Design tips: Measurement follies

It is important to understand how your test equipment operates so you can make proper and reasonable conclusions from the indications you observe. Unfortunately, very few universities teach classes on ‘how equipment works’ and so often students and graduates approach measurements as more of a ‘black box’ approach and believe the measurement results simply because they believe measurements are never wrong! In truth, a measurement will certainly always provide you with an answer, but the real question is whether or not you actually got the result to the question you “thought” you were asking! This article will examine how some test equipment works and some common misuses and the resulting incorrect conclusions.