Work Instruction No.

:
Asset Protection
Cathodic Protection 6614

Use Of A Stray Current DATA Logger

Approved by: Manager
(Straycorder) Pipeline Standards

1 PURPOSE plugged into the base station even if

the external supply is turned off. Also
The purpose of this work instruction is to
the base station will enter into a low
describe the steps required to set-up, retrieve,
power mode until it receives
analyse and save data from a Straycorder
characters from the host computer
current/voltage data logging instrument being
and the on/off light will remain off.
used to capture and record potential readings
from a metallic gas pipeline or network. All • Place a STRAYCORDER data
works shall comply with APT O&MS Health, logger into the base station ensuring
Safety and Environmental Management that the optical windows in the logger
Systems and meet the requirements of all align with the corresponding
relevant statutory gas supply legislation. windows in the base station. The
data logger is now ready for
operation by the DOS software
2 REFERENCES application.
9019 Cathodic Protection System The communication interface protocol is set by
Maintenance and Testing Procedure the logger and the supplied software to: 9600
baud, 8 bit data and one stop bit as shown in
Figure 1.
3 GENERAL INFORMATION
Data loggers are placed on cathodically
protected steel pipes to retrieve and capture
the stray current/voltage potentials on the
network or pipeline. After analysis of the
captured data Cathodic Protection
units/current drainage systems can be
adjusted to compensate for any discrepancies
that may arise.
This work instruction assumes that all data
loggers used for the data captured have been
calibrated and pre-programmed with all
relevant default information in accordance with
design requirements.

4 PROCEDURE
4.1 Base Station
• Connect the base station to the host
Personnel Computer using the serial
cable attached to the base station.
Note the PC’s serial port connection
for entering into the set-up procedure Base Station
of the logger interface software.
• Supply power to the base station Figure 1
from an external source, via a USB
connection from the PC, or use the
internal battery. The base station
will not draw power from the internal
battery if an external power supply is

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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA Work Instruction No.:
Logger (Straycorder) 6614

4.2 Straycorder Data Logger ¾ Note: For negative voltage chart

orientation to be achieved, reverse
the lead connections, change the
earth stake (reference cell) and the
‘time below’ to negative values (eg.
-850).
For current data logging there are two
situations, one is an electrolysis drainage bond
and the other is a bond between two
structures. For the electrolysis drainage bond,
STRAYCORDER Data Logger pin ‘A’ (black lead) is connected to the more
Figure 2 negative structure, in this case the electrolysis
drain and pin ‘B’ (red lead) is connected to the
more positive structure. For a bond between
4.3 Connection of Leads two structures, leads should be connected in a
consistent manner (eg. red to red and black to
black or blue). In South Australia the red lead
should be connected to the black upstream
cable and the black lead to the yellow
downstream cable.

4.4 Programming Data Loggers

(Straycorder) Placement in the Field
Data Logger – Test Point Connection Leads 4.4.1 Initial Start-Up
Figure 3
• Insert the STRAYLOG boot
diskette/CD into the computers
Data Logger Test Point Connection floppy drive/CD drive.
There are 4 pins on top of the Data Logger for • Plug in the STRAYCORDER base
connection to potential and current sources station to the relevant COM
(as shown in Figure 4). connection located on the back of
your computer hard drive.
• Turn the computer on, this condition
will automatically start the
STRAYLOG software package in
DOS and open in the “FIRST MENU
A D SCREEN”. See Figure 5 for a
sample of the displayed FIRST
MENU SCREEN.
B C

Figure 4
A = Ground First Menu Screen
B = Current Figure 5
C = 10 Volts
D = DVM • Place the STRAYCORDER into the
For potential data logging, pin ‘A’ (black lead) STRAYCORDER base station.
is connected to the earth or reference cell and • Turn the Base Station to the on
pin ‘C’ (red lead) is connected to the structure. position using the battery power on
switch.
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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA Work Instruction No.:
Logger (Straycorder) 6614

