ABSTRACT

An analog voltmeter is a tool used to measure the voltage, or electrical potential

difference, between two points in a circuit. It works by using a moving coil mechanism,

where the needle moves across a scale to show the voltage value. The basic operation

relies on the fact that when voltage is applied, it creates a small current that moves the

needle. Analog voltmeters are usually connected in parallel with the part of the circuit

where the voltage needs to be measured. They are simple, reliable, and do not require a

power source for basic operation. In this report, we indicated contents like construction,

working principle, its types, and the applications.

 ANALOGUE VOLTMETER

CONTENTS
errors are especially important in experimental analysis because they ca

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 2

1.1. Importance Of Electrical Measuring Instruments ................................................. 2

1.2. Overview Of Ammeter, Voltmeter, Ohmmeter, Wattmeter ...................................... 3

2. Analogue Voltmeters.................................................................................................... 4

2.1. The Construction ........................................................................................................ 4

2.2. Damping System .......................................................................................................... 6

2.3. The Working Principle ................................................................................................ 8

3. Types Of Analogue Voltmeters ..................................................................................... 11

The Discussion.................................................................................................................. 16

4. Application .................................................................................................................... 17

5. List Of Figures.............................................................................................................. 18

f our result
Since these errors vary from one
measurement to another, the best way to minimize their effect is by taking multiple
readings and analyzing them statistically.

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1. INTRODUCTION
Electric Meters are very helpful to control our electric systems, that they measure electric
quantities such as current, voltage, resistance, and even power. They have two general
types such as Digital Meters and Analogue Meters as shown in figure 1, they both needed.

ELECTRIC METERS

ANALOGUE Figure 1
DIGITAL

Analogue Voltmeter Digital Voltmeter

➢ Analog meters show measurements by means of a moving pointer on a scale with an

immediate measurement reading.

➢ Digital meters show the reading in numbers, which are more convenient and precise
to read. The topic of this essay is the analog voltmeter, which shows voltage on an
analog dial.
1.1. IMPORTANCE OF ELECTRICAL MEASURING INSTRUMENTS
To measure various aspects of an electrical system, electrical measurement devices play
an absolutely essential role in ensuring an electrical system operates correctly and safely.
Instead of touching or inserting a metal to an outlet or a circuit to check if it is hot with
electricity or not.

Touching hot (live) wire Putting metal into outlet Safely checking

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1.2. Overview of Ammeter, Voltmeter, Ohmmeter, Wattmeter

Ammeters Voltmeters
Intro: Is used to measure electric current that flows Intro: Is a device used to measure voltage in
into a circuit, the unit of its measurement is Amperes. electrical circuits, elements or electronic devices.
Connection: An Ammeter must always be connected Connection: A voltmeter must always be connected
in series with the rest of the circuit or the element. in parallel across the two points you want measured.
Types: Dc Analogue, Dc Digital, Ac Analogue, AC Types: Dc Analogue, Dc Digital, Ac Analogue, AC
Digital Digital

An Ammeter connected in series with the load

A Voltmeter connected in parallel with the load

Ohmmeters Wattmeter
Intro: Is used to measure resistance of an element. Intro: A wattmeter measures the amount of electrical
Connection: The circuit must be powered off before power consumed by a device.
using an ohmmeter. It is connected across the Connection: Wattmeter are usually connected with
component like parallel connection to measure two connections:
resistance.
• The current coil is connected in series with
Types: Analogue and Digital.
the load.

• The voltage coil is connected in parallel

across the load.

Types: Analogue and Digital.

An ohmmeter connected parallel to a resistor

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 ANALOGUE VOLTMETER
2. ANALOGUE VOLTMETERS

An analog voltmeter is a device used to measure the voltage between

two points in an electrical circuit. It shows the measured voltage by
moving a pointer (needle) across a scale. Analog voltmeters are
important tools because they provide a quick and continuous reading
without needing digital screens.
Analogue Voltmeter

2.1. The Construction

An analogue voltmeter mainly constructed of a moving coil, a permanent magnet, a pointer

(the needle), a spring, a scale, and some resistors. The most common type is P.M.M.C
voltmeter which we talk about deeply about the types in next section. Seek figure (2).

Figure 2

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There is a small coil placed between poles of a magnet, and when you connect the two
terminals parallelly across the two points, voltage will be applied, thus current will flow
this coil and you know the coil is attached to the needle over a printed scale with volts.

Figure 3

The coil is winded on a soft iron core and is supported well by springs and these springs
not only hold and grab the coil but also give a controlling force to bring back the needle to
zero when you disconnect the two terminals across the two parallel points seek figure (4).
And as indicated in figure (3), there is resistor in series to limit the current in order to
protect the coil from damaging and over flowing of current when a high voltage is applied
to the terminals.

Figure 4

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2.2. Damping System
There is a problem with these analogue voltmeters which is vibrating
or swinging too much of the needle, to avoid this problem, damping
system solved this problem for us by using air (piston in a cylinder)
or fluid (vane in oil), this helps the needle to be stable quickly and
smoothly. This occurs because of inertia at the moment when the
moving coil responds to a sudden change of voltage.

