Experiment12:CalibratingASoundCardOscilloscope Developers RBLineberry,RFCooper,WCHeadley,WDShumate,RWHendricks,CShek,KMeehan

Objective

TheobjectiveofthisexperimentistobuildandcalibratetwoinputportsforaZeitnitz dualtracesoundcardoscilloscopethatwillbehaveasphysical1xand10xinputsand willprovidecalibratedvoltagesthatmaybereadfromtheoscilloscopescreen.

Estimated Timefor Completion

Preparation Ifyouarenotfamiliarwiththefeaturesandoperationofanoscilloscope,readthe excellenttutorialprovidedbyTektronix(2001).ReadSection2.6ofthismanual,which describestheZeitnitzsoundcardoscilloscopeandtheZeitnitzinstallationmanual (Zeitnitz2008a).TheBehringerUCA202(Behringer)manualcanbeobtainedthrough www.behringer.comwithvaluablesupportinformation. Note:ThisexperimentdoesnotneedtobeperformedifyouareusingeitheraUSB oscilloscopesuchastheonesfromParallax,PicoTechnology,orUSBInstruments,or anytruehardwareoscilloscope.

Background LowcostsoftwareoscilloscopesthatinterfacetothephysicalworldviaaPCsoundcard
mustbecalibratedifoneistomakeaccuratevoltagemeasurementsfromthe oscilloscopescreenbecauseoftheunknowngainofthesoundcardhardware.A complicatingfactorresultsfromthechangeingain,whichisanoutcomefromchanges inthevolumesettingofthesoundcard.Anotherconsiderationisthemaximumvoltage thatmaybeappliedtoasoundcardinputbeforeitbecomesnonlinearorperhaps evensaturates.Ourexperiencehasshownthatthemaximumvoltagethatshouldbe appliedtotheinputoftheUCA202soundcardis0.9volts,peaktopeak. Theprobesforrealoscilloscopesusuallyhaveboth1xand10xattenuatorsbuiltin. Theseprobesaredesignedtoreduce(attenuate)theinputsignaltovaluessmall enoughsothattheydonotsaturatethefrontendelectronicsoftheoscilloscope.There arenosuchattenuatorsavailabletopurchaseforasoftwareoscilloscopethatusesa soundcardasthefrontend.Thus,ifoneexpectssignalsabove1V,thenitisnecessary tobuild(andcalibrate)1xand10xattenuatorstowhichthesoundcardinputswillbe 1

attached.Then,thenodeofthecircuittobemeasuredmaybeconnectedtothe attenuator.Asanaddedcomplication,realoscilloscopeprobeshaveveryhighinput impedances(>1M).Thesimplestpossibleattenuatorisavoltagedividernetwork. But,suchnetworksgenerallyhavelowinputimpedancesandwillthusloadthenetwork undertest.Toalleviatethisproblem,anoninvertingopampwillbeinstalledtobuffer theinputsignalsandprovidethenecessaryhighinputimpedancetotheattenuator network. Thecalibrationprocedureconsistsofthefollowingsteps: 1. Determinethegainofthehardwareatafixed,andreproducible,volumelevel ofthesoundcard. 2. Designacircuitthatsimultaneouslyprovidesforboththe1xand10xinputs,but providesaninputimpedanceof>1M. 3. Buildthenetworkinsuchawaythatitmaybekeptpermanentlyonthe breadboardandbeavailableforuseinmanydifferentexperiments. TherecommendedhardwareandsoftwarefortheLabinaBoxconsistsofa BehringerUCA202externalUSBsoundcardastheinterfacebetweentheANDYboard andasoftwareoscilloscopeprovidedbyChristianZeitnitzoftheJohannesGutenburg UniversittMainz(Zeitnitz2008b).AfterinstallingtheZeitnitzsoftwareandsettingthe softwarevolumegaintoitsmaximumvalue,aprecisionvoltagesourcewasusedto determinethatthishardware/softwarecombinationhadagainof2.18.Atruevoltage of1.00VontheANDYboard,asgeneratedbytheknownsource,producesasignalwith areadingof2.18Vontheoscilloscopescreen.Thus,theinputsignalmustbe attenuated.Toeasilyincorporateboththe1xand10xrangesinthecircuit,wedesigna circuitasshowninFigure1.Aftercalculatingtheresistorvalues,someminor adjustmentswerenecessarytoproducethedesiredsystemgain.Inparticular,higher resistorvaluesinteractedwiththeUCA202.Notethecombinationofresistorshasbeen selectedsothateveryresistorneededisavailableinthestandardresistorkit(See AppendixA).Ifadifferentsoundcardisused,itwillbenecessarytomeasurethegain forthatsystemandadjustthevoltagedividernetworksaccordingly.