• Press the F9 (DIRECTORY) key on • To initiate a new test use the up and
your computers keyboard to access down arrow keys on your computers
the STRAYCORDER’s directory keyboard to select and highlight the
screen, this screen provides the next available clear block in the
following information: logger’s memory.
¾ Note: The directory function reads • Once the next clear block has been
header information plus battery highlighted press the ENTER key on
and memory data from a logger, a your computers keyboard, this
directory listing of ten blocks, their condition will take you to the VIEW
titles, readings and status is HEADER DATA screen, where the
displayed. While communicating header values may be edited to
with the logger, the commands reflect the desired test details. See
being set to the logger are Figure 7 for a sample of the
displayed near the top left-hand HEADER DATA SCREEN.
side of the screen. This has been
done so that the user can see the
process progressing. If there is a
problem during this process
striking any key should interrupt
the process and return to the
menu.
¾ As well as presenting a directory of
the logger contents there is a new
menu presented at the bottom of
the screen. This menu lists a
number of functions that can be
used to operate the logger and its
data. See Figure 6 for a sample of
the Directory Screen.
¾ Where the logger is still set for
recording data, a message will
appear on your computers screen
advising you of this condition, to
stop the data logger from recording Header Data View Screen
press the F4 (STOP LOGGING)
key on your computers keyboard. Figure 7

