User’s manual of SAT-10C Earth Tester

I. General
SAT-10C Earth Tester not only can test the earth resistance with the measurement method of 2, 3,
4 wires, but also can test the voltage and soil resistivity. The instrument could memorize15 measure
results, another 10 memories are used for memorize the value of soil resistivity for calculate the
average value.
II. Function
1、 Two-wires earth resistance measurement.
2、 Three-wires earth resistance measurement.
3、 Four-wires earth resistance measurement.
4、 AC voltage measurement.
5、 Soil resistivity measurement
6、 Calculate the average value of measurement results of soil resistivity.
III. Application standards
Earth resistance measurement: VDE0413 the 7th part
CEI64.8 appendix B of chapter 612.6.2
Security standards: EN61010-1
EMC（electromagnetic compatibility）EN50081-1 EN50082-1。
IV. Technical parameters
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4.1 Main parameters

4.1.1 Measurements of earth resistances by two-wires, three-wires and four-wires
methods

RE* range（Ω） Resolution（Ω） Accuracy **

0-19.99 0.01 ±（2%+2d）
20-199.9 0.1 ± (2%+2d)
200-1999 1 ±（2%+2d）
* Automatic selection range
** Automatic calibration to remove the resistance of conductor (just applied for two- wires
and three-wires system).
Measurement frequency: 125Hz±1Hz。
Measurement current: ≤10mA。
Measurement voltage: ＜80Vp，sine wave.
Interference: when interference voltage is 20VPP/50Hz, Max is 15 characters.
4.1.2 Measurement of soil resistivity ρ
ρ* range（Ωm） Resolution Accuracy**
（Ωm）
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0-19.99 0.01
20-199.9 0.1 ±(2%+2πa·0.02Ω)；ρ/2πa≤19.99Ω
200-1999 1
2.00k-19.99k 10 ±(2%+2πa·0.2Ω)；19.99Ω<ρ/2πa≤199.9Ω
20.0K-125.6K 100 ±(2%+2πa·2Ω)； ρ/2πa>199.9Ω
Adjustable range of distance a of testing rod: 1～10m。（note: it is usually set as 6-10m）.
Average value: max: average of 10 times.
4.1.3 AC voltage（f=50Hz）measurement:
Range（V） Resolution Accuracy
（V）
0～400 1 ±3%
4.2 Common parameters
Power supply: 4 No.5 alkaline dry batteries with 1.5 V.
Battery life: about 300 hours.
LCD：3.5 bits 、height of character 19mm。
Memory capacity: 15 data.
Weight: 1kg (not including accessories).

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Max external dimensions: 238mm×138mm×55mm

V. Appearance specification
5.1 Front panel （see chart1）
1、 LCD screen
2、 Function key:
【TEST】Carry out the measurement.
【CLEAR】Clear the save value of testing.
【VIEW】View save value.

Chart 1 Sketch map of front panel

【SAVE】is used for saving the earth resistance, this key would remove the line resistance
when measuring the earth resistance by two-wires and three-wires method.
【ADJUST】is used for input the distance between testing rods when measuring resistivity ρ.
【SAVE ρ】is used for memorize the test result of soil resistivity ρ in order to calculate the
average value when measuring soil resistivity ρ.
3、Function selection switch
5.2 Specifications of instrument test port（see chart 2）:
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Test port of earth pole ————E

Test port of current pole ————H
Test port of earth pole————ES
Test port of voltage pole ————S

Chart 2 Instrument test port chart

VI. Operation directions
6.1 Measurement step
The simplified two-wires measurement method is very practical, which could be used for
measurement of earth resistance and fault judgment of earth system without breaking the earth
system. On-line measurement by two-wires method needs assistance ground with good
earthing. Any metal conductors with good earthing dug in ground could be as assistance earth.
(Note: the metal conductor with good earthing means the earth resistance value between conductor
and earth is close to 0, if the resistance value between conductor and earth is very big, the
measurement value is more than the actual value, and the measurement result would be
meaningless. Common recommendations: a、city water supply pipe network, b、ground master
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which is about 16.5m far from the tested earth system and the depth is over 1.5m. Under above use
conditions, it is suggested to adopt three-wires or four-wires method for test. When measuring, the
surface of metal conductor could remove the protection layer or rusty layer, and bear the metal
surface for good contact with instrument test clip).
6.1.1 Remove the line resistance of testing line
This instrument should remove the lead resistance firstly before test by two-wires
method and three-wires method.
The following are the steps:
1、 Short connection of testing line as is shown by chart 3 (that is short connection of blue testing
line and black testing line).