Figure1:BlockDiagramof1xand10xattenuatorresistornetworks.

References

Materials and Supplies

TektronixInc.(2001).XYZsofOscilloscopes. (searchhttp://www.tek.com/forXYZsofOscilloscopes) Zeitnitz,C.(2008a).ManualfortheSoundCardOscilloscopeV1.24 (http://zeitnitz.de/Christian/Scope/Scope_en.html) Zeitnitz,C.(2008b).(http://zeitnitz.de/Christian/Scope/Scope_en.html) Behringer(http://www.behringer.com) Thepartsandcomponentsrequiredtoperformthiscalibrationare: 1eaANDYboard Breadboardwireandstrippers 1eaBehringerUCA202USBsoundcardorequivalent,withstereolineinput 1eaadapter,3.5mmstereojackto2RCAplugs 1eastereoshieldedcable,3.5mmplugtostrippedandtinnedleads 1eaZeitnitzoscilloscopesoftware.DownloadtheZeitnitzsoftwarefromthe textWWWsitefoundat(http://www.wiley.com/college/Hendricks) 8ea1Mresistors 2ea18kresistors 2ea2.2kresistors 2ea1.2kresistors 2ea1.0kresistors 2eaLF356opamps 2SPDTslideswitch,compatiblewithbreadboardsockets 1eaRSRMY64MultimeterorequivalenttomeasureRMSACvoltsat60Hz. 3

Procedure

Youmusthaveafreshalkalinebatteryinyourmetertoaccuratelycalibrateyour circuit. UCA202Installation: 1. InserttheUCA202USBcableintooneofyourcomputersUSBjacks. 2. IfyouarerunningMSWindowsXPorVista,thecomputershouldimmediately recognizethehardwareasasoundcardbyshowingpopupsindicatingSound, Video,GameControllersUSBAudioDevice.OtherWindowsoperating systemsmaygivedifferentmessages.SeetheBehringersupportpagefor additionalinstructions(Behringer).

ZeitnitzSoftwareInstallation: 1. DownloadtheZeitnitzsoftwarefromthetextwebpage(seeMaterialsand Supplies)intoanempty,temporaryfolder. 2. Unzipthedownloadedfileandrunsetup.exe(rightclickandRunas administratorwheninstallinginMicrosoftVista). 3. Whentheinstallationisfinished,youmaydeletethetemporaryfolderandthen opentheprogram.TheprogramcanbefoundundertheStartmenubygoingto AllPrograms>Scope>Scope. 4. WhentheprogramhasbeenopenedandyouhavepressedCloseatthe disclaimerscreen,gototheExtrastabandmakesurethatundertheheading AudioDevicestheinputindicatesUSBAudioCODEC.Ifitdoesnot,seethe ZeitnitzUserManual(Zeitnitz2008a)fordetailsonmakingthisconnection. 5. WhilestillintheExtrastab,clickontheInputbuttonthatcanbefound undertheheadingOpenAudioMixer.ThiswillopentheSoundwindow. 6. WhileintheRecordingtab,clicktheMicrophonewiththeUSBAudio CODECasthesubtitle.AfterwardsclickthePropertiesbuttonlocatedatthe bottomrightcornertoopentheMicrophonePropertieswindow. 7. WhileintheMicrophonePropertieswindow,clickontheLevelstaband movethesliderto100%andclickOK.(Note:Donotchangethissettingonce thecalibrationiscompleted.) 8. ChoosetheAdvancedtabandforDefaultFormat,select2channel,16bit, 44100Hz(CDQuality).OKtocloseallsoundpropertieswindows. 9. Sometimes,theTriggerindicatorwillstopflashing,eventhoughtheother controlsseemtofunction.RotatetheTimeknob,untilthetriggerindicator beginstoflash.ThenreadjusttheTimecontrol.

