PIE Practical Instrument Electronics 311, 311 Plus Operating Manual

Model 311

Diagnostic RTD

& Milliamp Calibrator

Operating Instructions

• Two Calibrators in One!

Calibrate all your RTD instruments AND your milliamp
loops with the PIE 311Plus. It has all the functions of a 12
type RTD calibrator and can source 0 to 24 milliamps or
simulate a two wire transmitter like a milliamp calibrator.
You may also perform stand alone calibrations of two wire
transmitters by simultaneously supplying the RTD input
signal while supplying the 24 volts to power up the
transmitter and monitoring the milliamp output signal.
Powers HART™ transmitters with built-in 250 ohm resistor
simplifying hookups with HART communicators.

• Troubleshoot loop problems

Quickly diagnose ground fault and current leakage with the
patented loop diagnostic technology (US Patent 7,248,058).

• Troubleshoot RTD sensors

Troubleshoot sensor connections and find broken wires
with patented technology. Connect your two, three or four
wire RTDs and the PIE 311Plus automatically detects the
connections. Secondary display shows the resistance
value corresponding to the RTD temperature.

• Easy to use in the shop, plant, or field

With the PIE 311Plus you can check & calibrate all your
RTD instruments, measure RTD Sensors, and calibrate 4
to 20 milliamp instruments. Automatic indication of
connections on the display for simple hookups. Carry it
without worry - it comes protected with a rubber boot and
rugged, low profile switches. Easy to operate even in dark
areas with the backlit display.

• Calibrate directly in temperature (°C & °F)

Stop carrying around a decade box and RTD resistance tables. The PIE 311Plus works with the
RTDs you use including Platinum 10, 50, 100, 200, 500 & 1000 (alpha = 3850), Pt 100 Ohm
(alpha=3902, 3916, 3926), Copper 10 & 50 Ohm, and Nickel 120 Ohm. Easily set any value quickly
to within 0.1° with the adjustable digital potentiometer “EZ-DIAL” plus store any three temperatures
for instant recall with the EZ-CHECK™ switch. And from 0.00 to 401.00 and 0.0 to 4010.0 Ohms.

• Checkout all your 4 to 20 mA loops & instruments

With the built-in milliamp calibrator you can check, calibrate and measure all your current signal
instruments in a 4 to 20 milliamp loop. It can be used at any access point in your loop. Source &
Read 0.000 to 24.000 mA, Simulate a 2 Wire Transmitter or use the PIE 311Plus to simultaneously
power your 2 Wire Transmitter and measure its output while simulating the sensor input

• Fast calibration with automatic output stepping

Choose between 2, 3, 5, 11 and 21 steps to automatically increment the output in 100%, 50%,
25%, 10% or 5% of span. Select the step time to match your system from 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20,
25, 30 and 60 seconds.

• Compatible with ALL process instruments

No competitor’s calibrator is compatible with as many process instruments! Connect directly to the
RTD inputs of smart transmitters, PLCs, DCS and multichannel recorders and verify their outputs
or displays. Works with older instruments with fixed excitation currents and newer multichannel
instruments that switch the excitation current between input channels.

82 East Main Street Suite 3.14 • Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.piecal.com

Copyright © 2017 All rights reserved • 311Plus-9002 - Rev A 26 July 2017

Practical Instrument Electronics

.

Page 1

Deluxe Hands Free

Carrying Case (Included)

Evolution RTD Test

Leads (Included)

Magnetic Hanging Strap

(Optional)

Practical Instrument Electronics

82 East Main Street Suite 3.14 • Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.piecal.com

Page 2

Basic Operation

+

-

100.0

2, 3, 4 Wire Detection

MAX

HI

READ
MIN

LO

+

°C

SOURCE

OFF

READ

Double Click

Menu

Push & Turn

Fast Dialing
Push & Hold

Store/Step

for

to

   

-

3 2 1 4

Diagnostic RTD &

Milliamp Calibrator

Loop Leak Detect ∙ Transmitter Supply

SET

OVERLOAD

q EZ-CHECK™ SWITCH

SOURCE: Instantly output two preset RTD

temperatures or milliamp values by moving the
EZ-CHECK™ switch to the “LO” position or “HI”

For fast three point checks select the

position.
“SET” position. The PIE 311Plus will remember
the last “SET” value, even with the power off.
These values can easily be changed to suit the
calibration requirements. The values stored in the HI
and LO positions are also used for Auto Stepping.

READ: Slide the switch to the SET position. The PIE
311Plus will display the current temperature from the
RTD sensor or the current milliamp value. Slide the
switch to HI and the highest value measured since
turn-on or reset will be displayed; slide the switch to
LO and the lowest value measured since turn-on or
reset will be displayed.

w SOURCE/OFF/READ Switch

Select “SOURCE” to output in °C, °F, Ohms or
milliamps.
Select “READ” to read a RTD sensor, Ohms or
milliamps. Select “OFF” to turn the unit off.

e EZ-DIAL™ KNOB

SOURCE: Turn the knob to adjust the output
level. Turn clockwise to increase the output,
counter clockwise to decrease the output in 0.1°,

0.01 Ω or 0.001 mA steps at a time. Push down
and turn the EZ-DIAL knob for faster dialing.

