Constant Voltage Alternators

[boscoe99]

99yam. It surprised me. Frequency was 18 ~ 20 Hz. I thought it would be much more than that.

[99yam40]

I am surprised it was not khz, I guess it does not need to be that fast to build up the magnetic field in that alienator.
18 -20 times a second should be fast enough to adjust the voltage/current

it still would be interesting to see if it was a square wave.
with it being DC it would have to be

I just rechecked that DC speed con*****er just to make sure and it read from 4Khz to 14khz.

[boscoe99]

Do you know how to use an oscilloscope?

[99yam40]

I have used them many years ago
matter of fact I have 2 old ones I found in my garage that the batteries leaked and messed up things
why?

I have a feeling I have no idea how to set up any newer one,
but I would think setting the voltage and width of pulse should do something

[boscoe99]

I have been reading the owners manual of one and watching lots of YouTube videos. No where does it talk about where to connect the probe. Say for instance if I just want to view the voltage and waveform of a 120 volt wall outlet. Lots of cautions but no clear cut directions.

[99yam40]

well. to measure the circuit, you would need to attach the leads to what you want to measure.
DC would be to the + and - or across some part of the circuit you are trying to get a reading on
AC would be to the hot and neutral, or phase to phase, or phase to ground if the circuit is referenced to ground somewhere.

the leads are rated like 1X( full voltage), 2X ( 1/2 voltage) 10X 1/10th voltage), etc to reduce the amount of voltage hitting the scope
Look at what the scope settings are and start out on a high setting and lower it down once running to get the wave form to show you the way you want it to
just do not send too high of a voltage into it for the setting.
you have a link to the manual of the one you are trying to use?

[boscoe99]

I am surprised it was not khz, I guess it does not need to be that fast to build up the magnetic field in that alienator.
18 -20 times a second should be fast enough to adjust the voltage/current

it still would be interesting to see if it was a square wave.
with it being DC it would have to be

I just rechecked that DC speed con*****er just to make sure and it read from 4Khz to 14khz.

Just ran the frequency test again. The frequency varies (increases) with the load. Makes sense I guess since the regulator is pulsing the voltage at a higher rated to facilitate higher current flow.

[boscoe99]

well. to measure the circuit, you would need to attach the leads to what you want to measure.
DC would be to the + and - or across some part of the circuit you are trying to get a reading on
AC would be to the hot and neutral, or phase to phase, or phase to ground if the circuit is referenced to ground somewhere.

the leads are rated like 1X( full voltage), 2X ( 1/2 voltage) 10X 1/10th voltage), etc to reduce the amount of voltage hitting the scope
Look at what the scope settings are and start out on a high setting and lower it down once running to get the wave form to show you the way you want it to
just do not send too high of a voltage into it for the setting.
you have a link to the manual of the one you are trying to use?

The test probe is a coaxial wire. Outer portion is grounded to the ground plug of the cord that powers the scope. I presume that I would not use the ground clip on the probe and merely touch the tip of the probe to the hot wire. ???

[99yam40]

Just ran the frequency test again. The frequency varies (increases) with the load. Makes sense I guess since the regulator is pulsing the voltage at a higher rated to facilitate higher current flow.

but it reads in HZ not K HZ?

[99yam40]

The test probe is a coaxial wire. Outer portion is grounded to the ground plug of the cord that powers the scope. I presume that I would not use the ground clip on the probe and merely touch the tip of the probe to the hot wire. ???

It has been a very long time since I used one.
I looked at the old units I have and I am confused also on where that little grounding probe is suppose to hook onto.
they look like they are attached to the coaxial shield of the probe wire.
But these old units ran off of internal rechargeable batteries and the 120V plug is just a 2 prong , no ground.
So I would guess they hooked to a good ground to help shield the signal wire.
the probes have 1 M ohm stamped on them.
I did not see any 1X or 10X on them

post up a model # and I will look around on line to see if I can find any info

[boscoe99]

Yes, Hz. Not K Hz.

[boscoe99]

Alligator clip common to coax shield which is common to the 120 AC plug third pin.

[99yam40]

a very good U tube on scope probes
Oscilloscope Probes: What You Need to Know - Bing video

the ground clip on the end of probe should be hooked to the body of the things you are taking measurement on to keep ringing at a minimum( interferance of the signal)

another one on scope settings
How to Use an Oscilloscope - Bing video

[zenoahphobic]

Yes, keyword is “shield”.
The probe needs this when high frequency is involved, and it also provides the ground or other terminal that any electric circuit needs to complete the “picture”. No different to using a multimeter really.

[boscoe99]

99yam, does this look right? Don't want to damage my scope.