Mini test : Chauvin Arnoux PAC12 AC/DC PRO Probe Clamp
One of the most uncommon accessories for one multimeter,
are the current clamp probes.
Only the ones who will get involved with Fluke multimeter’s and accessories ,
will get even the primary information about the existence of this solutions.
So , what I am trying to say , are that the information about this solutions,
Its not so wide spread.
Another issue can be the price , Fluke and Chauvin Arnoux , looks to be the major players in this specialized product range, and the average pricing are about to 300$ or 230 Euro for the product from France .
Comparison apples with apples.
The PAC 12 , has the functional specs of the Fluke i400.
But it is even better, with two internal auto-range ranges,
at the nominal spec of 0.4 – 40A & 40 – 400A .
Max specs 60A-600A AC/DC .
The PAC 12 , are even better from the Fluke i400 , because it has even higher accuracy , comparable only with the Fluke i1000 .
The only compromise , if I can describe it that way , are the specification about the working bandwidth on the DC .
The Fluke ones looks to cover the bandwidth 0-200KHz .
When the PAC 12 covers the 0-2KHz , and from special graphs at the product sales brochure ( not available as download ) , it looks to cover 0 - 100KHz .
This technical deference’s, will interest most, the ones dealing with very specific pulsing power supplies, with very bad filtered output.
This deference’s called as bandwidth coverage , and usually separates the naming of the devices as RMS or True RMS , unfortunately no matter how hard I had search ,
I did not found the “ official borders “ of where the RMS bandwidth stops , and the True RMS bandwidth starts, or has to cover , so one device to be justified to called as True RMS.
I got this clamp from ebay ( France ) , just for 71 Euro shipped ,
I call this fact as plain luck, I would never pay the full price of an such of a product,
mostly because, its not an so important tool, for the range of the works that I do daily.
After testing it, I feel now that my True-RMS DMM had become a true Swiss army Knife.
Testing – Settings
1) I had set my bench DC PSU as source , sorted the output , and engaged the current limiter , so I was able to have 0-10A range at 2V DC .
2) I had set my three digital multimeter’s in line , so to check and verify the Amperes output , by all of them.
3) By the Fluke 87-5 as leading high resolution meter , I had calibrate the analogue Ampere meter on the PSU ,
at the 4 Amperes output.
I did double check , on the output of the Kenwood 0-4A and was very accurately scaling in it , in comparison with the multimeter’s.
4) Removed the Fluke 87-5 from the chain , and left the other two ( Pros Kit ) and the small (UNI-T ) .
The Pros Kit was giving readings equal to the Fluke 87-5 , so at my tests was the “ reference “ as direct connected multimeter.
5) The Fluke 87-5 in cooperation with the clamp , was an separate verification point ..
Unexpected problems ..
As known the digital clamp produces output in millivolts, translated by the multimeter as amperes.
Now imagine that at this resolution , anything small than an Ampere, it will force the clamp, to output in Micro-volts.
1milli volt = 1000 Micro-volts.
The lowest output that I managed to get from the clamp , was the unstable 80 microvolt’s ,
And from the 100 Micro-volts = 100 Milliampere detected current from the clamp it self,
I managed to have stable constant output.
Now imagine that at those small electrical values, any dirt on the contact areas (connectors ) will have an negative effect , at any measurement .
I had to use degreaser spray on the clamp connector, and double check anything, because at the beginning I got flimsy results.
The Good News ..
The Chauvin Arnoux PAC12 clamp with the Fluke 87-5 just rocks as setup !! Thumps Up !!
The lowest range of the 100 Milliampere as detected by the clamp amperage, stands for 22W ( VA ) detected at 220V ( with out the Power Factor included) .
As sensitivity, its just “ a m a z i n g “ and its even better that what I was hopping to get ,
from one clamp with 600A Max rating !!
In the last picture , its one magic trick , that I accidentally found in a product , and by researching it,
I did my experiment ,
one more expert Greek electrician, told me how it works …
The product called as AC Line splitter , so to grab your clamp easily on the single wire ,
and measure devices with common power cord plugs .
The Magic … was that the marketed AC Line splitter , offers two positions to hook the clamp,
The one named as 1X and the other as 10X .
The explanation are simple, at the 10X spot , there is a coiled wire that multiplies by ten times the detected amperes.
So by this trick, one insensitive clamp it can offer an “ low current ” measurement !!
I think ok , that could work on AC , but not at DC ..
Hey I was wrong, it works on DC too, on the Hall DC clamps , just one complete loop on the cable ,
Multiplied the output X2 … amazing – magic … any way its an nice discovery , and now I can verify it too.
Last words …
If you check the name of its picture, you will understand what it represents.
The small UNIT was always a bit off , in the Amperes scale .
The Pros Kit and the Fluke was 100% accurate all the way, from the lowest to the highest measurement.
This experiment was one good major test for all my tools , as all of them had operate at 10Amperes continually for about 10 minutes , and only the cables ( bridges ) become a bit warm.
Testing equipment its fun to do, but if its your own, its one good “ crash test “ ,
and it feels good to confirm by your self , that what ever you own , are reliable and accurate.
Thanks for your time ..
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