Measuring AC Voltage of Inductive Coil Plus

[pendragon_01]

hey all
I'm using the 5v inductive coil kit and have gotten it working pretty good.

I've been able to measure the DC current going to the inductive circuitry and coming out on the receiving side, but i can't seem to measure the AC current between the 2 transmitting and receiving circuits. I've tried to place my leads on the copper wire or copper coil and i get nothing. What am i doing wrong?

also, i am trying to place a switch in-line with the transmitting coil by separating the transmitting circuit from the transmitting coil, plugging them both into breadboard and then adding the switch in-line. I can't get that work either.

Thanks in advance!
pendy

[zener]

It is hard to know what you are doing exactly. A diagram or picture would help. Generally current measurements are made by putting the meter "in series" with the current path. However, in this case the frequency could be higher than what the meter can measure. I don't know what frequency that thing is running at. Your problem could be in one of those two areas.

[pendragon_01]

Transmitting coil + Circuit

1407-00_a.jpg (54.14 KiB) Viewed 216 times

Thanks for the quick reply. See a handy visual above. Measuring the VDC at the transmitting coil (black arrows) is successful, but when i attempt to measure VAC (at blue arrows or any other logical point), no dice. I am probably running afoul of a electrical principle or 2 so if i could get a little direction on how to measure AC current at the induction coils that would be great.

Also like the illustration, I separated the copper coil from the circuitry and reconnected via plugging them into a breadboard, but the AC current doesn't seem to conduct from the transmitting circuity through the breadboard to the copper coil. Once again i'm probably getting owned by a basic electrical principle but can someone explain why this is happening?

Thanks again!
pendy

[adafruit_support_mike]

Taking an AC currrent measurement is pretty much the same as taking a DC current measurement in terms of the connections.

Connect one wire from the coil directly to the driver circuit and connect the other end of the coil through an ammeter. Make sure you have the meter set for an AC reading, and take the first measurement at the highest current setting the meter has. It's easy to blow the fuses in a multimeter when measuring current, so start with the strongest one and make sure it's safe to take one at a lower setting.