The hand-held DPI 620 advanced multifunction calibrator from GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies now incorporates full HART® capability, making it the only combined HART communicator and calibrator currently on the market. The rugged and compact instrument, which is weatherproofed to IP 65, incorporates the latest application software and contains a complete library of registered HART device descriptions to support more than 1000 sensors. Upgrades may be simply downloaded free-of-charge, from the GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies website. Offering so many functions and features within one portable instrument, the DPI 620 has application in the oil and gas, power generation, utilities and process industries, as well as in the laboratory and on-plant.

As Mike Shelton, product manager at GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies, explains, “Unlike competitive HART communicators which can only be used for configuration, commissioning and maintenance, the new DPI 620 is also recognized as one of the most accurate and versatile calibration systems available. Consequently, plant engineers and technicians can now considerably reduce the inventory of equipment they have to carry to perform maintenance and calibration tasks, as for the first time they can use a communicator which is also a calibrator.”

The new communicator/calibrator, with its full color, high resolution touch interface, has a large internal memory, allowing it to store additional features such as procedure and data log files. These can be transferred using USB, WiFi, memory stick or the instrument’s memory card, which can be up to 4GB, with its integral card reader. Features new to HART communicators include an integral 24V loop power supply to energize HART devices and loops and a menu-selectable 250 Ohm loop resistor, rather than a separate physical resistor, for use when a device is not connected or the loop is switched off.

 The incorporation of a calibrator within the communicator means that there is no need to carry ancillary equipment such as multi-meters to measure mA when trimming sensors and there is naturally no need for secondary calibration equipment during sensor trim and device calibration, as the DPI 620 simultaneously sources and measures the primary variable, whether this be mA, pressure, V, mV ohms, frequency or temperature from RTDs or thermocouples.

The DPI 620 also has the capability to automate calibration procedures and document “As Found” and “As Left” results and can analyze device trends to support preventative maintenance programs. It is available in a Windows CE version with standard Windows applications and file management and the computing power to view PDF files and jpeg images such as loop diagrams, data sheets, safety procedures, spreadsheets and to create text documents.

The new communicator retains the pressure generation and measurement capability of the existing DPI 620 calibrator. This means on-board pressure generation from vacuum to 100 bar pneumatic or 0 to 1000 bar hydraulic, at an accuracy of 0.005% FS.

 For more information, visit www.gesensinginspection.com.