InitialCalibrationoftheAttenuatorCircuit: 1. BuildthecircuitshowninFigure1intheupperrighthandcorneroftheANDY board.AphotoofonesuchimplementationisshowninFigure2.Itis convenienttobuildtheChannel1attenuatorwithgreenwiresandtheChannel 4

2attenuatorwithredwiresasshowninFigure2,thusmakingthecolorcoding matchthecolorsofthetracesshownontheoscilloscopescreen.Notethat Channel1hasbeenbuilttotheleftofChannel2tomakeiteasiertoremember whichchanneliswhich.RemembertoconnecttheANDYpowersuppliesand groundtothebreadboardbusses. 2. Attachthestereocabletotheresistordividernetwork,pluggingthestripped andtinnedleadsintothebreadboardasindicatedinFigures1and2.Notethat thelarger,blackwireistheground,whilethesmallerredwireisChannel1and thesmallerblackwireisChannel2.Ifyourcableshaveadifferentcolorcode, experimentallydeterminewhichcolorwirecorrespondstowhichChannel.Note thattheUCA202inputsareRCAjacks,soweneeda3.5mmstereojackto2 RCAplugsadapter(seeFigure3). (a)ForeachChannelsattenuatorcircuit,slidingaswitchlevertoitsleft position(showninFigure2)provides1xattenuationandslidingittotheright positiongives10xattenuation.

Figure2:ImplementationofattenuatorcircuitontheANDYboard.

3. InsertthestereocableplugintotheRCAadapterjack.InserttheRCAplugsinto theUCA202LandRinputjacks(seeFigure3). 4. Connectthetwoattenuatorinputstogether,asshowninFigure2. 5. Setbothsetsofattenuatorcircuitjumpersfor1x.Referto2(a),above. 5

6. ConnectawirefromtheANDYboardGENoutputtotheattenuatorinputs.The GENcircuitsharesacommongroundwiththeattenuatorcircuit.

Figure3:ConnectingcablestotheUCA202

7. AdjustthefunctiongeneratorontheANDYboardasfollows: AMPLITUDE,FREQandFINEFRQcontrolsfullycounterclockwise SHAPEswitchintheSINposition OFFSETSWsettoOFF

8. ApplypowertotheANDYboard. 9. ConnecttheRSRMY64multimeter(inthe2V~[AC]position)toeach attenuatorinputandground(seeFigure2),andadjusttheANDYGEN AMPLITUDEtrimpotuntiltheattenuatorinputisbetween0.740and0.745volts RMS.AdjusttheANDYAMPLITUDEtrimpot,andremoveyourfingersbefore measuring,toavoiddisturbingthetrimpotsetting.Recordthisvalueforfuture calculations. 10. UsingtheRSRMY64multimeter,measuretheoutputofeachoftheLF356op amps(pin6),toinsurethattheoutputvoltageequalsthevoltageattheinput resistor(eachopampcircuithasagainof1.0).Theremaybeaslightvariation, duetocomponenttolerances. 11. ReturntotheZeitnitzSoundcardOscilloscopewindowandgotothe Oscilloscopetab. 6

12. MovetheTime[msec]knobtoobtainarangeof20msintheoscilloscope window.Youmayalsotypein20<enter>inthetextboxlocateddirectly belowtheknob. 13. MovetheAmplitudeknobtoobtainarangeof0.1V/Divintheoscilloscope window.Youmayalsotype.1<enter>inthetextboxlocateddirectlybelow theknob. 14. SettheChannel2attenuatorto1xandsettheleftattenuatorfor10x(Referto 2(a),above).Theresultingwaveform,displayedintheZeitnitzOscilloscopetab, shouldlooklikefigure4.Ifyourwaveformisnotsimilar,checkyourcircuitfor wiringerrorsandretraceyourstepsinthisexperiment.Ifyoustillcantfindthe problem,consultwithyourteachingassistantorinstructor.

Figure4:Initialcalibrationwaveform 15. Changetheleftattenuatorto1xandtherightattenuatorto10x.Theresultant waveformshouldlooklikeFigure5.

