DayStar DS-100c User Manual Download

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DS-100C

I-V CURVE TRACER

User Manual

Daystar, Inc.

3240 Majestic Ridge

Version 6.02

Las Cruces, NM 88011

November 2011

575-522-4943

[email protected]

http://www.daystarpv.com

daystar, inc.

E n e r g y E n g i n e e r i n g

Summary of Contents for DS-100c

Page 1: ...ACER User Manual Daystar Inc 3240 Majestic Ridge Version 6 02 Las Cruces NM 88011 November 2011 575 522 4943 pvvern zianet com http www daystarpv com daystar inc daystar inc daystar inc E n e r g y E...

Page 2: ...This I V curve tracer was built to Daystar Inc specifications by Raydec Inc 8210 La Mirada Suite 700 Albuquerque New Mexico 87109...

Page 3: ...3 Starting IVPC 4 Taking an I V Curve 5 If You Get an Error 9 Displaying Saved Curves 10 Summary of Steps for Taking IV Curves 11 2 0 Panel Layout 12 Pre Charge Fuse 13 PV Voltage Sense Connectors 13...

Page 4: ...Irradiance Connections 25 Multiple Current Ranges 26 External Command Set 26 Read I V B 27 Auto Zero I V Z 27 Pre Curve E 28 Read Analog Input R 29 PV V I Scales Factors S 31 Take I V Curve T 33 Read...

Page 5: ...ting Manual page iii PV Voltage Measurements 44 PV Current Measurements 44 RANGE switch settings 44 Temperature Measurement 44 Irradiance Measurement 44 Power Supply 45 Load Capacitors 45 Approximate...

Page 6: ...NG PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT FOLLOWED THIS INSTRUMENT MUST ONLY BE USED FOR TAKING ELECTRICAL CURRENT AND VOLTAGE I V CURVES OF PHOTOVOLTAIC PV SOLAR MODULES THIS INSTRUMENT MUST NOT BE USED BEYOND ITS OPER...

Page 7: ...aximum current a photovoltaic cell can generate with the output terminals shorted I V Current Voltage PV Photovoltaic V Voltage VHIGH High voltage range 600 Volts VLOW Low voltage range 150 Volts Voc...

Page 8: ......

Page 9: ...erence Manual The computer running the IVPC application may be connected to the DS Tracer by RS 232 serial or USB Most DS Tracer operations are performed with the IVPC program Refer to the IVPC manual...

Page 10: ...s The DS Tracer battery should be fully charged The DS 100C has a universal power supply that works with AC line voltages from 85 Vac to 264 Vac 50 60 Hz The DS Tracer DISCONNECT switch should be in t...

Page 11: ...9 pin connector as shown in Figure 8 The standard USB connection is labeled Main USB Either of these connections may be used depending on the configuration of the computer running the IVPC program Th...

Page 12: ...h opened Starting IVPC The following description assumes the use of IVPC 2 X IVPC opens to the Data Grid window shown in Figure 1 IVPC Data Grid window The Data Grid is a spread sheet that lists all o...

Page 13: ...ld be connected to the DS Tracer and running IVPC From the File menu shown in Figure 2 select New I V Curve or press Ctrl N control and N keys at the same time Figure 2 Select New Curve in the File me...

Page 14: ...up to 12 seconds to initialize the tracer hardware Typically you will enter curve data during this delay For example if not using the Auto feature to read an irradiance or temperature channel you cou...

Page 15: ...he status message changes and the Take Curve button is enabled as shown in Figure 4 The status message indicates that a curve can be taken by using the mouse to press the Take Curve button or by press...

Page 16: ...Curve the DS Tracer takes approximately 6 seconds to take the curve and plot the data as shown in Figure 5 You may save this data by selecting Save I V Curve from the File menu The curve is stored in...

Page 17: ...will power down and you will receive an error indicating that the DS Tracer does not respond Simply turn the DS Tracer switch off wait several seconds and turn it back on Allow the tracer approximatel...

Page 18: ...curves are selected from the Data Grid The Data Grid displays the curve files in the current directory Be sure to set the current working directory to the sub directory where the curves are stored Use...

Page 19: ...to connect the tracer to the PV system through a system disconnect switch rated for Isc and Voc Refer to the discussion of the DISCONNECT switch in the section 2 0 Panel Layout 6 Set the voltage rang...

Page 20: ...SCONNECT VOLTAGE SENSE daystar inc Manufacturedby Raydec Inc Albuquerque NM E N E R G Y E N G I N E E R I N G daystar daystar FULL CHARGE TURN DISCONNECTSWITCH OFF BEFORE CONNECTING OR DISCONNECTING P...

Page 21: ...sconnected from the PV array PV Voltage Sense Connectors When an I V curve is taken the load current flows through the test lead into the large red and black PV connectors The red and black connectors...

Page 22: ...PV system disconnect switch Voltage Range Switch The voltage range switch changes the electrical configuration of the capacitors that form the load for the PV array It will not affect the measurement...

Page 23: ...DS Tracer power This switch should be on before connections are made to a PV array The curve tracer takes approximately 10 seconds to initialize after it is turned on Be sure to allow for this before...

Page 24: ...acer functions are controlled with the IVPC software but you can create your own software using the DS Tracer command codes described in section 6 0 DS 100C Additional Capabilities The DS Tracer uses...

Page 25: ...Appendix C DS Tracer Technical Specifications for details on the voltage range of the irradiance inputs These inputs are differential but there is a 10 K resistor form the negative black input and the...

