Frequency meters are used in virtually all areas of electronics and are invaluable for servicing and diagnostics. Among other things, they are ideal for checking the operation of oscillators, counters and signal generators. They can also be used for servicing RF equipment or to simply provide an accurate frequency readout for a function generator.
This new 50MHz Frequency Meter is autoranging and displays the
frequency in either Hz, kHz or MHz. This makes the unit easy to read, as it automatically selects the correct range for any frequency between 0.1Hz and 50MHz and inserts the decimal point in the correct place for each reading.
The design is easy to build too, since it uses a programmed PIC
microcontroller to do all the clever stuff. Apart from that, there's an LCD readout, a couple of low-cost ICs, two transistors, a 3-terminal regulator and a few sundry bits and pieces to complete the design.
Note that although we have specified this Frequency Meter at
50MHz maximum, most units will be capable of measuring frequencies somewhat higher than this. In fact, our proto-type meter was capable of making frequency measurements to above 64MHz.
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Main Features
- Compact size (130 x 67 x 44mm)
- 8-digit display (LCD)
- Automatic Hz, kHz or MHz indicator units
- Two resolution modes
- 0.1Hz resolution up to 150Hz
- 1Hz resolution maximum up to 16MHz
- 10Hz resolution above 16MHz
- Battery or DC plugpack supply
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