CH- 1 ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS (15M)

Q1) Draw a neat labeled diagram of CRT and state the function of each block.(4M)
ANS: Cathode Ray Tube CRT is the most important part of a CRO. It is made up of
thick glass. Its shape is like a funnel, as shown below. It is evacuated from inside and
fitted with different types of electrodes as shown. Its front flat side is the screen, middle
narrow portion is the neck and the backside is called the base. The base has number of
connector pins for external connections.

The working of CRT is very similar to B&W picture tube of a TV. The CRT displays any
type of wave on its electron-sensitive screen by drawing the wave with the help of
electron beam. The details of different parts (from left to right) of CRT are given below –
1) Filament – it is a coil of tungsten wire supplied with AC voltage. It heats up the
cathode indirectly.
2) Cathode – the filament is surrounded by cathode. It is made up of Aluminum/Copper
and supplied with negative voltage. At high temperature, it emits a large number of free
electrons in a diverged beam.
3) Control grid – the cathode is surrounded by control grid. It controls the number of
electrons to pass through its center hole & controls brightness of screen. It is connected to
variable negative voltage.
4) Accelerating & focusing anodes – it is a group of three anodes: the pre-accelerating
anode, the focusing anode and the second accelerating anode. They are supplied with
extremely high positive voltage. They form electrostatic lens system due to high potential
difference across them. Hence, the electron beam is accelerated and focused exactly on
the center of the screen.
5) Deflection plates – it is a group of four plates, i.e. two pairs. The first pair deflects the
electron beam vertically and the second pair deflects the electron beam horizontally.
Thus, they are called VERTICAL & HORIZONTAL DEFLECTION PLATES,
respectively.
6) Screen – when the electron beam strikes the screen, a sharp and bright spot of light is
produced on it. On inner surface of screen, PHOSPHOR coating is applied.
7) Aquadag coating – when high-speed electron beam strikes the screen, some electrons
bounce back. These electrons are called secondary electrons. They are collected by the

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aquadag coating, which is applied on funnel part of CRT. It is connected to small positive
voltage.
Q2) Draw the block diagram of CRO and explain function of each block.(4M)
ANS: Block diagram of CRO

Working it consists of different types of blocks as explained below –

1) Vertical Amplifier & Attenuator – it contains preamplifier, power amplifier and
attenuator. When signal is applied at y–input, it is amplified/attenuated if and when
necessary. The gain of both blocks can be controlled by adjusting the Volt/div knob as
shown.
2) Delay line – it is used to synchronize vertical deflection with horizontal deflection
system. The horizontal system has number of circuits, so it takes an extra time to reach
horizontal plates. This time is about 0.25μSec. So same amount of delay is created in this
block for vertical deflection system. Thus, it avoids distortion in the wave displayed on
the screen.
3) Trigger circuit – it is also called synchronizing (sync) circuit. A sample of input
signal is fed to this block, which produces a trigger pulse. This trigger pulse starts up the
time base generator block.
4) Time base generator – this block produces sawtooth wave,
when started by trigger circuit. The frequency of sawtooth wave is controlled by
time/div knob. This wave is then fed to horizontal amplifier for very high voltage
amplification. (The switch at of TBG is used to select either internal (pos-1) orexternal
(pos-2) triggering. The external triggering is called x-input).

5) Horizontal Amplifier – it amplifies sawtooth wave or x-input signal. This amplifier

has property of phase inversion. It produces dual output. Thus, two simultaneous

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sawtooth waves are produced at its output. The positive going sawtooth is applied to
RIGHT plate and negative to LEFT plate. So, beam moves from LEFT TO RIGHT.
5) Blanking circuit – when the beam draws the wave and reaches right end of screen it
quickly moves from RIGHT to LEFT and repeats the same path, again and again. During
this movement; it must not produce any retrace on the screen, otherwise it will overwrite
the waveform. For this, the beam is blanked i.e. stopped from striking the screen, during
its travel from right to left. This is done with the help of blanking circuit. It produces very
high negative voltage on control grid when beam comes from right to left. So electrons
are not emitted and screen remains blanked.
6) Power supply – it is divided into two parts –
a) High voltage supply i.e. HV supply, which is used to supply the CRT and some high
voltage circuits of CRO.
b) Low voltage supply i.e. LV supply, which is used to supply all the low voltage circuits
of CRO.

Q3) Explain function of front panel controls of CRO (3M)

ANS: Front panel controls of single beam dual trace CRO –

1) Power ON switch – it is used to switch on/off the CRO.

