Measure high level current with PXI 4070

[TPJ]

Can I measure current up to 5 amps with PXI 4070 DMM card?

-TPJ

[Dennis_Knutson]

How many times do you need to get the link to the specifications?

[Mark_E]

TPJ,

One of my personal favorite support documents not directly linked from the product support page is the help file (also installed on your computer with the driver). While doing a search for "high current" I found a page entitled "High-Current (Up to 10 A) Measurement Considerations" (the path is NI Digital Multimeters Help » Devices » NI 4070 » DMM Measurements » DC and AC Current » High-Current...) that mentions we sell shunt resistors that will allow you to go beyond the DMM's maximum range. The NI CSM-10A current shunt should do the trick. I advise you to read the help file page for measurement considerations while using a current shunt.

I hope that helps!

Message Edited by Mark E on 11-07-2008 10:05 AM

[TPJ]

Thank you Mr. Mark for providing the information on high current measurements using current shunts.

Now I need a clarification. Since we shall be using an external NI CSM-10A current shunt, is there a need to recalibrate the PXI 4070 DMM card?

If YES, do we do the same in the Labview software?

-TPJ

[Pranchal Srivastava]

TPJ , If you need to recalibrate your card it can be easily done from measurement and automation explorer ( MAX) . This will be there once you have installed the drivers for your card . Please refer the image. You have an option of self calibrate her . You can also do an external calibration . Moreover we also provide feature of calibration in LabVIEW also . Hope this helps . Pranchal , NI India

[Mark_E]

TPJ,

Any time you introduce variables that can alter your measurement (temperature, time, shunt resistors, etc.), I would recommend performing a self calibration in MAX, as pointed out by Pranchal. There is a shipping example within LabVIEW for DMMs as well as other devices. To access the shipping examples, select Help » Find Examples. Once inside the Example Finder, navigate to the DMM self calibration example using this path: Hardware Input and Output » Modular Instruments » NI-DMM (Digital Multimeters) » Advanced » SelfCal and Calibration Info.

I hope that helps!

[TPJ]

Thank you again Mr. Mark and Ms. Pranchal. I shall go through the examples available in Labview and get back to you for any further questions.

-TPJ