ADVANCED OPERATION - Section 5
MTS-1700 SERIES OPERATION AND REFERENCE MANUAL 5-13
CU A002 15A
MANTA TEST SYSTEMS
5.3.2 External Start Timer Mode
External start timer mode is indicated by “XST” on the [MODE/MENU DISPLAY].
In external start mode, the outputs will change from prefault to fault levels when the [FAULT] button is
pressed, an RS-232 ‘STR’ command is given, or an external START trigger is sensed. However, the timer
won’t start until an external START trigger is sensed.
In a sense, the timer is decoupled from the fault controls. Use this mode to time auxiliary sequences, or to
perform accurate time measurements between the external START and STOP trigger signals. This mode
should be selected to do accurate 4-wire or 2-wire pulse timing.
The external start timer mode is used to start the timer at some time after the MTS-1710 changes to the
FAULT state. An example use of this is to time the operation of a DC auxiliary relay shown in Figure 5.6.
This example uses the DC voltage output option, the AUX contacts, and the external start timer mode.
Should you not have the DC voltage option, an external source may be used.
Since the DC voltage is always present and unswitched, the AUX contacts are used to apply DC voltage to
the relay when [FAULT] is pressed. To eliminate the operation time of the MTS-1710’s internal AUX relay,
the external start timer mode is used and the timer is started when DC voltage is sensed across the relay coil.
The timer is stopped when the relay contacts change state (open/close).