2) Intensity (Brightness) – this controls the brightness of screen. When adjusted it
changes the negative voltage on control grid and thus brightness changes. This happens
due to change in number of electrons in the beam.
3) Focus – this controls the sharpness of light spot or sharpness of wave displayed on
screen. When adjusted it changes positive voltage of focusing anode and thus electron
beam becomes sharp i.e. focal point of lens changes.
4) Time/div scale – this controls the frequency of sawtooth wave. When adjusted, it
changes the number of cycles of a wave displayed on the screen.
5) Volt/div scale – this controls the amplification/attenuation factor (i.e. the gain) of
vertical amplifier/attenuator. When adjusted it changes height of wave on the screen.
Thus very high voltage waveform can be made small according to size of screen.
6) Horizontal position – by adjusting this knob, we can move complete waveform on the
screen horizontally. Sometimes it is required to align the position of the wave on screen.
7) Vertical position – by adjusting this knob, we can move complete waveform on the
screen vertically. Sometimes it is required to align the position of the wave on screen.
8) Y-input – this is main input of CRO. The signal to be observed on screen is applied to
this input.
9) X–input – it is second input of CRO. When the switch is in EXT, the internal sawtooth
is cut-off and some external signal can be applied to the horizontal deflection plates of
CRT through x–input.
10) TRIG Level – Automatic base line is produced with no signal input . when rotated
clockwise selected the trigger level on the display waveform .

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Q4) Explain the uses of CRO .(3M)
Applications of CRO – the CRO is a versatile instrument. It can be used in any type of
electrical measurement, as follows –
1) AC voltage measurement – to measure AC voltage means to measure amplitude of
wave. It is measured by two methods: the peak–amplitude (Vp) or r.m.s. (root mean
square) voltage. To measure the peak or peak-to-peak AC voltage, connect it to
the y–input of CRO. A waveform will be displayed on it. Measure its peak displacement
or peak-to peak displacement in centimeters, as shown in the adjacent diagram. Note
down position of volt/div scale in Volts.

Then using the formula calculate the amplitude –

Peak voltage (Vp) = vertical displacement (in cms.) x volt/div scale
Peak-to-peak voltage (Vpp) = total vertical displacement (in cms.) x volt/div scale

2) DC voltage measurement – connect unknown DC voltage to y–input of CRO. A line

will be displayed on screen, which will be either shift upward or downward with respect
to x–axis. If it is upward then the applied voltage is positive otherwise negative Measure
its vertical displacement in centimeters from x–axis. Note down volt/div scale, then using
the formula.
DC voltage = vertical displ. (in cms.) x volt/div scale
(Write the sign of voltage either +ve or –ve depending on the upward or downward
direction).

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3) Phase measurement – To measure phase difference following method is used.
Connect two different waveforms, to x–input and y–input of CRO. (The frequency of
both waveforms should be same).Adjust time/div scale so that following type of pattern
like an ellipse is obtained on the screen. It is called as Lissajou’s pattern. Measure
quantities (a) and (b) and calculate the phase difference () between two waves, using
the formula
 = sin–1 (a/b). In some particular cases, like = 0° or  = 90° or = 180° following
patterns are obtained.

5) Frequency measurement – Method 1 : Using internal time base Direct method

Apply unknown frequency signal to vertical Y input .Adjust TIME/DIV knob so that one
or two complete cycle of input signals are seen on the screen . Measure number of
division on X –axis one cycle and multiple by TIM/DIV scale which gives Time Period
Then Frequency = 1/T

Method 1 : Using Lissajous Figures

To measure unknown frequency, indirect method is used. First, connect a KNOWN
frequency (fx) to x–input of CRO and the UNKNOWN frequency (fy) to y–input.
Followingtype of Lissajou’s pattern is obtained. Now with the help of given formula,
calculate the unknown frequency (fy) –

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Q5) Explain electrostatic focusing system of a CRT . (3M)
ANS: Electrostatic focusing system of a CRT:

Working: it consists of three anodes. These anodes are cylindrical in shape

with small diameter. The electrons coming from control grid are accelerated and
focused by this system. The acceleration of electrons takes place due to extremely high
voltage applied to preaccelerating anode and the second accelerating anode. Since the
electrons in the beam diverge due to mutual repulsion, so they are focused and aligned by
the focusing anode, into a sharp narrow beam as shown. The applied +ve voltages to the
three anodes are in reducing order from left to right. This difference in PD produces an
electrostatic convex lens system, as shown in the diagram. This happens because the
cylindrical shape of anodes bends the electrostatic lines into curves, like double convex
lenses. Thus, when the electron beam passes through this region, all the electrons
experience a force in the direction, normal to the equipotential surfaces. So the beam is
converged into a sharp and bright light spot on the screen. The focal length of second
convex lens can be adjusted by changing the +ve voltage onfocusing anode. This control
is marked as FOCUS on the CRO panel.

