Project Files of Analog Panel Meter Library for Proteus V1.0 (85C1 Voltmeter)

ANALOG PANEL METER LIBRARY FOR PROTEUS - V1.0 (a moving-coil 85C1-style meter with a real needle and a pop-up panel)
Designed by The Engineering Projects
www.TheEngineeringProjects.com

IMPORTANT LINKS
Article (read it first - pictures, step by step, every feature explained):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/analog-panel-meter-library-for-proteus-v1-0.html
Report a bug or suggest a feature (our forum):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/motor-driver-proteus-library
The demo runs on our Arduino UNO V4.0 (included) - working LEDs, RESET and a
built-in serial monitor, no Virtual Terminal to wire - its own article:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
Support us (the libraries are free):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

FILE STRUCTURE
Analog-Panel-Meter-TEP-v1.0/
|-- Proteus Library Files/
|   |-- ArduinoV4TEP.LIB                              201.9 KB   TEP Arduino boards V4.0 (UNO) -> LIBRARY
|   |-- TEPMETER.LIB                                   78.1 KB   the library -> LIBRARY folder
|-- Proteus Model Files/
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   the Arduino board model -> MODELS folder
|   |-- TEPMETER.DLL                                  325.0 KB   the model -> MODELS folder
|-- Proteus Simulation/
|   |-- Analog-Panel-Meter-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj         29.8 KB   the demo project
|   |-- Panel_Meter_Demo.hex                           22.0 KB   the demo firmware
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   copy of the board model
|   |-- TEPMETER.DLL                                  325.0 KB   copy of the model
|-- Arduino Code/
|   |-- Panel_Meter_Demo/Panel_Meter_Demo.ino           4.1 KB   the demo sketch (source of the .hex)
|-- README.txt                                        ~17.1 KB   this file
Total: 2.71 MB (unzipped). The C++ source code of the models is not included.

WHAT IS IT?
A simulation model of the classic analog panel meter (the 85C1 type): a light
coil on jewel pivots in the field of a permanent magnet, two hair springs and
a needle over a 90 deg scale - in effect a tiny motor that turns against a
spring. Our own model, not a voltmeter probe with a picture:
  * The terminals are the meter's real resistance in the circuit: a voltmeter
    is the 1 mA movement with its series resistor (1000 ohm per volt - the
    0 - 5 V meter is 5000 ohm), an ammeter is the movement with a shunt (100 mV
    at full scale, 75 mV for amps). Properties RANGE and UNIT (V, mA, uA, A).
  * The needle has inertia, springs and damping: about 10 % overshoot after a
    step, inside 1 % of the reading in about 1 s - the behaviour of a class
    2.5 meter. End stops at -3 and 93 deg.
  * The needle shows the AVERAGE current. An Arduino's analogWrite() (490 Hz
    on D9) reads as a steady voltage: 5 V x the duty. A slow PWM (a few hertz)
    makes the needle follow the pulses - the meter names it.
  * The mistakes it names: no current, a reversed meter (the needle pushes
    left against its stop), over the range (pegged on the right stop), an
    overload (more than twice the full-scale current), a PWM too slow to
    average.
  * The zero screw (the pop-up's toolbar) moves the needle's rest point like
    the screw on the real meter; a click on the glass taps it.
The symbol: the black 85C1 case, the cream scale behind the glass (numbered
from 0 to RANGE, five small divisions each) with the unit, the black needle
from the pivot under the dark nose with the zero screw; the + terminal (red
stud) on top, the - terminal (black stud) on the right. The plate, the current
LED I (green while the current flows into +, red when it flows into -) and the
strip under the plate (READING, CURRENT, PERCENT and OPEN PANEL) are
TEP additions; the real meter has none of them.