Chart 3 Connection chart of removing line resistance

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Adjust the switch to the testing position 【2-wires】(if the switch is in this position, adjust forward
a little and then back to this position. This position could display the interface (see chart 5).

－ － －
2

Chart 4 Two-wires switch position chart Chart 5 Display interface when the switch is turning to two-wires, three-wires, and four-wires methods

2、 Press 【SAVE】, and LCD screen could display the letter K (see the chart 6).
3、 Press 【TEST】, LCD screen could firstly display the tested lead resistance, and then display
0.00, meanwhile it shows that the instrument has been calibrated. The following measurement
could be done. (Max line resistance calibrated by instrument is 5Ω).

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Chart 6 Display chart of two-wires to remove the line resistance

Note: it must remove the line resistance and then test after turning on the instrument
again.
6.1.2 On-line measurement of earth resistance by two-wires method
1. Insert the one end of blue (green) line and black line to H and E faucets.
2. Connect another end of the blue (green) line to assistance earth (water pipe), and connect
another end of black line to pre-testing earth body.
（see chart 7）
3. Turn on the power switch.
4. Adjust the instrument knob to the testing position 【2-WIRES】as is shown by chart 4.
5. Display three dashes and one figure (2 or 5), these figure shows that the result of instrument is
obtained by the average of twice or five times (see chart 5). Press 【TEST】 twice could
change this parameter, press 【 TEST 】 could start measurement and read the result.

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Chart 7 On-line measurement of earth resistance by two-wires method

6. If save the data, press 【SAVE】.
6.1.3 Earth resistance measurement on power jack by two- wires method
In TT system, the measurement of earth resistance could be performed by simplified method
(refer to 6.1.1). Domestic low-voltage power system could mostly adopt TT mode (TT mode:
single-way three-wires mode) , this instrument could measure the earth resistance of TT system
conveniently, chart 8 is connection chart of earth resistance measured by power jack, for the
earth system of telecom is usually joint earth, the protection earth of its power system could
also connect to ground screen, so the earth resistance value of power system is earth resistance
value of ground screen.
The connection mode is shown as chart 8, the blue line (green) could connect to neutral line,
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and the black line could connect to earth wire.

Chart 8 Measurement of earth resistance in TT system by two- wires method

Note: for there are voltage and current in neutral line, this instrument would be in automatic
anti-interference state when the voltage is less than 20V, if the voltage is more than 20V, the instrument
would perform automatic protection and stop measurement, and display voltage value simultaneously,
so it is harmless for the instrument to do the mistaking operation, such as connect with live wire for
measurement.
6.1.4 Applied example
In actual measurement, besides above two typical measurement methods, the two-wires
measurement method could also be used flexibly.
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Example 1 When the poor contact of equipment’s protection earth and joint of ground screen or the
rust of joint may lead the increase of contact resistance value, some conditions, such as thunder or
occasional short of system, cause the big current could not lead into underground, and consequently
harm the equipment and cause personal accident. The following methods could remove the faults
prevent from above accidents.

Chart 9 Judge the faults of earth system by two-wires method

Chart 9 connection method could perform the test for equipment 1 and equipment 2 in the same
place, if the measured resistance value could conform to actual condition, it shows good connection
between protective earthing of equipment and ground screen, contrarily, if the measured resistance
value is very big, it shows that there are problems of connection between protective earthing of
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equipment and ground screen, and the connection needs to be checked.