There are three types of it, we will try to explain with their behavior, practical approach,
an example, and the cause:-

1. Underdamped: The needle of the voltmeter keeps moving back and forth before it
finally stops at a point, it means when you connect the two-point voltage, the pointer needle
does not stop at a point right away.

For example, when you connect a 5v battery to the voltmeter, the needle jumps past 5, then
back to 4, then 5.2 until it will settle it self at the 5v point due to not enough damping.
Look at figure (5), oscillates a lot at first (big waves), but slowly settles to the X-line.

Figure 5

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2. Critically Damped: In this situation the needle moves right away to the correct value
and stops right at the correct value without any bouncing, straight and smooth. Bring back
the 5v battery, when you connect it with it, the needle moves straight to the 5v point and
stays in there, this is the best configuration, calibration, and case. Focus on figure (6),
Fastest return to the x-line without oscillating, becomes steady.

Figure 6

3. Overdamped: At this situation, the needle moves slowly like being lazy and takes a
while to reach the correct value, you need patience for this case. Bringing back the 5v
battery, the needle crawls up slowly and finally settle at the 5v point after a few seconds
due to, too much damping. As indicated in figure (7), no oscillation, just slowly returns to
the X line, like it takes time to reach from top to bottom.

Figure 7

Damping Type Behavior of Pointer Problematic? How to Fix

Underdamped Oscillates before settles Yes Increase damping

Critically Damped Fast, smooth, no swing No Ideal state

Overdamped Very slow to reach Yes Reduce damping

Table1

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2.3. The Working Principle
The operation on a principle that when we applied voltage over the terminals, the voltage
pushes current to the coil, and you know when current flows into a wire or coil it creates
magnetic field, this coil is placed between the poles of a permanent magnet, so there is an
interaction between them because there are two magnetic fields.

Figure 8

This is shown in figure (8), the permanent magnet has (N) and (S) poles, these create fixed
magnetic field in the air gap and as we know the coil is mounted on a spindle and is free
to make rotation inside this magnetic field, its strength is depended on the material and
shape of the magnet and the air gap.

Magnetic materials and non-magnetic materials

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 ANALOGUE VOLTMETER
As the current flows into the coil, another magnetic field will be created,
and this interacts with the fixed magnetic field. These interactions create
a torque (a turning force) that causes the coil to rotate and thus the needle
moves on the printed scale. The torque is by 𝜏 = 𝑁𝐵𝐴𝐼 which (N) is the
number of turns, (B) is the magnetic flux from the permanent magnet,
(A) is the area, (I) is the current through the coil, .

Speaking of torque, we have to indicate that there are two main torques
acting, deflecting torque (𝑇𝑑 ), and controlling torque (𝑇𝑐 ), read the
table (2) that collects their info’s.

Feature Deflecting Torque (𝑻𝒅 ) Controlling Torque (𝑻𝒄 )

Cause Created by current flowing through coil Produced by the twisting of a spring

(usually a spiral spring)

formula 𝑇𝑑 = 𝑁𝐵𝐴𝐼 𝑇𝑑 𝛼 𝜃 (proportional to needle deflection

angle)

Direction Tries to rotate the needle (move it across the Opposes the motion caused by deflecting

scale) torque

Purpose To initiate movement of the needle based on To resist and control the needle's

input current/voltage movement, providing stability

Depends on Number of turns (N), Magnetic field (B) - Spring material and design

Area of coil (A) ,Current (I) - Angle of needle movement (θ)

When it acts As soon as current flows Starts acting as needle begins to deflect

Result Causes the needle to move from zero Brings the needle to a balanced final

interaction position

Final Condition Increases with increasing current Increases with needle deflection until Td =

Tc

Balance Point Causes needle to move forward Stops the needle when Td = Tc

Effect of more More current → More Td → More needle Needle moves more until Tc rises to match

voltage deflection the stronger Td

Type of force Electromagnetic force Mechanical (elastic) restoring force

Table 2

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 ANALOGUE VOLTMETER
This process chart shows how an analog voltmeter works when voltage is applied across
its terminals. Each step describes the movement of current, magnetic interaction, coil
response, damping, and final reading.

Step Action Happening Explanation / Result

1 Voltage is applied The voltmeter is connected
across two points in a circuit,
and voltage begins to flow.
2 Current flows through the coil The applied voltage causes a
small electric current to move
through the meter's coil.
3 Magnetic field interacts with The coil is inside a permanent
current magnet; current + magnet
creates a magnetic force.
4 Coil experiences torque This force creates a torque
(twisting force), causing the
coil (and pointer) to rotate.
5 Pointer starts moving As the coil turns, the attached
pointer sweeps across the scale
to show voltage value.
6 Spring resists the motion A thin spring opposes the
motion, pulling back until
balance is reached.
7 Damping slows down the Damping system (like air or
motion eddy current damping)
prevents the needle from
bouncing.
8 Pointer settles at final position When all forces balance, the
needle stops — this point
shows the correct voltage.
9 User reads the value from the You must view the needle
scale straight-on to avoid errors
(called parallax error).
Table 3

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3. TYPES OF ANALOGUE VOLTMETERS
Analogue voltmeters are using magnetic or electromagnetic factors, so voltmeters can be
classified based on output, type of voltage they measure, and their internal construction.
Focus on figure (9).

