For anyone performing a measurement using a particular instrument, it usually matters to know whether the instrument is calibrated or not. Calibration is required, along with precision, to enable accurate measurements to be made. Calibration means observing the instrument’s performance … Read more
Tag: Electrical measurements
The Principle of Operation of a Digital Frequency Meter
A frequency meter/counter is a digital instrument that can measure and display the frequency of any periodic waveform. Its operation is based on the principle of gating the unknown input signal into the counter for a predetermined time. For instance, … Read more
Basic Elements of an Electronic Instrument
An electronic instrument is made up of the following key elements:
- Transducer
- Signal modifier
- Indicating device
Transducer
This is the first sensing element and is needed only when measuring a non-electrical quantity such as … Read more
Electrical vs. Electronic Instruments
Despite the fact that both electrical and electronic instruments measure electrical quantities like voltage and current, they differ from each other in terms of the built-in features; for example, purely electrical instruments don’t possess any in-built amplifying device to increase … Read more
Basic Features of a DC Potentiometer
A potentiometer is an instrument that is used for measurement of potential difference across a known resistance or between two terminals of a circuit or network of known characteristics. A potentiometer is also used for comparing the emf of two … Read more
RF Power and Voltage Measurement
RF system’s output power level is often the key factor in the design and ultimately the performance of virtually all radio frequency and microwave equipment. For the measurement of average power, a sensor along with a calibrated power meter is … Read more
Digital vs. Analog Instruments
Electronic instruments mainly voltmeters used either transistor or vacuum tubes. The later one is called The Vacuum Tube Voltmeter (VTVM) and the former one is called the Transistorized Voltmeter (TVM). In almost every field of electronics, VTVMs have been replaced … Read more