16 Apr
2011
16 Apr
'11
4:52 p.m.
On 16 Apr 2011 at 18:44, Dave McGuire wrote:
I once had an argument with a fellow who didn't
believe
potentiometric voltage measurement systems ever had any value, because
there have been "multimeters", VOMs and VTVMs for many decades. "Why
do all that comparison stuff with standard cells when you can just
MEASURE the damn thing?" he asked. He didn't understand that there's
a voltage reference of one sort or another inside every VOM and VTVM.
He obviously never had a lab course in electrical measurements. From
my college experience, I grew to hate wall galvanometers. That
summer, I wound up on a job that required me to haul around a
portable potentiometer doing endless calibrations...
--Chuck