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Ron Pat

I have a Megger PAT420 which says that I have nearly run out of memory. Megger say it will store 10,000 test results. As I have only 4000 assets on this device, the test results are from previous years. Does anyone know how to delete the unwanted test results without doing it one result at a time. Megger technical support says use their Professional software (£400) but when you look at the user manual for their software it says nothing about it, nor does the user manual for the tester. Please can anyone advise? Ron.
 
IIRC the PAT420 is a USB download - can you not directly export the results to a USB stick plugged into the PAT420 in order to free up the memory and then delete them from the PAT? Obviously the data on memory stick can then be saved on a PC...
 
Thanks for your input Fox. When you export the results onto a usb stick they are still on the Megger too. The only option I can find so far is to delete the client database which would include location, asset number and description (not recommended!) or delete the result one at a time. There is an option to create a backup file from the Megger which has all the client details, but you can't 'break into' that file once you load it on a pc.
Any other ideas would be very welcome...
 
Hi Ron,

By downloading the data to software you can then upload the assets back to the tester without the test results. This will free up the memory but still allow you to test without re inputting the asset details (description, frequency test code etc).

Either way I would save the data out both in the db form and the csv output since having all the data stored on the PAT machine is keeping all your eggs in one basket if the PAT fails or gets cleared by accident.

I assume you are testing in house and not as a contractor?
 
Hi patdev.
Thanks for that. it would seem that the tester needs to have a back up and restore every so often to clean down unwanted test results.I regularly back up the data base of assets to usb, and I download the test results after each testing session so I can print reports and invoice the client, but unless I then do a restore from usb of the current back up to wipe the test results, previous test results will stay on the tester. In my case, there are two years of tests stored against the same assets. So I have 4500 assets that I test each year on a regular basis as a contractor. I have done this twice so now I have 9000 test results sitting there on the tester.
Maximum number of tests on the memory- 10,000. All I need to do is do a back up and then do a restore of the database of 4500 assets and that should also remove the 9000 unwanted test results from the machine. It would have been nice if Megger had made this clear in their manual as it would save a lot of time.Their software suite looks like it needs a makeover for PAT testers. It was the same with Seaward. Used a Supernova for six years.Great machine but Seawards software did'nt match the product in my opinion. Thanks again for your help and input from other members. Ron.
 
Hi Ron

Sounds like you have it covered if you are keeping backups of the db files. This is the most important thing as not only does it restore the assets but also the test sequences used.

I'm not sure about all software but it is important that it has the ability to selectively upload back a single customer or couple of customers at a time rather than uploading the whole history of all your customers. This will help with memory management and means that you wont run out of space. (well not unless a single customer has more than 10,000 assets and then you could upload individual customer sites or locations as you progressed with the testing).

I know a few contractors who use the Megger PAT400 series and whilst it is unique (compared to other testers) in some ways, they seem to use it effectively. Regards
 
Hi patdev.
Thanks for that. it would seem that the tester needs to have a back up and restore every so often to clean down unwanted test results.I regularly back up the data base of assets to usb, and I download the test results after each testing session so I can print reports and invoice the client, but unless I then do a restore from usb of the current back up to wipe the test results, previous test results will stay on the tester. In my case, there are two years of tests stored against the same assets. So I have 4500 assets that I test each year on a regular basis as a contractor. I have done this twice so now I have 9000 test results sitting there on the tester.
Maximum number of tests on the memory- 10,000. All I need to do is do a back up and then do a restore of the database of 4500 assets and that should also remove the 9000 unwanted test results from the machine. It would have been nice if Megger had made this clear in their manual as it would save a lot of time.Their software suite looks like it needs a makeover for PAT testers. It was the same with Seaward. Used a Supernova for six years.Great machine but Seawards software did'nt match the product in my opinion. Thanks again for your help and input from other members. Ron.
What software were you using for the supernova and what didn't you like about it?
 
Last edited:
Hello Stantheman.
I was using SimplPats 4 back then with the supernova. I tried Megger's lite version but was'nt keen. The main problem I had with the supernova was corruption of data during download from the tester via the serial cable. To complete the download I had to view the corrupt test on the tester, make a note of all the details and then delete the individual 'faulty' tests before I could download the whole session. Sometimes this was 10-12 % of the test results from that session. I have to say that the test file corruption wasn't due to wrong data in wrong fields- it just did'nt see that test as a usable csv. file. It was very time consuming, and after experimenting with different cables, baud rates, etc I just lived with it until I changed the tester for a Megger.
 

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