Department of Electrical Engineering

The University of Faisalabad, Faisalabad

Program: Bachelor of Electrical Engineering Semester: II

Subject: EE-121 (Linear Circuit Analysis) Date:

Lab No 1: LAB EQUIPMENT AND ESSENTIAL SOFTWARE PACKAGES

Objectives:
 To understand about the basic lab equipment and their usage.
 Overview and introduction to Proteus and MultiSim.

Name: Muhammad Saad Roll No: BEE-FA19-010

Rubrics
Performance Lab Report

Description Total Obtained Description Total Obtained

Marks Marks Marks Marks
Experiment 10 Organization/ 05
Related Structure
knowledge
Data Analysis 10 Data 05
Presentation
Total Marks Total Marks
Obtained Obtained

Remarks(if any):- ____________________________

Signature:-__________________________________
 Department of Electrical Engineering
The University of Faisalabad, Faisalabad

APPARATUS/COMPONENTS REQUIRED:

1. BASIC TRAINER (DEV-2769) 

2. BREADBOARD
3. MULTIMETER
4. FUNCTION GENERATOR

THEORY:

BASIC TRAINER:
The DEV-2769 Basic Trainer is a versatile Training Kit and is designed
such that all the basic electrical circuits can be tested with the help of this trainer kit. The
experiments given with this will develop the students’ abilities starting from an introduction to
circuits such as series and parallel circuits with AC and DC circuits, RC, RL and RLC circuits
and verification of different theorems etc. This  simple  training  kit  provide  a  strong 
operation  for  future  studies  in electrical or electronics. It is self contained trainer including DC
regulated and AC Power Supplies and High quality Breadboard.
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BREADBOARD:
A breadboard is a construction base for a one-of-a-kind electronic circuit, a
prototype. In modern times the term is commonly used to refer to a particular type of breadboard,
the solder less breadboard. Because the solder less breadboard does not require soldering, it is
reusable, and thus can be used for temporary prototypes and experimenting with circuit design
more easily.
A breadboard is used to build and test circuits quickly before finalizing any circuit design. The
breadboard has many holes into which circuit components like ICs and resistors can be inserted.
The top and bottom rows of holes are connected horizontally while the remaining holes are
connected vertically. To use the bread board, the legs of components are placed in the holes. 
Each set of holes connected by a metal strip underneath forms a node. A node is a point in a
circuit where two components are connected.  Connections between different components are
formed by putting their legs in a common node.   The long top and bottom row of holes are
usually used for power supply connections. The rest of the circuit is built by placing components
and connecting them together with jumper wires.

BREADBOARDING TIPS: 
It is important to breadboard a circuit neatly and systematically, so that
one can debug it and get it running easily and quickly.  It also helps when someone else needs to
understand and inspect the circuit.  Here are some tips: 
 Always use the side-lines for power supply connections. Power the chips from the side-lines
and not directly from the power supply.  
 Use black wires for ground connections (0V), and red for other power connections. 
 Keep the jumper wires on the board flat, so that the board does not look cluttered. 
 Route jumper wires around the chips and not over the chips. This makes changing the chips
when needed easier. 
 You could trim the legs of components like resistors, transistors and LEDs, so that they fit in
snugly and do not get pulled out by accident.  

MULTIMETER
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A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a volt/ohm

meter or VOM, is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement
functions in one unit. A typical multimeter may include features such as the ability to measure
voltage, current and resistance. Multimeters may use analog or digital circuits—analog
multimeters and digital multimeters (often abbreviated DMM or DVOM.) Analog instruments
are usually based on a micro ammeter whose pointer moves over a scale calibration for all the
different measurements that can be made; digital instruments usually display digits, but may
display a bar of a length proportional to the quantity measured. A multimeter can be a hand-held
device useful for basic fault finding and field service work or a bench instrument which can
measure to a very high degree of accuracy. They can be used to troubleshoot electrical problems
in a wide array of industrial and household devices such as electronic equipment, motor controls,
domestic appliances, power supplies, and wiring systems.

