On the Inauguration of SevenCompact pH/Ion meter calibration and

testing methods
Amanz Azaden, TATA Steel 2016

Introduction
British standard for tracking the levels of ammonia in
samples are the motivation for this calibration. This
is due to the previous level of precision in former
methods no longer meeting specification
requirements. SevenCompact pH/Ion meter will
be used to track the levels of a dissociated
ammonium ion in solution. This report aims to
outline the key steps in both finding measurements
and the calibration of the said equipment.

II.

Display
Figure II shows a full layout of the screen. Figure
III shows the screen layout with only desired
messages and warning messages.

Operation
I.

Elementary instructions

Post-Arm installation, there are a few levels of

arbitrary housekeeping that must be addressed.

Figure II: Complex screen layout

Figure III: Measurement close-up screen

Figure I: Rear layout of the SevenCompact pH/Ion meter

Figure I shows the layout of the rear of a

SevenCompact pH/Ion meter. It is clear that the
DC supply (f) will always remain plugged in. USB A
(g) is the input for data transport, whilst USB B (h) is
for external printers that could be purchased in the
future. There are options for external displays and
stirrers.

Bold labels identify the likely most frequent used

keys. The key is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Measurement value
USB device connected
PC connected
Stirrer icon (when stirring is taking place)
Data logging icon (timed interval reading)
Routine mode icon (user access rights are
restricted)
Date and time

8.
9.

Measurement temperature
Symbol shown post-test

10. Temperature compensation

ATC=Temperature sensor
connected
MTC= no temperature sensor
Connected or detected
11. Number of data sets in memory
12. User ID
13. Softkey
14. Softkey
15. Softkey
16. Softkey
17. Sample ID
18. Sensor ID
19. pH electrode condition

Figure IV: Display shown for varied electrode conditions

20. ISM sensor connection

21. Stability criterion

Figure V: Display shown for stability criterion

22. Warning messages

23. Buffer Groups or standards

III.

Button operation

The three buttons required to get to grips with are

shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Button operation and timing effects

The soft keys can take any arbitrary function at a set

point during use. Table 2 displays a key of individual
symbols functions.
Table 2: Symbol key for the softkeys

IV.

Alphanumeric typing

When wanting to input any alphanumeric codes

such as a PIN or a SAMPLE ID, the buttons used
will be the primarily the be Softkeys to navigate the
letters using the respective arrows, then the
READ function to input a letter. If samples appear
in a table and must be removed, simply use the
Softkeys to navigate and the localised delete button
on a softkey.

V.

Data input

Sample ID settings are accessed in the Menu section

of the apparatus. A maximum of sixteen
characters is allowed for titling samples. Up to ten
sample IDs are able to be stored on the system.
After ten samples are inputted, the oldest sample
ID will be deleted. These stored IDs will be useful
for run-of-the-mill tests where the ID, or segments
of it, may be repeated. There is also a feature of
Auto-Sequence whereby when the feature is turned
on, a sequence may be detected, eg;

BoreholeSample1
BoreholeSample2
BoreholeSample3

This feature will come of use when there are a

number of samples being tested which are correlated
in a specific way, or share a particular property, such
as their location or nature of the sample.
The sequence works for Purely numeric such as
00001 or alphanumeric eg Water01. You are
automatically prompted with this when you choose a
numeric ending to the sample ID.

VI.

Calibration

Calibration will be used for three points. The steps

describe the process explicitly.
1.

Place the electrode in a calibration

buffer/standard and press CAL.
Cal 1 appears on the display
2. The meter endpoints after the signal has
stabilized or after pressing READ. The
relevant buffer/standard value is shown on
the display.
3. Rinse the electrode with de-ionized water.
4. Place the electrode in the next
calibration buffer.
5. Press CAL.
6. Cal 2 appears on the display. The meter
endpoints after the signal has stabilized
or after pressing READ. The relevant
buffer/standard value is shown on the
display.
7. Repeat the steps 4 - 6 for all calibration
buffers.
8. Press End to end the calibration
procedure. Alternatively, the meter ends the
calibration automatically when 5 calibrations
are performed, though if three is the
predominant number, step eight will be
more frequent. The offset value and slope
are shown on the display.
9. Press to the scroll key (see Table 2) to scroll
down to next data set
10. Press Save to keep the calibration.
11. Press EXIT to reject the calibration.

VII.

Performing a measurement

By inserting the calibrated electrode into the sample

and pressing the read key, the pH, or another desired
property will be measured. Changing the measured
property can be done by pressing the mode key
Label (9) in Figure II will blink when taking the
measurement, and remain stable post-measurement.
The value taken can then be stored.

VIII. Data storage

Post-Measurement, the data can be stored on the
USB stick in the back of the apparatus. All data is set
to auto save after testing.

IX.

Data Transfer

When handling data such as the User ID, sample ID

or sensor ID, the menu settings are accessed using
the softkey on the default screen of the apparatus.

Operation of this apparatus will require manual

transfer of data via a USB stick. There is a future
scope to use the integrated LabX direct pH
software, however its instructions will have to be
referred to in the original manual.
Data transfer via USB is done in the following
manner:
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

6.
7.
8.

X.

Insert the USB stick into port (g) in Figure I,

yielding symbol (2) in Figure II.
Select the item and Export to USB-Stick
softkey in the data menu to start the transfer.
The data will be in text (extension .txt) format.
The instrument will create a new folder on the
USB stick in which the name is the date in the
international format, i.e. first year, then month
and then the day.
Example: when the date is 25 November 2011,
the name of the folder will be: 20111125.
The data will be written as a text file with a name
that consists of the time in 24h format (hr min
sec) with a prefix depending on what kind of
data is exported. This prefix is M for
measurement data and C for calibration data.
Example: when calibration data are exported at
15:12:25 (3:12:25 pm) the name of the file will
be: C151225.txt
Pressing EXIT during the exporting aborts the
process

User Identification

User ID settings are accessed in the Menu section of

the apparatus. A maximum of ten profiles can be
stored, and selected when the apparatus is under
operation by the respective ID.