Example 2 Besides 6.1.1 method, the earth resistance between testing ground screen and ground
could also be tested by two-wires method (see chart 10). The earth resistance between two ground
screens could be tested firstly in the test as the test method of chart 10.
Suppose the test earth resistance value between ground screen A and ground screen B RA-B is 1.3Ω,
the test earth resistance value between ground screen A and ground screen C RA-C is 1.4Ω, the test earth
resistance value between ground screen B and ground screen C RC-B is 1.2Ω. Then the earth resistance
values of ground screen A、ground screen B、ground screen C could be calculated by diagrammatic
representation equation.

Chart 10 Two- wires method test for calculate the earth resistance of building
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６.１.5 Earth resistance measurement by three-wires method

6.1.5.1 Self-calibration: the instrument could offer self-calibration function for remove the influence
of resistance of black line connecting with earth body (just this value could add in the measurement
result) to the test for making use of different testing leads. The following are the steps:
1、Connect the testing lead to the instrument as is shown by chart 11, and put it into short
condition.

Chart 11 Connection chart of three- wires method to remove line resistance

2、Adjust the switch to the testing position 【3-WIRES】as is shown by chart 12 (if it has been in
place, adjust forward the switch a little, and then return this position). This position could
display the interface (see chart 5).

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Chart 12 Three- wires switch position chart

3、Press 【SAVE】, and display the letter K. (See chart 6).

4、Press 【TEST】, firstly display the lead resistance, then display 0.00, it shows the calibration has
been done, and the measurement could be done.
Note: Replace the testing line or it needs to be calibrated again after turning on the
instrument again. The max resistance removed by instrument is 5Ω.
6.1.5.2 Measurement:
1、Connect the blue (green) line, red line, and black line to H, S, E interfaces on the front of
instrument respectively.
2、Connect the blue (green) line to current pole, connect to red line to voltage pole, and connect
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black line to pre-testing earth body (see chart 13), and then the same operation could be done in
accordance with two- wires method.

Chart 13 Earth resistance measurement by three- wires method

6.1.6 Earth resistance measurement by four- wires method

Chart 14 Earth resistance measurement by four- wires method

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Earth resistance measurement by four- wires method; the following are the steps:
1、Connection as is shown by chart 14.
2、Adjust the switch to 【four- wires method】testing position as is shown
by chart 15, display the figure 2 in chart 5 to show the instrument could
perform second measurement and calculate the average value, if the testing
result is unstable, press 【TEST】twice and change the test times as 5 for
measurement, and the instrument could perform 5 measurements automatically
and calculate the average. Chart 15 Four- wires switch position chart
3、Press 【TEST】, after the display value is stable, mark down the reading, if necessary, press
【SAVE】for saving the result.
6.1.7 Voltage measurement
1、Connection as is shown by chart 16.
2、Adjust the switch to 【VOLT.】position as is shown by chart 17, the screen could display output
voltage (see chart 18), and the measurement could be performed automatically, and no need to
press 【TEST】.

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Chart 16 Voltage measurement in TT system by two-wires method

V
220
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Chart 17 Voltage switch position chart Chart 18 Display interface when measuring the voltage
Warning: a、Max value of input voltage is 440V; b、The measured value could not be saved.

6.1.8 Soil resistivity measurement by four- wires method

1、Connect blue (green) 、red、black、yellow cable lines to the corresponding faucets H，S，E，
ES of instrument.
2、Dig the four earth rods into the ground along the linear, and the distance between four earth rods
are same.
3、Connection of ties-in of four testing line as is shown by chart 19.
4、Turn on the instrument and adjust the switch to the soil resistivity shown by chart 20 for
measurement.
5、Press 【ADJUST】, take 1m as the unit and input the distance between ground master, which
range is from 1m to 10m, in principle, it is preference that a is close to 10m under permissive
conditions.

