GE Industrial Solutions Pulsar Plus Controller - Manual (Page 93)

Pulsar Plus Controller Family
Issue 7 December 2011 93
Optional Devices and Modules
One-Wire Peripheral Devices
QS873A Voltage/Thermal Probes
The QS873A Voltage/Thermal Probes (VT-Probes) are used to measure battery temperatures for slope
thermal compensation, and to provide mid-string voltages to the ES771 for battery voltage imbalance
detection. Each of these weatherized assemblies monitor their respective contact temperature and converts
the measurements into serial data which is then read by the system controller using Maxim’s industry
standard 1-Wire® bus. Several QS873A probes can be connected in a serial fashion since the data is received
through digital means. The Pulsar Plus family of controllers can handle up to 16 QS873A VT-probes. This
allows multiple strings and or multiple batteries within a string to be monitored for temperature. As
mentioned, these probes are required for the battery string voltage imbalance feature since they route the
mid-string voltage to the system controller via the ES771A remote mid-string voltage monitoring modules.
All probes are provided with a PTC device to protect against accidental short circuit during voltage
measurements.
Figure 12: QS873A Voltage/Thermal Probe (VT-Probe)
Following is a brief description of the interfaces on the QS873A VT-Probe depicted above.