4-7 SERIES-TYPE OHMMETER The scries-type ohmmeter essentially consists of a d’Arsonval movement con- nected in Series with a resistance and a battery to a pair of terminals to which the unknown is connected. The current through the movement then deperids on the magnitude of the unknown resistor, and the meter indication is proportional to the value of the unknown, provided that calibration problems are taken into account. oe 4-17 shows the elements of a simple single-range series ohmmeter. In Fig. Ry = current-limiting resistor Rz = zero adjust resistor E = internal battery Rm = internal resistance of the d’Arsonval movement R, = unknown resistor When the unknown resistor R, = 0 (terminals A and B shorted), maximum current flows in the circuit. Under this condition, shunt resistor R2 is adjusted until the movement indicates full-scale current (/j,). The full-scale current position of the pointer is marked “0 9” on the scale. Similarly, when R, = © (terminals A and B open), the current in the circuit drops to zero and the movement indicates zero current, which is then marked ‘‘="" on the scale. Intermediate markings may be placed on the scale by connecting different known values of R, to the instrument. The accuracy of these scale markings depends on the repeating accuracy of the movement and the tolerances of the calibrating resistors. Although the series-type ohmmeter is a popular design and is used exten- sively in portable instruments for general-service work, it has certain disadvan- tages. Important among these is the internal battery whose voltage decreases gradually with time, so that the full-scale current drops and the meter does not read ‘0’ when‘A and B are shorted. The variable shunt resistor R2 in Fig. 4-17 provides an adjustment to counteract the effect of battery change. Without Ra, it would be possible to bring the pointer back to full scale by adjusting Ry, but this would change the calibration all along the scale. Adjustment by R; is a superior solution, since the parallel resistance of R; and the coil Rm is always low compared to R; and therefore the change in R, needed for adjustment does not change the m(A) oy o. Sec. 4-7 Series-Type Ohmmeter Figure 4-17 Series-type ohmmeter. Scanned with CamScannercalibration very much. The circuit of Fig. 4-17 does not compensate completely for aging of the battery, but it does a reasonably good job within the expected limits of accuracy of the instrument. A convenient quantity to use in the design of a series-type ohmmeter is the value of R, which causes half-scale deflection of the meter. At this position, the resistance across terminals A and B is defined as the half-scale position resistance Ry. Given the full-scale current Jjg and the internal resistance of the movement Rm, the battery voltage E, and the desired value of the half-scale resistance Ry, the circuit can be analyzed; i.e., values can be found for R; and Ro. The design can be approached by recognizing that, if introducing R, reduces the meter current to Myg, the unknown resistance must be equal to the total internal resistance of the ohmmeter. Therefore RR Reo Ri+ Bt Re (4-8) The total resistance presented to the battery then equals 2x, and the battery current needed to supply the half-scale defection is, E oe 49) To produce full-scale deflection, the battery current must be doubled, and there- fore (4-10) h=h- Iva @1) ‘The voltage across the shunt (E,,) is equal to the voltage across the movement and Ex = En OF IR2 = TaRm and Ry = tlt 12) 7 Substituting Eq. (4-11) into Eq. (4-12), we obtain = TssRn Ian Re 7 Tea B= Teal, 3) Solving Eq. (4-8) for R; gives — pe RR Ry = Ry ~ eke 14) 68 Electromechanical Indicating Instruments Chap. 4 Scanned with CamScannerSubstituting Eq. (4-13) into Eq. (4-14) and solving for R; yields R=R- fecal (4-15) A typical calculation for the series-type ohmmeter is given in Example 4-7. EXAMPLE 4-7 ‘The ohmmeter of Fig. 4-17 uses a 50-M basic movement requiring a full-scale current of | mA. The internal battery voltage is 3 V. The desired scale mark- ing for half-scale deflection is 2,000 2. Calculate (a) the values of Ry and Ro; (b) the maximum value of R; to compensate for a 10% drop in battery voltage; (©) the scale error at the half-scale mark (2,000 2) when R; is set as in (b). SOLUTION (a) The total battery current at full-scale deflection is E 3V ha B= sayge sma (4-16) ‘The current through the zero-adjust resistor R; then is I = 1, — Iga = 1.5 mA — 1 mA = 0.5 mA (4-17) ‘The value of the zero-adjust resistor R2 is Jun _ 1 mA x 50.0 mA 1009 (4-18) The parallel resistance of the movement and the shunt (R,) is _ Rin _ 50% 100 -R+R, 150 ing resistor Ry is Ry 33.3.0 ‘The value of the current-| Ry = Ry — Ry = 2,000 — 33.3 = 1,966.72 (b) At a 10% drop in battery voltage, E=3V-03V= .7V ‘The total battery current /, then becomes E_21V =, 70g = 