FUNCTION GENERATOR
A function generator is usually a piece of electronic test
equipment or software used to generate different types of electrical waveforms over a wide range
of frequencies. Function generators are used in the development, test and repair of electronic
equipment. For example, they may be used as a signal source to test amplifiers or to introduce an
error signal into a control loop. Function generators are primarily used for working with analog
circuits, related pulse generators are primarily used for working with digital circuits. A typical
function generator can provide frequencies up to 20 MHz. RF generators for higher frequencies
are not function generators in the strict sense since they typically produce pure or modulated sine
signals only.

Function generators, like most signal generators, may also contain an attenuator, various means
of modulating the output waveform, and often the ability to automatically and repetitively
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"sweep" the frequency of the output waveform (by means of a voltage-

controlled oscillator) between two operator-determined limits. This capability makes it very easy
to evaluate the frequency response of a given electronic circuit.
 Some function generators can also generate white or pink noise.[citation needed]
More advanced function generators are called arbitrary waveform generators (AWG). They
use direct digital synthesis (DDS) techniques to generate any waveform that can be described by
a table of amplitudes.

                   
INTRODUCTION TO PROTEUS
1. Proteus Virtual System Modeling (VSM)
Proteus Virtual System Modeling (VSM) software offers the ability to co-simulate both high and
low-level micro-controller code in the context of a mixed-mode SPICE circuit simulation. It
combines mixed mode SPICE circuit simulation, animated components and microprocessor
models to facilitate co-simulation of complete micro-controller based designs.With VSM, it is
possible to develop and test such designs before a physical prototype is constructed. The
designer can interact with the design using on screen indicators such as LED and LCD displays
and actuators such as switches and buttons. The simulation takes place in real time, e.g., a
1GMHz Pentium III can simulate a basic 8051 system clocking at over 12MHz. Proteus VSM
also provides extensive debugging facilities including breakpoints, single stepping and variable
display for both assembly code and high level language source.

2. Schematic Entry
Proteus VSM uses ISIS schematic capture software to provide the environment for design entry
and development. The ISIS software combines ease of use with powerful editing tools.It is
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capable of supporting schematic capture for both simulation and PCB design.
Designs entered in to Proteus VSM for testing can be net-listed for PCB layout either with
Proteus. PCB Design products or with third party PCB layout tools. ISIS also provides a very
high degree of control over the drawing appearance, in terms of line widths, fill styles, fonts, etc.
These capabilities are used to provide the graphics necessary for circuit animation.
3. Circuit Simulation:
The Proteus VSM includes the ProSPICE which is an established product that combines uses a
SPICE3f5 analogue simulator kernel with a fast event-driven digital simulator to provide
seamless mixed-mode simulation. The use of a SPICE kernel allows the designer to utilize any of
the numerous manufacturer-supplied SPICE models now available and around 6000 of these are
included with the package. Proteus VSM includes a number of virtual instruments including an
Oscilloscope, Logic Analyzer, Function Generator, Pattern Generator, Counter Timer and Virtual
Terminal as well as simple voltmeters and ammeters. The Advanced Simulation Option allows
the designer to take detailed measurements on graphs, or perform other analysis types such as
frequency, distortion, noise or sweep analyses of analogue circuits. This option also includes
Conformance Analysis - a unique and powerful tool for Software Quality Assurance.
4. Co-Simulation of Micro-controller Software:
The most important feature of Proteus VSM is its ability to simulate the interaction between
software running on a micro-controller and any analog or digital electronics connected to it.The
micro-controller model sits on the schematic along with the other elements of product design. It
simulates the execution of designer object code (machine code), just like areal chip. If the
program code writes to a port, the logic levels in circuit change accordingly,and if the circuit
changes the state of the processor’s pins, this will be seen by the program code, just as in real
systems. The VSM CPU models fully simulate I/O ports, interrupts, timers, USARTs and all
other peripherals present on each supported processor. The interaction of all these peripherals
with the external circuit is fully modeled down to waveform level and the entire system is
therefore simulated. The VSM can simulate designs containing multiple CPUs by placing two or
more processors on a schematic and wire them together.
Overview of the ISIS Editor:
To start the ISIS program, click on the Start button and select Programs, Proteus 7 Professional
and then the ISIS 7 Professional option (See Figure 1.1). The ISIS schematic editor will then
load and run. The ISIS editor consists of three main areas as shown in Figure 1.2 )

