Lab 2 Report

Introduction to NI Elvis Environment

Kevin Bradshaw & Yuan Tian
ECEN 325-503
Instructor: Sebastian Hoyos
September 16, 2015
Items
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Pre-lab
Title Page
Intro /Theory / Procedure
Summary
Experimental Results /
Analysis / Discussion
Problems Encountered
Conclusion
Questions
Total

Grade Assigned
20%
5%
10%
40%
5%
5%
15%
100%

Student's Grade

Objectives

Understand how the NI Elvis Environment can be used for different

types of design and basic operations.
Evaluate the use of NI Elvis Software Environment as a replacement for
the use of external measurement tools.
Analyze RC high pass filters and compare the characteristics of the
circuit to the RC low pass filters built in Lab 1.

Procedure
Part A: Measuring Component Values using the NI Elvis Digital Multimeter
The first part of this lab consisted of measuring the actual values of a resistor
and a capacitor. This was done in order to understand how to safely use the
NI Elvis Workstation. After powering on the workstation and connecting a
1k resistor to the breadboard in it's appropriate position, the NI Digital
Multimeter (DMM) was used to obtain an actual value of 9.887 k.
Afterwards, a 47 nF capacitor was connected to the breadboard and had an
actual measurement value of 46.7 nF. Since the measurements of the
resistor and the capacitor were similar to the printed values, this showed
how to properly use the workstation and software library correctly.
Part B: Analog RC Filter Analysis using the Function Generator and
Oscilloscope
Using the low pass filter from Lab 1, this part of the lab focused on the visible
characteristics seen from the oscilloscope measurements. These
observations consisted of a sine wave generated at 100 Hz from the digital
function generator. All the same functions from the physical oscilloscope
from Lab 1 were also available on the digital oscilloscope. The digital
oscilloscope was much easier to use though because of the interactive
interface. Figure 1 shows the input response to the RC low pass filter on the
oscilloscope and Figure 2 shows both the input and output responses. The
output response was at the cutoff frequency, 3.3 kHz, in order to show the
attenuation effect of the filter. Cursors could also be used to measure the
peak-to-peak values of each sinusoidal signal. This demonstrated the ability
to obtain the phase shift and bandwidth information. Since the observations
from the digital oscilloscope were similar to the measurements obtained from
the physical oscilloscope from Lab 1, this showed how to properly use some
of the basic operations of the NI software.

Figure 1Low Pass Filter Input

Figure 2: Low Pass Filter Output Response at Cutoff Frequency

Part C: Analog RC filter analysis using the Bode Analyzer

Bode plots were also introduced in Lab 1 with both hand and simulated plots
(using PSpice Schematics). In this part of the lab, the NI Elvis bode analyzer
was used to obtain the practical plot from the actual filter built. Of all three
types of plots, this plot would be the most ideal and accurate compared to

the other two from Lab 1. This is because the RC low pass filter was
physically built and the frequency response could be tested to a generated
signal. After the magnitude and phase plots were generated, the cutoff
frequency (-3dB) could easily be determined. Since the bode plots of this low
pass filter were similar to the bode plots of Lab 1, this showed how to
properly use another type of analyzer on the NI Elvis software.
Figure 3: Magnitude and Phase Response of Low Pass Filter

Part D: RC filter characterization using NI Elvis Software

The last part of this lab consisted of building the second order RC low pass
circuit from lab 1 and obtaining the bode plots from the NI Elvis software.
Figure 4 shows the frequency response of this circuit. Afterwards, the first
order RC high pass filter from Pre-lab 2 was built using a 1k resistor and a
47 nF capacitor. Figure 5 shows the frequency response of this circuit. The
components used in both circuits are listed in Table 1. Since all the bode
plots observed seemed to be consistent compared to what's been calculated

from the transfer functions in the pre-labs, this showed how to properly
analyze different types of RC filters for practical applications.
Figure 4: Magnitude and Phase Response of Second Order Low Pass Filter

Figure 5: Magnitude and phase Response of High Pass Filter

Data Tables
Table 1: Circuit Component Values
Resistor 1 ()

Resistor 2 ()

1,000
2,000

First Order
High Pass
Second Order
Low Pass

Capacitor 1
(nF)
47

Capacitor 2
(nF)
X

96,000

47

47

Applicable Calculations
1.

