Is your Lightning Protection Circuitry still effective? – Even after a lightning strike?

Did you know that your systems may appear to be functioning perfectly, even with damaged or inoperative lightning protection circuitry?

The QM42000 checks your lightning protection circuitry – safely.

QM42000 Lightning Strike Protection Tester

The Challenge

Lightning protection circuitry, by its nature is designed to be “invisible” to the function it protects. That means, if it is damaged, for example by a lightning strike, there may be no indication until it is too late.

A New Approach – the QM42000

The QM42000 combines profiled voltage waveform and energy management to test the function and effectiveness of protection devices whilst protecting other functional circuitry. It embodies the relevant sections of RTCA/DO-160E.

Easy to use

A built-in, high quality, 8” TFT LCD touchscreen display provides a simple, clear user interface suitable for operators and technicians. The QM42000 is also programmable via IVI standard drivers and a USB and serial interface. All key parameters are continuously monitored and digitised using the built-in 12 bit digitiser. Waveforms may be displayed for analysis and for operator information and prompting.

Test in circuit protection elements such as transorbs and RC networks. Tests not only the presence of protection elements but also the effectiveness by applying current but limiting the applied energy to prevent circuit damage.

Tests upto 896 channels on your UUT using the QM45000 high density multiplexer.

The QM420000 Lightning strike protection tester provides a rapid and convenient method for testing product’s effectiveness to withstand a lightning strike both in production and in the field. Testing protection circuitry is not always simple and does require some knowledge of the circuit to determine how the QM42000 needs to be setup. This is made very easily using the text based scripting system employed in an automatic mode or through the touch sensitive display to setup the key parameters such as applied voltage, current and ramp rate in the manual mode.

3 Test Modes

In the binary ramp mode the applied voltage is ramped until the transorb conducts a small amount of current as measured by a Hall effect sensor. This tests ensures that there is protection in circuit and that it will conduct a small current at the specified voltage.
In the pulse mode a voltage and current are applied to the designated pin on the UUT but for a known amount of time to limit the energy applied. In this mode a capacitor is charged to the test voltage and then discharged through a variable resistor to the UUT. The variable resistor is used to control the applied current. This test is more rigorous as it applies a much more significant current. the result gives an indication as to the effectiveness of the protection.
For more complex testing the QM42000 can also perform pulse on ramp tests. This is useful where there are RC components need to be charged prior to applying a pulse so ensuring that all the pulse energy is conducted through the transorb.

Product Specifications

The QM42000 checks your lightning protection circuitry – safely.

Contact QM Systems For More Information

Call Leigh Hollamby on 01252 336612 x 226 or

email sales@qm-systems.com