Atec PACS-1 User Manual

••

• Affordable Pre-Compliance Test

••

Test products for compliance to IEC Har­monics and Flicker standards using stan­dard 230 Vac - 50 Hz line power.

••

• AC Line Distortion Compensation

••

PCTS Software compensates for AC Line
distortion.

••

• PC Based Operation

••

Simple to use Windows GUI automates
and documents test procedures and easily
accommodates future IEC standard
changes.

••

• Upgradable to Full Compliance Level

••

PCTS can be field upgraded to full
compliance by adding a California
Instruments AC Power Source.

••

• EN 61000-3-2 Harmonics

••

Supports new Amendment 14 harmonics
test requirements.

Pre-Compliance

Harmonics & Flicker

Test System

PCTS

••

• EN 61000-3-3 Flicker

••

Eliminates the need for IEC 725
reference impedance using direct voltage
and current measurement method.

Introduction

The PCTS pre-compliance harmonics
and flicker test system provides a cost
effective solution for testing products
to EN61000-3-2 harmonics, and
EN61000-3-3 Flicker standards during
internal product qualification and de­velopment stages. Using line AC power
from 100 - 240 Vac 50 Hz, the PCTS
uses proprietary software algorithms to
compensate for line distortion. Hence,
test results will be virtually identical to
those that will be obtained with a full
compliance test system. This ensures
that results are consistent and repeat­able, regardless of prevailing line con­ditions.

For flicker analysis, the use of a so­phisticated dual channel measurement
technique compensates for the lack of
the IEC 725 impedance and dynami­cally calculates the correct flicker re­sults. Therefore, test results of the
PCTS are within a few percent of those
that will be obtained by a certified full
compliance test system. Thus the

PCTS can be used to check EUT’s
before submitting them to a test lab or
for periodic verification of product com­pliance in a production environment.

Modular Architecture

The PCTS system utilizes an easily
upgradeable modular approach. The
signal conditioning unit converts volt­age and current into low level signals
that are routed to the AC power ana­lyzer card that is installed in the user’s
PC. This approach is extremely cost
effective, and only requires the user to
plug the signal conditioning unit into a
wall outlet. The EUT is then plugged
into the signal conditioning unit, which
can be placed under a printer or a
desktop style PC.

50 Hz AC Line Operation

Typical harmonics and Flicker compli­ance test systems such as the Califor­nia Instruments CTS series utilize a
programmable AC power source. The
PCTS however relies on the available

INCLUDES

AMENDMENT 14

SUPPORT !!!

50 Hz AC line power. Note that 60 Hz
line power with different voltage levels
may cause harmonics spectra to differ
substantially. Moreover, 60 Hz power
distribution systems also have a lower
impedance, affecting Flicker calcula­tions. Thus, it is advised to use a fully
IEC compliant CTS Series system un­der these conditions.

The included PACS signal condition­ing unit (Power Analysis and Condition­ing System) provides the required sig­nal isolation and scaling for the PC
based acquisition system. A high
speed sampling system records and
processes all relevant data and pro­duces a real-time display of voltage,
current and harmonic content.

The elimination of the AC power source
and the use of a PC based measure­ment system greatly reduces the ac­quisition cost of the PCTS compared
to traditional harmonics and flicker test
systems.

PCTS Series - IEC 61000-3-2 Harmonics Test

Simple buttons start
and stop automated
test.

Key EUT electrical pa­rameters are updated
continuously.

User selectable test
limit margin.

Test start time and test
progress are clearly in­dicated.

Clearly marked Pass
(Green) or Fail (Red) in­dication is active during
the entire test run. AC
Line distortion is moni­tored and compen­sated for in software.

The Windows based graphical user in­terface (GUI) greatly facilitates the use
of the system by the operator. EUT
class selection and test time are the
only required user inputs. If desired,
additional information on the EUT can
be entered for incorporation in the test
report. The result of each test run is
clearly shown using color highlights.

Actual EUT current harmonics versus
IEC test limits are displayed in graphi­cal form with a clear indication of which
harmonics surpass the IEC limits.

AC Line voltage is monitored in real­time and the PCTS harmonic analysis
software automatically compensates
for the effect of line distortion on the
EUT harmonic currents. This produces

Both Voltage and Cur­rent waveforms are
shown in real-time. For
class A and D test, the
special waveshape
template (red) is
shown.

Bottom graphs show
current harmonics
against IEC class lim­its. The user can also
view the AC Line volt­age harmonics in real­time.

Equipment Under Test
description and opera­tor ID are added to all
test reports.

test results which are comparable to
those obtained with a fully EN61000­3-2 compliant test system.

Both IEC 61000-3-2.1998 and the IEC
61000-3-2.2001 Amendment 14 stan­dards are supported by the PCTS soft­ware.

PCTS Series - IEC 61000-3-3 Flicker Test

Start and Stop Flicker
tests with the click of
a button.

Start time, current
time and stop time
monitoring.

Highest values found
during test are con­tinuously shown and
updated.

Clear Pass (Green) or
Fail (Red) indication
leaves no doubt about
the test result.

User selectable test
time.

In Flicker mode, the PCTS software
automatically incorporates the effect of
the required IEC 725 reference imped­ance. This software synthesized im­pedance method eliminates the need
to add a costly impedance to the sys­tem and produces comparable test re-

sults. A real-time display of flicker pa­rameters such as Pst, dc, dmax and dt
is provided during the test run so EUT’s
that fail are immediately apparent to the
operator. This eliminates the need to
wait for the end of an up to two hour
test run to know the outcome of a test.

Select test parameters
and data display op­tions.

IEC Test limits can be
changed for pre-compli­ance applications.

Real time display of dt,
dc and V

Continuous readouts of
V
provide test progress
feedback.

Equipment Under Test
description and operator
ID are added to all test
reports.

, d

rms

max

rms.

, dc, Plt and Pst

A concise Flicker test report can be
printed at the end of each test run.
Required operator interaction is mini­mal making the PCTS one of the easi­est systems to use.