Arbiter Systems 928A User manual

MODEL 928A USER’S MANUAL
Arbiter Systems, Inc.
Paso Robles, CA 93446
U.S.A.

Notice
This manual is issued for reference only, at the con-
venience of Arbiter Systems. Reasonable effort was
made to verify that all contents were accurate as of
the time of publication. Check with Arbiter Systems
at the address below for any revisions made since the
original date of publication.
Contact Information
Arbiter Systems, Inc.
1324 Vendels Circle, Suite 121
Paso Robles, CA 93446
[phone]
Website: www.arbiter.com
mailto: techsupp[email protected]
mailto: [email protected]
ii

LIMITED WARRANTY
Arbiter Systems makes no warranty, expressed or im-
plied, on any product manufactured or sold by Ar-
biter Systems except for the following limited warranty
against defects in materials and workmanship on prod-
ucts manufactured by Arbiter Systems.
Products manufactured by Arbiter Systems are guar-
anteed against defective materials and workmanship
under normal use and service for one year from the
date of delivery. The responsibility of Arbiter Systems
under this warranty is limited to repair or replacement,
at Arbiter Systems’ option, of any product found to be
defective. Arbiter Systems shall have no liability un-
der this warranty unless it receives written notice of
any claimed defect, within the earlier of:
 Thirty days of discovery by Buyer, or;
 One year from the date of delivery.
For warranty service or repair, products must be re-
turned to a service facility designated by Arbiter Sys-
tems. Buyer shall prepay all shipping charges to Ar-
biter Systems, and Arbiter Systems shall pay shipping
charges incurred in returning the product to Buyer.
However, Buyer shall pay all shipping charges, duties
and taxes for products returned to Buyer in a country
other than the United States of America.
THE WARRANTY SET FORTH HEREIN
CONSTITUTES THE ONLY WARRANTY
OBLIGATIONS OF ARBITER SYSTEMS,
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, BY
OPERATION OF LAW, OR OTHERWISE.
ARBITER SYSTEMS DISCLAIMS ANY
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND
BUYER EXPRESSLY WAIVES ALL OTHER
WARRANTIES.
iii

This limited warranty does not extend to any product,
which has been subject to:
I Improper use or application, abuse, or operation
beyond its rated capacity, or contrary to the in-
structions in the operation and maintenance man-
uals (if any);
II Accident;
III Repair or maintenance performed by Buyer, ex-
cept in accordance with the operation and main-
tenance manuals, if any, and any special instruc-
tions of Arbiter Systems;
IV Modification without the prior written authoriza-
tion of Arbiter Systems (whether by the substitu-
tion of non-approved parts or otherwise).
The remedies provided herein are Buyer’s sole and ex-
clusive remedies. In no event shall Arbiter Systems be
liable for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential
damages (including loss of profits), whether based on
contract, tort, or other legal theory.
FOR THE FASTEST POSSIBLE SERVICE,
PLEASE PROCEED AS FOLLOWS:
1. Notify Arbiter Systems, Inc., specifying the in-
strument model number and serial number and
giving full details of the difficulty. Service data
or instrument-return authorization will be pro-
vided upon receipt of this information.
2. If instrument return is authorized, forward pre-
paid to the manufacturer. If it is determined
that the instrument is not covered by this war-
ranty, an estimate will be made before the repair
work begins, if requested.
See Contact Information on page ii.
iv

Arbiter Systems, Inc.
Model 928A
Power System Multimeter 
User’s Manual
Warranty
Table of Contents
Introduction
Getting Started
Operation
Mlink Software Tutorial
Functional Description
Specifications
Appendixes
Index
Copyright Arbiter Systems Incorporated January 2012
All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
PD0030900J
v

vi

Contents
Introduction 1
Scope ...................... 1
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Simple Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Recording Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Safety and Usage Information . . . . . . . . . 2
Caution: Max CT Input Level . . . . . 2
Caution: Direct Current Input . . . . . 3
Measuring Safety and Usage . . . . . . . 3
928A Starter Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Getting Started 5
Keyboard Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Primary Function Keys . . . . . . . . . 5
Secondary Function Keys – 2nd key . . 5
Navigating Menus to Configure . . . . . 5
Power Supply, On and Off . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Auto Power Shutdown . . . . . . . . . . 6
Battery Power Only . . . . . . . . . . . 6
AC Power Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Bail Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Measurement Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Voltage Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Current Terminals . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
vii

