TiePie Handyprobe HP3 User manual

Handyprobe HP3
User manual
TiePie engineering

ATTENTION!
Measuring directly on the line voltage can be very dangerous.
Copyright ©2018 TiePie engineering.
All rights reserved.
Revision 2.22, August 2018
Despite the care taken for the compilation of this user man-
ual, TiePie engineering can not be held responsible for any
damage resulting from errors that may appear in this man-
ual.

Contents
1 Safety 1
2 Declaration of conformity 3
3 Introduction 5
3.1 Differential input ............................. 5
3.1.1 Differential test lead ....................... 7
3.2 Sampling ................................. 7
3.3 Sample frequency ............................ 8
3.3.1 Aliasing .............................. 9
3.4 Digitizing ................................. 10
3.5 Signal coupling .............................. 11
4 Driver installation 13
4.1 Introduction ............................... 13
4.2 Where to find the driver setup ..................... 13
4.3 Executing the installation utility ..................... 13
5 Hardware installation 17
5.1 Power the instrument .......................... 17
5.2 Connect the instrument to the computer ............... 17
5.3 Plug into a different USB port ...................... 17
6 Specifications 19
6.1 Acquisition system ............................ 19
6.2 Trigger system .............................. 19
6.3 Interface ................................. 19
6.4 Power ................................... 20
6.5 Physical .................................. 20
6.6 I/O connectors .............................. 20
6.7 System requirements .......................... 20
6.8 Environmental conditions ........................ 20
6.9 Certifications and Compliances ..................... 20
6.10 Measure lead ............................... 21
Contents I

6.11 Package contents ............................ 21
II

Safety 1
When working with electricity, no instrument can guarantee complete safety.
It is the responsibility of the person who works with the instrument to op-
erate it in a safe way. Maximum security is achieved by selecting the proper
instruments and following safe working procedures. Safe working tips are
given below:
•Always work according (local) regulations.
•Work on installations with voltages higher than 25 VAC or 60 VDC should only
be performed by qualified personnel.
•Avoid working alone.
•Observe all indications on the Handyprobe HP3 before connecting any wiring
•The Handyprobe HP3 is designed for CAT II measurement category: Maxi-
mum working voltage 600 VRMS or 800 VDC. Do not exceed the rated voltage.
•Check the probes/test leads for damages. Do not use them if they are dam-
aged
•Take care when measuring at voltages higher than 25 VAC or 60 VDC.
•Do not operate the equipment in an explosive atmosphere or in the pres-
ence of flammable gases or fumes.
•Do not use the equipment if it does not operate properly. Have the equip-
ment inspected by qualified service personal. If necessary, return the equip-
ment to TiePie engineering for service and repair to ensure that safety fea-
tures are maintained.
Safety 1

2Chapter 1

Declaration of conformity 2
TiePie engineering
Koperslagersstraat 37
8601 WL Sneek
The Netherlands
EC Declaration of conformity
We declare, on our own responsibility, that the product
Handyprobe HP3-5
Handyprobe HP3-20
Handyprobe HP3-100
for which this declaration is valid, is in compliance with
EN 55011:2009/A1:2010 IEC 61000-6-1/EN 61000-6-1:2007
EN 55022:2006/A1:2007 IEC 61000-6-3/EN 61000-6-3:2007
according the conditions of the EMC standard 2004/108/EC,
also with
Canada: ICES-001:2004 Australia/New Zealand: AS/NZS
and
IEC 61010-1:2001/EN USA: UL61010-1: 2004
and is categorized as CAT II 600 Vrms, 800 Vpk, 800 Vdc
Sneek, 1-11-2010
ir. A.P.W.M. Poelsma
Declaration of conformity 3

Environmental considerations
This section provides information about the environmental impact of the Handy-
probe HP3.
Handyprobe HP3 end-of-life handling
Production of the Handyprobe HP3 required the extraction and use of natural
resources. The equipment may contain substances that could be harmful to the
environment or human health if improperly handled at the Handyprobe HP3’s end
of life.
In order to avoid release of such substances into the environment and to reduce
the use of natural resources, recycle the Handyprobe HP3 in an appropriate sys-
tem that will ensure that most of the materials are reused or recycled appropri-
ately.
The symbol shown below indicates that the Handyprobe HP3 complies with the
European Union’s requirements according to Directive 2002/96/EC on waste elec-
trical and electronic equipment (WEEE).
Restriction of Hazardous Substances
The Handyprobe HP3 has been classified as Monitoring and Control equipment,
and is outside the scope of the 2002/95/EC RoHS Directive.
4Chapter 2

