Determining the location of your test station is the first step in designing a safe and effective test station. The test station should be located away from traffic for the safety of anyone who may pass by the station and of course for the safety of the operator at the station. Limiting distractions to the test operator is an added step to ensure safety. The area should be marked with approved “DANGER – HIGH VOLTAGE” signs. The Hipot tester should have indicator lights to denote when high voltage is output. The test area should be separate from the assembly area.

A Ground Fault Interrupt (GFI) circuit that monitors the high voltage output and return line is an excellent operator and instrument safety feature. The current exiting the instrument’s high voltage output (Isource) is measured separately from the current flowing through the device under test (Idevice). To stop the flow of this extraneous current, the GFI circuit is employed to detect a current imbalance (as small as 250uA) between the output and return, then shut down the high voltage immediately. Chroma, distributed under the QuadTech brand, was the first company to maufacture a production hipot tester with a GFI circuit as standard.