COMTRADE Module

The COMTRADE module maps meter waveforms into COMTRADE (COMmon format for TRAnsient Data Exchange) format and saves the COMTRADE waveform records into the meter’s internal FTP or SFTP server.

Module icon

Overview

The COMTRADE module is specific to supporting COMTRADE. It can be deleted if COMTRADE is not required.

NOTE: The connected Waveform Recorder modules’ Source, Format and Record Delay Cycles setup registers can only be changed when the COMTRADE module’s Enable/Disable setup register is set to disable. If the connected Waveform Recorder modules are not configured identically, the COMTRADE module will not go online.

Refer to the COMTRADE and ION Technology technical note for more information

NOTE: The registers and settings available in this module depend on the device or node you are configuring, as well as its firmware and template versions. Not all registers or settings are available on all devices or the Virtual Processor, and labels may vary.

Inputs

Waveform Trigger 1...Waveform Trigger 6

These input registers must be connected to the Record Complete (Trigger) output registers of a Waveform Recorder module. When triggered, the captured waveforms from the Waveform Recorder modules are converted into COMTRADE format. The COMTRADE waveform record is stored in the meter’s internal FTP or SFTP server.

Reset

Pulsing this register deletes all COMTRADE records from the meter’s internal FTP or SFTP server. If the Record Mode setup register is set to stop-when-full, the module resets so that Records Left is equal to Depth and the meter will generate new COMTRADE records.

Setup registers

Depth

This register determines the maximum number of COMTRADE records that will be stored on your meter’s internal FTP or SFTP server. The higher you set this number, the more memory is required. Note that the format of the linked Waveform Recorder module affects how much memory a single record uses.

Record Mode

This register determines the recording mode, defining what happens when the maximum number of COMTRADE records is reached. If you select circular, the newest values get recorded and the oldest are dropped. If you select stop-when-full, the COMTRADE module stops generating COMTRADE records when it reaches capacity. You must pulse the Reset input to clear the module so that it will generate COMTRADE records.

LogMode

This register determines how the logged data is backed up so that it can be recovered if the device loses power. In most logging applications, this register should be set to normal. If data is being continuously logged at a high rate, select high speed continuous.

Module Enable

This register determines if the COMTRADE module is operating or not. If the COMTRADE module is online, this register must be set to disabled in order to modify the connected Waveform Recorder modules’ Format and Record Delay Cycles setup registers, or the Source inputs.

Buffer Depth

This register sets the maximum number of records that can be stored in the meter’s short-term RAM for the log before they are replicated to the meter’s long-term memory.

NOTE: Setting this register to a value less than the log depth instructs the meter to partially replicate (rather than fully replicate) log entries from short-term to long-term memory.

Output registers

Log State

If Record Mode is set to stop-when-full, this register value will be true when the maximum number of COMTRADE records are stored (when the module is full), as defined by the Depth setup register.

Records Left

If Record Mode is set to stop-when-full, this register indicates the number of additional COMTRADE records that this module can store before it becomes full. If this register contains a negative value, it indicates the number of times the module has been triggered beyond the full state. If Record Mode is set to circular, this register is not available.

Record Complete

This register is pulsed whenever a COMTRADE record is created and saved to the meter’s internal FTP or SFTP server.

Buffer exceeded

This register indicates the number of records lost, in a situation where the buffer is exceeded.

Buffer remaining

This register indicates how much of the buffer (number of records) is unused to help determine when the data recorder is nearing the limit of its buffer capacity.

Event

All events are recorded in the Event register.

Possible events and their associated priority numbers are:

Event priority group	Priority	Description
Setup change	10	Input links, setup registers or labels have changed

The Event output register stores the following information for each ION event: time stamp, priority, cause, effect, and any values or conditions associated with the cause and effect.