Basic Functions and Keys . . . . . . . . . . . 13
MIN/MAX – Range . . . . . . . . . . . 13
LCD – Display Control . . . . . . . . . . 13
Function Keys, f1 – f6 . . . . . . . . . . 14
Splash Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Up and Down Arrows . . . . . . . . . . 14
MENU – Configuration and Settings . . 15
Menus in Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ENT – Enter or Move . . . . . . . . . . 18
ESC – Escape, Go Back . . . . . . . . . 19
STO – Store Value or Reading . . . . . 19
TIME – View or Set Time . . . . . . . . 20
DATE – View or Set Date . . . . . . . . 21
Using the Input Channels . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Configuring Channels A and B . . . . . 23
Using the MN352 Current Probe . . . . 29
CT Characterization Files . . . . . . . . 30
Operation 31
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Making Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
VI – Voltage and Current . . . . . . . . 32
φF – Phase and Frequency . . . . . . . . 34
PWR – Active and Reactive Power . . . 36
PF – Power Factor & Apparent Power . 38
Wh – Watt-hour . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
WAV - Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
HRM – Numerical Harmonics . . . . . . 44
Graphical Harmonics . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Flicker Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
FLK – Instantaneous Flicker . . . . . . 47
Pst – Short-Term Flicker . . . . . . . . . 47
PQ – Power Quality, Sags and Swells . . 48
TRIG – Working with Triggers . . . . . 54
Configuring Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . 55
viii

A/B Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
B/A Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
HOLD – Hold Metered Value . . . . . . 58
RCL – Recall Stored Values . . . . . . . 59
Integration Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
AXIS Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
LOG Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Autolog Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Mlink Software Tutorial 65
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Download Mlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Installing USB Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Install FTDI Driver on Windows XP  . 66
Linux Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Drivers for Windows Vista . . . . . . . . 67
Drivers for Windows 7 . . . . . . . . . . 67
Installing Mlink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Connecting to the 928A . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Startup - USB Connection . . . . . . . . 68
Mlink Main Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Available Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
CT Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
To Install Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
To Erase Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Configure User Screens . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Download Trigger Records . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Configure Power Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Power Quality Settings . . . . . . . . . . 77
Configure Point Limits . . . . . . . . . . 78
Point Limit Definitions . . . . . . . . . . 78
User Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
OFF - Deactivate PQ Trigger . . . . . . 80
Download Log Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Download Power Quality Records . . . . . . . 81
ix

Uploading New Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Functional Description 83
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Details...................... 84
Input Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
MUX and ADC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
DSP .................... 85
Power Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Current Measurement . . . . . . . . . . 85
Voltage Measurement . . . . . . . . . . 86
Soft Carrying Case . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
USB Data Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Specifications 87
Input ...................... 87
Input Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Current . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Operator Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Power Supply Requirements . . . . . . . . . . 88
Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
External Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . 89
Measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Voltage and Current . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Phase Angle, A to B . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Harmonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Power and Energy Quantities . . . . . . 90
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Physical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
x

AC Power Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
MN352 Current Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Probe Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Keypad Definitions 93
Primary Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Secondary Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
CT Input Connector 97
928A Current Input Connector . . . . . . . . 97
CT Cable Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Phase Conventions 99
CE Mark Certification 101
xi

xii

List of Figures
1Battery Compartment ........... 7
2Bail Assembly attached to lower holes . . 9
3Bail Assembly attached to upper holes . . 9
4Point Limit Profile ............. 48
5Mlink Installation Screen ......... 68
6Mlink Connection Window . . . . . . . . 69
7Windows XP COM Port Assignment . . . 70
8Mlink Main Window ............ 71
9Load CT Profiles ............. 72
10 Configure User Screens Window . . . . . 74
11 Download Triggers Window . . . . . . . . 75
12 Power Quality Settings .......... 76
13 Power Quality Point Limits . . . . . . . . 79
14 Upload Firmware Window . . . . . . . . 82
15 928A Current Connector Layout . . . . . 97
16 CT Cable Connector – side view . . . . . 98
17 CT Connector End View ......... 98
xiii

xiv

Introduction
Scope
Welcome to Arbiter Systems’ Power System Multi-
meter with Floating Point DSP  ! The Model 928A
Power System Multimeter is filled with great features
to help you measure electrical power. Whether you are
a new or experienced user, you should find the Model
928A easy to use and accurate. Three power sources
include alkaline or NiMH AA cells, and a +7 Vdc wall
adapter for continuous use. The alkaline cells provide
about 30 hours of use, and the NiMH should provide
about 60 hours of use.
Features
 128X64 graphic LCD display
 30-key multi-function keypad
 Isolated USB serial interface
 4 AA cells or a +7 Vdc plug-in power supply
 Flash memory for approximately 6500 records
 Accurate internal real time clock
 Mlink application software

