[volt-nuts] AC Voltage Measurement Standards

[acbern at gmx.de]

J.L.,
it really depends on what level of accuracy you are looking for. The gold standard obviously is the Fluke 792A. That is probably not an option. The Fluke 8606 is more on the lower end side (dont get me wrong, compared to the 792A), it does not really bring much improvements compared to the 3458A operated in the AC SYNC mode, but maybe it is good enogh for what you want to do. In that range are also e.g. the R&S ac voltmeters, but their focus is more in the higher frequency area.
Very good accuracies are achieved by thermal converters (Ballantine...). You can do DC to AC comparison measurements with a few ppm accuracy. But measurements are slow, and you need a nanovolt meter.

I personally did the following: I got a Ballantine 1605A transfer voltmeter. This is comparable to the 792A in a way, except it was much cheaper. It is automatic, much easier to use than the Fluke 540 and goes up to I think 100MHz. This can be used for percision calibrations as a working standard. The calibration of this meter as well as others (e.g. the 3458A in its AC mode) I am doing with a set of thermal converters (0.5V to 100V). One of which (10V) has been externally calibrated up to 30MHz, cal of the others are derived from it. That way I am deriving everything from a very precisely (few ppm) calibrated 10V TVC. Overall, this saves cost on the calibration side, allows for high accuracy and measurement speed is good.



> Gesendet: Mittwoch, 09. Juli 2014 um 06:20 Uhr
> Von: "John Phillips" <john.phillips0 at gmail.com>
> An: mitch at vincentelectronics.com, "Discussion of precise voltage measurement" <volt-nuts at febo.com>
> Betreff: Re: [volt-nuts] AC Voltage Measurement Standards
>
> J. L. ,
> I do not know what level you are willing to pay for. I do not work in a
> real high end lab but we seem to get by with checking our secondary
> standards with a 3458A before and after we send it to gary to be
> calibrated. We use our 10 volts and 10K resistor to calibrate the 3458A
> before we send it in and then after. We look at the before and after data
> as well to come up with new values for the units. Comes down to using the
> 3458A as the primary standard filtered by our history. The different AC
> measurement methods in statistical mode can give you a good idea where your
> AC values really are.
> 
> I would like to know how that compares with what the extra hardware can do.
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 7:52 PM, Mitch Van Ochten <
> mitch at vincentelectronics.com> wrote:
> 
> > Joe,
> >
> > I used a Fluke 540 for a while, and also the Fluke 8506A.  The Fluke 540 is
> > MUCH more difficult to use. You need to flip the switch between two
> > positions rapidly and the results you get depend somewhat on how "rapidly"
> > you make the transition. For AC volts the 8506A seems very nice.
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > mitch
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com [mailto:volt-nuts-bounces at febo.com] On
> > Behalf Of J. L. Trantham
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 9:46 PM
> > To: Discussion of precise voltage measurement
> > Subject: [volt-nuts] AC Voltage Measurement Standards
> >
> > I've been thinking about adding an AC Voltage Measurement Standard to my
> > shop.
> >
> >
> >
> > It would appear that most of these have to do with thermal converters.
> >  Does
> > anyone have any thoughts about this?
> >
> >
> >
> > I've been thinking about a Fluke 540B, 8506A, or a collection of A55
> > Thermal
> > Converters.  I have accurate DC measurement tools and DC standards.
> >
> >
> >
> > I would appreciate any thoughts.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
> >
> >
> > Joe
> >
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> 
> 
> -- 
> John Phillips
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