Figure 9

Among analog voltmeters, further classification is based on the working principle and
internal mechanism. These include moving-coil, moving-iron, and electrostatic voltmeters
focus on figure (10).

Figure 10

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 ANALOGUE VOLTMETER
1. Moving Coil Voltmeter
This type works on the principle of a coil suspended in a permanent magnetic field. When
current flows through the coil, it experiences a torque that causes the pointer to move. It is
used only for DC voltage. Its accuracy is very high, and it’s commonly used in laboratories
for precise measurements as indicated in figure (11).

Figure 11

2. Moving Iron Voltmeter

This voltmeter uses a soft iron piece placed in a coil. When current passes through the coil,
it magnetizes the iron and causes it to move. It works for both AC and DC. The accuracy
is moderate, and it’s typically used in general electrical testing due to its rugged design and
lower cost as indicated in figure (12).

Figure 12

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3. Electrostatic Voltmeter
This type operates using the force between electrically charged plates. It doesn’t need
current flow, just voltage. It can measure both AC and DC, especially at very high voltages.
It’s very sensitive but rarely used, mainly in laboratory high-voltage testing.

Figure 13

1. PMMC (Permanent Magnet Moving Coil) Voltmeter: This is exactly the same as the
Moving Coil voltmeter explained above. It is extremely accurate, used only for DC, and
widely applied in labs.

Figure 14

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 ANALOGUE VOLTMETER
2. Moving Iron (MI) Voltmeter: Same as already explained this is the Moving Iron type
above. It’s used for both AC and DC, less accurate, but very durable and affordable.

Figure 15

3. Electrodynamic Voltmeter: This is closely related to the Moving Coil principle, but it
has two coils one fixed and one moving both carrying current. It can measure both AC
and DC, and is more precise than Moving Iron but more expensive and delicate.

Figure 16

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4. Rectifier Type Voltmeter: This is a modified Moving Coil (PMMC) voltmeter designed
to measure AC voltage. It uses a rectifier to convert AC to DC before feeding it to the
moving coil system. It allows a PMMC to be used for AC, but the accuracy decreases with
frequency.

Figure 17

5. Induction Type Voltmeter: This voltmeter works only with AC. It operates on the
principle of electromagnetic induction, like AC motors. It’s less accurate and mainly used
in older or industrial AC measuring devices, like analog energy meters.

Figure 18

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The Discussion

Seriously with all the digital meters we have now, why are people still using
analogue voltmeters?

Because they’re super reliable. Analogue meters don’t need any power or
batteries. You just connect them and they work even during power cuts or in
places where there’s no electricity at all.

They’re also better at showing voltage that’s changing. When the voltage goes
up or down, you can see the needle move smoothly. Digital meters just jump
from number to number, which can be hard to follow, especially if the voltage
isn’t steady.

They’re also better at showing voltage that’s changing. When the voltage goes
up or down, you can see the needle move smoothly. Digital meters just jump
from number to number, which can be hard to follow, especially if the voltage
isn’t steady.

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4. APPLICATION
For sure we use voltmeters for measuring voltage across an element, or testing batteries,
but if we think out of the picture, we will find out that analogue voltmeters often used for
continuous monitoring in places where a quick visual check is needed with needing a
person to press button or navigating menus.

Figure 19

1. Monitoring Voltage in Electrical Panels: In places like factories, commercial

buildings or industrial control panels, we often see analogue voltmeter mounted on
the electrical board to let the workers or engineers visually detect and prevent
overvoltage or undervoltage or a quick change in volts.

Figure 20

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2. Monitoring Voltage in transformers: Always can be found in the neighbors, below
the transformers is its control panel which you can find analogue voltmeters which
the technicians use this to check the health of the power system to ensure safe
delivery to the houses.

5. LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Figure 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Figure 3 ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Figure 4 ................................................................................................................................................. 5
Figure 5 ................................................................................................................................................. 6
Figure 6 ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 7 ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 8 ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Figure 9 ................................................................................................................................................11
Figure 10...............................................................................................................................................11
Figure 11...............................................................................................................................................12
Figure 12...............................................................................................................................................12
Figure 13...............................................................................................................................................13
Figure 14...............................................................................................................................................13
Figure 15...............................................................................................................................................14
Figure 16...............................................................................................................................................14
Figure 17...............................................................................................................................................15
Figure 18...............................................................................................................................................15
Figure 19...............................................................................................................................................17
Figure 20...............................................................................................................................................17

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