Introduction 3
Before using the Handyprobe HP3 first read chapter 1about safety.
Many technicians investigate electrical signals. Though the measurement may not
be electrical, the physical variable is often converted to an electrical signal, with a
special transducer. Common transducers are accelerometers, pressure probes,
current clamps and temperature probes. The advantages of converting the phys-
ical parameters to electrical signals are large, since many instruments for examin-
ing electrical signals are available.
The Handyprobe HP3 is a single channel, 10 bits measuring instrument with dif-
ferential input with high input range. The Handyprobe HP3 is available in sev-
eral models with different maximum sampling frequencies and different maximum
streaming rates.
HP3-100 HP3-20 HP3-5
Maximum sampling rate 100 MS/s 20 MS/s 5 MS/s
Maximum streaming rate 10 MS/s 2 MS/s 500 kS/s
Table 3.1: Maximum sampling frequencies
The Handyprobe HP3 is available with two memory configurations, these are:
Memory HP3-100 HP3-20 HP3-5
Standard model 16 kS 16 kS 16 kS
Option XM 1 MS 1 MS 1 MS
Table 3.2: Maximum record lengths per channel
With the accompanying software the Handyprobe HP3 can be used as an oscil-
loscope, a spectrum analyzer, a true RMS voltmeter or a transient recorder. All
instruments measure by sampling the input signals, digitizing the values, process
them, save them and display them.
3.1 Differential input
Most oscilloscopes are equipped with standard, single ended inputs, which are
referenced to ground. This means that one side of the input is always connected
to ground and the other side to the point of interest in the circuit under test.
Introduction 5

Figure 3.1: Single ended input
Therefore the voltage that is measured with an oscilloscope with standard, single
ended inputs is always measured between that specific point and ground.
When the voltage is not referenced to ground, connecting a standard single ended
oscilloscope input to the two points would create a short circuit between one of
the points and ground, possibly damaging the circuit and the oscilloscope.
A safe way would be to measure the voltage at one of the two points, in reference
to ground and at the other point, in reference to ground and then calculate the
voltage difference between the two points. On most oscilloscopes this can be
done by connecting one of the channels to one point and another channel to
the other point and then use the math function CH1 - CH2 in the oscilloscope to
display the actual voltage difference.
There are some disadvantages to this method:
•a short circuit to ground can be created when an input is wrongly connected
•to measure one signal, two channels are occupied
•by using two channels, the measurement error is increased, the errors made
on each channel will be combined, resulting in a larger total measurement
error
•The Common Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR) of this method is relatively low. If
both points have a relative high voltage, but the voltage difference between
the two points is small, the voltage difference can only be measured in a
high input range, resulting in a low resolution
A much better way is to use an oscilloscope with a differential input.
6Chapter 3

Figure 3.2: Differential input
A differential input is not referenced to ground, but both sides of the input are
”floating”. It is therefore possible to connect one side of the input to one point
in the circuit and the other side of the input to the other point in the circuit and
measure the voltage difference directly.
Advantages of a differential input:
•No risk of creating a short circuit to ground
•Only one channel is required to measure the signal
•More accurate measurements, since only one channel introduces a mea-
surement error
•The CMRR of a differential input is high. If both points have a relative high
voltage, but the voltage difference between the two points is small, the volt-
age difference can be measured in a low input range, resulting in a high
resolution
3.1.1 Differential test lead
The Handyprobe HP3 comes with a special differential test lead. This test lead is
specially designed to ensure a good CMRR.
The special heat resistant differential test lead provided with the Handyprobe HP3
is designed to be immune for noise from the surrounding environment.
3.2 Sampling
When sampling the input signal, samples are taken at fixed intervals. At these
intervals, the size of the input signal is converted to a number. The accuracy of this
number depends on the resolution of the instrument. The higher the resolution,
the smaller the voltage steps in which the input range of the instrument is divided.
The acquired numbers can be used for various purposes, e.g. to create a graph.
Introduction 7

Figure 3.3: Sampling
The sine wave in figure 3.3 is sampled at the dot positions. By connecting the
adjacent samples, the original signal can be reconstructed from the samples. You
can see the result in figure 3.4.
Figure 3.4: ”connecting” the samples
3.3 Sample frequency
The rate at which the samples are taken is called the sampling frequency, the
number of samples per second. A higher sampling frequency corresponds to a
shorter interval between the samples. As is visible in figure 3.5, with a higher
sampling frequency, the original signal can be reconstructed much better from
the measured samples.
8Chapter 3