ONE DEVICE (search "panel meter" or "PANELMETER" in Pick Devices):
  PANELMETERTEP   "Analog Panel Meter V1.0"   (category Electromechanical >
                  Panel Meters), model TEPMETER.DLL
  The pop-up panel "TEP Analog Panel Meter" opens at Run (and with OPEN PANEL
  on the strip) - the look of the TEP Serial Monitor. Tabs Meter, Graphs,
  Event log and Check; gear and ? icons for Settings and Help; the palette
  icon switches the theme:
    Meter      the state in big letters (SHOWING 3.30 V / MOVING / SHAKING /
               PEGGED / REVERSED / NO CURRENT), the dial - the needle and an
               orange mark where the current asks it to be -, the live values
               (reading, needle %, the average current and voltage, the PWM,
               the needle's ripple, the last move's overshoot and settling
               time) and the terminal voltage over the last 20 ms. The
               toolbar: the zero screw (- / reset / +) and Tap the glass.
    Graphs     the needle and what the current asks (in the meter's unit) and
               the current over the last 2, 6 or 15 s. Live / Freeze.
    Event log  the current on / off, every move ("SHOWING 3.28 V (65.7 %) -
               settled in 0.96 s from 0.01 V, overshoot 9.1 % of the step"),
               the PWM seen, the zero screw, taps, the warnings; filters All /
               Moves / Warnings, Pause, Clear
    Check      Good for: a needle that does not move, goes the wrong way, sits
               on its end stop, shakes or reads wrong - the connection, the
               range, overload, PWM, the response and the meter itself, each
               with a verdict (green = fine, amber = check, red = wrong)
    Settings   theme, text size, open at Run, window size
    Help       report a bug, suggest a feature, article, updates, donate,
               forum; Copy diagnostics for a bug report

TEST STATUS
V1.0: verified in Proteus 8.5 on 28 Oct 2026 (the demo project as shipped: an
A4 sheet, an Arduino UNO V4.0 with its built-in monitor, the 0 - 5 V meter on
D9, RV1 on A0; the pop-up open).
What the runs showed (the needle as the model computed it):
  * The project loads and starts cleanly. RV1 at 66 %: "Pot 676 -> PWM
    169/255 = 3.31 V"; the needle settled at 3.30 V (66.0 %) in 0.96 s with a
    9.1 % overshoot; PWM 490 Hz, 66 % duty seen; the needle's ripple 0.01 % of
    the scale; the current 0.661 mA on average (0.996 mA in each pulse).
  * step: 0 V, then 5 V at once - 4.98 V (99.6 %), settled in 0.79 s; the
    overshoot was only 3.8 % because the needle ran into its 93 deg end stop.
  * volts 2.5: PWM 128/255, the needle at 2.50 V, PWM 490 Hz 50 %.
  * slow 4: a 4 Hz software PWM at the same duty - SHAKING, the needle swings
    0.39 V (7.85 % of the scale), "the needle shakes by 0.40 V at 4.0 Hz - too
    slow to average". knob: back to 3.30 V, the ripple gone.
  * The zero screw +1.0 deg: the needle at 3.36 V (+1.11 % of the scale);
    reset: 3.30 V. A tap on the glass: the needle jumped and settled back.
  * The pop-up: Meter, Graphs (2 / 6 / 15 s), Event log, Check - all four
    pages followed the run.
  Plus automatic checks on a PC, 0 failed: 16 on the meter (a 3.3 V step
  behind a pin's 25 ohm reads 3.283 V, 9.2 % overshoot - the ideal second-
  order value is 9.5 % -, settled in 0.97 s; analogWrite 168 at 490 Hz reads
  3.278 V with a 0.011 % ripple and is seen as 490.2 Hz, 65.9 %; a 4 Hz PWM
  shakes the needle 7.9 % of the scale; 6 V on the 5 V meter pegs it; -2 V
  reverses it; 11 V is an overload of 2.2 x; the zero screw +2 deg; a 0 - 20
  mA ammeter is 5 ohm and reads 10 mA); 3 on the pop-up pages rendered; the
  demo project read back from disk (48 checks: devices, pins, wires, labels,
  no wire through a part, no wire crossing).

INSTALLATION (about 2 minutes)
1. Close Proteus. Extract the WHOLE ZIP to a normal folder (e.g. Desktop).
2. Copy everything in "Proteus Library Files" (TEPMETER.LIB, and our Arduino
   library V4.0, ArduinoV4TEP.LIB, with the ARDUINO UNO V4.0 used by the demo)
   to the LIBRARY folder of Proteus, for example:
     C:\Program Files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\LIBRARY
   (on some PCs: C:\ProgramData\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\
   LIBRARY - use the folder that already holds Proteus's own .LIB files).
3. Copy TEPMETER.DLL and TEPARDUINO.DLL from "Proteus Model Files" to the
   MODELS folder (...\Proteus 8 Professional\MODELS).
   ArduinoV4TEP.LIB and TEPARDUINO.DLL are the files of our Arduino Library
   V4.0 - if you have it, they are the same.
4. Delete TEPMETER.IDX from the LIBRARY folder if it is there (Proteus makes a
   new index).
5. Start Proteus. In Pick Devices (P) search "PANELMETER".

