Dan's Tips

How does adding a 250-ohm resistor make

HART work?

i
15 Votes
Sometimes theres a problem getting a loop powered HART instrument to communicate when its
on the benchtop, but it communicated fine when wired in the field. Why is that? Its probably
because when its on the test bench, the loop doesn t have enough resistance for the HART signal
to be seen by the HART handheld or HART modem.
In a bench test situation, power is applied to the transmitter, so it fires up and runs fine. But
theres no analog input in the loop as there is when the transmitter is wired in the field. Whats
missing is the dropping resistor on the analog input that supplies the loop resistance needed for
the HART signal to develop.
4-20mA loops transmit the signal as electrical current (milliamps), but the receiver device with the
analog input reads the signal as a voltage, whether the signal to be read is analog or HART. The
current signal becomes a voltage drop when the current passes through a resistor (Ohms Law).
The HART signal is a 1200 baud signal superimposed on the loops 4-20mA DC signal. 1200 baud
is a relatively high frequency signal compared to the 4-20mA DC current signal.
Some minimum loop impedance is needed so that the HART signal can be seen or read by a
HART master, like a HART communicator or HART modem. The analog inputs on the receiver
device (DCS, PLC, RTU, PAC, controller, recorder, or indicator) have a precision shunt resistor
installed at each analog input. It is usually 250 ohms, but not always.
The voltage (IR) drop needed for HART communications is produced by the resistance at the loop
receivers analog input. The loops wire resistance contributes very little resistance. When a
transmitter is powered up with just a DC power supply there isnt enough voltage from the 1200
baud HART signal for the for the HART master (handheld communicator or a HART modem) to

see the signal. The internal resistance of a DC power supply is insufficient to develop a HART
voltage drop, and its filter capacitors act as a low pass filter to squelch the relatively high
frequency 1200 baud HART signal.
In the absence of a receiver device with its analog input resistance being part of the loop, there is
insufficient loop resistance for a HART master device to see the FSK HART signal and HART
communications fails.
The good news is that a resistor can be inserted into the loop and the HART signal will develop a
voltage drop and the HART master can see the HART signal.
The HART Foundations website has a technical specification that states that the minimum loop
resistance needed is 230 ohms. A 250 ohm resistor is commonly used because 250 ohm resistors
work for that purpose and are typically available in the instrument shops where these types of
bench tests are done. The resistor need not be a precision resistor.

(http://danstips.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/250-ohm-resistor-clips.jpg)
Connect a 250 ohm resistor with alligator clips, like this one, to a wiring terminal and a loose wire
in a loop circuit to test HART communications at the benchtop.
HART handheld communicators (275/375/475, Meriam 4150
(http://www.lesman.com/unleashd/catalog/accessor/accessor_meriam-mfc-4150-hartcommunicator.html)) usually have a pair of banana jacks on the handheld for the purpose of
connecting a plug adapter with a 249 or 250 ohm resistor to provide the needed loop resistance. If
a HART communicator or HART modem fails to establish communications, it is advisable to insert
a 250 ohm resistor in series in the loop (or use the banana plug adapter with a communicator).
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This entry was posted on October 6, 2011, 4:46 pm and is filed under Communications,
configuration, HART, honeywell, Level, service, siemens, temperature transmitters, transmitters.
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