A test system for calibrating flickermeters

This paper describes a new calibration system for testing flickermeters. The test system is used to generate and measure all the combinations of amplitude changes and frequencies required for calibrating flickermeters. Two computer-controlled waveform generators are used to produce the test conditions. The percent modulations of the test waveforms are measured with two high accuracy sampling voltmeters. Digital logic and software control ensures that the modulated signals are only measured when either maximum or minimum modulation occurs. Test data indicates that the percent modulation of the waveforms generated by the calibration system for square wave and sinusoidal modulations are within 0.002% and 0.005%, respectively, of the nominal values specified in IEC Standard 61000-3-3.