Chapter 5 Stand-Alone Operation; Initial Setup; Turning The Controller On; Enabling The Heater - THORLABS TC200 User Manual

Temperature Controller
Chapter 5
5.1.

Initial Setup

1. Place the unit on a dry, level working surface.
2. Make sure the POWER switch on the front of the unit is in the OFF position (0).
3. Plug the female end of the provided AC line cord into the AC Input Receptacle on the rear of the unit. Plug
the male end into a properly grounded AC socket.
4. Connect the heater to be controlled to the MAIN OUTPUT connector on the rear panel of the unit. Refer to
page 25 for information on proper connections to the output connectors.
5.2.

Turning the Controller On

1. Press the POWER switch to the ON position (|). If the AC line voltage is sufficient and the internal power
supply in the unit is fully functional, the PWR ON indicator will light up and the LCD screen will display a
brief message stating the model number and the firmware revision. After approximately 2 seconds, this
message will scroll off of the screen and the main LCD screen will appear.
2. The default power-up settings for the main screen are always NORMAL Mode, heater disabled, the last
active sensor type used, and the last temperature set-point that was active on the unit. To change these
settings, see Navigating the Front Panel on page 8.
3. All parameters from the last working session with the controller will be loaded during unit initialization. These
include: PID gain settings, "Tuning" offset, sensor selection (including the TH10K Beta value if applicable),
Maximum Temperature TMAX setting, Maximum Power PMAX setting, the last display units used (°C, °F,
or K), and all cycle mode parameters for the five programmable cycle steps.
4. If the heater has not been operated yet, the TEMP ACTUAL field on the LCD display should show a value
appropriate for a "cold" system (somewhere around room ambient temperature). If it is noticeably different,
you should double-check that the selected sensor (PTC100, PTC1000, TH10K) matches the actual sensor
used in your heating system.
5.3.

Enabling the Heater

1. Press and release the ENABLE keypad on the front panel to turn on the heater. At this time, the Heater ON
indicator will immediately light up. If not, see page 27 for troubleshooting suggestions.
2. If successfully enabled, the STATUS field in the LCD screen will read "ENABLED" and the MODE field will
read either "NORMAL" or "CYCLE" depending on the particular mode chosen.
5.4.

Adjusting the Temperature in NORMAL Mode

The set-point temperature can be changed at any time while in NORMAL Mode, regardless of whether the controller
is enabled, simply by pressing the UP or DOWN arrow keypads. Pressing the UP arrow will increment the
temperature by 0.1°, and pressing the DOWN arrow will decrement the temperature by 0.1°. As with all of the
numeric adjustments that can be done on the TC200, holding the arrow keypads down will accelerate the rate of
increase or decrease the longer the arrow keypad is held down.
Rev N, July 31, 2017
Stand-Alone Operation
Chapter 5: Stand-Alone Operation
Page 7