RUN THE DEMO
"Proteus Simulation\Analog-Panel-Meter-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj" (an A4 sheet) -
keep the .hex file and the two DLLs beside the project.
  ARD1: Arduino UNO V4.0 running Panel_Meter_Demo.hex, its serial monitor
        built in (window "TEP Arduino UNO - ARD1").
  PM1:  the 0 - 5 V panel meter - + on D9 (by the net label D9 above both
        parts), - on ground.
  RV1:  a 10k potentiometer (POT-HG) on A0 - it sets the needle.
  1. Press Run. The monitor and the meter's pop-up open (move them aside -
     they open over the schematic). The needle swings to the pot's voltage
     (RV1 at 66 %: 3.30 V), overshoots a little and settles.
  2. Click RV1's arrows: the needle follows.
  3. Type in the monitor and press Send: volts 3.3, pwm 128, step, slow 4,
     sweep, knob - see THE DEMO SKETCH.
  4. On the pop-up: turn the zero screw, tap the glass, and watch the Graphs
     and the Event log.
Closed a window? The monitor: click the UNO's USB port; the pop-up: OPEN PANEL.

WIRING (the same in Proteus and on a real board)
  Panel meter   Arduino UNO
   +            D9 (any PWM pin: analogWrite gives 490 Hz on D9)
   -            GND
  Potentiometer the ends to 5V and GND, the wiper to A0
A 0 - 5 V meter (a 1 mA movement with its 5 kohm resistor) takes 1 mA at full
scale: the pin drives it directly. In the sketch:
  analogWrite(9, 168);             // 168 / 255 x 5 V = 3.29 V on the meter
REAL HARDWARE:
 * Check what is inside your meter: a "0 - 5 V" meter has its resistor built
   in; a bare 1 mA or 100 uA movement needs a series resistor of (5 V / its
   full-scale current) minus its own resistance - without it the needle slams
   into the end stop and the coil can burn.
 * Ammeters have a shunt of a fraction of an ohm: never put one straight
   across a supply.
 * Analog meters are calibrated upright or flat, as the dial says; set the
   zero with the screw before you trust them.

THE DEMO SKETCH ON THE SERIAL MONITOR (Panel_Meter_Demo V1.0, 9600 baud)
  volts 3.3     show 3.3 V and stay (the pot is ignored until knob)
  pwm 128       analogWrite(9, 128) directly (0 - 255)
  step          0 V for 1.5 s, then 5 V at once: the overshoot and settling
  slow 4        the same duty as a 4 Hz software PWM: the needle shakes
  sweep         0 to 5 V and back in about 4 s
  knob          follow the pot on A0 again
  help          the list
EXPECTED MONITOR OUTPUT
  Analog panel meter demo - The Engineering Projects
  Meter + on D9 (PWM), - on GND: 0 - 5 V. The pot on A0 sets the needle.
  Commands: volts 3.3 | pwm 128 | step | slow 4 | sweep | knob | help
  Pot 676 -> PWM 169/255 = 3.31 V

PROPERTIES (double-click the part > Edit Properties)
  RANGE   the full-scale value (default 5); the scale's numbers follow it
  UNIT    V (default), mA, uA or A - V makes a voltmeter of 1000 ohm per volt,
          the others an ammeter: 100 mV across it at full scale (75 mV for A)
  Try RANGE 3 in the demo: above 60 % of the pot the needle pegs on its stop.
Every run starts again from the properties. The demo's UNO (ARDUINO UNO V4.0):
PROGRAM Panel_Meter_Demo.hex, MONITOR YES (the built-in monitor), BAUD 9600,
AUTOOPEN YES, BOOTLOADER YES.