• In the header data screen you may

set the following parameters by
using the up and down arrow keys
on your computers keyboard to
highlight the required item.
¾ Name the block to reference where
the test is being conducted.
¾ Set the start and end times by
pressing the F9 key twice located
on your computers keyboard, this
condition will set the start and end
times automatically to a default
period. Alternatively these times
Directory Screen may be overwritten as required.
Figure 6 ¾ Where required set the actual start
and end times.
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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA
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¾ Where required set the required
sample period.
¾ Where required set the required
window start and end times.
¾ Enter the chart reading/s required
i.e. Current/Voltage. To change
the chart type highlight the
parameter then press enter, select
the appropriate parameter and
press enter on your computer
keyboard.
¾ Enter the earth stake (reference
cell) value for potential surveys or
for current surveys enter the shunt
value.
• Press the F10 (EXIT) key to return to
the FIRST MENU SCREEN. To exit
this screen a parameter field must be
highlighted prior to pressing the F10
key.
• Press the F8 (WRITE TO LOGGER)
Key located on your computers
keyboard to send the programmed
data to the logger.
• Press the F9 (START LOGGER) Key
to commence the data capture
required of the programmed logger.
• Press the F10 (EXIT) key to return to
the FIRST MENU SCREEN.
4.4.2 Downloading and Analysing Data
Captured By the Logger
• Insert the STRAYLOG boot
diskette/CD into the computers
floppy drive/CD drive.
• Plug in the STRAYCORDER base
station to the relevant COM
connection located on the back of
your computers hard drive.
• Turn the computer on, this condition
will automatically start the
STRAYLOG software package in
DOS and open in the “FIRST MENU
SCREEN”. See Figure 5 for a
sample of the displayed FIRST
MENU SCREEN.
• Place the STRAYCORDER into the
STRAYCORDER base station.
• Turn the Base Station to the on
position using the battery power on
switch.
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Work Instruction No.:
6614
• Press the F9 key (DIRECTORY
KEY) on your computes keyboard to
access the STRAYCORDER’s
directory screen.
¾ Note: Where the logger is still set
for recording data, a message will
appear on your computers screen
advising you of this condition, to
stop the data logger from recording
press the F4 (STOP LOGGING)
key on your computers keyboard.
• Using the up and down arrow keys
located on your computers keyboard
highlight the block that contains the
required test data. Normally this
block is automatically highlighted.
• Press the F3 (READ DATA) key on
your computers keyboard, this
condition allows the STRAYLOG
computer software to read the data
captured by the logger.
¾ Note: A screen advising you that
the read time may take several
seconds will appear.
¾ After the data has been read by
the STRAYLOG computer
software a screen will appear to
advise you of the data read
completion and will ask you to
continue by “hitting any key on the
keyboard”, press the spacebar
located on your computers
keyboard.
• Press the F6 (ANALYSIS) key to
access the ANALYSIS &
GRAPHING screens. Once the F6
(ANALYSIS) key has been activated
you will be prompted to enter the
following:
¾ Minimum voltage/current the
default - parameters may be used
or if required the value may be
overwritten to suit the required test
outcomes.
• Press the ENTER key located on
you computers keyboard to continue.
• Once the ENTER key has been
activated you will be prompted to
enter the following:
¾ Maximum voltage/current - the
default maximum voltage/current
may be used or if required the
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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA
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value may be overwritten to suit
the required test outcomes.
• Press the ENTER key located on
you computers keyboard to continue.
• Press the F3 (Graph 1) key located
on your computers keyboard to enter
the screen that displays a graph of
the data captured during the
designated test period. See Figure 8
for an example of this screen.
¾ Where required adjust the limits of
the left horizontal plane of the test
period by using the left & right
arrow keys located on your
computers keyboard, alternatively,
this horizontal plane does not need
to be adjusted. See Figure 8 for
example this screen.
Example Of Graph 1 Screen
Figure 8
Example Of Graph 1 Screen With Numeric
Example of Graph 1 Screen With
Adjustable Planes
Figure 9
• Press the END key located on your
computers keyboard.
¾ Where required adjust the limits of
the right horizontal plane of the
test period by using the left & right
arrow keys located on your
computers keyboard, alternatively,
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Work Instruction No.:
6614
this horizontal plane does not need
to be adjusted. See Figure 9 for an
example of this screen.
• Press the END key located on your
computer keyboard.
¾ Where required adjust the limits of
the vertical plane of the
current/voltage range by using the
up & down arrow keys located on
your computers keyboard,
alternatively, this vertical plane
does not need to be adjusted. See
Figure 8 for an example of this
screen.
• Press the END key located on your
computers keyboard, this condition
will add a numeric analysis of the
data captured during the test period.
See Figure 10 for an example of this
screen.
Analysis Added
Figure 10
• Press the F10 (EXIT) key located on
your computers keyboard to exit into
the FIRST MENU SCREEN.
• Press the F10 (EXIT) key to return to
the DIRECTORY Screen.
• Where required save the captured
data as detailed in item 5.3 (Saving
the DATA captured by the Logger) of
this work instruction.
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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA
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4.4.3 Saving the DATA captured by the
Logger
The data should be analysed as detailed in
Section 4.4.2 in this Work Instruction prior to
saving any data.
• From the FIRST MENU SCREEN,
press the F2 (SAVE DATA) key to
access the SAVE DATA SCREEN.
• Upon entering the SAVE DATA
SCREEN you will be prompted to
nominate which directory you would
like to save the data. Type in the
desired directory. Alternatively use
the default directory as provided.
• Press the ENTER key located on
your computers keyboard.
• Next you will be prompted to enter a
file save name, enter an appropriate
file save name in the highlighted
area. Alternatively the automatic
default file name may be used.
• Press the ENTER key located on
your computers keyboard to save the
data to the directory previously input.
4.4.4 Data Logger Reset/Wipe Memory
• From the FIRST MENU SCREEN,
press the F6 (RESET LOGGER) key
to enter the Logger Reset screen.
¾ Upon entering the logger reset
screen you will be prompted to
confirm the reset by pressing the Y
key located on your computers
keyboard.
• Type the letter Y (for yes) and press
the enter key located on your
computers keyboard.
• Next you will come to a screen that
will give you an option to reset the
Data Loggers inbuilt clock. Confirm
the method of reset you require by
typing the relevant number into the
prompt box.
• Press the Enter key located on your
computers keyboard, this condition
will take you to the FIRST MENU
SCREEN.
• To confirm that the reset of the
Logger was successful press the F9
(DIRECTORY KEY) on your
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Work Instruction No.:
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computers keyboard to access the
STRAYCORDER’s directory screen.
All logger memory blocks should be
clear.
• Press the F10 (EXIT) key to return to
the FIRST MENU SCREEN.
4.4.5 Exiting the Straylog Programme
• From the FIRST MENU SCREEN
press the F10 (EXIT) key located on
your computers keyboard.
• A Y/N (yes/no) prompt will appear,
confirm the exit by typing the letter Y
in the prompt and press the enter
key.
• Remove the floppy disk / CD from
the computers floppy disk drive / CD
drive.
4.5 Base Station Power Supply
The base station requires 12 Volts DC (11.0 to
13.5 volts) power drawing up to 100mA. This
is supplied through an external power input
socket (or the USB port for the USB port
powered model). This may be from a mains
powered plug pack or from a vehicle 12V
system, possibly through the cigarette lighter
socket. Alternatively the base station is fitted
with eight (8) AA alkaline batteries for stand
alone power. Operation under battery power
is limited by battery capacity and to assist in
prolonging the unit goes into a low power
mode after a few minutes of no activity on the
serial input line. The first two or three (2-3)
characters received in the low power mode
switches the base station back to full
operation.
Low voltage (flat batteries or external input)
reduces the reliability of communication. The
operator may not realise that the voltage has
fallen too low for reliable operation so the unit
monitors the battery voltage and shuts down
completely if the voltage falls to low (10.5 -
11.0 volt). When the unit shuts down the
on/off light goes off. The external power
socket disconnects the battery and bypasses
the time out and voltage level circuits.
¾ Note: Even in the low power mode
the base station draws power from
the batteries and will drain them
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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA
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eventually so the unit MUST be
turned off when not in use.
4.6 Data Logger Verification and
Calibration
Data loggers are calibrated annually to asses
and adjust the calibration voltage/current input
ranges. The clock speed may be raised or
lowered to compensate for any clock time
keeping variations that may have occurred
since the previous calibration.
The calibrations and the unit serial number are
stored in EEPROM which can be altered,
however, it is a slow process and the writing of
the new calibration parameters takes a few
seconds.
The voltage / current inputs operate by taking
from the ADC then subtracting an offset
correction. This is followed by multiplying by a
scale factor. The user may enter new offsets
and scale factors.
To calibrate an input range, proceed as
follows:
• Insert the STRAYLOG boot diskette /
CD into the computers floppy drive /
CD drive.
• Plug in the STRAYCORDER base
station to the relevant COM
connection located on the back of
your computer hard drive.
• Turn the computer on, this condition
will automatically start the
STRAYLOG software package in
DOS and open in the “FIRST MENU
SCREEN”. See Figure 11 (same as
Figure 5) for a sample of the
displayed FIRST MENU SCREEN.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
First Menu Screen (f)
Figure 11 (g)
(h)
• Place the STRAYCORDER into the
STRAYCORDER base station.
• Turn the Base Station to the on
position using the battery power on
switch.
Issue 2 October 2007
Work Instruction No.:
6614
• Press the F1 key (CALIBRATE)
located on your computers keyboard.
This condition brings up the input
range selection menu on your
computers screen.
• Select the desired input range from
this menu.
¾ This condition will bring up the real
time reading output which can be
used with a calibrated multimeter
to determine the calibration
requirements. Input zero to
measure the offset error, note the
offset error measured has been
scaled by the old scale factor. To
establish the scale factor
correction required, enter a large
magnitude voltage (large relative
to the ranges fall scale) and note
the logger and corresponding
multimeter reading. The new scale
factor is the old scale factor times
the ration of the meter reading
over the corresponding logger
reading. Exit the real time reading
mode by pressing the RETURN
key and then enter the offset and
scale factor in response to the
prompts.
• There are now two (2) current input
ranges (these are actually voltage
ranges intended to be used with
current shunts): +/- 200mV and +/-
400mV. The final range is a +/- 10V
for protection voltage monitoring
STRAYCORDER. The ranges
available from the menu as shown in
Figure 12.
Attenuated Voltage: +/- 100mV
Attenuated Voltage: +/- 1V
Attenuated Voltage: +/- 10V
Attenuated Voltage: +/- 100V
Attenuated Voltage: +/- 1000V
Current Shunt Range: +/- 400mV
Current Shunt Range: +/- 200mV
Protection Voltage: +/- 10mV
Input Ranges
Figure 12
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 Use Of A Stray Current DATA Work Instruction No.:
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Adjust the Clock Rate is correctly plugged into the host

