ISA Interchange

AutoQuiz: What is the Proper Configuration of an Instrument Current Loop?

Written by Joel Don | Aug 28, 2015 1:00:14 PM

AutoQuiz is edited by Joel Don, ISA's social media community manager.

Today's automation industry quiz question comes from ISA's technical training course, Extreme Instrumentality: Electrical to Instrumentation Cross Training Boot Camp. The training focuses on the knowledge and skill sets required to function as an instrument maintenance technician. Process measurement techniques, measurement and control equipment, calibrations techniques and calibration equipment will be discussed and utilized in numerous hands-on lab sessions. Knowledge gained from this course is designed to train you to be a key asset to an I&E maintenance team.

You are calibrating an electronic D/P transmitter. The positive terminal of the transmitter should be connected to the:

A) Negative terminal of the power supply
B) Positive terminal of the power supply
C) Positive terminal of the multimeter
D) Positive terminal of an ohmmeter
E) None of the above

This illustrates a series loop. In practice, engineers rarely wire devices in a series as any failure could fail loop and/or loop resistance would be too high.

The correct answer is B.

About the Editor
Joel Don is the community manager for ISA and is an independent content marketing, social media and public relations consultant. Prior to his work in marketing and PR, Joel served as an editor for regional newspapers and national magazines throughout the U.S. He earned a master's degree from the Medill School at Northwestern University with a focus on science, engineering and biomedical marketing communications, and a bachelor of science degree from UC San Diego.

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