MEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY,

JAMSHORO
Department of Electronic Engineering
Electronic Workshop (ES-102)
24ES

Lab # 2: Oscilloscope and Function Generators

Name Roll #
Signature of Lab Tutor Date

OBJECTIVE(S)

# # Of Lectures CLO Taxonomy level

Topic
The purpose of this lab is become familiar
1 3 1,4 P1,A2
with Oscilloscopes and Function Generators.

OUTCOME(S)

a. An ability to apply knowledge of math, science, and PLO1: Engineering Knowledge:

engineering
b. An ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams PLO9: Individual and Team Work

RUBRICS:

Performance Metric Good (5-4) Average (3-2) Poor (1-0) Score

Apply Applies the appropriate Applies the relevant Fails to apply
Knowledge knowledge and concepts knowledge and concept relevant
to the problem with to the problem, possibly knowledge and
accuracy and in a roundabout way; concepts to the
proficiency; shows understands the major problem;
precise understanding points of the knowledge, misunderstands
of these knowledge and with possible or fails to recall
concepts. misunderstanding or critical points.
failure to recall minor
points;
Equipment Logically and carefully Able to select Does not
Selection and selects equipment to be equipment to be used understand the
Setup used for the experiment; for the experiment with connection
correctly setup the guidance; correctly between the
connection/wiring of the setup the equipment and
equipment connection/wiring of the
the equipment, with measurement
minor error to be used; or
did not know

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 how to setup
the
connection/
wiring
Equipment Operates equipment in Operates equipment in Does not know
Operation correct & careful fashion, correct & careful how to operate
Selects optimum fashion, with guidance, equipment; has
range/setting for understand the no knowledge of
operation optimum range/setting measurement
for operation optimum
range/setting
for operation
Participation Plays actively the Plays own role Frequently
assigned role, takes on appropriately, and absent,
extra work to assist ineffective, and
blames
Teamwork Actively engages and Cooperates with other Distracts or
cooperates with other group members in a discourages
group members in an reasonable manner. other group
members from
effective manner.
conducting the
experiment.

Equipment: Oscilloscope and function generator

Theory:

Electronic circuits need to be tested for their functionality. This is done by applying test signals as input
to the circuits and observing their response.

A function generator is a device that is used to produce (generate) test signals for testing electronic
circuits. These are one of the most versatile sources available, allowing us to manipulate several
parameters such as:

1. Function or wave shape- All function generators can generate three basic types of waveforms i-
e Sinusoidal, Triangular and Rectangular. They can also produce composite waveforms. This can
be done using the waveform shape select control.

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 Figure 2.1: The Sinusoidal, Square and Triangular Waveforms

2. Time Period or Frequency- A wide range of frequencies can be generated (0.01Hz to 10 MHz or
even more). Adjusting the Frequency Multiplier and the Frequency Selector knob helps select
the frequency of the generated signal.
3. Amplitude- The amplitude of the output signal can be increased and decreased over a wide
range using the attenuation control.
4. Dc Level- If one wants to add a DC offset to our signal so as to move the signal above or below
the ground line than this can be done using the DC Offset control.

Figure 2.2: Positive and Negative DC levels

5. Frequency Sweep- Function Generators also allow us to sweep the frequency both linearly and
logarithmically, this option is available in the new digital function generators.
6. Modulated Signals- Digital Function Generators allow us to produce Amplitude, Frequency and
Pulse Amplitude Modulated signals as well. Function generators also have probe connections for
taking the signal outputs.

Figure 2.3: Function Generator Front Panel

An Oscilloscope (or simply a Scope for short) is a device that lets you observe circuit responses in form
of waves or oscillations on a screen and possibly make measurements as well. The graph that appears
against a grid on the screen is called a Trace. The Horizontal and Vertical axes represent Time and

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Amplitude respectively. Each square on the grid is called a Division and this is used to calculate the
amplitude as well as time period of the signal. Each division is further divided into 5 subdivisions with
each subdivision representing 0.2 divisions. Most oscilloscopes consist of two inputs called Channels,
which help you observe two signals simultaneously. Each channel has the following controls:

1. Volts/Division- This is used to scale the signal so that it can be accommodated within the
screen and no part of the signal goes beyond the display area. This is also known as the Vertical
Scale. The amplitude of the signal is then given by:
Amplitude(p-p)= Number of vertical blocks covered by signal x Vertical Scale