LINKS.INI (OPTIONAL)
The Help page cards of the pop-up open web pages. To point them somewhere else
without a new DLL, put a text file named links.ini next to TEPMETER.DLL with
lines KEY=URL, for example:
  ARTICLE=https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/...
Keys: WEBSITE, FORUM, BUG_REPORT, FEATURE_REQUEST, ARTICLE, USER_GUIDE,
UPDATE_CHECK, DONATE. Only http:// and https:// links are used; lines starting
with # are comments.

TROUBLESHOOTING
* The needle never moves (NO CURRENT): + or - is not connected, or the pin is
  not an output / never written.
* The needle pushes left against its stop (REVERSED): + and - are swapped.
* The needle sits on the right stop (PEGGED): the value is over RANGE - a
  bigger RANGE, or a divider in front of the meter.
* The needle shakes (SHAKING): the PWM is too slow for it - use analogWrite
  (490 Hz) or anything above about 50 Hz.
* The reading is a little off: check the zero (the pop-up's zero screw) and
  the PWM's duty (the Check page shows both).
* The part is not simulated / the needle never turns: TEPMETER.DLL is missing
  from MODELS and from the project folder. No UNO / no monitor window:
  TEPARDUINO.DLL is missing, or click the UNO's USB port.
* The pop-up does not appear: click OPEN PANEL on the strip, or turn "Open the
  panel at Run" on its Settings page back on.

BUG REPORTS AND FEATURE REQUESTS
Please post them in our forum with a screenshot, the Serial Monitor text, the
simulation log and the pop-up's Copy diagnostics text:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/motor-driver-proteus-library

SUPPORT US
This library is free. If it saves you time, please support our work:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

WEBSITE
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/

LICENCES AND THIRD-PARTY NOTES
* The meter model (TEPMETER.DLL), the symbol and artwork and the Arduino
  Library V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL, with its built-in TEP Serial
  Monitor Advance) are made by The Engineering Projects. The model is an
  independent implementation written from the typical data of moving-coil
  panel meters. The model uses only standard Windows libraries; no Visual C++
  redistributable is needed. The C++ source code is not included.
* Arduino UNO V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL, our Arduino Library
  V4.0 - its microcontroller is Proteus's own AVR model): The Engineering
  Projects, https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
* The potentiometer is Proteus's own POT-HG.
* The .hex file is built from the demo sketch and the Arduino AVR core 1.8.6,
  which includes LGPL-licensed code; its source code is available at
  https://github.com/arduino/ArduinoCore-avr/tree/1.8.6
* Proteus is a product of Labcenter Electronics and is not included. Arduino is
  a trademark of Arduino SA. This library is not made or endorsed by any meter
  maker, Arduino or Labcenter.

REBUILDING THE FIRMWARE (OPTIONAL)
The HEX file is supplied; Arduino IDE is not needed to run the demo. To edit the
sketch, open Arduino Code\Panel_Meter_Demo\Panel_Meter_Demo.ino, select Arduino
Uno and use Sketch > Export Compiled Binary. Replace the simulation's .hex with
the exported HEX. The sketch needs 8,004 bytes of flash (25 % of the UNO) and
289 bytes of RAM.

MODEL SCOPE AND LIMITS
Modelled: the terminal resistance (a voltmeter's 1000 ohm per volt, an
ammeter's shunt), the movement's torque from the current, the springs, the
inertia, the damping (about 10 % overshoot, about 1 s to settle), the pivots'
friction, both end stops, the zero screw, a tap on the glass.
How it runs: the terminals are a resistance in the analog circuit; at every
accepted point the needle follows the solved current in 0.2 ms steps. The
analog step is held to 2 ms while the needle moves (10 ms at rest); a PWM's
edges add their own points.
Not modelled: AC meters (a moving-iron or rectifier movement), the scale's
own non-linearity, temperature, the movement's back-EMF (microvolts here),
the spread from meter to meter.

VERSION
TEP Analog Panel Meter library V1.0 (Oct 2026). Device PANELMETERTEP
(TEPMETER.LIB / TEPMETER.DLL). Demo sketch Panel_Meter_Demo V1.0. Demo board:
ARDUINO UNO V4.0 (TEP Arduino Library V4.0) with its built-in serial monitor.