Resistance and Capacitance Measurements with the V.T.V.M.
June 1944 QST Article
to the advent of FET-input multimeters, obtaining a very high input
impedance meter required the use of a vacuum tube circuit that used
a buffer stage to isolate the measured signal from the loading effects
of the meter movement. As most people reading this article already
know, the voltage value indicated by a non-buffered meter can be
greatly affected by the meter's loading of the device under test
(DUT) if the meter's impedance is not many times greater than the
DUT's impedance. The voltmeter is used in parallel with the circuit
under test, so for example if the impedance of the DUT is 100 kΩ
and the meter's impedance is also 100 kΩ, the meter will display
a value as if the DUT itself had only a 50 kΩ impedance, which
represents a huge error. The problem was that VTVMs were relatively
expensive and beyond the budget of most amateurs. This article from
the June 1994 edition of QST presents a simple vacuum tube voltmeter
VTVM project that allows the user to measure both resistance and
capacitance. Nowadays you can buy a low-end equivalent with a digital
readout for $20 at Sears.
June 1944 QST
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles
QST, published December 1915 - present (visit ARRL
for info). All copyrights hereby acknowledged.
Resistance and Capacitance Measurements
with the V.T.V.M.
Extending the Usefulness of a Versatile Instrument
BY A. D. Mayo Jr., W4CBD
Few garden-variety hams have either the equipment
or the inclination to construct elaborate measuring apparatus for
checking either condenser capacity or high values of leakage resistance.
This article describes a simple and effective way of making such
checks by the reactance method, requiring only an all-purpose v.t.v.m.
as a non-loading voltmeter.
Almost any a.c,
vacuum-tube voltmeter can be used to indicate the approximate capacities
of small condensers without requiring the addition of extra parts.
All that is necessary is to apply the filament-supply voltage to
the input terminals of the meter, in series with the condenser,
and note the resulting voltmeter reading. The voltmeter can be calibrated
in micromicrofarads and a separate graph prepared to make it direct-reading
for this use.
This method of checking capacity is similar
to that described on page 407 of the 1944 edition of the ARRL Handbook,
which shows how an ordinary 1000-ohms-per-volt a.c. meter can be
used to check capacities down to 0.001 μfd. The principle is
similar to that of the d.c. ohmmeter, except that impedance is measured
instead of resistance. The limitation in the use of this method
with an ordinary voltmeter lies in the fact that an external source
of a.c. is required, as well as a resistor or two and some terminals.
Nor does the capacity range extend quite low enough to check small
mica condensers. A vacuum-tube voltmeter using a voltmeter tube
on extended leads overcomes these objections, since a.c, voltage
is available at the tube from the filament supply. With the very
high input resistance of the v.t.v.m., the capacity range covered
can be extended down to 50 μμfd. or less. The only leads necessary
are one to the probe tip and one to the ungrounded side of the filament.
When using a 3-megohm input resistor on the probe tube and
a filament voltage in the neighborhood of 6 volts r.m.s., capacities
of from 50 μμfd. to 0.002 μd. will give an indication on
the 10-volt scale. The filament voltage will divide between the
input resistance of the meter and the reactance of the unknown condenser.
The internal resistance of the small condenser does not affect the
reading unless the condenser has high leakage or is otherwise defective.
The reactance of a 50-μμfd. condenser at 60 cycles
is about 32 megohms. When this reactance is placed in series with
the filament supply and the voltmeter input terminals, about one-tenth
of the supply voltage will appear across the meter.
Fig. 1 - Changes in wiring
required to convert the author's v.t.v.m, (originally described
in November, 1943. QST) into a wide-range instrument for measuring
capacity and resistance.
- 90 megohms.
RC - 700,000
RD - 10,000 ohms.
RE - 200-ohm variable.
RF - 3 megohms.
The homemade v.t.v.m. described in the November, 1943,
issue of QST1 has been used in this manner for
a rough check of small capacities, and it has turned out to be a
very handy tool.
The changes required in the original circuit
may be noted by comparing the diagram of Fig. 1 with that shown
in the November article. To use the meter for this purpose it was
necessary to change the ground connection from the center-tap of
the filament to one side, as shown in the circuit diagram. The voltage
at the end of the tube prod was 5.7 volts r.m.s., which gave a reading
of 8 volts peak on the meter scale. A separate calibration curve
was made for capacity against voltage by taking readings on several
condensers which were known to be close to marked capacity.
