Bin Contents: 2 Digital Multi Meters (DMM), a pack of Wires, a red voltage probe, various pins, and 4 alligator clips.)

NOTE: Be careful with the wires! Never pull by from the cord! Always pull from the plug!

Also – re-tie the wires as indicated! 

Obtain a Gray LVPS (Low Voltage Power Supply) – return it when finished.

Obtain a folder with electrode sheets as well as special mapping graph paper.

Obtain a corkboard – return it when finished.

The three electrode sheets – Part A uses the side-by-side rectangular (left/top), Part B uses the side-by-side circular (left/bottom), and Part C uses the concentric circles (right).

For each electrode sheet, draw a copy of it, to scale, using rulers and compasses. Label the voltage applied to each electrode.

Note that the segment connecting the electrodes, center-to-center, was drawn and highlighted for reference; you would do this only for Parts A and B; the data found along that line segment is what you will enter into the data tables for Parts A and B.

You are given two types of pins – plastic (left) and metallic (right). Plastic pins hold the electrode sheets onto the corkboard. Metallic pins are used to apply voltage to the electrode sheets.

The electrode sheet held onto the corkboard by the plastic pins.

Apply the metallic pins onto the electrodes; their exact locations are not pertinent.

Always ensure that the metallic pins are pressed firmly onto the electrode; false or partial contact will affect the voltages.

Apply the alligator clips.

Build the circuit from the ground up – apply the black wire from the lo/- terminal to the leftmost electrode (this will be true for Parts A and B; for Part C, the lo/- is applied to the outer electrode).

Complete the circuit from the ground up – apply the red wire from the rightmost electrode to the hi/+ terminal (this will be true for Parts A and B; for Part C, the hi/+ is applied to the inner electrode).

Only 1 DMM is required; it must be set to voltage as indicated; note the blue wire is attached to the COM port and that the red voltage probe is attached to the V port.

A close-up showing the dial setting and the connections.

Option 1 – as per the manual’s instructions, attach the DMM’s blue wire to the lo/- electrode.

Option 2 – it may be easier to attach the blue wire directly to the LVPS’s lo/- terminal. Either way the blue wire will be connected to the required zero voltage reference.

After you turn on the LVPS, turn the current knob “half-way” and the voltage knob until the LVPS display reads 15.0 V; nevertheless, check the connection by applying the voltage probe to any part of the hi/+ electrode.

Get the DMM value for voltage to be within 5% of the 15V; referencing the image, you may round the last decimal digit up to 15.1V

Also check the lo/- terminal to ensure that it’s at zero; note, the DMM is sensitive enough to read very minor voltage fluctuations; in this case less than 1 mV can be rounded to 0 Volts.

If the value constantly fluctuates around a mV value, this too may be interpreted as zero, however, check to ensure the pins are fully inserted and that the voltage probe makes firm contact. Usually random fluctuations indicate false contact or shorts.

The goal for all parts is to map the locations of the 4 target voltages, 3V, 6V, 9V, and 12V; its best to work systematically by scanning either the horizontal or the vertical grid lines. This and the following images demonstrate how to scan horizontally; vertically follows exactly the same rules – note, this is true for Parts A and B; for Part C you only need to scan the four compass directions).

Place a clear plastic ruler along the line (horizontal or vertical) that you wish to scan; place the ruler’s origin (0 cm) either at the left (for horizontal scans) or at the bottom (for vertical scans).

Then, while holding onto the ruler, swipe the voltage probe across the line slowly and firmly until the DMM reads a value close to (within 5% or so) of the target value; referencing this image, you may round the voltage to 3.0V

Locate where along the ruler the target voltage was found; referencing this image, the 3.0V was found at approximately 8.9 cm.

On the special mapping graph paper, which you already prepared, locate the line you were scanning and mark the location where the target voltage was found. The manual gives instructions for how to symbolize the 4 target voltages; if their values deviated from 3.0V (for example, 3.1V) it’s best to make of a note of that directly onto the map.

Location of Rulers.

Location of Compases.