Page 26: ...d transfers the data set to the control computer The data set includes the I V curve data plus values of open circuit voltage Voc and short circuit current Isc Peak power voltage at peak power Vpk cur...

Page 27: ...m and the load capacitors SCRs are susceptible to false triggering turn on if the voltage across them is increased too rapidly The DS Tracer DISCONNECT switch uses two 1M resistors one each for the po...

Page 28: ...it is best to normalize this rate to an individual PV cell This can be done by dividing the rate by the number of PV cells in series If the previous example had fifty cells in series the rate of each...

Page 29: ...power or a DC source such as a PV module The DS 100C has a universal AC power supply and therefore will work with single phase AC line voltages from 85 Vac to 264 Vac 50 60Hz To charge the battery fr...

Page 30: ...utomatic charging system maintains the battery at its peak charge level and will not overcharge the battery When the battery is fully charged the full charge indicator comes on You do not need to turn...

Page 31: ...surges or internal faults can cause this fuse to fail Return the DS Tracer for repairs if this fuse blows repeatedly Replace this fuse with the type indicated on the DS Tracer panel A user accessible...

Page 32: ...systems with many modules in series You can avoid damage to a thin film module by inserting a by pass diode across the module terminals as shown in Figure 10 This diode limits the reverse voltage to a...

Page 33: ...inputs when taking I V curves Temperature Connections Two standard thermocouple connectors are available on the front of the DS 100C A standard DS 100C comes with Type T thermocouple connectors In ord...

Page 34: ...S 232 serial or USB control ports The DS 100C sends a prompt character when it is ready to receive a command line Commands should only be sent to the DS Tracer after receiving this prompt Each command...

Page 35: ...arameter is passed see below Format B n1 n2 Z n1 Voltage gain code 0 1 2 or 3 n2 Current gain code 0 1 2 or 3 Z Use current offset values see auto zero Gain Codes 0 1X used for 600 V not used for curr...

Page 36: ...Gain Codes 0 1X used for 600 V not used for current 1 10X used for 60 V 100 A 2 100X used for 6 V 10 A 3 1000X not used for any measurements Example command Z 0 1 response response Pre Curve E This co...

Page 37: ...o the circuits used for the current and voltage readings The analog channels refer to the irradiance pyranometer and temperature readings as well as auxiliary analog port and internal readings such as...

Page 38: ...l reference The option 2 format does not return any values Option 3 sets the averaging period for all analog readings The default value is 16 667 microseconds This is equal to 1 60 Hz ac power cycle A...

Page 39: ...onstant for each gain code The integer values returned by the DS Tracer for the PV voltage and current values are multiplied by these constants to convert these values to engineering units The constan...

Page 40: ...page 32 IVPC Software Reference DS 100C Operating Manual 4 byte 32 bit voltage constant 4 byte 32 bit current constant response...

Page 41: ...mmand X Format T L Use low current range T H Use high current range Example 1 command T L response response Take low current curve Example 2 command T H response response Take a high current range cur...

Page 42: ...e 9600 RS 232 port baud rate response 9600 secondary port baud rate response 600 nominal high voltage range response 150 nominal low voltage range response 100 nominal high current range response 10 n...

Page 43: ...t NA response 10 0839 10A range current constant response 100 0529 100A range current constant response 1000 0 1000A current constant NA response 4 00183E 3 5 mV analog constant response 4 00381E 2 50...

Page 44: ...turns itself off after 15 minutes without any activity This command enables this feature By default this feature is enable This command is only necessary if the power down feature has been disabled u...

Page 45: ...ge data int Amps 256 Array of current data float Vscale Voltage constant float Iscale Current constant float Temp1 Temperature 1 float Temp2 Temperature 2 float Irrad1 Irradiance 1 float Irrad2 Irradi...

Page 46: ...reach Isc Pre charge fuse has blown check and replace DS Tracer Stops Working Locks Up Battery out of power charge battery Unknown Reasons reset DS Tracer by recycling power Cannot establish connectio...

Page 47: ...ion is added to this file format F curve name D date T time S site B sub system M module P temperature 1 Q temperature 2 R irradiance 1 U irradiance 2 X miscellaneous H short circuit current O open ci...

Page 48: ...255 ERROR 15 COMMAND LINE OVERFLOW A command has been sent to the DS Tracer before the previous command has finished Wait for return prompt ERROR 16 PARAMETER TOO LONG The maximum length of any comma...

Page 49: ...onnection ERROR 40 DISCONNECT SWITCH IS OFF The DS Tracer is trying to take an I V curve but the DS Tracer DISCONNECT switch is off ERROR 50 INVALID NUMERIC PARAMETER Parameter must represent valid nu...

Page 50: ...ort number outside this range even if a COM port number from 1 to 4 is not in use Use the Windows OS device manager to change the COM port number assigned to this virtual COM port Often Windows will w...

Page 51: ...are has been connected and begin the process of installing the driver The instructions on the CD ROM provide much more detail but in general you will want to have Windows use the drivers in the driver...

Page 52: ...c Accuracy Larger of 0 5 of reading or 2 8 mV Resolution 0 18 mV PV Current Measurements Gain Code 1 Range 100 A dc Accuracy Larger of 0 5 of reading or 45 m A Resolution 3 mA Gain Code 2 Range 10 A d...

Page 53: ...Hawker Energy Products 0809 0020 Hours of Use Up to 13 Hours on a full charge Charge Time Less than 8 hrs Load Capacitors Low Voltage Range Capacitance 5 000 uf Voltage Limit 350 V dc High Voltage Ran...

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