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   sci.electronics.basics      Elementary questions about electronics      72,318 messages   

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   Message 71,848 of 72,318   
   Cydrome Leader to Commander Kinsey   
   Re: Error of % + digits?   
   26 Jul 20 04:17:30   
   
   XPost: sci.electronics.equipment   
   From: presence@MUNGEpanix.com   
      
   In sci.electronics.basics Commander Kinsey  wrote:   
   > On Tue, 30 Jun 2020 04:52:44 +0100, Cydrome Leader    
   wrote:   
   >   
   >> In sci.electronics.equipment Commander Kinsey    
   wrote:   
   >>> On Wed, 24 Jun 2020 21:06:04 +0100, Rich  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> In sci.electronics.equipment Commander Kinsey    
   wrote:   
   >>>>> On Thu, 18 Jun 2020 15:38:46 +0100, Pimpom  wrote:   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>>> On 6/18/2020 6:33 PM, Commander Kinsey wrote:   
   >>>>>>> I just bought an amp clamp meter, and it states the error is "+/-   
   >>>>>>> 1.9% + 3 digits".  What does the "3 digits" part mean?   
   >>>>>>>   
   >>>>>>   
   >>>>>> If your meter should read, say 1.875 A, the correct reading could   
   >>>>>> be anywhere from 1.872 to 1.878. This is a possible error in the   
   >>>>>> display presented to you in the analog-digital display conversion   
   >>>>>> process. The +/-1.9% possible error is about the measurement   
   >>>>>> taken including - but not only - any error made by the sensor.   
   >>>>>   
   >>>>> Thanks, I wonder why all my other meters only list a % error.  Is it   
   >>>>> included within it somehow, or are they just lying, or do some meters   
   >>>>> not have this error?   
   >>>>   
   >>>> One generally finds the percentage plus digits error measures on more   
   >>>> expensive equipment.  Less expensive equipment more often than not only   
   >>>> lists a percentage and nothing more.   
   >>>   
   >>> So should I assume the cheaper ones are lying?  Or have they just made a   
   rough estimate adding the two errors?   
   >>   
   >> might be both. I dug out my first DMM, a Wavetek DM2, circa 1990s. It might   
   >> have been from a raffle or something like that.   
   >>   
   >> The DC voltage specs range from 0.8% +1 digit (not bad really)  over to the   
   >> AC ranges which are "1.2% RDG +10 Digits".   
   >   
   > TEN!?  Surely that's more than the number of digits it has?  In which case   
   it has no accuracy at all.   
      
   I'm pretty sure they mean 10 counts which could be 1 volt on a scale with   
   1 decimal place. That does sound terrible if there were no decimal places   
   though.   
      
   >> If I had new leads, I'd trust it   
   >> with outlet voltage, but would stay away from 208volts.   
   >   
   > You oughta complain about that low voltage.  Some equipment needs at   
   > least 220.   
      
   terribly designed equiment, maybe. 208 is standard voltage for phase to   
   phase in a three wire systems, as used in a commercial setting in the US.   
      
   minilabs, for processing 35mm film fall into the stupid design category,   
   usually being speced for 120 or 240 at dozens of amps.   
      
   Nobody runs a fucking minilab in their home, and it makes no sense to run   
   30+amp 120volt service anyways. So, in any place that would have a   
   minilab, they're going to have 208, not 120 or 240. So the result is boost   
   transformer has to be installed. They're not large, being rated only for   
   the KVA of the voltage boost, but it's still dumb.   
      
   It's just shitty lazy design, where maybe they can strap two heating   
   elements in series for 240 and parallel them for 120, but again, nobody   
   uses machines like that in their home where split phase power is available   
   anyways.   
      
   The better designed machines won't have resisitve heating elements that   
   burn out at 240 and still have motors that will start and run fine on 208.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)   

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