Magnetometer is combined with field meter portable EMF measurements
Link Microtek offers the Narda Safety Test Solutions’ HP-01 magnetometer and NBM-550 broadband field meter in a combination designed for magnetic-field safety measurements.
The two devices work in tandem to take safety measurements in workplaces where personnel are at risk from the effects of strong magnetic fields.
The HP-01 magnetometer and the NBM-550 broadband field meter work in tandem without the need for a laptop and can be either attached directly to one another or connected via a choice of fibre optic cables. The handheld meter is a more rugged and portable alternative to a laptop and also provides immunity to high electromagnetic fields which could easily disrupt the operation of a standard laptop, advises Link Microteck.
Together, the two Narda units are suitable for taking measurements to ensure compliance with the Control of Electromagnetic Fields at Work Regulations 2016, the UK legislation for EU Directive 2013/35/EU. The HP-01 magnetometer and the NBM-550 broadband field meter will help to avoid hazards due to the indirect effects of strong magnetic fields, such as projectile risk or interference with active implanted or body-worn medical devices.
Vulnerable personnel include those working in hospitals’ MRI facilities, railway workers in the vicinity of electric trains’ DC motors and industrial employees involved in processes using large magnetic stirrers, strong permanent magnets or electrolysis.
The HP-01 offers an extremely wide measurement range of 10 microT to 10T, a dynamic range of 120dB and is capable of measuring time-varying fields with frequencies up to 1kHz. Its three mutually orthogonal Hall-effect sensors enable the field to be determined with a single measurement in any direction. This distinguishes it from single-axis Hall-effect probes, which require three separate readings and subsequent calculations to achieve an accurate measurement.
Another key feature of the HP-01 device is its powerful built-in FFT analyser, which allows detailed signal analysis in both time and frequency domains. The limit values in safety standards are usually specified for static fields and time-varying fields with frequencies up to 1Hz, therefore the HP-01 has a finite impulse response (FIR) filter that captures only frequency components in the 0Hz to 1Hz range.
The NBM-550 includes a hold button to ‘freeze’ measurements for ease of reading and has the capacity to store up to 5,000 results, with each one automatically time-stamped. It can be operated with one hand by left-handed or right-handed users and has a large backlit monochrome LCD graphic display which is easy to read even in darkness or sunlight.
A keypad lock prevents inadvertent operation of control keys and there is a fully automatic zeroing function to eliminate the effects of temperature on the results. Optional features include a GPS receiver for adding location data to each measurement and a facility for recording voice comments, which are stored with the corresponding measured values. All data can be transferred to a PC for further analysis using the software supplied.
