
Solar Electronics Company
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The PULSE POSITION control in conjunction with the polarity reversing switch will
enable phase shift of the injected spike through 360° as observed on the oscilloscope.
The phase reversing switch at the bottom of the panel will allow adjustment of the spike
position to the positive half cycle or the negative half cycle of the power line sine wave.
Due to the phase difference existing, the knob position corresponding to the voltage zero
crossover will differ from one test sample to another.
When synchronizing on a 60 Hz* line, the spike appears on every 8th sine wave of the
power frequency. On a 400 Hz line, the spike appears on every 64th sine wave. The
spike position, however, is the same on each sine wave on which the spike appears.
This periodic injection of the spike is due to the 7.5** pps rate on 60 Hz* lines and a rate
of 6.2 pps on 400 Hz lines. (In this equipment, the repetition rate must be kept below
10 pps to allow time for the charging of the capacitors which provide the energy for the
spike.)
CAUTION: WHEN OPERATING ON A 400 HZ POWER LINE, DO NOT LEAVE THE
FUNCTION SWITCH IN THE 60 HZ POSITION FOR PROLONGED PERIODS SINCE
IT MAY CAUSE OVERHEATING OF THE POWER SUPPLY.
Upon completion of the 400 Hz pulse positioning test, reinsert the parallel blade
connector into the mating socket. This connector should remain in this position for all
other uses of the Spike Generator.
4.6 Repetition Rate
The calibration of the knob in pps is reasonably accurate (approximately ±10%) at all
panel markings. For applications where the exact rate is important, it may be measured
on the time base scale of the associated oscilloscope. The rate is independent of load
conditions.
4.7 Spike Amplitude
The amplitude of the spike is adjustable from approximately 5 V to 600 V peak by means
of the AMPLITUDE knob. The calibration of this scale is most accurate at 100 V with a
resistive load greater than 5 Ωand with a repetition rate of 10 pps. For adjustment of
amplitude into unknown loads, the knob must be adjusted while watching the spike
amplitude on an oscilloscope with calibrated vertical amplitude.
4.8 Amplitude with Low Impedance Loads
Since the internal impedance of the Spike Generator is of the order of 0.25-1.0 Ω, the
amplitude into a matched load will be one half that of the open circuit amplitude. This
characteristic enables the operator to estimate the load impedance when it is
approaching the internal impedance of the generator.