International Islamic University Islamabad

Faculty of Engineering and Technology

LINEAR CIRCUIT ANAYSIS LAB

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and

Breadboard

Name of Student: ……………………………………

Registration No.: ……………………………………..

Date of Experiment: …………………………………

Submitted To: ………………………………………...

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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 Objectives:
 To get awareness of safety precautions.
 To learn the usage of equipment like Digital Multi-meter (DMM), DC power supply and
breadboard.
 To measure the resistance, voltage and current using DMM.
Equipment Required:
 Breadboard
 Digital Multi-meter (DMM)
 DC Power Supply: +12V (fixed)
 Resistors: 4.7-kΩ [Qty=1]; 6.8-kΩ [Qty=1];
 Connecting wires
Safety Precautions:
i. Handle the live circuits with extreme care. Do not work with wet hands in the lab.
ii. Always ask question or seek advice from lab staff, if you are unsure of what to do in any
particular situation.
iii. Any fault in the equipment should be immediately reported and should not be used until it
is inspected and declared safe by lab staff.
iv. Do not unplug the power cable while the main AC power is switch ON. Remove the
source of power before disassembling of a circuit.
v. Always set the knob of DMM to defined position (various AC/DC selections) before
taking any measurements.
vi. Instruments especially oscilloscopes should be calibrated before their use in electrical
circuits. Further, turn OFF the instruments including DMMs when they are not in use.
vii. When the oscilloscope is used to analyze the circuits that involve high voltages, there is
always a danger of electrical shock. The person using the oscilloscope in such conditions
should be qualified. Do not operate the oscilloscope with the case removed unless you are
an experienced service technician.
viii. The ever-present hazard in an electrical lab is the electric shock. Most people relate the
severity of electric shock with the magnitude of electric voltage, this is not true. The real
measure of a shock is the amount of current that flows through the body.
ix. To minimize the chances of electrical hazards, do not wear rings, watches and any other
loose metallic objects. Rings and watches are especially dangerous as the skin beneath
x. them is wet by sweat, making the resistance of skin much lower. Always wear dry shoes
during the experimentation, which can provide full coverage of the feet.

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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 xi. Never move instruments when the power cable or signal probe is connected to a circuit.
Always use shielded power cables and signal probes. Never make any changes to a circuit
without removing the connections to power supplies.
xii. All students should be familiar with the location and operation of safety equipment such
as emergency power OFF button. Localize the emergency power OFF button in your lab at
the beginning of the semester.
xiii. Always follow the instructions given by your lab instructor on how to use the electronic
tools and instruments. One tool that requires special attention is the soldering iron. Never
place a hot soldering iron on or near the instrument. Careless use can result in painful
burns and fire. Always put the hot iron in its holder. Turn the soldering iron ON only when
you need to use it and turn it OFF when you have done your job (even if you may need it
in 5 minutes). The short warm-up time is a small price to pay for the prevention of
potential fire and burn hazards.
Understanding of Equipment:
1. Digital Multi-meter (DMM):
A digital multi-meter (DMM) is an electronic measuring instrument that combines
several measurement functions in one unit. DMM has a numeric display to show the desired
parameters. A typical DMM can measure voltage, current and resistance. It is a standard
diagnostic tool for technicians in the electrical/electronic industries and laboratories. A UT55
DMM that is available in Basic Electronics laboratory is shown in Figure 1. Basic parameters
which most of the DMMs are capable of measuring include:
 Resistance
 DC Voltage and Current
 AC Voltage and Current

Figure 1

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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 The UT55 DMM also provides special functions, such as transistor or diode tests,
measurement of frequency, capacitance and inductance.
i. Resistance Measurement:
Set the DMM to the Ω function to measure resistance as shown in Figure 2. Before you
connect the ohmmeter, you must disconnect the resistance to be measured from the circuit.
Before you disconnect any component, first turn the power supply off. Whenever, the resistor
is in your hand, do not touch both the leads of the resistor with your hand. You can grip the
one end (leg) of resistor along with one lead of DMM in your hand and touch the other lead
of DMM to the resistor to be measure, without touching your body to the other lead. Use
appropriate of range of ohmmeter, to measure the resistance more accurately.

Figure 2
ii. DC Voltage Measurement:
Rotate the knob to V- function. Verify that the red lead plugs into the V jack and the
black lead plugs into the COM jack as shown in Figure 3. To make a measurement, connect
the tip of the red lead and the tip of the black lead across the points where you want to
measure the voltage (potential difference). A positive meter reading means that the point
where the red tip is connected will be at higher potential than the point where the black tip is
connected.

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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 Figure 3
iii. DC Current Measurement:
Rotate the knob to A- function as shown in Figure 4. Verify that the red lead plugs into
the A (or mA) jack and the black lead plugs into the COM jack. To make a current
measurement, the tip of the red lead and the tip of the black lead must be inserted in series
with the element whose current is to be measured. A positive meter reading means that the
point where the red tip is connected has current entering in it.

Figure 4

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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 Similarly, AC voltages and currents can be measured using V~/A~ functions of DMM
respectively.
2. DC Power Supply:
The DC power supply has both variable and fixed DC voltage sources. In case of
variable supply, the voltage can be set to desired level by rotating the voltage control knob
between 0V to 24V. Fixed DC voltage source of +5V, +12V, -5V and -12V are available on
the trainer.
3. Breadboard:
The breadboard is used to construct temporary electronic circuits for testing purpose. The
components and wiring are inserted in the holes available on the breadboard. The outer and
inner structure of breadboard is shown in Figure 5(a) and 5(b) respectively. Since no
soldering is involved, the components and the wiring can be easily removed and reconnected.

Figure 5 (a)

Figure 5 (b)

Procedure:
Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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a. Pick up two different resistors and measure their resistances using DMM. Record these
resistances in Table 1.
Table 1

Resistor R1 R2

Measured value

b. Now construct the circuit of Figure 6 on the breadboard and turn ON the DC power
supply.

Figure 6

c. Using DC voltage and current functions of DMM, measure and record the following
readings in Table 2.
Table 2

Battery Voltage E (measured) =

Voltage Drop across R1 VR1 (measured) =

Voltage Drop across R2 VR2 (measured) =

Experiment No. 1: Introduction to Safety Precautions, DMM, DC Power Supply and Breadboard
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