PIE 530 User manual

Practical Instrument Electronics
Model 530
4-20 Milliamp Loop Calibrator
Operating Instructions
841 Holt Road #1 •Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] •Fax: [phone] [email protected] •http://www.piecal.com/
Practical Instrument Electronics, Inc. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. P1-4
A. Basic Keypad Operations
1EZ-Check™ Switch/EZ-Step™ Pushbutton
Slide the switch to select the user stored values for
calibration points. Press the button to adjust the output
by the user defined step size. Press and hold the button
to activate the auto step/ramp mode.
2SOURCE/STEP SIZE Button
Press SOURCE to change source modes. These are:
• Source Milliamps
• 2-Wire Transmitter Simulate
3ON/OFF Button
Press ON/OFF to turn the Model 530 on or off.
4UNITS Button
Press UNITS to change how current is
displayed – either in milliamperes or % of 4-20
mA. Voltage is only displayed in Volts.
5READ Button
Press READ button to change read modes.
These are:
• Read Milliamps
• Power and Measure 2-Wire Transmitter
• Read Volts
hSTORE/CLEAR Button
In any source mode:
Press STORE/CLEAR to save the current
reading in the EZ-CheckHI or LO position.
The EZ-Checkswitch must be set to HI or L
The display will flash “STORED” to confirm.
O.
In any read mode:
Press STORE/CLEAR to clear the values saved
in the EZ-Check™ HI and LO positions. The
display will flash “CLEARED” to confirm.
iEZ-Dial™ Knob
Turn the EZ-Dial™ knob to adjust the output
level. Press and turn to adjust 100X faster.
B. EZ-Dial™ Knob
Adjust the output up and down with the EZ-Dialknob. The increment is 0.001 mA (or 0.01 % if display
units are % of 4-20 mA.) Press while turning to adjust 100X faster – 0.100 mA (or 1.00 %.)
C. EZ-Check™ Switch
The EZ-Check™ switch has three positions -- high, set, and low. Its position is shown at the left edge of
the display with “HI” and “LO” indicators. Neither indicator indicates the middle position. Use of the EZ-
Checkswitch depends on mode.

Practical Instrument Electronics
Model 530
4-20 Milliamp Loop Calibrator
Operating Instructions
841 Holt Road #1 •Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] •Fax: [phone] [email protected] •http://www.piecal.com/
Practical Instrument Electronics, Inc. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. P2-4
Source Modes:
Slide the EZ-Checkswitch to the HI and LO positions to recall the settings stored in those
positions. While in the HI and LO positions, dial the EZ-Dialknob to change the display. Press
STORE/CLEAR to save new settings in the HI and LO positions. The display will flash “STORED”
to confirm.
Hint: For faster calibrations, the position of the switch can be felt. This feature allows continuous
monitoring of the device being calibrated without looking back at the Model 530 display. This is
also useful in poor lighting or under difficult operating conditions.
Read Modes:
In read modes, the Model 530 calibrator records the maximum and minimum readings observed in
each mode. Slide the EZ-Checkswitch to the HI and LO positions to display the readings. Press
STORE/CLEAR to clear the readings. The display will flash “CLEARED” to confirm.
By default, the Model 530 has EZ-CheckHI/LO Readings OFF. Refer to Model 530 Configuration,
section H.
D. EZ-Step™ Pushbutton
The EZ-Steppushbutton is a feature only in source modes.
Press and hold the EZ-Steppushbutton for less than one second to cause the output to step up or down
by the EZ-Stepsize. The EZ-Stepdirection is indicated on the display ( or ). Press the EZ-
Dialknob to change the step direction.
Press the EZ-Steppushbutton for more than one second to activate auto step/ramp mode. The Model
530 will automatically step by the EZ-Stepsize. Press the EZ-Steppushbutton again to deactivate auto
step/ramp mode.
Stepping and auto step/ramp limits are defined by the EZ-CheckHI and LO settings. The step direction
changes when a limit is reached.
By default, the Model 530 has EZ-StepOFF. Refer to Model 530 Configuration, section H.
E. EZ-Step™ Size and Direction
To Change the EZ-StepTM Size:
1. Press and hold the SOURCE/STEP SIZE button for more than ¾ of a second.
2. The display will indicate “EZ-STEP SIZE”.
3. Turn the EZ-Dialknob to select other step sizes. The choices are:
mA display - 0.001, 0.010, 0.100, 1.000, 4.000, 8.000
% display - 0.01, 0.10, 1.00, 10.00, 25.00, 50.00
4. Press the SOURCE/STEP SIZE button again return to the normal display.
Note: If the EZ-Stepoption is turned off, the display will indicate “EZ-STEP OFF”. Refer to Model
530 Configuration, section H.

