Pulse Pickup shielding v1.6+

Pulse Pickup shielding v1.6+


What is a Pulse Pickup?

A Pulse Pickup is a device used to detect electronic output pulses based on the Watthour constant (Kh) of your electricity meter. These pulses can be visible or infrared light.
Under normal operating circumstances in various environments, your Pulse Pickup should perform as expected, without error. However, we have encountered rare occurrences of erratic behaviour which appear to be linked to environments with higher than usual electromagnetic interference (EMI).

Where would these symptoms typically occur?

The rare circumstances that these anomalies could occur would be in areas of higher than usual electromagnetic interference (EMI).
One example would be a hospital with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines/radiography machines, in close proximity to the meter.

How do I know if my Pulse Pickup is affected or not?

There is no reason to be worried about your current Pulse Pickup(s) as we have seen the issues solely in very specific places i.e. areas of higher than usual electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Pulse Pickups containing older generation integrated circuits (ICs) were less prone to EMI and therefore should not be affected. As technology advanced and within all of our newer Pulse Pickup versions, we have incorporated the necessary changes to eliminate EMI interference. Some of the changes include additional shielding, latest ICs with enhanced EMI protection capability etc.

What are the symptoms of a defective Pulse Pickup?

Symptoms of a defective Pulse Pickup include but are not limited to:
  1. Pulse pickup randomly misses pulses.
    1. If the test result is < 100% and does not go over the .2% error, it points to a missed pulse.
    2. Statistically, errors are more likely to be observed in HL and PF tests in meters with a Kh of <~1.0.
  2.  Pulse pickup haphazardly stops sending pulses from the meter to the Probewell unit.
    1. The test time per load takes considerably longer than estimated.
    2. Meter LCD shows the energy flow indicator but the LED on the pulse pickup doesn’t blink.
    3. The autodetected Kh value does not correspond to the meter’s Kh value.

What are the corrective actions performed to fix this issue?

If you perceive to have a defective Pulse Pickup, we will fix and replace it for you free of charge, through our return merchandise authorisation (RMA) process.
We have taken measures to ensure that your new Pulse Pickup will perform at its best, even in a high EMI environment. These measures included installing extra shielding on the Pulse Pickup head itself and we have also integrated multi-layer grounding on our printed circuit board (PCB) for the electronic components to eliminate interference from external sources.
 
 
 


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