Figure 3.5: The effect of the sampling frequency
The sampling frequency must be higher than 2 times the highest frequency in the
input signal. This is called the Nyquist frequency. Theoretically it is possible to
reconstruct the input signal with more than 2 samples per period. In practice,
10 to 20 samples per period are recommended to be able to examine the signal
thoroughly.
3.3.1 Aliasing
When sampling an analog signal with a certain sampling frequency, signals appear
in the output with frequencies equal to the sum and difference of the signal fre-
quency and multiples of the sampling frequency. For example, when the sampling
frequency is 1000 Hz and the signal frequency is 1250 Hz, the following signal fre-
quencies will be present in the output data:
Multiple of sampling frequency 1250 Hz signal -1250 Hz signal
...
-1000 -1000 + 1250 = 250 -1000 - 1250 = -2250
0 0 + 1250 = 1250 0 - 1250 = -1250
1000 1000 + 1250 = 2250 1000 - 1250 = -250
2000 2000 + 1250 = 3250 2000 - 1250 = 750
...
Table 3.3: Aliasing
As stated before, when sampling a signal, only frequencies lower than half the
sampling frequency can be reconstructed. In this case the sampling frequency is
1000 Hz, so we can we only observe signals with a frequency ranging from 0 to 500
Hz. This means that from the resulting frequencies in the table, we can only see
the 250 Hz signal in the sampled data. This signal is called an alias of the original
signal.
If the sampling frequency is lower than twice the frequency of the input signal,
aliasing will occur. The following illustration shows what happens.
Introduction 9

Figure 3.6: Aliasing
In figure 3.6, the green input signal (top) is a triangular signal with a frequency of
1.25 kHz. The signal is sampled with a frequency of 1 kHz. The corresponding
sampling interval is 1/1000Hz = 1ms. The positions at which the signal is sampled
are depicted with the blue dots. The red dotted signal (bottom) is the result of the
reconstruction. The period time of this triangular signal appears to be 4 ms, which
corresponds to an apparent frequency (alias) of 250 Hz (1.25 kHz - 1 kHz).
To avoid aliasing, always start measuring at the highest sampling fre-
quency and lower the sampling frequency if required.
3.4 Digitizing
When digitizing the samples, the voltage at each sample time is converted to a
number. This is done by comparing the voltage with a number of levels. The
resulting number is the number corresponding to the level that is closest to the
voltage. The number of levels is determined by the resolution, according to the
following relation: LevelCount = 2Resolution .
The higher the resolution, the more levels are available and the more accurate
the input signal can be reconstructed. In figure 3.7, the same signal is digitized,
using two different amounts of levels: 16 (4-bit) and 64 (6-bit).
10 Chapter 3

Figure 3.7: The effect of the resolution
The Handyprobe HP3 measures at 10 bit resolution (210=1024 levels). The small-
est detectable voltage step depends on the input range. This voltage can be cal-
culated as:
V oltageStep =F ullInputRange/LevelCount
For example, the 200 mV range ranges from -200 mV to +200 mV, therefore the
full range is 400 mV. This results in a smallest detectable voltage step of 0.400 V /
1024 = 0.3906 mV.
3.5 Signal coupling
The Handyprobe HP3 has two different settings for the signal coupling: AC and
DC. In the setting DC, the signal is directly coupled to the input circuit. All signal
components available in the input signal will arrive at the input circuit and will be
measured.
In the setting AC, a capacitor will be placed between the input connector and the
input circuit. This capacitor will block all DC components of the input signal and
let all AC components pass through. This can be used to remove a large DC com-
ponent of the input signal, to be able to measure a small AC component at high
resolution.
When measuring DC signals, make sure to set the signal coupling of the
input to DC.
Introduction 11

12 Chapter 3

Driver installation 4
Before connecting the Handyprobe HP3 to the computer, the drivers need
to be installed.
4.1 Introduction
To operate a Handyprobe HP3, a driver is required to interface between the mea-
surement software and the instrument. This driver takes care of the low level
communication between the computer and the instrument, through USB. When
the driver is not installed, or an old, no longer compatible version of the driver is
installed, the software will not be able to operate the Handyprobe HP3 properly
or even detect it at all.
The installation of the USB driver is done in a few steps. Firstly, the driver has to
be pre-installed by the driver setup program. This makes sure that all required
files are located where Windows can find them. When the instrument is plugged
in, Windows will detect new hardware and install the required drivers.
4.2 Where to find the driver setup
The driver setup program and measurement software can be found in the down-
load section on TiePie engineering’s website and on the CD-ROM that came with
the instrument. It is recommended to install the latest version of the software and
USB driver from the website. This will guarantee the latest features are included.
4.3 Executing the installation utility
To start the driver installation, execute the downloaded driver setup program, or
the one on the CD-ROM that came with the instrument. The driver install utility
can be used for a first time installation of a driver on a system and also to update
an existing driver.
The screen shots in this description may differ from the ones displayed on your
computer, depending on the Windows version.
Driver installation 13

Figure 4.1: Driver install: step 1
When drivers were already installed, the install utility will remove them before
installing the new driver. To remove the old driver successfully, it is essential
that the Handyprobe HP3 is disconnected from the computer prior to starting the
driver install utility.
Clicking ”Install”will remove existing drivers and install the new driver. A remove
entry for the new driver is added to the software applet in the Windows control
panel.
Figure 4.2: Driver install: Copying files
14 Chapter 4

Figure 4.3: Driver install: Finished
Driver installation 15

16 Chapter 4