Fluke 5700A Series II - 4-43. Introduction to Offset, Scale, and Linearity Errors

5700A/5720A Series II
Operators Manual
4-42
4-43. Introduction to Offset, Scale, and Linearity Errors
The performance of a DMM or meter can be plotted as a graph of input stimulus and
meter reading. For a perfect meter, the graph of the input stimulus would exactly match
the graph of the reading.
The calibrator measures and displays the following three types of UUT errors:
• Offset Error
• Scale Error
• Linearity Error
4-44. Offset Error
Offset error can be measured directly by finding the calibrator’s output that causes a
meter reading of 0V. This error is called an offset because it reflects a fixed error that is
present in all meter output readings. For example, if a meter reads 0V when -1.3 mV is
applied, the meter has an offset error of +1.3 mV. Figure 4-7 illustrates this example.
CALIBRATOR
SETTING
0
-1.3 mV
METER READING
OFFSET
ERROR =
+1.3 mV
Figure 4-7. Offset Error