Test and Measurement Equipments


Introduction To Test and Measurement 

Measurement generally involves an instrument as a physical means to determine a quantity or a variable. The instrument serves as an extension to the human senses and enables the designer to determine the value of an unknown quantity which the unaided human cannot measure. In short, an instrument is a device to determine the value or magnitude of a quantity or variable.





Typical measuring instruments that are widely used in electronics project design are oscilloscope, multimeters, logic analyzers,curve tracers and spectrum analyzers.

Test and measurement equipment are generally used to simulate the actual inputs to a system or device under test. These test equipment will enable the designer to test the simulated real life condition. Typical test equipment that are used in the electronics design are function generators, signal generators, RF amplifier and a host of other specialized equipment.

Some of the common equipment that are used are listed below.


Logic Analyzer 
In the process of debugging and doing validation in a digital system, one of the common task a designer need to do is the acquisition of digital waveform using the logic analyzer.


Spectrum Analyzer 
The spectrum analyzer can be described as a frequency- selective, peak-responding voltmeter calibrated to display the rms value of a sine wave.The oscilloscope plots the amplitude in the time domain whereas the spectrum analyzer plots the amplitude in the frequency domain.


Audio and RF Signal Generator 
The generation of signals is an important development in the troubleshooting and development of electronic design. The signal generator is used to provide known test conditions for the performance evaluation of electronic system design.


Multimeter 
A multimeter is an indispensable tool used to make various electrical measurements of which we are not able to see with our naked eyes without the aid of this valuable tool. This should be the first equipment that a beginner to electronics must have.


Oscilloscope 
The oscilloscope is a graph displaying device that display the electrical signal based on the input to its probes. It shows in real time how signals change over time. Usually the Y axis represents the voltage and the X axis time.


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