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MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
EEGR 203.002: INTRODUCTION TO ELECTRICAL LABORATORY
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Gregory M. Wilkins
LAB 0: INTRODUCTION TO THE USE OF THE LABORATORY EQUIPMENT
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this experiment is to give the student an introduction to some of the measurement equipment that will be
used in future experiments.
EQUIPMENT:
POWER SUPPLY, VOLTMETER, AMMETER, BREADBOARD.
VOLTMETER AND AMMETER:
In this lab a Digital Multimeter (HP 3478A) will serve as both the voltmeter and the ammeter.
• To Measure Voltage: Use the HI (Input 2 wire) outlet (“+” terminal) and the LO outlet (ground). Press --V for DC
measurement and ~V for AC measurement. Voltage is measured in parallel with your load. You can vary the range
of your measurement by using the Range buttons.s
• To Measure Current: Use the A outlet (“+” terminal) and the LO outlet (ground). Press --A for DC measurement.
Current is measured in series, hence you will have to break the circuit to measure current. You can vary the
range of your measurement by using the Range buttons.
POWER SUPPLY:
In all of your experiments, remember to measure the voltage of your power supply (PS) before connecting it to your circuit.
Do not turn on the PS until your circuit is completely wired! There are two kinds of PS in this lab: The Triple Output PS
(HP 6236B) and a System PS (HP 6038A). The Triple Output PS will be used in this lab exercise.
• To Measure Power Supply Voltage: A voltmeter is always connected in parallel across your load or power
supply. The “+” terminal of the voltmeter should be connected to the “+” terminal of the PS (usually the red outlet)
and the “-” terminal of the voltmeter to the “-” terminal of the PS (usually the COM or black outlet).
• Exercise: Set the Meter knob to the +6 V position, and connect the two wires from the PS (+6 V & COM outlets)
to the voltmeter. Since you’re measuring DC voltage, press the --V button on your Multimeter. Adjusts the output
of the PS by using the Voltage +6 V knob. Check your voltage by reading the volts scale of your PS (lower reading)
and compare it to the voltmeter reading. Are there any differences between the two readings? Explain. Repeat for
the knob of the PS set at +20 V and -20 V and using the corresponding outlets (i.e. +20 V and COM, and -20 V
and COM).
BREADBOARD:
All of the experiments will be done on the breadboard (BB). The critical part of hooking a circuit on the BB is determining
how to connect circuit elements in series and in parallel. Each BB has two sections which are illustrated in the following
figure.
• “Wide Connection Part”: which has two groups of five horizontal holes. Each five hole group is in series, i.e.
the horizontal holes are interconnected. Note that the two five hole groups are not interconnected.
• “Long Connection Part”: which has two sets of long vertical holes. Each vertical column is interconnected.
These holes are used for power supply and ground connections.
