Remote phase identification systems have only been available for a few years. They are still a new concept to much of the industry. If you have not considered these type of tool in the past, you should take a fresh look at what the latest systems can do for you. They are a time and cost savings tool whose use will become more and more important in the future as utilities strive to cut operations costs and improve service.

How the PhaseID System Works

The PhaseID System translates to the user the actual primary 'phase attribute' of the circuit. As you know, the industry refers to these attributes in a variety of ways and are commonly called either 'ABC', '123', or 'Red, White, Blue'.

The two primary system components are the MB0414B Base Station and the MB0414F Field Probe. The Base Station runs on a PC in the dispatch center and obtains a reference phase measurement from any 120V outlet. The portable Field Probe obtains its phase measurement from any primary, secondary, or dead front voltage.

The concept behind the PhaseID System is very simple: Every GPS second, the Base Station measures a reference phase at a 120V outlet and stores this phase, along with the GPS second at which it was taken, in a data file on the PC. When the Field Probe touches an energized line, a phase measurement is taken at the next GPS second and encoded, along with the GPS second at which it was taken, into a 9-character sequence. When this sequence is entered into the Base Station PC, it is decoded, and the 120V outlet reference phase measurement taken at the same GPS second is retrieved from the data file. The readings are then compared. Since the phase attribute at the Base Station location is known, the phase attribute at the field location can be determined.

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