Figure5:Usingvoltagecursorstodisplaypeaktopeakvoltage. 16. IntheZeitnitzwindow,setCursortovolt.Usingtheleftmousebuttondrag theuppercursortothetopofthelargerwaveform.Dragthelowercursorto thebottomofthelargerwaveform.SeeFigure5.TheAmplitudewindows showthevaluesofeachcursorandthedAwindowshowsthedifference betweenthecursorsvalues.Inthisexample,theMY64measured0.741volts RMS,attheopampoutput,andtheattenuator+UCA202+Zeitnitz combinationindicates1.975voltspeaktopeak.Wewouldexpecttosee (0.741)*(2.8[PPconversion])=2.10,sowehaveanerrorof5%,whichis reasonable,givencomponentandhumanerrors. 17. ChangetheCursorsettingtotime.Adjustthecursorstomeasureone completeperiod.Usingthezerocrossingsisconvenient.Inthisexample,shown inFigure6,dT(deltatime)is13.909msandf(frequency)is71.893Hz.Each ANDYboardwillhavecomponentvariations,whichwillaffectthelowest frequencyproducedbythefunctiongenerator.

 Figure6:Usingtimecursorstodisplayfrequency.

Figure7:UsingFrequencyAnalysisformainfrequencyandharmonics. 9

18. SelecttheFrequencyAnalysistablocatedabovetheoscilloscopewindow. Chooseazoomof5andmovetheoriginslider(justbelowandtotherightof theFrequencyaxis)toresettheorigintozero.SeeFigure7.Thecursorwas movedtomeasureaslightenergypeakatthethirdharmonic. 1. Besureyouhavesuccessfullyperformedtheinitialcalibration,described above. 2. ReturntotheZeitnitzOscilloscopetab. 3. Checkthatbothattenuatorsinputsareconnectedtogether.TheANDYGEN outputshouldstillbeapproximately0.740voltsRMSsinewave.Connectthe GENoutputtobothattenuatorinputs. 4. Setbothattenuatorstothe10xposition.Thewaveformamplitudeshouldbe smallintheOscilloscopewindow. 5. ChangetheZeitnitzAmplitudecontrolto0.01.Youmaymovetheknob, highlightandtype,orusethearrows.Bothwaveformsshouldnowfillthe Oscilloscopewindow. 6. Usethevoltagecursorstomeasurethepeaktopeakvoltage.Inthisexample, wemeasure0.1975,multipliedby10,becauseweareusingthe10xattenuator circuit.Thisisabout1.975volts,whichiswithinexperimentalerrorofthe expected2.00volts.SeeFigure8.

Calibrating the10x Attenuator:

Figure8:Usingvoltagecursorstomeasure1.975voltspeaktopeakinthe10xmode. 10

7. ChangetheZeitnitzAmplitudeto0.2voltsperdivision.Thewaveformswill becomesmaller. 8. Highlightthegreen(Channel1)offsetcontrolandtype0.3<enter>.Highlight thered(Channel)offsetcontrolandtypeminus0.3<enter>.Dragthetrigger cursor(+)totheupper,greenwaveformsintheOscilloscopewindow. 9. SlowlyincreasetheANDYGENoutput,usingtheANDYAmplitudetrimpot, whilewatchingthewaveformsintheOscilloscopewindow. 10. UsethevoltagecursorstomeasurethemaximumoutputoftheANDYGENsine waveoutputintoa1.0Mohmload.SeeFigure9.Sinceweareusingthe10x attenuator,multiplythemeasuredvoltage,dA,by10toobtain9.60voltspeak topeak.

Figure9:MaximumsinewaveGENoutputinto10xattenuator. 11. UsingtheMY64multimeter,onthe20V~ACscale,measuretheGENoutput voltage.Inthisexample,wemeasured3.60voltsRMS(10.08VPP).TheZeitnitz displays0.9604.Sinceweareusingthe10xattenuator,multiplyby10,toobtain 9.60voltspeaktopeak,whichisveryclosetothe attenuator+UCA202+Zeitnitzvalue. 12. SincetheUCA202isACcoupled,theANDYfunctiongeneratoroffsetcannotbe measured.Atlowfrequencies,theUCA202inputtimeconstantsignificantly distortsasquarewave.At1.0KHz,theattenuator+UCA202+Zeitnitzdisplaysa 11

reasonablesquarewave.SeeFigure10.

Figure10:1.0KHzsquarewaveatmaximumGENoutputintothe10xattenuator 13. Toproducethisfigure,severaltrickswereused: LastRevision Rev5.17/21/2008 TheAmplitudewassetto0.2voltsperdivisionbyhighlightingthe Amplitudefieldandtyping0.2. TheRun/Stopbuttonwasstoppedtomoreaccuratelyplacethevoltage cursors. TheOffsetswereadjustedtofillthedisplaywindow.

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