Read more about - Concept of Analog Signals

1. Current signal systems

Signal, current Current signal Current source Source, current

It is possible through the use of electronic amplifiers to design a circuit outputting a constant amount of current rather than a constant amount of voltage. This collection of components is collectively known as a current source, and its symbol looks like this:

A current source generates as much or as little voltage as needed across its leads to produce a constant amount of current through it. This is just the opposite of a voltage source (an ideal battery), which will output as much or as little current as demanded by the external circuit in maintaining its output voltage constant. Following the "conventional flow" symbology typical of electronic devices, the arrow points against the direction of electron motion. Apologies for this confusing notation: another legacy of Benjamin Franklin's false assumption of electron flow!

Current sources can be built as variable devices, just like voltage sources, and they can be designed to produce very precise amounts of current. If a transmitter device were to be constructed with a variable current source instead of a variable voltage source, we could design an instrumentation signal system based on current instead of voltage:

The internal workings of the transmitter's current source need not be a concern at this point, only the fact that its output varies in response to changes in the float position, just like the potentiometer setup in the voltage signal system varied voltage output according to float position.

Notice now how the indicator is an ammeter rather than a voltmeter (the scale calibrated in inches, feet, or meters of water in the tank, as always). Because the circuit is a series configuration (accounting for the cable resistances), current will be precisely equal through all components. With or without cable resistance, the current at the indicator is exactly the same as the current at the transmitter, and therefore there is no error incurred as there might be with a voltage signal system. This assurance of zero signal degradation is a decided advantage of current signal systems over voltage signal systems.

4-20 milliamp signal Current signal, 4-20 milliamp Signal, 4-20 milliamp

The most common current signal standard in modern use is the 4 to 20 milliamp (4-20 mA) loop, with 4 milliamps representing 0 percent of measurement, 20 milliamps representing 100 percent, 12 milliamps representing 50 percent, and so on. A convenient feature of the 4-20 mA standard is its ease of signal conversion to 1-5 volt indicating instruments. A simple 250 ohm precision resistor connected in series with the circuit will produce 1 volt of drop at 4 milliamps, 5 volts of drop at 20 milliamps, etc:

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| Percent of  |   4-20 mA  |   1-5 V   |
| measurement |   signal   |   signal  |
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|      0      |   4.0 mA   |   1.0 V   |
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|     10      |   5.6 mA   |   1.4 V   |
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|     20      |   7.2 mA   |   1.8 V   |
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|     25      |   8.0 mA   |   2.0 V   |
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|     30      |   8.8 mA   |   2.2 V   |
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|     40      |  10.4 mA   |   2.6 V   |
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|     50      |  12.0 mA   |   3.0 V   |
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|     60      |  13.6 mA   |   3.4 V   |
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|     70      |  15.2 mA   |   3.8 V   |
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|     75      |  16.0 mA   |   4.0 V   |
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|     80      |  16.8 mA   |   4.2 V   |
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|     90      |  18.4 mA   |   4.6 V   |
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|    100      |  20.0 mA   |   5.0 V   |
----------------------------------------

10-50 milliamp signal Current signal, 10-50 milliamp Signal, 10-50 milliamp

The current loop scale of 4-20 milliamps has not always been the standard for current instruments: for a while there was also a 10-50 milliamp standard, but that standard has since been obsoleted. One reason for the eventual supremacy of the 4-20 milliamp loop was safety: with lower circuit voltages and lower current levels than in 10-50 mA system designs, there was less chance for personal shock injury and/or the generation of sparks capable of igniting flammable atmospheres in certain industrial environments.

Review

A current source is a device (usually constructed of several electronic components) that outputs a constant amount of current through a circuit, much like a voltage source (ideal battery) outputting a constant amount of voltage to a circuit. A current "loop" instrumentation circuit relies on the series circuit principle of current being equal through all components to insure no signal error due to wiring resistance. The most common analog current signal standard in modern use is the "4 to 20 milliamp current loop.

2. Voltage signal systems

Signal, voltage Voltage signal

The use of variable voltage for instrumentation signals seems a rather obvious option to explore. Let's see how a voltage signal instrument might be used to measure and relay information about water tank level:

Transmitter Indicator

The "transmitter" in this diagram contains its own precision regulated source of voltage, and the potentiometer setting is varied by the motion of a float inside the water tank following the water level. The "indicator" is nothing more than a voltmeter with a scale calibrated to read in some unit height of water (inches, feet, meters) instead of volts.

As the water tank level changes, the float will move. As the float moves, the potentiometer wiper will correspondingly be moved, dividing a different proportion of the battery voltage to go across the two-conductor cable and on to the level indicator. As a result, the voltage received by the indicator will be representative of the level of water in the storage tank.

This elementary transmitter/indicator system is reliable and easy to understand, but it has its limitations. Perhaps greatest is the fact that the system accuracy can be influenced by excessive cable resistance. Remember that real voltmeters draw small amounts of current, even though it is ideal for a voltmeter not to draw any current at all. This being the case, especially for the kind of heavy, rugged analog meter movement likely used for an industrial-quality system, there will be a small amount of current through the 2-conductor cable wires. The cable, having a small amount of resistance along its length, will consequently drop a small amount of voltage, leaving less voltage across the indicator's leads than what is across the leads of the transmitter. This loss of voltage, however small, constitutes an error in measurement:

Resistor symbols have been added to the wires of the cable to show what is happening in a real system. Bear in mind that these resistances can be minimized with heavy-gauge wire (at additional expense) and/or their effects mitigated through the use of a high-resistance (null-balance?) voltmeter for an indicator (at additional complexity).

Despite this inherent disadvantage, voltage signals are still used in many applications because of their extreme design simplicity. One common signal standard is 0-10 volts, meaning that a signal of 0 volts represents 0 percent of measurement, 10 volts represents 100 percent of measurement, 5 volts represents 50 percent of measurement, and so on. Instruments designed to output and/or accept this standard signal range are available for purchase from major manufacturers. A more common voltage range is 1-5 volts, which makes use of the "live zero" concept for circuit fault indication.

Review

DC voltage can be used as an analog signal to relay information from one location to another. A major disadvantage of voltage signaling is the possibility that the voltage at the indicator (voltmeter) will be less than the voltage at the signal source, due to line resistance and indicator current draw. This drop in voltage along the conductor length constitutes a measurement error from transmitter to indicator.

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