2024-25 Sem-I EE Dept.

, IITK

ESC201 Introduction to Electronics Lab 01 Handout

Familiarization with Laboratory Instruments
The aim of the experiment is to familiarize yourself with four basic instruments in any electronics laboratory:
Digital Multi-Meter (DMM), DC Power Supply, Function Generator (FG), and Digital Storage Oscilloscope
(DSO). You will learn the operation of these instruments through experimentation with some simple circuits.

Experiment 1: Operation of the FG and DSO (2 × 10 = 20 marks)

1. Connect the output of the FG to the CH-1 of the DSO using 2 cables and the breadboard. Choose sine
function in the FG and adjust the controls to get a 5V sin(t) with 1 kHz frequency on the FG. Note that
the peak-to-peak voltage of the sine wave will be 10V. Obtain a stable waveform on the DSO. You may
need to adjust the trigger level control of the DSO to get a stable display.
2. Measure manually the maximum, minimum, and peak-to-peak value of the sine wave using cursors.
3. Choose a time/div on the DSO such that the sine wave is well expanded and only 2 to 3 oscillations are
visible on the screen. Measure the time period of the sine wave as accurately as you can using cursors.
Write down your answer. Also, check the corresponding frequency reading on the DSO and write it down.
4. Use the measure function of DSO to measure the peak-to-peak value and the frequency of the waveform.
Compare these values with the ones that you have measured manually using cursors, and comment.
5. Plot the waveform observed on the DSO based on all the measurement results obtained above.
(Plotting means not only sketching it but also indicating all relevant features with quantitative results)
6. Readjust the time/div on the DSO such that the sine wave is well expanded and only 1 complete oscillation
is visible on the screen. Now, rotate the trigger knob and study the effect of level control of the trigger
level on the waveform displayed. Write down your observation and explain.
7. Keep the time/div on the DSO unchanged, and change the slope control of trigger to dual edge and study
the effect. Write down your observation, plot the waveform displayed on the DSO and explain.
8. Keep the time/div on the DSO unchanged, and change the slope control of trigger back to rising edge, then
to falling edge and vice versa, and study the effect of slope control on the waveform displayed. Write
down your observation and explain.
9. Keep the slope control of the trigger to rising edge. Change the frequency to 1 Hz and readjust the time/div
on the DSO display such that the sine wave is well expanded and only 1 complete oscillation is visible on
the screen. Now, keep the trigger level in the centre (near the zero volt. of the Y axis). Observe for a
minute, and then write down your observation and explain.
10. Now, for the 1 Hz sine waveform above, change the trigger mode from auto to normal. Observe for a
minute, and see if there is any change in the observation. Write down your observation and explain.
Change the trigger mode to auto again for the rest of the experiments.

Experiment 2: Advanced Operation of the FG and DSO (2 × 5 = 10 marks)

1. Choose ‘Pulse Mode’ and set the FG to obtain a square wave of 500 Hz frequency going from 0 to 7V.
Set the voltage level using the ‘Offset’ knob and ‘Ampl’ knob of the FG such that the low level of the
pulse is at 0 V and the high level is at 7 V. Set the DSO CH-1 input to DC Mode and display the FG output
on the CH-1 of the DSO. Adjust the vertical position of the display such that the 0 V level is at the middle
of the display. Observe, measure, and plot the waveform.
2. Switch the DSO CH-1 input mode to AC Mode. Observe the change in the display of the waveform,
measure it, and write it down along with the plot of the waveform. Explain the result.
3. Using the Duty cycle control facility (press ‘SHIFT’ followed by ‘DUTY’ button and then rotate the
editing knob), adjust the wave to have 0.5 ms high level and 1.5 ms low level. Observe and measure the
waveform on the DSO CH-1, and then plot it.
4. Using the Duty cycle control facility, see what can be the minimum and maximum duty cycle that we can
have from the FG. Write down your observation.
5. Press ‘Offset’ button of the FG to turn off the offset, and then observe, measure, and plot the waveform.
2024-25 Sem-I EE Dept., IITK

Experiment 3: XY Plot using DSO and Output vs Input Characteristic (2 × 4 = 06 marks)

1. Adjust the FG to get a 5V sin(t) of 1 kHz frequency. Put the CH-1 and CH-2 inputs to the ground of FG.
Put the scope in X-Y mode. See the position of arrows on the axis of screen and the movement of the dot,
and adjust the positions so that the dot displayed is located at the origin. Note down your observation.
2. Now connect both CH-1 and CH-2 to the FG input and choose DC modes for both CH-1 and CH-2, while
the sine wave signal is still connected to both the channels of the DSO. Observe, measure, and plot it.
3. Use a simple potential divider using two 10 kΩ resistors on the breadboard given, i.e., connect two 10 kΩ
resistors in series across the FG signal and take the output from the mid-point and ground. Connect CH-1
to the FG output (taken on the X-axis) and CH-2 to the potential divider output (taken on the Y-axis).
Observe, measure, and plot the result.

Experiment 4: XY Plot using DSO and I-V Characteristic (2 × 4 = 08 marks)

For a two-terminal device, the circuit of Figure 1 can be used to obtain the I-V characteristics. Note that the
resistance RM is used to measure the current flowing through the Device Under Test (DUT). Also note that
while the actual voltage drop across the DUT should be measured to obtain its I-V characteristics, here what
is being measured (VO) is the voltage drop across the series combination of the DUT and the current measuring
resistance RM. For this voltage to be a good approximation of the actual voltage dropped across the DUT, the
value of RM should be chosen such that the voltage-drop across it (VM) is negligible as compared to the drop
across the DUT, or, in other words, VO must be much larger than VM (by about 100 times or greater).

RS
V0
From FG Function To CRO
Output (8) CH-1

DUT

To CRO
CH-2
RM VM

Figure 1

1. Set up the circuit shown in Figure 1 with RS = 1 kΩ, RM = 100 Ω and a 10 k resistor as the DUT. Set the
FG to produce a signal of 5 V sin(t) of 100 Hz frequency. You will have to use the DSO for measuring
the correct amplitude and frequency of the FG output initially. Observe the voltage measured by the two
channels CH-1 and CH-2 simultaneously. Observe, measure, and plot both the waveforms. Verify that the
voltage drop VM across RM is much smaller than the voltage dropped across the DUT.
2. Subtract VM from VO using “Math” function of the DSO to find the actual voltage drop across the DUT.
Observe, measure, and plot the result. Verify that the actual voltage drop across the DUT is close to VO.
3. Observe, measure and plot these three waveforms and their relative positions in time. Observe and note
down carefully whether these three waveforms are in phase or not. Comment on the result.
4. Put the DSO display into XY mode. Observe, measure, and plot the I-V characteristic of the DUT. Measure
the resistance from the observed I-V characteristic and comment on the results obtained.

Experiment 5: Limitations of the DSO and FG (2 × 3 = 06 marks)

1. Make a potential divider using two 1 MΩ resistors. Connect +5V from the DC Power Supply panel to the
input of the divider. Observe the output of the divider on the DSO CH-1, measure it and note it down. Use
a DMM to measure the same voltage and note it down. Compare the two results and estimate the input
resistance of the DSO CH-1. The input resistance of the DMM used in ESC201 lab is very high (20 MΩ).
2. Repeat the step for the DSO channel CH-2 and estimate the input resistance of the DSO CH-2.
3. Connect CH-1 of the DSO to the FG output of 5V sin(t) of 1 kHz frequency. Connect a 50 Ω resistance
(obtained from two 100 Ω resistors in parallel) between the input of the FG and the ground. Measure the
output on the DSO and note it down. Estimate the output resistance of FG from your observation.