In testing a handful of new and junk-box condensers we noted
some surprising readings. Out of about a dozen new mica postage-stamp
condensers tested there was one which showed no capacity at all
and another which read so high it was tested for d.c. resistance
and found to have 10 megohms leakage resistance. Any attempt to
use either of these condensers at very high frequencies would probably
have led to a long headache before the trouble could have been found.
On the other hand, one very old condenser of about 1925 vintage,
of the type having mica and brass strips clamped together without
any molded Bakelite covering, tested 0.001 μfd. as marked and
did not show any abnormal leakage.
Fig. 2 - Typical resistance calibration curves
for the v.t.v.m.
It is apparent that, in order to check a condenser thoroughly, it
should be tested for leakage resistance as well as capacity. The
v.t.v.m. also lends itself very well to conversion into an ohmmeter
for reading extremely high values of resistance. For this purpose
the d.c. plate supply is applied to the d.c. voltmeter section through
the unknown resistor in much the same manner as that previously
described for measuring capacity with the a.c. section.
Front view of the v.t.v.m. described in the November issue of
QST, as modified with pin jacks added on the panel for making
connections for resistance and capacitance measurements.
Fig. 3 - Calibrating resistors for extending the range of the
v.t.v.m. are constructed by making pencil marks on an insulating
strip, as described in the text.
The internal plate-supply voltage of the instrument runs 170 volts
above ground. Of this, 100 volts is tapped off on a voltage divider
and applied to the 100-volt input terminals in series with the resistance
to be measured. This scale reads from 1 megohm to 100 megohms and
is called the LO-OHM scale. To read higher values of resistance
the 100-volt supply is applied to the 100-volt scale through the
unknown resistor, with an additional resistor of 90 megohms added
in series to limit the maximum voltage applied across the meter
input to 10 volts. This scale is labeled HI-OHMS and it reads from
1 megohm to 1000 megohms.
The HI- and LO-OHM scales
worked so well that two additional ones were added (XLO and XXLO
in Fig. 2). The XLO scale is obtained in a manner similar to that
used in the higher resistance ranges, but the input resistance of
the meter had to be reduced by connecting in an additional switch
point, shunted with a 12,000-ohm resistor, as shown in Fig. 1. Since
some current was required to operate this section, a battery was
added as the easiest way out. The XXLO scale is made up by using
the milliammeter in a regular ohmmeter circuit with another 1 1/2-volt
battery. It is important that the power be turned off in the meter
before using the latter range, since the meter is in the "B"+ side
and is above ground by about 170 volts. Finally, a terminal was
added to the panel to supply one side of the filament voltage.
In using the 1000-megohm range it is important to keep down
leakage in the test prod leads if they are used. The leakage through
many insulators will be less than 1000 megohms. Newsprint paper
on a damp day will show a reading if the prods are pressed on it
a couple of inches apart. It is best to use a couple of bare wires
pushed in the HI-OHM terminals with the condenser connected to them
as close to the terminals as possible.
It turned out to be fairly easy to calibrate the meter at
the high ranges. Perhaps the accuracy of the method used is less
than that obtained on the best commercial bridges, but it is sufficient
for our purpose.
In constructing the calibrating resistors,
a piece of fiber was drilled with three holes in a row and machine
screws and washers put in the holes, as shown in Fig. 3. Pencil
lines were drawn from under the washers on to the next screw, making
a pair of 1920-model pencil grid leaks in series. A 10-megohm resistor
was obtained and one of the grid-leak sections adjusted to the same
resistance as measured by the meter scale. Then the other grid-leak
section was adjusted to the same resistance. Since the total resistance
of both grid-leak sections is 20 megohms, the meter deflection for
20 megohms was recorded. Then each section was made 20 megohms,
making a total of 40 megohms. Thus, by doubling resistance each
time, the calibration was carried on up to 1200 megohms.
The resistances were adjusted by marking on a little pencil
lead or erasing a little of it until the resistance was correct.
The meter was calibrated at the lower ranges by plotting points
from resistors which were measured by another ohmmeter of good accuracy.
The original meter as shown in November QST did not have
a case, but after its conversion to read ohms and whatnot it was
mounted in a wooden case and some additional terminals put on the
panel, as shown in the photograph. It was a case of something that
started out to be a voltmeter and ended up being a meter to read
nearly everything else as well.
For something that was born
on the kitchen table from parts out of the junk box, this thing
turned out to be a good little instrument.
1: Mayo. "A V.T. Voltmeter for A.C.
and D.C .," QST. November. 1943. p. 36.