1. The Editing Window: Acts as a window on the drawing - this is where you will place and
wire-up components.
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2. Object Selector: Lists objects inserted into the Editing Window and
allows you to select new objects to be inserted from the ISIS library.

3. Overview Window: In normal use, the Overview Window displays an overview of the
entire drawing - the blue box shows the edge of the current sheet and the green box the
area of the sheet currently displayed in the Editing Window. However, when a new object
is selected from the Object Selector the Overview Window is used to preview the
selected object Editing Modes
The ISIS provide several editing tools (or modes) to facilitate schematic editing. Thesetools can
be selected from the left bar menu. Figure 1.3 list the editing tools and theircorresponding icons
for your reference during this experiment.
4. Zooming: There are several ways to zoom in and out of areas of the schematic :
– Point the mouse where you want to zoom in and out of and roll the middle mouse button (roll
forwards to zoom in and backwards to zoom out)
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 Department of Electrical Engineering
The University of Faisalabad, Faisalabad

Point the mouse where you want to zoom in or out of and press the F6 or F7
keys respectively.
>>Hold the SHIFT key down and drag out a box with the left mouse button around
the area you want to zoom in to. We call this Shift Zoom
>>Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out, Zoom All or Zoom Areaicons on the toolbar (See Figure 1.4).

Visual Aids of the Design:

ISIS provides two main ways to help you see what is happening during the design process.
Objects are encircled with a dashed line or twitched when the mouse is over them and mouse
cursors will change according to function. Essentially, the object-twitching scheme tells you
which object the mouse is over (the hot object) and the mouse cursor tells you what will happen
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when you left click the mouse on that object. A summary of cursors used,
together with their actions, is provided in Figure 1.5.

Introduction to MultiSim
The purpose of this document is to introduce the many features of MultiSim. Begin by first
opening up MultiSim. For Windows users the default location can be found by clicking:  Start 
->All  Programs  ->  Electronics  Workbench  ->  DesignSuite  Freeware Edition 9 -> MultiSim
9. You should see a screen similar to Figure 1 below. This is called as a “Capture and Simulate”
environment because you “Capture” your schematic by drawing it in MultiSim and then you
“Simulate” it.

Figure 2 shows the different parts of the MultiSim workspace. Note that the location of the
toolbars on your MultiSim window may be different.
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If you don’t see the toolbars shown above, Left-click on the View Menu and go to Toolbars.
Make sure the toolbars shown in figure 2 are checked as shown in figure 3.
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Please familiarize yourselves with the location of each toolbar as it appears in your MultiSim 
window.  We  will  be  repeatedly referring  to  the  toolbars  throughout  this document (using
the color codes from Figure 2, example: the Virtual Toolbar).
Example 1: Simple DC Analysis in MultiSim
Let’s construct the simple circuit shown in figure 4.
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Figure 4. A simple series circuit constructed in

MultSim

Constructing this circuit in MultiSim is easy:

1. Left-Click on the Power Source Family in the Virtual Toolbar.
2. The Power Source Components will pop up.
3. Left-Click on the DC Power Source icon and drag a battery onto the circuit workspace. Figure
5 shows the result.
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Figure 5. A DC power source in

MultiSim
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5. The Basic Components will pop up.

