Hi,
I am trying to measure the pulse output by an electric fence energizer commonly used to control/contain livestock. Based on this article, I expect to find "very brief (less than 3/10,000 of a second in duration), high-voltage pulses (usually 2,000–6,000 volts) of electrons down the conductor every 1–2 seconds."
Since an oscilloscope obviously can't handle 5 kV, I am using a voltage divider to get the voltage to a manageable level. I am using a high voltage 10Mohm resistor with a 2Kohm resistor for a division ratio of ~0.0002. I have the oscilloscope probe hooked up as shown in the diagram.
The oscilloscope reading surprises me and makes me question if my measurement setup is correct. It is a very brief pulse of ~22 volts that seems to resonate afterwards. 22 volts is unbelievable to me since this would imply that the energizer is outputting 110 kV. I also don't understand the resonant pattern which seems to be on too brief of a time scale to be the actual pulse. I have also tried hooking up an LED in place of the multimeter and it flashes briefly with each pulse; this implies to me that the voltage is not 22v since the LED doesn't burn out.
I would expect to find scope output that looks like the diagram on page 29 of this paper or the output shown in this video.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
I am trying to measure the pulse output by an electric fence energizer commonly used to control/contain livestock. Based on this article, I expect to find "very brief (less than 3/10,000 of a second in duration), high-voltage pulses (usually 2,000–6,000 volts) of electrons down the conductor every 1–2 seconds."
Since an oscilloscope obviously can't handle 5 kV, I am using a voltage divider to get the voltage to a manageable level. I am using a high voltage 10Mohm resistor with a 2Kohm resistor for a division ratio of ~0.0002. I have the oscilloscope probe hooked up as shown in the diagram.
The oscilloscope reading surprises me and makes me question if my measurement setup is correct. It is a very brief pulse of ~22 volts that seems to resonate afterwards. 22 volts is unbelievable to me since this would imply that the energizer is outputting 110 kV. I also don't understand the resonant pattern which seems to be on too brief of a time scale to be the actual pulse. I have also tried hooking up an LED in place of the multimeter and it flashes briefly with each pulse; this implies to me that the voltage is not 22v since the LED doesn't burn out.
I would expect to find scope output that looks like the diagram on page 29 of this paper or the output shown in this video.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
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