First Order LPF Transfer Function H a ( s )=

1
R 1 C 1 s+1

1
Second
Order
LPF
Transfer
Function
H
(
s
)
=
a
2.
(R1 C 1 s+1)(R2 C2 +1)

3.

V
V
out

Gain=

4.

Decibel=20log 10 (

V out
)
V

Discussion
1. NI Elvis Workstation and Software:
The NI Elvis Workstation contains a large space for circuit design with a
prototyping board, a multifunction data acquisition device, and
LabVIEW based virtual instruments. In this lab, there were four main
operations used in order to analyze the circuits built:
Digital Multimeter: Measured actual values of resistance
and capacitance.
Function Generator: Generated a sinusoidal wave at
different input frequencies.
Oscilloscope: Measured input and output frequency
responses of the circuits.
Bode Analyzer: Measured magnitude and phase responses
according to the frequency.

All of these modes of measurement were very reliable and have great
usability in circuit design.
2. Frequency Response obtained from Circuits:
The second order low pass filter has a transfer function with two poles.
Both poles have the same pole frequency formula, 1/RC, but since
different resistors are used on the circuit, the two poles have different
values along the frequency axis. On the magnitude bode plot, the first
pole occurs at a little less than 100 Hz and the second pole occurs
close to 500 Hz. On the phase plot, since there are two poles, the
phase drops close to
-90 degrees.
The first order high pass filter has a transfer function with one pole and
one zero. The pole frequency is also at 1/RC. On the magnitude plot,
the zero is located at the origin and the pole is located at nearly 3,000
Hz. On the phase plot, since there is only one pole, the phase drops
close to -45 degrees.
3. Plotting differences between traditional and modern measurement
techniques:
The frequency response plots obtained from the NI Elvis software was
much more accurate and precise because of the digital aspects to it.
It's accurate, because of the similarities to the hand drawn and
simulated plots from Lab 2. It's precise because it has a high sampling
frequency. The bode plots from the NI Elvis software were much easier
to construct because of the user-friendly interface it provides. This
interface allows the user to change various parameters including start
frequency, stop frequency, steps, and the peak amplitude. This
software also allows for direct gain measurements in decibels by using
the cursors provided.
4. Differences between first order low pass and high pass filters:
Low pass filters are used for attenuating high frequency signals and
allowing only low frequency signals to pass. High pass filters are used
for attenuating low frequency signals and allowing only high frequency
signals to pass. When the magnitude at varying frequencies of a low
pass filter is plotted, it can be seen that as the frequency increases,
the magnitude decreases. It only starts to decrease after it's
appropriate cutoff frequency. Before the cutoff frequency, the signal
has its peak magnitude with no attenuation. When the magnitude at
varying frequencies of a high pass filter is plotted, it can be seen that
as the frequency increases, the magnitude increases. The increase
stops at it's appropriate cutoff frequency and flat lines at its peak
magnitude with no attenuation.

Problems Encountered
The only problem encountered was that at first, we didn't know which
resistors go to the particular section of the second order low pass filter
circuit. If the resistors were flipped, the bode plots would reflect a different
response to the system. In order to fix this, we compared our results from
both circuits and used the response that correlated with the calculated
results.
Conclusion
First order filters have either a consistent drop or rise in magnitude and
phase shift. This results in an attenuation of plus or minus 20 decibels per
decade. First order bandwidths are characterized by the pass bands
occurring only after the cutoff frequency for high pass filters and before the
cutoff frequency for low pass filters. These bandwidths can be manipulated
by the resistor and capacitor values used in the circuit.
In this lab, we also constructed second order filters with two resistors and
two capacitors, which resulted in two poles and one zero. This unique aspect
of second order filters allows the range of its transition band to be smaller
than using first order filters. This is useful because then the rate of increase
or decrease for second order filters can be drawn out for longer transition
bands. The second order filters can also provide a larger phase shift to the
input signals.
The NI Elvis workstation and software allowed for a much more clear way of
observing these different types of filters. This lab completed our
understanding of analyzing filters in order to understand the practical uses of
these circuit designs. This will be useful in the following labs when using this
workstation for more complex designs that will include a variety of electrical
engineering building blocks that incorporate analog filters.