Q6) Draw a neat block diagram of a digital multimeter and explain the function of
each block .(3M)
ANS: Block Diagram :

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It is used to measure AC/DCvoltage, AC/DC current and resistance. It gives digital
display, which is very accurate. It has an advantage of very high input resistance. So
minimum loading effects are produced when AC/DC voltage is measured. It also
provides over ranging indicator i.e. if the unknown electrical quantity increases beyond
measuring capacity it shows 1 - - - on the display.
Working – the working of the circuit is explained for different measurements –
1) To measure resistance – connect an unknown resistor across its input probes. Keep
rotary switch in position–1. The proportional current flows through the resistor, from
constant current source. According to Ohm’s law voltage is produced across it. This
voltage is directly proportional to its resistance. This voltage is buffered and fed to A/D
converter, to get digital display in Ohms.
2) To measure AC voltage – connect an unknown AC voltage across input probes. Keep
rotary switch in position–2. The voltage is attenuated, if it is above the selected range and
then rectified to convert it into proportional DC voltage. It is then fed to A/D converter to
get the digital display in Volts.
3) To measure AC current – current is indirectly measured by converting it into
proportional voltage. Connect an unknown AC current across input probes. Keep the
switch in position–3. The current is converted into voltage proportionally with the help of
I–V converter and then rectified. Now the voltage in terms of AC current is fed to A/D
converter to get digital display in Amperes.
4) To measure DC current – the DC current is also measured indirectly. Connect an
unknown DC current across input probes. Keep the switch in position–4. The current is
converted into voltage proportionally with the help of I–V converter. Now the voltage in
terms of DC current is fed to A/D converter to get the digital display in Amperes.
5) To measure DC voltage – connect an unknown DC voltage across input probes. Keep
the switch in position–5. The voltage is attenuated, if it is above the selected range and
then directly fed to A/D converter to get the digital display in Volts.

Q7) Explain how CRO displays a waveform on the screen.(3M)

ANS:

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Working :when we apply DC voltage as a signal to the input of CRO, then a straight
horizontal line is produced on screen. This line is above x-axis if applied
voltage is +ve and below if the voltage is –ve. The displacement of line above or below
depends on amount of DC voltage applied to the input of CRO. When AC voltage is
applied to y-input, then alternating signal i.e. a waveform is displayed on screen with
respect to time, depending on the shape of applied wave. The drawing process by the
electron beam for sine wave is shown in the above figure. The applied sine wave is
shown on the left and the sawtooth wave generated inside the CRO is
shown below on vertical axis. In above topic we have seen that, sawtooth voltage is
connected to H–plates of the CRT. So as sawtooth voltage increases from zero to
maximum, electron beam moves from LEFT TO RIGHT, with constant horizontal
velocity. However when sawtooth voltage falls rapidly from maximum to zero, the
beam quickly moves from RIGHT TO LEFT. Hence, if the sawtooth voltage is absent,
then beam will move only in vertical direction. Thus, when beam travels from left to
right, two forces act on it – the horizontal force (due to sawtooth wave) and vertical force
(due to y–input signal). So the resultant motionof electron beam is exactly like the shape
of applied waveform.

Q8) Explain the working of function generator with the help of block diagram.(3M)
ANS:Block Diagram of function generator:

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it is a source of different signals or waveforms. It is a signal generator that produces
standard waveforms like sine, square and triangular waves. The frequency of these
waveforms can be changed from 1 Hertz to few hundred KHz. The amplitude can be
changed from 0.2V to 20V.
Working :The frequency control network is governed by the frequency dial on the front
panel of the instrument .
i) Upper Current Source : The upper current source supplies a constant current to the
triangle integrator whose output voltage increases linearly with time . The output voltage
is given by Vout = - 1  idt
C
The voltage comparator multivibrator change state at a predetermined level on the
positive slope of the integrator output voltage . This change of state cuts off the upper
source and switch on the lower current source to the integrator.
ii)Lower Current Source : The lower current supplies a reverse current to the
integrator .Thus the output decreases linearly with time . when the output voltage reaches
the predetermined level on the negative slope of the output waveform , the voltage
comparator changes state and switches on upper current source.
iii) The voltage at the output of the integrator has trianglar waveform whose
frequency is determined by the constant current source.
iv) The comparator multivibrator provide square wave output of the same frequency.
v)The sine wave is obtained from the triangular waveform by wave shaping circuit
formed by resistance diode network .
vi) Two Output Amplifier are used to provide two output waveform at the same time.