• Select calibrate from the first menu computer.
[Figure 5]. This brings up the range • Check that the interface software
selection menu. has the correct serial port selected
• Select clock adjust from this menu. and that the serial port is operating
correctly.
¾ Note the clock drift rate over a
period and calculate the number of • Check that the on/off light comes on
seconds it will drift in a week. This when the external power supply or
weekly drift rate is then entered in power supply via the USB
response to the prompt; a positive connection with the PC, is plugged in
value slows the logger clock and a and turned on, or that when using
negative number speeds it up. the internal battery the light comes
The software calculates and the on when characters are sent to the
adjustment required and sends it base station (the light operates with
to the logger. or without a logger in the base
station).
4.6.1 Base Station Battery Replacement • If the base station appears to be
functioning correctly try using a
The batteries are attached to the base plate on different data logger.
the bottom of the base station and may be
replaced as follows:
• Remove the self tapping screws that
hold the base plate to the upper
body of the base station.
• Separate the base plate carefully as
wires run from the batteries on the
base plate to the circuit in the upper
body.
• Remove the eight AA alkaline
batteries and replace with new fully
charged batteries.
• Reattach the base plate with new
batteries to the upper using the self
tapping screws.

4.7 Communication Failure

Should the base station / logger combination
fail to respond the following steps should be
taken:
• Check that the logger has been
placed in the base station with the
correct orientation so as to align the
optical windows of the logger and the
base station.
• Press the Reset button to get the
logger into guaranteed known state.
• Check that power is being supplied
to the base station - either from an
external source, via a USB
connection from the PC or internal
batteries. Check that the serial cable
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