Practical Instrument Electronics
Model 530
4-20 Milliamp Loop Calibrator
Operating Instructions
841 Holt Road #1 •Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] •Fax: [phone] [email protected] •http://www.piecal.com/
Practical Instrument Electronics, Inc. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. P3-4
To Change the EZ-StepTM Direction:
1. Press the EZ-Dialknob.
2. The display will change to show the EZ-StepTM direction selected ( or ).
F. Auto Step/Ramp
Auto step/ramp times are given in Table 1. In step modes (EZ-Stepsizes 8, 4, and 1 mA or 50, 25 and
10 %) the output will change in discrete steps. In ramp modes, the output is approximately continuous.
The Model 530 will detect high loop resistance/low supply in step modes. In ramp modes, these error
conditions are not detected.
Table 1
Auto EZ-StepSize Step Time Ramp Time (4-20 mA or 0-100 %)
8.000 mA 50.00 % 10 seconds (30 seconds)
4.000 mA 25.00 % 10 seconds (50 seconds)
1.00 mA 1.9 seconds (34 seconds)
Step
10.00 % 1.8 seconds (21 seconds)
1.00 % 20 seconds
0.10 % 25 seconds
0.100 mA 32 seconds
0.010 mA 40 seconds
0.01 % 83 seconds
Ramp
0.001 mA 134 seconds
G. Quick Reference Bar Graph
The Quick Reference Bar Graph indicates the input and output level to the Model 530 in % of 4-20 mA
with 1% resolution. If the input or output signal is outside the normal operating range of the Model 530
the Quick Reference Bar Graph is replaced by an error message (see section I for errors.)
H. Model 530 Configuration
Auto Off - ON (default)/OFF
If Auto Off is ON, the unit will turn off after 30 minutes to save battery life, if there is no user activity. If
Auto Off is OFF the unit will stay ON until it is turned off from the keypad. This is typically useful for
manual loading or continuous use.
EZ-Step- ON/OFF (default)
If EZ-Stepis ON the step size is adjustable as described in the instructions. If EZ-Stepis OFF the EZ-
Steppushbutton will be disabled and the step direction indicator will not be displayed.
HART®Compatibility Mode - ON/OFF (default)
The Model 530 has a HART® compatibility mode. This mode is useful when the devices being powered
communicate using the HART®protocol. In this mode the Model 530 connects a 250 Ωload resistor in
series with the output in both Source and Power Measure 2-Wire transmitter modes. This eliminates the

Practical Instrument Electronics
Model 530
4-20 Milliamp Loop Calibrator
Operating Instructions
841 Holt Road #1 •Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] •Fax: [phone] [email protected] •http://www.piecal.com/
Practical Instrument Electronics, Inc. Copyright 2002. All rights reserved. P4-4
requirement of an external 250 Ωload resistor. This resistor is typically shown in connection diagrams and
manuals for HART®devices.
If HART®Compatibility Mode is ON, a 250 Ωload resistor is automatically switched in series with the
output in Source and Power Measure 2-Wire Transmitter modes. The output compliance with HART®
Compatibility Mode ON is 950 Ωat 20 mA.
If HART®Compatibility Mode is OFF there is no 250 Ωload resistor in series with the output. This will
increase the output compliance voltage to drive 1200 Ωat 20 mA.
EZ-CheckHI/LO Readings ON/OFF (default)
If the EZ-CheckHI/LO Readings option is ON, the highest and lowest readings will automatically be
saved in the HI and LO EZ-Check™ positions.
If this option is OFF the HI and LO positions will show the current reading.
Factory Reset ON/OFF (default)
If Factory Reset is ON, the unit will restore all factory defaults when the Model 530 is turned OFF and back
ON. This will reset any changes made in the Model 530 Configuration options, returning the unit to its
simplest factory configuration.
Instructions for Enabling and Disabling the Configuration options in the Model 530
1. Turn the Model 530 on.
2. Press the EZ-Dialknob while the “PRESS EZ-DIAL KNOB FOR CONFIGURATION” message is
displayed.
3. Select options by turning the EZ-Dialknob until the arrow points to the desired option.
4. The option can be enabled or disabled by tapping the EZ-Dialknob.
5. Turning the Model 530 off to exit configuration.
I. Error Conditions
Source Milliamps:
“HIGH Ω” flashes in place of bar graph
Power Measure:
“CURRENT LIMITED” flashes in place of bar graph
2-Wire Transmitter Simulate:
“LOW SUPPLY” flashes in place of bar graph
Read Milliamps:
“CURRENT LIMITED” flashes in place of bar graph
Read Volts:
“OVERRANGE” flashes in place of bar graph