Instructions

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MC3000
· 28
MC3000
USER CALIBRATION
Very similar to the technology of a modern digital multimeter, the microprocessor of MC3000
measures the actual battery current (in series) and the actual battery voltage (in parallel) directly
at the battery in order to control and regulate the discharge or charge process. During the
manufacturing process every MC3000 production unit gets tested and calibrated to 2 decimals in
an expeditious process observing highest factory standards. Ambitious users who trust their own
expensive equipment more, prefer their personal fluke to serve as reference, or look for the grain
of supreme precision have the possibility to adjust the MC3000 factory calibration by a few
counts. Note that production calibration procedure, undocumented in this user manual, differs
from the following documented calibration procedure in user calibration view (UCV).
Steps for user calibration (Voltage):
1 C a l i b . V : 4 . 1 0 3 V
3 . 9 6
4 . 1 5
4 . 0 8
# V O L T C U R R m A h
Have a set of 4 batteries with stable offline voltage, preferably all over 4.0V, at hand. With your
digital multimeter, measure their voltages accurately with a resolution of 3+ decimals in the
"1V"-range setting, e.g. "4.10285V, 3.97013V, etc".
Have the MC3000 connected to power and display TOV. Insert all 4 batteries. Depress SNB#1
and the STOP button simultaneously until the battery voltage in slot#1 is being displayed with 3
decimals, e.g. "4.098V", and release the 2 buttons in time. You are now in voltage calibration
mode for slot#1.
Enter your own DMM measurement rounded to 3 decimals, in this example 5 counts up to
"4.103V" (4.10285 = ~4.103), with the help of the UP or DOWN button and save by depressing
the ENTER button. Saving takes a few seconds.
Repeat the procedure similarly for the remaining 3 slots: depress SNB#2 and STOP
simultaneously until the battery voltage in slot#2 is being displayed with 3 decimals and
release, etc.
Recheck if the voltage readings of MC3000 and offline with your personal fluke do coincide for
other batteries with stable voltages.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Note: One does not need 4 different batteries for voltage calibration. As long as the battery has
stable voltage, the same battery can be reused in all 4 slots. Similarly, one does not need 4
different batteries for current calibration. As long as the battery is able to supply high constant
current over the duration of the calibration process, the same battery could be reused in all 4
slots.
Have a set of 4 fully charged high performance batteries at hand. With your digital multimeter,
get prepared to measure the battery current online in series accurately with a resolution of 3+
decimals in the "1A"-range setting.
Have the MC3000 connected to power and display TOV. Insert all 4 batteries. Run a constant
current discharge program at -1.00A in slot#1. Wait until the multimeter shows a stable
reading, e.g. "-1.00639A", then depress SNB#1 and the STOP button simultaneously until
the battery current in slot#1 is being displayed with 3 decimals, e.g."-1.000A", and release the
2 buttons in time. You are now in current calibration mode for slot#1.
Enter your own DMM measurement rounded to 3 decimals, in this example 6 counts up to
"-1.006A" (1.00639 = ~1.006), with the help of the UP or DOWN button and save by
depressing the ENTER button. Saving takes a few seconds. Observe how the multimeter
reading automatically begins to drift from "-1.00639A" to a perfect "-1.000.. A" booyah.
Repeat the procedure similarly for the remaining 3 slots: run the same -1.00A discharge
program in slot#2, wait until the multimeter shows a stable reading, then depress SNB#2 and
STOP simultaneously until the battery current in slot#2 is being displayed with 3 decimals and
release etc. Note: If in one slot the new reading fluctuates lively at the 3rd decimal, e.g.
between "-0.999.. A" and "-1.000.. A", then depress SNB+STOP again and, in this example,
enter "-0.999A"; the resulting overshoot might fluctuate now between "-1.002.. A" and "-
1.001.. A", then enter "-1.002A" and so on. This recursive procedure can appear tedious and
hopeless but eventually will lead to the desired "-1.000.. A" multimeter reading without
noteworthy fluctuations: you have reached the perfect calibration point for that one slot, too!
Recheck if the current readings of MC3000 and online with your personal fluke do coincide for
other programmed discharge rates, e.g. -0.05A, -0.10A, -0.50A, -1.50A, -2.00A.
In theory you could also use a lower voltage battery for voltage calibration or a lower discharge
current for current calibration, however for guaranteed consistency across the 4 slots and the
entire voltage and current ranges we do not recommend lower values than the above suggested
ones, 4V and 1A. Since temperature of components and environment alters measurements by
precision electronics, please make sure that user calibration is done under isothermal conditions
to make any sense. In case of error or mistake, you can reset the calibration to ex factory
conditions with the Calibration Reset menu item in GSV. Good luck.
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2
3
4
# V O L T C U R R m A h
C a l i b . C :
3 . 9 0 - 1 . 0 0
4 . 1 1 - 1 . 0 0
4 . 0 6 - 1 . 0 0
- 1 . 0 0 6 A
2 7
1 6
9
USER CALIBRATION
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Steps for user calibration (Current):