording of measured variable can be in the form of graphical or

numerical on paper or chart, or on magnetic tape, disk or

There are many ways for classifying recorders; the popular one is
according to the type of signal to be recorded, which is as follows:
1. Analog recorders
a. Graphic recorder
I. Strip chart recorder
 Galvanometer type
 Null type
Potentiometric recorders
Bridge recorders
LVDT recorders
II. Circular chart recorders
III. X-Y Recorders
b. Magnetic tape recorders
c. Oscillo-graphic recorders
d. Others [hybrid, paperless, ultraviolet and
thermal dot matrix recorder]
2. Digital recorders
 Analog Recorders
 Analog recorders are used to record analog signals in the form of a
chart paper for keeping the record permanently.
Graphic/chart Recorders
A graphic recorder is basically a measuring device which is able to
produce in real time a hard copy of a set of time functions with the
purpose of immediate and/or later visual inspection.
1. Strip Chart Recorder
 A strip chart recorder records physical variable with respect to the
independent variable time on a long paper kept in the form of a roll.
 Strip chart recorders consist of a roll or strip of paper that is passed
linearly beneath one or more pens. As the signal changes, the pens
deflect producing the resultant chart.
 Strip chart recorders are well suited for recording of continuous
processes.
A strip chart consists of the following:
(a) Chart/Paper Long graph paper kept on two rollers, lower roller
drags the paper vertically with the help of a motor.
(b) Chart Speed Selector Controls the speed of the roller at some
specified speed selected by the operator and hence controls the time
scale.
(c) Range Selector Amplifier or attenuator which is to be adjusted
according to the amplitude level of physical variable. The gain value is
adjusted by selecting proper range.
(d) Stylus Driving System Moves the stylus in proportion to the
physical variable to be recorded, in most recorders, a synchronous motor
is used for driving the paper.
(e) Stylus Create marking/impression on the moving graph paper [most
recorders use a pointer attached to the stylus, which moves over a
calibrated scale thus showing instantaneous value of the quantity being
measured].
The most commonly used mechanisms employed for making marks on
the papers are

(i) Pen and ink: Marking with ink-filled stylus

(ii) Thermal type: Marking with heated stylus on temperature sensitive
paper (e.g. fax paper)
(iii) Impact type: Marking with pressure sensitive paper (e.g. carbon
paper)
(iv) Electrostatic stylus: Marking with charged stylus on plain paper
(v) Optical type: Marking with light ray on photosensitive paper
Modern strip chart recorders have the facility of

 Simultaneous recording and display of multipoint data

 Universal input
 Universal power voltage
 Alarm Display/Printings
 Chart illumination
According to their working principles strip chart recorders, can be
categorized as galvanometric and null type.
 (a) Galvanometric Type
 This type usually uses a D’Arsonval galvanometer (PMMC) as the
basic movement.
(b) Null Type
 This null type of strip chart recorder is mainly work with the
principle of self balancing potentiometric.
 The self-balancing potentiometer type of instrument consists of a
bridge circuit; Across one arm of the bridge is a reference voltage,
and across the other arm is a feedback network.
 When a signal is fed to the amplifier, the output causes the
servomotor to drive a balancing potentiometer, which in turn refers a
feedback voltage to the amplifier input. When the two signals are
equal and opposite, the system balances and the servomotor stops. If
a pen unit is attached to the motor/ potentiometer mechanized drive,
at the point of balance, the pen will show the proportional value of
the input signal.
Self-balancing potentiometers are unduly used in industry because of the
following reasons:

 Their action is automatic and thus eliminates the constant operation of

an operator.
 They draw a curve of the quantity of being measured with the help of
a recording mechanism.
 They can be mounted on the switchboard or panel and thus act as
mounting devices for the quantity under measurement.
 2. Circular Chart Recorder
 A circular chart recorder records data in a circular format.
 The charts are normally designed to rotate in standard time periods,
such as 1 hour, 24 hours, 7 days, etc.
 These recorders were developed mainly to take advantage of the
availability and convenience of a spring-wound clock and
synchronous motor movements to drive the chart in a circular
direction and the circular chart used here has concentric circles ruled
on it to form its scales.
 In addition, there are printed arcs extending from the center of the
chart to the paper’s edge. As the pen of the recorder is moved, it
swings along these arcs.
 The speed of the rotation of the chart is usually depends on the
standard specified time period which can be conveniently obtained by
using a synchronous motor with suitable gear assembly.
 The various drives for circular charts are classified as follows:

 Mechanical (spring clock drive)

 Pneumatic (air lock drive)
 Electric (synchronous regulated dc motor or motor wound spring)
 Dual powered drive (duplex), i.e. a synchronous motor and spring
clock mechanical drive
 Externally controlled drives
 3. X-Y Recorder
 The X-Y plotter also known as the flat bed plotter is an analogue
device which produces a graph showing the relation between two
input signals.
 In XY plotter the paper is held in a fixed position on a flat bed.
 Two voltage signals x and y are applied through their respective
terminals of X and Y.
 The movements of the pen in X-and Y-directions are automatically
controlled by means of a motor, pulleys and a linear potentiometer.
X-Y recorders are used as under:
 Plotting of stress-strain curves, hysteresis curves and vibrations

amplitude against swept frequency

 Pressure-volume diagrams for LC engines
 Pressure-flow studies for lungs
 Lift drag wind tunnel tests
 Electrical characteristics of materials such as resistance versus
temperature
 Plotting the output from electronic calculators and computers
 Speed-torque characteristics of motor
 Regulation curves of power supplies
 Plotting of characteristics of vacuum tubes, zener diodes, rectifiers
and transistors, etc.
 Magnetic tape recorders
 Tape is made out of a special type of plastic material which is stable
and can withstand continuous rubbing against the head.
 The principle of recording with magnetic tapes has three main
components:
 a core with a small nonmagnetic gap,

 a coil wound on the core, and

 a thin magnetic coating sitting on a base.