Press and hold the knob for two seconds to store
desired EZ-Check™ HI/LO points in SOURCE
mode. Continue to press and hold the knob for
three more seconds to start the automatic
stepping or ramping.

READ: Press and hold the knob for two seconds
to transfer the current measured value into the
EZ-Check™ HI/LO points. This clears the HI/LO
readings which will update as the measured
value changes.

Double click the knob to get into the PIE 311Plus
Configuration Mode.

CHANGING BATTERIES

Low battery is indicated by a battery symbol on
the display. Approximately one hour of typical
operation remain after the first time the low
battery symbol appears. To change the batteries;
remove the rubber boot, remove the battery door
from the back of the unit by sliding the door
downward. This allows access to the battery
compartment. Replace with four (4) “AA” 1.5V
batteries being careful to check the polarity.
Replace the battery door and the boot. All stored
configuration options (T/C Type, EZ-CHECK
Memories, etc.,) are reset to factory settings
when the batteries are removed.

Note: Alkaline batteries are supplied and
recommended. Purchase the optional Ni-MH
rechargeable batteries for maximum battery life.

Practical Instrument Electronics

82 East Main Street Suite 3.14 • Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.piecal.com

Page 3

Configuration

Double Click Menus - MAIN Page

Move w POWER SWITCH to “SOURCE” or
“READ”.

DOUBLE CLICK

EZ-DIAL KNOB

FOR CONFIGURATION

V#.##

Read mA, Power/Measure

Transmitters & Leak Detect

MAIN

> EXIT (1/3)
FUNCTION mA
MODE READ PWR MEAS
UNITS mA %
HART 250Ω ON OFF

Double click the EZ-DIAL knob to access the
Double Click Menus. Shown are the MAIN
menus for each function. Turn the knob to scroll
thru the menus and press the knob to select.
Available choices are shown in grey.

Source RTDs

MAIN

>EXIT (1/3)
FUNCTION RTD
UNITS °C °F
RTD Pt 10 0 a=3850

[*See Read RTD]

Read RTDs

MAIN

>EXIT (1/3)
FUNCTION RTD
UNITS °C °F

RTD Pt 100 a=3850,

Pt 500 a=3850, Pt 1000 a=3850,
Pt 100 a=3902, Pt 100 a=3916,
Pt 100 a=3926,
Cu 10 a=4274, Cu 50 a=4280,
Ni 120 a=6720
Pt 10 a=3850, Pt 50 a=3850

Pt 200 a=3850,

Source & Read Ohms

MAIN

> EXIT (1/3)
FUNCTION OHMS RTD mA
RANGE 400 Ω 4000 Ω

Source mA &

Simulate 2 Wire Transmitters

MAIN

> EXIT (1/2)
FUNCTION mA
MODE SOURCE 2W SIM
UNITS mA %
HART 250Ω ON OFF

Turn the e DIAL KNOB to move through the two
to four pages of menus. Press the e DIAL
KNOB to toggle between OFF and ON or to
scroll through the settings.

Double Click Menu - RTD DISPLAY

RTD DISPLAY (SOURCE)

> EXIT (2/4)
DISPLAY OHMS OFF ON
SENSOR mA* OFF ON

RTD DISPLAY (READ)

> EXIT (2/3)
DISPLAY OHMS OFF ON

DISPLAY OHMS - If DISPLAY OHMS is ON the

Ohms value corresponding to the sourced or
measured temperature is displayed.

SENSOR mA - If SENSOR mA is ON the
excitation current supplied from the RTD
measuring instrument is displayed (SOURCE
only).

Double Click Menu - OHMS DISPLAY

OHMS DISPLAY

> EXIT (2/4)
SENSOR mA* OFF ON

SENSOR mA - If SENSOR mA is ON the

excitation current supplied from the resistance
measuring instrument is displayed (SOURCE
only).

Practical Instrument Electronics

82 East Main Street Suite 3.14 • Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.piecal.com

Page 4

Configuration

Double Click Menu - mA DISPLAY

mA DISPLAY (For RTD)

> EXIT (3/4)
MODE
HART 250Ω ON OFF

LEAK DETECT OFF ON

MODE - pressing the knob will cycle through
READ, PWRM, READ%, PWRM% and OFF.

READ turns on the mA display and indicates

current passing through the loop proportional
to the input of the transmitter which is controlled
by the output of the 311Plus. Choose READ%
to display in percent of 4-20 milliamps.

PWRM is POWER MEASURE which uses the
internal loop supply of the 311Plus to power up
the transmitter while indicating the current
passing through the loop proportional to the
input of transmitter which is controlled by the
output of the 311Plus. Choose PWRM% to
display in percent of 4-20 milliamps.