Simple Measurement
To measure, simply set the inputs for voltage or cur-
rent, connect the correct set of cables and press the
desired function button.
Recording Data
Store data by pressing the STO button or using one of
the Auto-Log features. The 928A also stores Sags and
Swells, and standard Triggers in flash memory. 400
kB of flash memory provides enough space to store
thousands of records.
Safety and Usage Information
Read the usage and safety information inside this man-
ual. Dangerous voltages may be present at the ter-
minals of the equipment you are measuring, so take
precautions! Safety symbols are used throughout this
manual to signify potential hazards to the equipment
or to you, the user. Some of these are as follows.
“Warning” - identifies an action or a condition that
poses a hazard to the user.
“Caution” - identifies a condition or action that may
cause the incorrect operation or damage to the Model
928A.
Caution: Max CT Input Level
Never apply any signal directly to the CT inputs of
Channel A or B greater than 1.2 Arms or 1.2 Vrms.
Apply voltage and current signals to two identical
channels, labeled A and B. Prior to measuring, make
2

sure that the channels have been correctly configured
for the signal type (whether they are voltage or cur-
rent).
Caution: Direct Current Input
DO NOT connect a current signal directly to ei-
ther Channel A or B. Always use a current-output or
voltage-output CT when measuring current with the
928A.
Measuring Safety and Usage
Be sure to follow all precautions and safety information
provided with any other equipment you are using.
Display
Using a 128x64 pixel display, the 928A can display all
text and graphics necessary for operation. The LCD
can be adjusted for contrast and backlighted opera-
tion.
The Instrument Case
Made from strong copolymer (similar to nylon), the
928A case is designed to protect it from certain me-
chanical and electrical hazards, however it is not wa-
terproof. Water or other liquids can penetrate the case
at a number of points, which can permanently damage
the unit. Therefore, use care to protect it from rain,
spills or condensing environments.
Caution: Water Damage
The case is not waterproof. Subjecting the 928A to
rain or a wet environment will most likely damage it.
3

Caution: CT Probe Use
Please note that the jaws of the CT probe must be
fully closed to operate properly. Some probes have a
locking device, which must be fully engaged before the
probe will operate correctly. When clamping any CT
probe around conductors, always inspect the two jaws
to make sure they are fully closed.
CT Characterization
While the 928A Starter kit includes a CT probe that
has been characterized for accuracy, Arbiter also pro-
vides a service for users to have their own CT charac-
terized for use with the 928A. Contact Arbiter Systems
for more information on this service.
For more information on CT characterization files
(called “Profiles”), see instructions under “CT Char-
acterization Files” on page 30.
928A Starter Kit
AP0011200 - +7 Vdc Power Supply
AP0009700 - Single-Phase Voltage Lead Set
AP0012300 - 100:1 Clamp-On CT 150 A 10 mV/A
BT0000201 - 1.5 Volt AA Alkaline Battery (4)
CA0026106 - 928A USB Cable A-B 6 ft.
CA0027200 - 928A CT Cable Voltage Output
PD0030900 - Operation Manual
HD0069800 - 928A Soft Carrying Case
CTCAL01 - CT Calibration (100 mA – 100 A)
AS0082900 - 928A Bail Assembly
4

Getting Started
Keyboard Operation
Most of the keys on your 928A perform one primary
and one secondary function. The primary function of
any key is indicated by the characters on the face of
the key; for example, ON. The secondary functions are
indicated above the key; for example, RCL above the
HOLD key. See page 93 for key definitions.
Primary Function Keys
Primary keys need only to be pressed to function. For
example, press to set the multimeter mode to read
voltage and/or current for Channel A and B.
Secondary Function Keys – 2nd key
First press followed by any key with symbol
marked in blue above it.
Navigating Menus to Configure
1. To select a configure mode, press any function
key, then 2nd >MENU. For example, PQ >
2nd >MENU, or 2nd >LOG >2nd >MENU.

2. Scroll through fields using the or key and
press ENT to move the cursor to the value field.
3. Press , or number keys to change these values;
press ENT to install and move to another value.
4. To save changes and exit, highlight <STOre And
Exit>and press ENT. Alternatively, press STO.
Power Supply, On and Off
Press ON to power the 928A ON and OFF. To con-
serve power, the multimeter can be configured to au-
tomatically turn itself off after an adjustable period of
inactivity.
For help on supplying inlet power, whether con-
necting the power source or installing batteries, see
page 7ff.
Auto Power Shutdown
The 928A auto shutdown feature allows you to select
whether you want the 928A to automatically shutdown
or not. To automatically shut down and conserve bat-
teries, use the the Auto Shutdown menu under the
Main Menu. A number of different time intervals are
available in which the 928A will automatically power
down. See Auto Shutdown on page 17.
Battery Power Only
The Model 928A operates on four AA alkaline or
Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries. In the event of a bat-
tery failure, always carry a spare set of fully-charged
batteries.
6