A power system digital harmonic analyzer

The authors describe the design of a harmonic analyzer for use in studying the harmonic content of commercial electric power. This MC 68000-based instrument samples the waveform and calculates the first 63 harmonics of the 60-Hz fundamental for both a voltage and current waveform. The 64-kbyte memory is adequate for one week of hourly samples for a power-quality survey by an electrical utility. The analyzer is quickly attached to the outputs of potential and current transformers by alligator clips and a current plug. The harmonic data are retrieved from the instrument by a portable computer. A separate personal computer (PC) program is then used for data analysis. Accuracy is shown to be about 0.1%, more than adequate for power quality surveys.<
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