If PWRM or PWRM% is selected an
additional menu selection of LEAK DETECT
will appear. When LEAK DETECT is turned
on the 311Plus will display LEAK and the
amount of current that is uncontrolled in the
loop. This may be due to a faulty transmitter,
corrosion causing a bridge to ground or
moisture present at some connection point.
When LEAK DETECT tests a loop with
leakage the loop mA signal will be affected.

HART 250Ω - turn on the 250Ω resistor if you
are powering up a HART transmitter. This
provides the loop load required for HART
communication.

OFF READ PWRM READ% PWRM%

Double Click Menu - FEATURES

FEATURES

> EXIT (4/4)
AUTO OFF ON OFF
BACKLIGHT ON OFF
STEPS/RAMP 2 3 5 11 RAMP
STEP/RAMP TIME 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 20 25 30 60

AUTO OFF - If AUTO OFF is ON, the unit will

turn off after 30 minutes of inactivity to save
battery life. If AUTO OFF is OFF the unit will
stay on until the POWER SWITCH is moved to
the off position.

BACKLIGHT - If BACKLIGHT is ON the
backlight will light all the time the unit is powered
up. For maximum battery life turn the backlight
off when using the calibrator in areas with
enough ambient light to read the display.
STEPS/RAMP - pressing the knob will cycle
through 2, 3, 5, 11 and RAMP. The endpoints
of the steps or ramp are based on the values
stored in the HI and LO EZ-CHECK outputs.

2 steps will automatically switch between the
values stored in the HI & LO EZ-CHECK (0 &
100%).

3 steps between the HI, Midpoint and LO
EZ-CHECK (0, 50 & 100%).

5 steps between the HI and LO EZ-CHECK
in 25% increments (0, 25, 50, 75 & 100%).

11 steps between the HI and LO EZ-CHECK
in 10% increments (0, 10, 20...80, 90 &100%).

RAMP continuously ramps up and down
between the HI and LO EZ-CHECK outputs.

STEP/RAMP TIME - pressing the knob will
cycle through 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25,
30 and 60 seconds.

Practical Instrument Electronics

82 East Main Street Suite 3.14 • Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.piecal.com

Page 5

Storing EZ-CHECK Outputs

STORING HI and LO EZ-CHECK Outputs

Choose this function to provide a simulated RTD signal into controllers, temperature transmitters,
indicators or any other input device that measure RTD sensors.

1) Store your high (SPAN) output temperature by moving the EZ-CHECK switch to the HI position
and turn the
EZ-Dial knob until STORED appears to store the value. Release the EZ-Dial knob.

2) Store your low (ZERO) output temperature by moving the EZ-CHECK switch to the LO position
and turn the
EZ-Dial knob until STORED appears to store the value. Release the EZ-Dial knob.

3) Instantly output your SPAN and ZERO temperature outputs by moving the EZ-CHECK switch
between HI and LO. You may also select any third temperature output (such as mid-range) using
the SET position on the EZ-CHECK switch.

e EZ-Dial knob until the desired temperature is on the display. Press and hold the

e EZ-Dial knob until the desired temperature is on the display. Press and hold the

Automatic Stepping

To change the Automatic Stepping settings

Double click the e DIAL KNOB at any time the unit is on and the menu will appear for 15 seconds.

Turn the e DIAL KNOB to move through down
to the third (FEATURES) menu. Press the e
DIAL KNOB to toggle between OFF and ON or
to change the STEPS and the STEP TIME
settings. These settings are remembered even
with the power off.

EXIT MENU - exits this menu immediately and saves any changes. Menu will automatically exit after
15 seconds of inactivity.

STEPS - pressing the knob will cycle through 2, 3, 5 and 11 then reverse direction. The endpoints of
the steps are based on the values stored in the HI and LO EZ-CHECK outputs.

2 steps will automatically switch between the values stored in the HI & LO EZ-CHECK (0 &
100%).

3 steps between the HI, Midpoint and LO EZ-CHECK (0, 50 & 100%).

5 steps between the HI and LO EZ-CHECK in 25% increments (0, 25, 50, 75 & 100%).

11 steps between the HI and LO EZ-CHECK in 10% increments (0, 10, 20...80, 90 &100%).

RAMP continuously between the HI and LO EZ-CHECK.

FEATURES

> EXIT (3/3)
AUTO OFF ON OFF
BACKLIGHT ON OFF
STEPS/RAMP 2
STEP/RAMP TIME 5 6 7 8 9 10 15 20 25 30 60

3 5 11 RAMP

STEP TIME - pressing the knob will cycle through 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 60 seconds.

To start the Automatic Stepping

Start automatic stepping or ramping by placing the EZ-CHECK Switch into the HI or LO position
then press and hold the
after 3 seconds and continue to press the DIAL KNOB) until the word STEPPING appears on the
display. The word STEPPING will appear on the display anytime the selected automatic function is
running. Stop the stepping by again pressing and holding the

e DIAL KNOB for 6 seconds (the word STORE will appear on the display

e DIAL KNOB for 3 seconds.

Practical Instrument Electronics

82 East Main Street Suite 3.14 • Webster, NY 14580 Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • [e-mail] • www.piecal.com

Page 6