Looking for companies who perform ripple tests - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Syllith
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2022, 04:39:32 pm
content: I have been tasked with locating companies throughout the world who are known to preform ripple tests on rectifiers, typically for refurbishing purposes. Google isn't helping much so I figured I'd see if any of you know of any. Is this a common practice to do when certifying used equipment?

author: mag_therm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2022, 05:19:00 pm
content: I see from your past posts that you may be working with telepower supplies for cell towers etc.If these are usually connected to batteries, the battery can be part of the ripple and noise filter.If so a good battery of the specific type would be needed for testing.In my day, I did some testing on telepower:for ripple and noise: with ahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psophometerlooking like the one in photo in there.for conducted emi on both sides: with a spectrum analyser and termination.The testing was done by the vendor, usually witnessed by the purchaser.There are Test Equipment rental companies in USA and Canada that I have used to rent test equipment, although not the items above.The advantage of renting is that purchase is not necessary for infrequently used TE, and the units are delivered in calibration and working.If you actually need an independent test, I suggest to try the a provider in your area of test services to the electrical utilities.

author: Syllith
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2022, 05:37:18 pm
content: Thanks for the info. Very useful. Let me give a little more context to what I'm trying to do. Yes, you are right, I am working in telecom. We are debating the idea of performing ripple tests for our customers and I've been tasked with gathering information on how we'd go about doing it. We have typical fluke 115 meters here, which I'm thinking might be enough to determine the amount of AC ripple on a DC output, but I'm unsure if the accuracy is going to be acceptable with those. I've also debated using the Fluke BT500 series battery testers which actually have a dedicated ripple measurement button, but those are quite pricey. If I wanted to use a scope, I was thinking about a cheap multimeter / oscilloscope combo. The Mustool MT8208 to be exact. We have technicians that aren't the most experienced when it comes to meters so I have to consider the ease of use as well.One thing my boss asked my about was competition. If other companies are typically performing these tests, perhaps we should be too, but I'm having trouble finding specific companies that do this. Most websites don't go into that much detail on what their tests includes. Do you happen to know the names of specific companies that perform this as part of their standard testing procedure?

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2022, 05:52:30 pm
content: Quote from: Syllith on November 30, 2022, 05:37:18 pmWhat specific device or combination of devices would you be ripple testing? Is there a published specification from the manufacturer or other standard that gives you threshold to test to?If this is a PSU + battery sort of power supply, then your spec or goal is likely in the tens of millivolts range and can be readily measured with an appropriate DMM. However, the Fluke 115 specifically has a limitation that would make it unsuitable for this application. The ancient Fluke 27 is actually pretty good for this type of thing. What you need is actual AC input coupling on the mV range and low residual counts.

author: mag_therm
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: November 30, 2022, 05:55:58 pm
content: Try to find the USA and ISO standards for these power supplies.The difficulty of buying ISO standards on-line with no refund is that they are costly, and until you pay, you can't see if applicable!I wasted like $160.00 buying the wrong standard.