 The core assembly carrying the winding is called a tape recording
head.
 When current flowing in the coil, a magnetic flux will bridge cross
the non-magnetic gap, thus magnetizing the iron oxide particles as
they pass the gap.
 When the same tape is passed through the front gap of a similar
playback head, it will cause variations in the reluctance of the
winding, and thereby inducing a voltage which ideally is required to
be a faithful reproduction of the recorded signal.
 Paperless Recorders
 Paperless recorders are one of the latest types of recorders to emerge
on the market.
 Paperless recorders display the chart on the recorders’ graphic
display rather than print the chart on paper.
 The data can normally be recorded in internal memory or to a
memory card for later transfer to a computer. The major benefit of
paperless recorders is conservation of paper and easy transfer to a
computer.
 Ultraviolet Recorders
 Ultraviolet recorders work on very similar principles to standard
galvanometric chart recorders, but achieve a very significant
reduction in system inertia and spring constants by mounting a
narrow mirror rather than a pen system on the moving coil. This
mirror reflects a beam of ultraviolet light onto ultraviolet sensitive
paper.
 But, ultraviolet recorders are significantly more expensive than
standard chart recorders.
 Digital Recording
 Digital recorder record the data in the form of ‘1’ and ‘0’. There are
several types of digital recorders.
 Magnetic tapes are also commonly used for digital recording of
binary data encoded in terms of "1s" or "0s", both in instrumentation
and data processing systems in which digital data is electrically
encoded onto the magnetic tape.
 Three broad methods of digital recording can be briefly described as
follows:
 Return to zero encoding (RZE)
 Non-return to zero encoding (NRZE)
 Bi-Phase Level encoding (BPLE)
RETURN-TO-ZERO (RZE) ENCODING:
It uses magnetic tape that is normally in a neutral condition.
A digital one is recorded as a positive-going pulse:
A digital zero is recorded as a negative-going pulse.
The magnetic tape returns to its neutral state in between pulses.
NON-RETURN-TO-ZERO (NRZE) ENCODING:

It's accurate, simple, reliable, and most widely used.

does not return the magnetic tape to its neutral state in b/n pulses.
The magnetic tape is always in saturation, either +vely or -vely.
The polarity of the saturating signal only changes when incoming
data changes from zero to one and vice versa.
Bi-PHASE Level ENCODING (BPLE):
Records two logic levels for each incoming data bit.
When an incoming data bit is a one, records a zero-one.
When an incoming data bit is a zero, records a one-zero.
Overcomes any low-Frequency response problems that the magnetic
tape recorder may have.
 Data acquisition systems
 Data acquisition is the process of acquiring data of interest
(measuring variables) for the purposes of measurement and control
often recording for later study and analysis and sending them in to a
computer for further processing.
 A data acquisition refers to a process where information is converted
in to a form that can be handled by computer.
 Data Logger
 Data logger (also data recorder) is an electronic device that records
data over time or in relation to location either with a built in
instrument or sensor, or via external instruments and sensors.
 They generally are small, battery powered, portable, and equipped
with a microprocessor, internal memory for data storage, and sensors.
 Some data loggers interface with a personal computer and utilize
software to activate the data logger and view and analyze the
collected data, while others have a local interface device (keypad,
LCD) and can be used as a stand-alone device.
 One of the primary benefits of using data loggers is the ability to
automatically collect data on a 24-hour basis.
Flight data recorder (FDR),
Event data recorder (EDR),
Voyage data recorder (VDR0,
Depth Recorder
Applications;
Unattended weather station recording (such as wind speed /
direction, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation).
Unattended hydrographic recording (such as water level,
water depth, water flow, water pH, water conductivity).
Unattended soil moisture level recording.
Unattended gas pressure recording.
Offshore buoys for recording a variety of environmental
conditions.
Road traffic counting.
Environmental monitoring.
Vehicle Testing
Monitoring of relay status in railway signalling.
 What is the basic difference between data acquisition and data
logging?
Data logging
Data acquisition
Data logger is a data acquisition system
Data acquisition system is not necessarily a data
Typically have slower sample rates.
logger.
Data loggers are implicitly stand-alone devices
Typically have fast sample rates.
Data loggers used magnetic tape, punched paper
Data acquisition system must remain tethered to a
tape, directly viewable recorders Such as strip
computer to acquire data.
chart recorders.
Data acquisition used Static RAM, flash memory,

EEPROM.

A data logger is a data acquisition system, but a data acquisition system is not necessarily a data logger.

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 The End!!

05/16/2024 Electrical Measurement & Instrumentation | ECEG 4155 | ch-4 39