Contact-free clamp meters

Conrad Electronic has extended its range of clamp meters to include two new contact-free measuring devices from Fluke. 

The Fluke 377 and 378 true-RMS clamp meters use FieldSense technology to make testing easier and safer, all without contacting a live conductor. 

Technicians are able to simultaneously obtain accurate voltage and current measurements through the clamp jaw by connecting the meter to any electrical ground and clamping around the conductor. 

Conveniently, the display turns green when a stable FieldSense measurement is detected, providing a visual indication that is very useful in noisy environments.

Use is further simplified by the inclusion of the iFlex flexible current probe that provides access to large conductors in tight spaces and permits the measurement of AC current as high as 2500A.

“Speed of use and safety are two primary considerations for a large number of electricians, contractors and technicians that have to make high voltage and/or high current measurements frequently as part of their daily jobs,” said Walter Hock, Vice President Products at Fluke. “With the Fluke 377 and 378 devices, users are assured of an accurate measurement with the minimum of effort and the highest level of safety.”

“Conrad is always seeking products that make their customer’s lives easier and safer and these clamp meters from Fluke do exactly that” said Susanne Storch, Senior Expert Product Manager from Conrad Electronic. “Coupling this with their ability to make calculations and save results to the cloud automatically, this is truly the future of basic electrical measurements.”

With their ability to measure up to 1000 A True-RMS AC/DC and up to 2500 A (AC) with the ‘iFlex’ current probe, the Fluke 377 and 378 are suited to high power measurement, including three-phase systems. Only three simple steps are required to measure three-phase systems, and a full set of phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground values are calculated. All measurements are shown simultaneously on the dual display.

Both meters are also available in “FC” (Fluke Connect) versions denoted 377 FC and 378 FC that incorporate a Bluetooth interface. The software allows the remote logging, trending and monitoring of measurements to pinpoint intermittent faults which can be hard to diagnose. These FC versions also auto-calculate and show phase rotation, which can be displayed on a smartphone and saved to the cloud via Fluke Connect software, thereby removing the need for typing or handwritten notes that take time and can introduce errors. 

Fluke Connect allows maintenance technicians and service staff to easily record measured values and share them remotely. Reporting is offered as standard and any data gathered is very valuable when designing a preventive maintenance program.

The 378 FC clamp meter includes a unique power quality (PQ) indicator that senses any PQ issues relating to current, voltage, or power factors that are present. This allows users to rapidly check if the issues they are investigating related to the power supply or the connected electrical equipment.