2. Coupling- There are three ways in which the signal can be coupled to the channel, namely GND,
AC and DC.
i. GND- This lets you see the ground (reference) line for the signal.
ii. AC- This lets you AC couple the signal i-e any DC component in the signal is filtered
out before displaying it on the screen.
iii. DC- This lets you DC couple the signal i-e displays the complete signal including its AC
as well as DC part.
3. Vertical Position- This lets you move the waveform up and down on the screen. It is used for
setting the ground line on the origin.
4. Input Mode- This control is common for both the channels; this lets you chose the input channel
or combination mechanism for the display. It consists of four options, CH1, CH2, Alternate, Chop
and Add. When this control is on Alternate, the channels are displayed alternately in successive
sweeps, in the Chop mode, both the channels can be viewed simultaneously and the Add mode
displays the sum/difference of the two channels.
5. Invert- This is present on only one of the channels (mostly Channel 2), this inverts the displayed
signal. It is used for subtracting one signal from the other using the Add input mode.
6. X-Y Mode- Most oscilloscopes also have an X-Y mode option that lets you plot one channel
against the other. This can be used to plot I-V curves.
7. 10x- The probes for each channel have a 10x switch on their heads, which divides the signal by
10 before displaying it on the scope thus allowing for much larger signals to be displayed on the
screen.

The controls used for manipulating the horizontal axis of the signal are:

1. Time/Division- This is similar to the Volts/Division control described above, and lets you scale
the time period of the signal i-e either compress it or stretch it horizontally. The time period of
the signal is then given as:

Time Period= Number of horizontal blocks covered by one cycle x Horizontal Scale

2. Horizontal Position- This lets you move the trace either to the left or to the right. This is used to
position the waveform in such a way so that its starting point touches the origin.

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 3. X10 Magnifier- This allows you to measure a frequency 10 times higher than the normal range
of the oscilloscope. This is used to measure time deflections.

The controls discussed above were used to change the waveform on the screen.

An oscilloscope also has Intensity (make the trace brighter/dull), Focus (change the focus of the trace),
Probe connectors (BNC connectors for connecting the probes), a Cursor Function (lets you measure the
amplitude, time period, frequency, phase difference etc. automatically) and a Calibration Output.

Figure 2.4: Oscilloscope Front Panel

Procedure:

1. Turn on both pieces of equipment.

2. Plug the probes to the probe inputs on the oscilloscope.
3. Select Channel 1 and select GND from the Channel Coupling switch, if it is not already on the
origin, use the vertical position knob to bring the Ground line down to the origin.
4. Repeat the above step for Channel 2 also.
5. Connect the probe of Channel 1 to the calibration output. Use the volts/division switch to set
the vertical scale to 0.5 volts/division.
6. Remove the probe of Channel 1 form the calibration output and repeat the same for Channel 2.
7. To calibrate the time scale, connecting any of the probes of Channel 1 or Channel 2 to the
calibration output, use the horizontal position switch to move the wave horizontally so that its
starting point rests on the origin.
8. Set the Vertical Coupling switch to AC, connect the probe of Channel 1 as well as Channel 2 to
the function generator output.
9. Press the Sine key on the function generator and set the frequency multiplier knob to 1 and the
frequency selector knob to KHz.
10. Use the attenuation switch on the Function Generator to set the amplitude to 2 Volts (p-p),
while observing on the oscilloscope.
11. Measure the amplitude and the time period using the formula given in theory. Use the cursor
function and measure the amplitude and the time period and fill in the table

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 12. Do this for several frequencies.
13. Press Alt or Chop on the vertical coupling switch and view both the waveforms simultaneously.
14. Change the Channel mode to add and observe the waveform on the screen.
15. Press the Invert control and observe the change.
16. Observe different shapes of waveforms that the function generator can produce by using the
Waveform shape switch. Also observe the waveform by pressing two or more of the button
together.
17. Set the Coupling mode to DC. Using the DC offset knob on the function generator, lift the signal
level up by 2 divisions on the oscilloscope. Now switch the coupling mode to AC and observe the
difference.
18. Repeat the above step but move the signal 2 divisions down instead.
19. Take another function generator, press the sine key and while observing on the oscilloscope, set
the frequency to 1 KHz and the amplitude to 2 Volts (p-p).
20. Now observe the signal from the first function generator on channel 1 and the signal from the
second generator on channel 2 (chop mode).
21. Now calculate the time difference between (using the block method) the starting points of both
the waveforms and use the formula described below to calculate the phase difference between
the two waves. You will also need to calculate the period of the waves.
Phase Difference=tdTx360º

Figure 2.5: Phase difference between two sine waves

Observation:

Table 2.1: Determining Inaccuracy in the generated frequency

S. No. Function Generator Observed Frequency Error between F.G Error between F.G Freq.
Frequency Freq. and and Cursor Func. Freq.
Calculated Cursor
Calculated Freq.
Function
1.
2.
3.

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 4.
5.

Activity:

• Above, this sine wave represents a voltage that is changing over time So at time=2.5s, what is
the voltage? And again at 10seconds?15 seconds?

• We can see that as time moves forward, the voltage is changing. Is this an AC or DC voltage?
What does that mean?

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