6. Left-Click on the Virtual Resistor tool and drag a resistor onto the workspace. As in the case
of the battery, you can Double-click the resistor to change component values.
7. Lets complete the circuit by placing the potentiometer. Left-Click on thePotentiometer Tool
and drag a potentiometer onto the workspace. You can increase(decrease) the resistance on the
potentiometer by pressing the “A” (Shift+A) key. Note: The increase and decrease refers to the
resistance between the middle leg and the bottom leg of the potentiometer. Double-click the
potentiometer to change the total resistance of the potentiometer and the increment or decrement
in the resistor value. Let’s add the resistor and the potentiometer. Left-Click the Basic
Components Family in the Virtual Toolbar.
Figure 7 shows the circuit components placed on your workspace.
The “50%” next to the potentiometer means that the resistance
between the middle leg and bottom leg is 50% of 1 kΩ: 500 Ω. If
you press A, you will notice that resistance will increase by 5% (the
resistance between the middle leg and the top leg will decrease by
5%). Again, Double- click the potentiometer to change the
increment percenta

Figure 7. The circuit components are in

place.
8. The final component to place is the ground. You cannot simulate the circuit without a ground.
The reason for this is SPICE (the underlying simulation engine) uses nodal analysis to solve
circuits. The first step in nodal analysis is to pick a ground node. It does not matter where we
ground the circuit, for consistency lets pick the node at the bottom of the circuit as ground.
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Left-click the Ground tool in the Power Source Components menu. Drag the
ground to the bottom of the circuit, the result is shown in figure 8.

                       
Figure 8. Circuit ready for wirin

9. To wire the circuit, simply Left-click at the starting node, drag the wire to the ending node
and Left-click again. Figure 9 shows the results of wiring the 12 V source to the 1 kΩ resistor.

Figure 9. A wire connects the 12 V source to the 1 kΩ resistor

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Complete the wiring as shown in figure 10. Make sure you connect to the
wiper of the potentiometer.

             
Figure 10. The circuit is complete

Remark: To make debugging easier in larger circuits, it would be instructive to change the wire
colors. To do so, Left-click on the wire to select it and then Right-click to choose Wire color.
Figure 11 shows the result. You should try to stick to electronics wire color conventions. For
example: RED for power and BLACK for ground.
Before we can simulate the circuit, we need to add instruments so we can make measurements.
One of the neat things about MultiSim is that it comes with a bunch of standard instruments.
These instruments are the same (except for the scope) as on your lab bench. Hence your
simulation environment is a step closer to your real lab environment.
Let’s measure the voltage drop across the potentiometer. This will make an interesting exercise
since you can see the voltage across the potentiometer change as you vary the potentiometer
resistance.
10. Left-click the Agilent Multimeter from the Instruments Toolbar and drag the
multimeter onto your workspace.

Figure 11 shows the result.

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Figure 11. A multimeter placed on to workspace

Now, Double-click on the multimeter to open up the instrument’s front pane

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                            Figure 12. The Agilent 34401(A Simulated Multimeter front panel)

Notice how the simulated multimeter is the same as the one on your workbench! Left- click the
button to turn on the instrument. You will be measuring DC voltage, so Left- click the button on
the instrument. Figure 13 shows what you should get.
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Figure 13. The Multimeter is set to the correct measurement mode

All that is left is to wire the multimeter terminals. Complete the wiring as shown in figure
14. Connect to the wires to the multimeter on the workspace. As you make the connections,
MultiSim highlights the terminals on the frontpanel.
11. To simulate the circuit, Left-click the “Simulate” button in the Simulation Toolbar. Figure
15 shows the result.
One of the most powerful features of MultiSim is its interactive nature. Change the resistance
of the potentiometer by pressing “A” or Shift+A and note how the multimeter readings
change (you may need to wait a couple of seconds for the multimeter to register the change).
Change the potentiometer resistance all the way to 1 kΩ (100%). What is the output voltage?
Does this agree with your intuition and circuit properties?
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Hint: Think about what the voltage divider formula when R1 = R2.

Figure 14. Ready for simulation

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Examples:
Simulate the following circuits:

a)