CONTENTS : INTRODUCTION TO Q-METER WHAT IS Q-FACTOR ?

? OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF Q-METER CONSTRUCTION OF Q-METER OPERATION OF Q-METER APPLICATIONOF Q-METER MERIT AND DEMERIT OF Q-METER REFERENCES CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

A Q meter is a part of laboratory equipment employed in the testing of radio frequency circuits It was invented by William D Loughlin at Boonton Radio Corporation in Boonton,New Jersey in 1934. It measures the Q-factor(Q stands for quality) of a circuit Q-factor of a non-ideal circuit determines the amount of energy dissipated per cycle It determines the Q-value of radio frequency circuit directly

WHAT IS Q-FACTOR ?
Q-factor of a circuit is defined as

General: Q=2Peak energy stored/Energy dissipated per cycle Inductors : Q=L/R Capacitors : Q=1/CR LC band pass filters :Q=fc/BW ,where f is the central frequency It is a dimensionless parameter that describes how underdamped an oscillator is , or equivalently, characterizes a resonator's bandwith relative to its center frequency.[2] Higher Q indicates a lower rate of energy loss relative to the stored energy of the oscillator; the oscillations die out more slowly
c

OPERATING PRINCIPLE

It operates on the principle of series resonance i.e. at resonate condition of an ac series circuit voltage across the capacitor is equal to the applied voltage times of Q of the circuit. If the voltage applied across the circuit is kept-constant then voltmeter connected across the capacitor can be calibrated to indicate Q directly.

CONSTRUCTION

A Q-meter consists of a self-contained variable frequency RF oscillator.The oscillator delivers current to a low value resistance R1 Through R1,a small voltage V1 is injected into the resonant circuit ,which in turn is measured by a thermocouple voltmeter A standard variable capacitor,C2 is employed for resonating the circuit The coil under test is applied across the terminals T1 and T2

OPERATION
By definition Q-factor of the coil, Q = XL / R And when the circuit is under resonance condition XL = XC Or IXL = IXC = VC And the voltage applied to the circuit. V1 = IR So, Q = XL / R = IXL /IR = V2/ V1 or, V2=Q.V1

APPLICATION:

Measurement of Q : The value of Q is obtained directly from V2=Q.V1 Measurement of L: L=1/4^2fc^2 Measurement of R(referred above as R2) R=L/Q Measurement of self capacitance : f=1/2 L(C2+C1) f=1/2 L(C2+C1) C1=C2-4C2/3
true

MERIT

It measures the Q-value of a resonating circuit directly sans determining the value of R Q value range could be automatically or manually controlled.

DEMERIT

The value of Q measured is less than the true value Qtrue=Qmeasured(1+R1/R2) It is inefficient ,meaning its efficiency is low

REFERENCES: Slide 3,4- http.://wikipedia.org/wiki/Q meter,08:10 PM 22 Feb,2012 Slide 5,7-circuitstoday.com/q-meter, meter,08:10 PM 22 Feb,2012 Slide 6,8,9-A Course in Electrical and Electronics Measurements and Instrumentation by A.K. Sawhney,Dhanpat Rai & Co. Publication,18th edition,ISBN:81-7700-016-0

CONCLUSION

In fact,Q-meter had been a vital measuring instrument in the laboratory It has been replaced by more exotic (and more expensive) impedance measuring devices

Thank you