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Chart 19 Soil resistivity test by four-wires method

— — —

Chart 20 Switch position chart of resistivity ρ Chart 21 Display image when the switch could adjust to【ρ】
6、 After setting the distance, press 【TEST】, LCD screen could display the soil resistivity ρ
calculated by the formula ρ=2πaR. (See chart 23).
When measuring the soil resistivity, if you want to obtain the average of the results in different
places, and the operation could be done as following steps:
7、The switch could adjust to the position of 【AVG.ρ】, and display measurement times and
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measurement value, if you want to cancel the saved measurement, press 【CLEAR】twice.
8、The switch could adjust to the position of 【ρ】, and perform soil resistivity measurement.
9、Press 【SAVE ρ】to save all testing results. (Most can save 10 measurement values) after
finishing all measurements, adjust the switch to the position of 【AVG.ρ】as is shown by chart 22,
after a while, it could display measurement times and average (see chart 23).

21.76

Chart 22 Switch position chart of average resistivityρ Chart 23

The soil resistivity could be calculated by the following formula:

ρ=2πaR
a = Distance between two testing rods.
R = Earth resistance between two middle earth rods.
6.2 Save and control
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Save: every testing result could be saved by press 【SAVE】, and then press【SAVE】again, it could
display mem firstly, and then display serial number of save position.
View: press 【VIEW】, read and display the memory value of last testing result. Press 【VIEW】
again, it could display other memory value, firstly display position number, and then display
mem symbol.
Clear: this key has three functions:
a) If no operation could be done after saving the testing result, press 【CLEAR】 would delete the
testing result which is saved immediately, and press 【CLEAR】, and display the position number
of deleted record, and display Clr character.
b) When the switch is on the position of 【ρ】or 【AVG.ρ】, press 【CLEAR】would delete all testing
results of storing ρ, press 【CLEAR】 for the first time, the screen could display flashing Clr
characters, press 【CLEAR】again, confirm to delete, it could display NO to show no memory
value.
c) If the switch is placed in other positions except for 【VOLT.】or 【AVG.ρ】, and carry out other
functions after saving the testing results for the last time, press 【CLEAR】would delete all memory
results (15). Press 【CLEAR】, the screen would display the flashing Clr characters firstly, press
【CLEAR】for reaffirm, confirm to delete, otherwise it would press other keys or change switch
position for give up the delete operation.
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6.3 Replace the battery

Steps:
1、 Turn off the instrument.
2、 Remove all connections.
3、 Remove the cover of battery box.
4、 Replace 4 No.5 batteries. (Notice the positive pole and negative pole of battery, and could
not connect reversely).
5、 Install the cover of battery box.
When the instrument could display “BAT” warning symbol, it means the battery voltage
has decrease below 4.3V, although the instrument could work normally, it could not guarantee
the testing accuracy, and meanwhile the battery could be replaced in time.

6.4 Alarm display

Warning！！！
When testing, the battery has to be replaced. Replace the battery must stop the test.
When testing on the alternating current line, the battery tie-in could be in electrification
state for the line is possibly electrified.
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LINE﹣tested line voltage, voltage of main line 230V+6%，-10%

2 ﹣Testing option: display two successive measured average value.
5 ﹣Testing option: display five successive measured average value.
BAT﹣Battery alarm could display the power shortage of battery.
mem﹣It shows saving the testing result.
bot ﹣The first saved result.
or ﹣Over the measurement range or it shows the tested circuit could not form the loop.
no ﹣It shows no save value of resistivity testing value in 【VIEW】state.

no mem –It shows no save value.

rc ﹣It shows high resistance between testing pole E and H.
Clr ﹣When in the positions of two- wires, three- wires and four- wires method, the screen would
display Clr characters and flash after select to delete the save value. Press 【CLEAR】again
to confirm the delete operation.
mem
Clr ﹣When in the positions of 【ρ】or 【AVG.ρ】, press 【CLEAR】, the screen would display
flashing Clrmem characters firstly, and then press【CLEAR】to confirm the delete operation.

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Technical Support & Contact US

Shaanxi Aitelong Technology Co., Ltd

Add: A101, Hanyun Building, Xi’an Software Park,
No.68, 2nd Keji Road, Xi’an Shaanxi, China
PC: 710075
Tel: +86 29 87669443
Fax: +86 29 87669645
http://www.aitelong.com
E-mail: aitelong@aitelong.com
marketing@aitelong.com

Sincerely welcome you to put forward valuable ideas for our products!

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