Measuring Boat Inverter Output voltage Waveform
Greetings,
Not a Pokit owner yet however am quite interested in the Pro product. Have a question regarding the measurement of mains voltage (120 and 140VAC). My boat has a 240 shore power feed that gets split to 120VAC for 120VAC appliances and retains 240VAC for larger equipment like air conditioners, water heater, etc. One part of the 120VAC bus is also fed by an inverter that is powered from two large batteries. So if the shore power connection trips or is disconnected, the inverter automatically kicks on and keeps things like outlets and the refrigerator running.
The inverter is 2003 vintage and is not a "Pure sine wave" inverter. Of late I am noticing changes in the inverter AC output. For instance, a simple fan on low-speed setting has a noticeable hum which it does not have when on shore power.
To that end, I want to take a look a the inverter's AC output waveform. Is that as simple as placing the Pro's probe (when available) on the 120VAC inverter output and then plot the waveform on my modile device or do I need to "condition" the output voltage with some circuitry before connecting the probe? My understanding of using a traditional scope is I need to somehow isolate the grounds since it is plugging into the wall outlet, but I don't need to do that with a battery-operated scope.
Thanks for any insights!
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This is an old thread but I figured I'd share my experience after receiving my Pokit Pro. It will indeed measure mains voltage directly with no special probe. I measured mains voltage with the multimeter, logger, and oscilloscope up to 460VAC with mine. It will show you the waveform from your inverter. I've shared some of my testing so far to my YouTube channel. Link below if interested that shows mains voltage testing as well as some other features.
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Thanks Shane - Great video and site. Can't wait to get my hands on my Pokit Pro, alas I am not an earl bird so will have to wait. Unfortunately, since I posted my inverter bit the dust. She was a good girl for many many years so I really can't complain. Will be going to a pure sine wave Victron system in the very near future.
Cheers
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