UEE505: ANALOG AND DIGITAL SYSTEMS

EXPERIMENT NO: 1

AIM: Familiarization with various controls of Cathode Ray Tube.

OBJECTIVES: (i) To get familiar with the use of different control switches of CRO.
(ii) To visualize an AC signal, measure the amplitude and the frequency.

APPARATUS: Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO), Function Generator.

THEORY: CRO is one of the most widely used measuring device in electronic and testing
lab oratories CRO gives visual display of an input signal current or voltages). This enables
not only measurement of the quantity, but also analysis and manipulation of its waveform.
The device consists mainly of a vacuum tube which contains a cathode; anode, grid, X&Y-
plates, and a fluorescent screen (see Figure below). When the cathode is heated (by applying
a small potential difference across its terminals), it emits electrons. Having a potential
difference between the cathode and the anode (electrodes), accelerate the emitted electrons
towards the anode, forming an electron beam, which passes to fall on the screen. When the
fast electron beam strikes the fluorescent screen, a bright visible spot is produced. The grid,
which is situated between the electrodes, controls the amount of electrons passing through it
thereby controlling the intensity of the electron beam. The X&Y- plates are responsible for
deflecting the electron beam horizontally and vertically. A sweep generator is connected to
the X-plates, which moves the bright spot horizontally across the screen and repeats that at a
certain frequency as the source of the signal. The voltage to be studied is applied to the Y-
plates. The combined sweep and Y voltages produce a graph showing the variation of voltage
with time.

Fig. 1.1 Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)

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DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS FEATURES OF CRO:

DISPLAY CONTROLS:
1. CAL Output: Generates the probe compensation signal; 2Vp‐p, 1 kHz, positive
square wave.
2. INTEN Knob: Controls the brightness of a light spot or trace in the display.
3. FOCUS Knob: Controls the focus (sharpness) of the waveforms in the display.
4. TRACE ROTATION Point: Controls the alignment of the horizontal trace in
parallel with graticule lines.
5. AUTO TIMEBASE Key: Automatically adjusts the horizontal scale to an
appropriate range according to the input signal.
6. POWER Switch: Turns on or off the oscilloscope’s main power. When the power is
on, the LED lights.

LCD DISPLAY:
1. CH1 Vertical Scale: Shows the CH1 vertical scale.
2. Horizontal Scale: Shows the horizontal scale.
3. X-Y Mode: When turned on, indicates that the X‐Y mode is activated.
4. Signal Frequency: Shows the waveform frequency.
5. CH2 Vertical Scale: Shows the CH2 vertical scale.

HORIZONTAL CONTROLS:
1. Horizontal POSITION Knob: Controls the horizontal position of traces and light
spots.
2. X10 MAG Switch: Magnifies the horizontal scale by a factor of 10.
3. SWP VAR Knob: Adjusts the horizontal scale. At the minimum position, the
horizontal scale becomes 2.5 times wider than the original value selected by the
TIME/DIV knob. For example, if the original scale is 1mS/DIV, the adjusted scale
becomes 2.5mS/DIV. At the maximum (CAL) position, there is no change in the
horizontal scale.
4. TIME/DIV Knob: Controls the horizontal scale from 0.2 μs/div to 0.5 s/div in 20
steps. When “X‐Y” is selected, the oscilloscope works in the X‐Y mode.

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VERTICAL CONTROLS:
1. VOLTS/DIV Knob: Controls the CH1/CH2 vertical scale from 1mV/DIV to 5V/DIV
in 12 steps.
2. Vertical POSITION Knob: Controls the vertical position of traces and light spots for
CH1/CH2.
3. ALT/CHOP Switch: Selects how the CH1 and CH2 signals appear in the display, in
the DUAL trace mode.
a) CHOP: The two signals are chopped and displayed simultaneously (generally
used in slow sweep, 1ms/DIV or slower).
b) ALT: The two signals are displayed alternatively (generally used in fast
sweep, 0.5ms/DIV or faster).
4. Vertical MODE Switch: Selects CH1 and CH2 display modes.
a) CH1/CH2: The CH1 or CH2 signal is displayed independently.
b) DUAL: The CH1 and CH2 signals are displayed simultaneously.
c) ADD: The CH1 and CH2 signals are added or subtracted, and then the result
is displayed.
5. VAR Knob: Adjusts the vertical scale. At the minimum position, the vertical scale
becomes 2.5 times wider than the original value selected by the VOLTS/DIV knob.
For example, if the original scale is 1mV/DIV, the adjusted scale becomes
2.5mV/DIV. At the maximum (CAL) position, there is no change in the vertical scale.
6. CH2 INV Switch: Inverts the CH2 input signal vertically. When the vertical mode
switch is in the ADD position, CH2 is subtracted from CH1 instead of being added to
CH1.

