Fluke 5500A User Manual

®

Introduction

The 5500A/COIL is a 50-Turn Current Coil used as a tool for calibrating clamp-type current meters that
operate by two different principles—as current transformers (AC only), and by the Hall Effect (Both AC
and DC). It is impractical to calibrate 1000A rated current clamp meters using a 1000A source. How­ever, by using the 50 turns of the 5500A/COIL in conjunction with a current source calibrator one can ef­fectively multiply the current of the current source calibrator by a factor of 50 to support the calibration
and verification of these clamp-type current meters.

Instruction Sheet

Model 5500A/COIL

50-Turn Current Coil

UNFUSED. Exceeding current and voltage ratings can cause burn or fire hazard.

Using the Coil

Clamp-type current meters operate as current transformers, with differing degrees of magnetic coupling
between primary and secondary that vary from meter to meter. The position of the clamp meter with re­spect to the cable also affects the magnetic coupling between primary and secondary of the current trans­former, which causes variation in reading of
the current meter. This is important to under­stand in order to make the most accurate and
repeatable measurements. The base of the
5500A/COIL was designed so the current
clamp can be centered carefully on the coil,
minimizing operator error for best repeatabil­ity. Calibration accuracy to specifications is
guaranteed only when proper clamp alignment
is made. The clamp current meter should be
centered as much as possible on the base dur­ing calibration and verification. If the clamp­type current meter has alignment marks, the
alignment marks should align the clamp with
the center bundled wire of the 50-Turn
5500A/COIL. (See Figure 1).

PWARNING

Figure 1. Positioning the Clamp

PN 600616 August 1995 Rev.8, 1/09

©1995-2009 Fluke Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A. Product names are trademarks of their respective companies.

Specifications

Number of Turns 50

Maximum Current 11A rms, continuous

20.5A rms, 2 minutes

Maximum Duty Cycle Derating < 11A, continuous

> 11A, 2 minutes ON, 8 minutes OFF

Maximum Voltage 7 V dc or 7 V rms ac

Minimum Inner Diameter of Clamp Jaws 2.54 cm [1”]

Specification for Clamp Meter/Coil interaction

Specification for 5500A/COIL

Coil Specifications [clamp/coil interaction]

Calibrator Output

Magnitude Frequency Amp-turns ±(% of output + Amps) ±(% of output + Amps)

0.2 - 0.33 A DC 10 - 16.4999 0.50 0.02

0.33 - 2.9999 A DC 16.5 - 149.999 0.5 0.14

3.0 - 20.5 A DC 150 - 1025

0.2 - 0.33 A 45 Hz to 65 Hz 10 - 16.4999 0.28 0.003 0.56 0.03

0.33 - 2.9999 A 45 Hz to 65 Hz 16.5 - 149.999 0.28 0.025 0.56 0.25

3.0 - 20.5 A 45 Hz to 65 Hz 150 - 1025 0.28 0.09 0.56 0.9

0.2 - 0.33 A 65 Hz to 440 Hz 10 - 16.4999 0.79 0.003 1.00 0.03

0.33 - 2.9999 A 65 Hz to 440 Hz 16.5 - 149.999 0.79 0.027 1.00 0.25

3.0 - 20.5

0.2 - 20.5 A Above 440 Hz 10 - 1025 Usable but unspecified

**Note: Some calibrators may not have adequate compliance voltage to drive coil in this range.

**

A 65 Hz to 440 Hz 150 - 1025

Effective

Current Output

Toroidal-type Clamps

[such as the Fluke 80i-600 and 80I-1000]

Not applicable

0.79 0.1 1.00 0.9

'other-type' of Clamps

[such as the Fluke 80i-KW, -400,
80i-410, -500, -1010 and 30-series]

0.5 0.5

Calculating Total Specification

The total specification of the effective current that the clamp-type meter measures is a function of the
clamp/coil interaction and of the current calibrator. To determine the total specification use the following
formula:

total

2

coil

2

USS +=

source

Example:

Assume we are driving the coil with the Fluke 5500A at 4A, 60 Hz (the clamp meter will see an effective
current of 200A, 60 Hz) and we are calibrating a toroidal-type clamp meter. The Calibrator’s 1 year
specification at 4 Amps is ± (0.06% + 2 mA), so the effective current in the coil bundle will have a speci­fication of ± (0.06% + 0.1A). Next, we find the total specification of the calibrator and the coil as a per­centage of the output:

Specification of effective calibrator current in coil bundle = ± (0.06% + 0.1A) = 0.11%
Specification due to clamp Meter/Coil Interaction = ± (0.28% + 0.09A) = 0.325%

The RSS of these two specifications determines the total specification of the clamp/source combination:

total

22

=+=S

%343.0%11.0%325.0