In the past, calibrating pressure-measuring devices often required at least three hands. Users had to generate pressures manually with hard-to-use manual pumps or large, heavy and unwieldy boxes with limited portability and limited battery life. • Martel Electronics Corporation has solved this problem with the release of its new patent-pending BetaGauge 330, a small, lightweight, handheld calibrator that can generate pressures up to 150 psig using a high-performance integral electric pump.
“With other instruments, you have to hold the instrument in one hand and pump with the other one, which is tedious and tiring. In some cases, the instrument has to be on a flat surface,” says Thomas Fatur, president of Martel. “You really need two hands. When you’re doing field calibration, that’s hard. You’ve got test leads, plumbing, etc., to cope with. You’d like to have one hand free to do other things. With the BetaGauge 330, you just press a button and the pump works. It doesn’t have to be on a flat surface. You can hold it and press the button with the same hand.”
A Pt100 RTD input provides temperature measurements accurate to ±0.1 °C (0.2 °F). This is a key feature for users doing flow calibration in industries such as natural gas because it enables flow calibration and temperature check with the same instrument.
The BetaGauge 330 also lets you “sneak up on the pressure you want,” says Fatur. “You just push the button and watch the LCD change. You can take your finger off the button as you approach the desired pressure. In the lower left-hand corner of the instrument, there’s a fine-tuning knob. You slowly turn the knob to make those last adjustments. It helps you get the pressure right on the money.”
The BetaGauge 330 measures and simulates 4-20 mA loop current signals. It can measure up to 30 Vdc. An internal 24 Vdc instrument power supply supplies power to a transmitter under test.
Like its calibrator siblings, the 330 displays up to three calibration values at one time: internal pressure sensor, external pressure sensor, temperature from the optional RTD probe or electrical (mA or Vdc). The display is a large, backlit graphics-style LCD that’s easy to read in any lighting condition.
The new BetaGauge 330 pressure calibrator provides a number of convenience features. Users can perform switch tests on internal or external pressure input. Percent error and damping functions are provided. Up to five frequently used setups can be stored and retrieved with one-button recall.
The compact, rugged design operates on eight standard AA alkaline batteries. Due to its power-saving design, the BetaGauge 330 can perform approximately 300 calibration cycles to 150 psi on one set of batteries.
The 330 comes in three ranges: 30 psi, 150 psi and 300 psi. The 300-psi version uses a manually operated hand pump.
The BetaGauge 300 comes from the factory with batteries installed, NIST-traceable calibration certificate, test leads, carrying case and user manual. It is competitively priced at $2,495.
For more information, contact Martel Electronics at 603-434-1433 or go to www.martelcalibrators.com.