TRIGGER CONTROLS:
1. Trigger ALT Switch: When pressed, the TRIG ALT switch constantly toggles the
trigger source between CH1 and CH2 signal, so that both signals can be clearly
viewed. The TRIG ALT switch works when the vertical mode is in the DUAL
position and also the trigger source is in the CH1 or CH2 position.
NOTE:
a) The TRIG ALT switch does not work when the ALT/CHOP switch is in the
CHOP position.
b) The frequency counter in the LCD display does not work when the TRIG ALT
switch is pressed.

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2. Trigger MODE Switch: The TRIGGER MODE switch selects when the oscilloscope
responds to the trigger conditions.
a) AUTO: The oscilloscope sweeps regardless of the existence of trigger conditions.
b) NORM: The oscilloscope sweeps only when a trigger condition occurs.
c) TV-V: The oscilloscope triggers when a vertical video synchronization signal
appears. For triggering on the field, select 2ms/DIV as the horizontal scale; for
triggering on the frame (two interlaced fields), 5ms/DIV.
d) TV-H: The oscilloscope triggers when a horizontal video synchronization signal
appears. For triggering on the line, select 10us/DIV as the horizontal scale. Use the
SWP VAR knob to control the number of waveforms.
NOTE:
a) For TV‐V and TV‐H trigger, the oscilloscope responds only to negative
polarity signals.
b) The oscilloscope cannot trigger input signals when their frequencies are less
than 25Hz.
3. Trigger LEVEL Knob: Changes the trigger level vertically. The trigger level moves
up when the trigger LEVEL knob is turned clockwise. The trigger level moves down
when the trigger LEVEL knob is turned counterclockwise.
4. Trigger SLOPE Switch: Selects the triggering slope. When in the “+” position, the
oscilloscope triggers when the positive slope of the trigger source signal crosses the
trigger level. When in the “–” position, the oscilloscope triggers when the negative
slope of the trigger source signal crosses the trigger level.
5. Trigger SOURCE Switch: Selects the signal on which the oscilloscope sweeps.
a) CH1: CH1 signal becomes the trigger source.
b) CH2: CH2 signal becomes the trigger source.
c) LINE: AC power line signal becomes the trigger source. Useful when the
input signal synchronizes with the power line frequency.
d) EXT: The external trigger input (TRIG IN terminal) signal becomes the
trigger source.
6. TRIG IN Terminal: Accepts an external trigger source signal. The signal becomes
active when the trigger SOURCE switch is in the EXT position. Input impedance:
1MΩ // 25pF.

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INPUT TERMINALS:
1. CH 1 (X) Input Terminal: Accepts the CH1 input signal. In X‐Y mode, the CH1
input signal becomes the X‐axis.
2. AC/GND/ DC Switch: Selects the coupling mode for the input signal.
a) AC: The oscilloscope block DC components included in the input signal.
b) GND: Shows the ground (zero volt) level on the display. This mode is only
for checking the reference level; input signal does not appear on the display.
c) DC: The oscilloscope displays all of the input signal.
3. GND Terminal: Accepts a ground wire. The GND terminal is connected to the
oscilloscope mainframe.
4. CH 2 (Y) Input Terminal: Accepts the CH2 input signal. In X‐Y mode, the CH2
input signal becomes the Y‐axis.

PROCEDURE:
1. Turn on the Oscilloscope.
2. Adjust the intensity and the focus of the trace.
3. Use the X & Y knobs to center the trace horizontally and vertically.
4. Connect the cable from Ch1 of the CRO to Function generator.
5. A signal will appear on the screen.
6. Make sure that the inner red knobs of the Volt/Div and the Time/Div are locked
clockwise.
7. Set the frequency of the generator to 100 Hz.
8. Adjust the Volt/Div and the Time/Div knobs so that you get a suitable size signal.
9. Count the number of vertical squares lying within the signal, then calculate the peak
to peak value as:

Vp-p= No. vertical Div *Volt/Divs

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10. Count the number of horizontal squares lying within the one Duty Cycle, then
calculate time value as:

Time= No. Horizontal Div *Time/Divs

11. Calculate the Frequency of signal by using the formula: Freq = 1 /Time.

OBSERVATION TABLE:

Vertical Amplitude Horizontal

Volt/Div Time/Div Time Frequency
Function Division (p-p) Division
(b) (d) T= c*d F=1/T
(a) V= a*b (c)

DRAW OBSERVED WAVEFORMS:

Sine wave: (Amplitude: ________ Frequency: _____________)

PRECAUTIONS:

1. Avoid using CRO in high ambient light conditions.

2. Do not increase the brightness of the CRO than that is required.
3. Before connecting the power supply plug into socket, ensure power supply should be
switched off.
4. Ensure all connections should be tight before switching on the power supply.
5. Take the reading carefully.