Q9) Explain electrostatic and magnetic deflection systems in CRT . (4M)

ANS:Diagram :

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Working : This system is made up of two pairs of horizontal & vertical deflection plates.
These plates are maintained at different potentials. So the lines of force [Link] field is
produced between them as shown. When electron beam enters this field, it deflects
towards the plate, which is +ve. Hence, the trajectory path of the beam becomes
parabolic. However, when the beam comes out of the field it further travels in straight
line towards the screen and strikes at point (P'). However, when plates have equal
potential, then the beam does not deflect and strikes at point (P).
The CRT consists of two pairs of deflecting plates. Input voltage to be displayed is
connected to vertical deflection plate (i.e. the y–plate) and a sawtooth voltage is
connected to horizontal deflection plate. Thus, due to combined effect the corresponding
wave is drawn on the screen. The deflection sensitivity of CRT is defined as the
deflection on screen in meters per volt of deflection voltage.

Applications –
a) It is mainly used in CRO i.e. inside the CRT.
b) It is used in E.C.G. (Electro–Cardio Graph) medical instrument.
c) It is also used in earthquake visual monitors

Magnetic deflection system – Diagram :

Working : this system is made up of a yoke fitted on the neck of CRT. The yoke is the
pair of two sets of coils arranged in typical shape. When signals are passed through these
coils, proportional magnetic field is produced around them. This magnetic field
penetrates into the CRT and changes the deflection angle of the electron beam. The set of

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coils is called yoke because it is fitted on the neck of the CRT. The first set of two coils is
called vertical deflection coils and the other set of two coils is called horizontal
deflection coils. The amount of deflection of beam depends on ampere-turns of the coils.
Thus, the magnetic deflection sensitivity of the system is defined as amount of deflection
of electron beam caused by magnetic flux density of 1 Weber
per square meter. SI unit: Wb/m2.
Applications –
a) Used in picture tube of television.
b) Used in RADAR tube display.
c) Used in computer monitor known as VDU (i.e. visual display unit).

Q10) Explain the necessity of time base (sawtooth generator)in CRO . (3M)
ANS:Diagram :

Working : The need of time base is to represent time on X-axis which will cause
repetitive movement of spot from left to right with particular rate . The deflection of spot
is proportional to time and it is along X-axis . The frequency of sawtooth wave is
controlled by time/div knob. This wave is then fed to horizontal amplifier for very
high voltage amplification.
Q11) Explain the need and function of delay line in a CRO . (3M)
ANS: – it is used to synchronize vertical deflection with horizontal deflection system.
The horizontal system has number of circuits, so it takes an extra time to reach horizontal
plates. This time is about 0.25μSec. So same amount of delay is created in this block for
vertical deflection system. Thus, it avoids distortion in the wave displayed on the screen.

Q12) Compare electromagnetic with electrostatic type deflection system.(3M)

OR
List of deflection systems in CRT explain any one.

Sr. No. Electromagnetic Deflection System ElectrostaticDeflection System

1. The electron beam is deflected by The electron beam is deflected by
magnetic field. electric field.
2. Two sets of current carrying coils are Two sets of deflecting plates are
used to deflect the electron beam. used to deflect the electron beam.
3. Deflecting coils are placed outside the Deflecting plates are placed
tube. inside the tube.

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4. The deflection spot on the screen is The deflection spot on the screen
proportional to the current flowing is proportional to the potential
through the coils. difference applied to the plates.
5. By using this system electron beam is By using this system electron
deflected over larger space. beam is deflected over smaller
space.
6. Examples : TV picture tube , radar Examples : CRO and ECG
display , video display in computer. monitors.

Solved Problem
1) When 20V DC is applied to vertical deflection plates of a CR tube the spot
moves 1cm away from the centre. If 20 AC is applied what displacement of
the spot?
Solution : Displacement of the spot = deflection sensitivity X applied voltage
Deflection sensitivity = Displacement of the spot
Applied voltage
= 1/20
= 0.05 cm/V
Peak to Peak voltage = 20 X 2 X 2 ( 20AC , 2 Vp-p , )
Displacement = 0.05 X 20 X 2 X 2
= 2.8284 cm for peak to peak

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