Test Equipment To calibrate and troubleshoot the electronics, you will need a digital multimeter with frequency counting capabilities, similar to the Fluke 87 multimeter (Figure , left). When working with electronic circuits, a good multimeter is invaluable. The second multimeter in Figure (right) is manufactured by Circuit Test and measures capacitance, resistance, and inductance. It is nice to be able to measure the exact values of components when working on precise circuits, but in most cases, this is not necessary. If you are winding your own transformers or chokes, the ability to measure inductance will be helpful. The specific use. | Amphibionics quick-setting epoxy T to secure parts. Safety glasses U should be worn at all times when cutting and drilling metal or soldering. Test Equipment To calibrate and troubleshoot the electronics you will need a digital multimeter with frequency counting capabilities similar to the Fluke 87 multimeter Figure left . When working with electronic circuits a good multimeter is invaluable. The second multimeter in Figure right is manufactured by Circuit Test and measures capacitance resistance and inductance. It is nice to be able to measure the exact values of components when working on precise circuits but in most cases this is not necessary. If you are winding your own transformers or chokes the ability to measure inductance will be helpful. The specific use of the multimeter will be explained during the construction of the robot s electronics in later chapters. FIGURE Fluke and Circuit Test multimeters. 10 Chapter 1 Tools Test Equipment and Materials If you are really serious about electronics then an oscilloscope like the one pictured in Figure is a great investment. This is the Tektronix TDS 210 dual channel digital real-time oscilloscope with a 60-MHz bandwidth. The TDS 210 on my bench also has the RS-232 GPIB and centronics port module added so that a hard copy of waveforms can be output. The great advantage to using an oscilloscope is the ability to visualize what is happening with a circuit. The new digital oscilloscopes also automatically calculate the frequency period mean peak to peak and true RMS of a waveform. You will probably need to use a regulated direct current DC power supply and a function generator quite often as well. None of the equipment shown in Figure is required when building the robots in this book but it will make your life as an FIGURE Oscilloscope regulated DC power supply and function generator. 11 Amphibionics FIGURE 1 2-inch by 1 8-inch aluminum stock. electronics experimenter much easier. .