1354 ‘The shunt current J; is By Lp~ Ing = 1.35 mA — 1 mA = 0.35 mA and the zero-adjust resistor Rz equals 1mA x 500 _ 035ma 8% (o) The parallel resistance of the meter movement and the new value of Rz becomes Sec. 4-7 _Series-Type Ohmmeter Scanned with CamScannerSince the half-scale resistance Ry is equal to the total internal circuit resis. tance, Ry will increase to Ry = Ry + Ry = 1,966.7 2 + 37 2 = 2,003.79 ‘Therefore ihe true value of the half-scale mark on the meter is 2,003.7 whereas the actual scale mark is 2,000 Q. The percentage error is then The ohmmeter of Example 4-7 could be designed for other values of Ry, within limits. If R, = 3,000 Q, the battery current would be 1 mA, which is required for the full-scale deflection current. If the battery voltage would de- crease owing to aging, the total battery current would fall below 1 mA and there” would then be no provision for adjustment. 4-8 SHUNT-TYPE OHMMETER The circuit diagram of a shunt-type ohmmeter is shown in Fig. 4-18. It consists of a battery in series with an adjustable resistor R; and a d’Arsonval movement. The unknown resistance is connected across terminals A and B, in parallel with the meter. In this circuit it is necessary to have an off-on switch to disconnect the battery from the circuit when the instrument is not used. When the unknown ) resistor R, = 0 0 (A and B shorted), the meter current is zero. If the unknown resistor R, = © (A and B open), the current finds a path only through the meter, and by appropriate selection of the value of Ry, the pointer can be made to read full scale. The ohmmeter therefore has the “zero” mark at the left-hand side of the scale (no current) and the “infinite” mark at the right-hand side of the scale (full-scale deflection current). The shunt-type ohmmeter is particularly suited to the measurement of low- value resistors. It is not a commonly used test instrument, but it is found in laboratories or for special low-resistance applications. The analysis of the shunt-type ohmmeter is similar to that of the series-type ohmmeter (Sec. 4-7). In Fig. 4-18, when R, =~, the full-scale meter current will A Aan Ry = Rn Ry s 3 Figure 4-18 Shunt-type ohmmeter. 70 Electromechanical Indicating Instruments Chap. 4 Scanned with CamScanner= E loa = BER (419) where E = internal battery voltage Ry = current-limiting resistor Rn internal resistance of the movement Solving for R,, we find R= is Rn (4-20) Tea For any value of R, connected across the meter terminals, the meter current decreases and is given by eee Cee ee 1+ [RmRel(Rm + Ra) Rm + Re or ER, Im = BR, + RAR: + Rn) @2n The meter current for any value of R,, expressed as a fraction of the full-scale current, is In _ RAR + Rn) Toa RYRm + Rd) + Ros or _ RAR + Rn) 5” RAR, + Rn) + Rim on) Defining RiRm R+R, (4-23) and substituting Eq. (4-23) into Eq. (4-22), we obtain i R+R, Cara) s If Eq. (4-24) is used, the meter can be calibrated by calculating s in terms of R, and Rp ”* at half-scale reading of the meter (In, = 0.5 Is), Eq. (4-21) reduces to ER», lst = Rig = RAR + Rn) ce Sec. 4-8 Shunt-Type Ohmmeter Scanned with CamScannerwhere Ry = external resistance causing half-scale deflection. To determine the relative scale values for a given value of Ry, the half-scale reading may be found by dividing Eq. (4-19) by Eq. (4-25) and solving for Rn: RiRn (4-26) Rit Rn Ry determined by limiting resistor The analysis shows that the half-scale resistance is d by lim 0 ‘The limiting resistance, Ri, is Ry and the internal resistance of the movement, Rn- : in turn determined by the meter resistance Rm, and the full-scale deflection cur- rent, Ina. To illustrate that the shunt-type ohmmeter is particularly suited to the mea- surement of very low resistances, consider Example 4-8. EXAMPLE 48 ‘The circuit of Fig. 4-18 uses a 10-mA basic d’Arsonval movement with an internal resistance of 5. The battery voltage E = 3 V. It is desired to modify the circuit by adding an appropriate resistor Ry, across the movement, so that the instrument will indicate 0.5 © at the midpoint on its scale. Calculate (a) the value of the shunt resistor, Ryy; (b) the value of the current-limiting resistor, Ry. SOLUTION (a) For half-scale deflection of the movement, In = 0-5Ing = SA ‘The voltage across the movement is En = S5mA x $0 = 25 mA R,, the current Since this voltage also appears across the unknown resistor, through Ry is ‘The current through the movement ([,,) plus the current through the shunt (I,,) must be equal to the current through the unknown (I,). Therefore = 50 mA - SmA = 45 mA Ian = he I, The shunt resistance then is 25 mV 45 mA 5 (b) The total battery current is A = Im + Toy + 1, = SA + 45 mA + 50. mA = 100 mA The voltage drop across limiting resistor R, equals 3 V ~ 25 mV = 2.975 V. Therefore aa m2 Electromechanical Indicating Instruments Chap. 4 Scanned with CamScanner