As we know, electrosurgery is an interesting area. There are all sorts of things going on:- radio frequency outputs, lots of power (hundreds of Watts), exotic waveforms, low voltages (mV), high voltages (kV p/p), low currents (mA) ... to name but a few. And all actively applied to an anaesthetised patient, and therefore closely controlled within an environment that is as safe as it can be.
So we have various feedback and monitoring functions ...
etc., etc.My guess is that ERBE technology includes what is effectively a high-impedance voltmeter that looks for (monitors) any DC component(s) that may appear across the active and return connections during operational use; and then reacts accordingly. Yes, in theory there shouldn't be any DC in the active output (due to the blocking capacitors in the active and return circuits) - so I can but assume that the "meter" is in circuit before (after) the caps.
The test box mentioned in the original post is obviously used to test the "meter circuit" for a valid reponse to a fixed 70 VDC test level. One manual I saw (for an earlier ERBE ESU) indicated which pot to tweak - the value comes off an A-D converter, apparently.
Presumably (when in use) the ESU reacts in some way if (when) a DC voltage level is detected.
Maybe it's something to do with automatic monitoring of output quality, or some such thing. Maybe the ESU recognises a "good spark" as a DC voltage level. Maybe it's something to do with inhibiting open circuit ouput. Or what happens if (from a floating output, of course) the active electrode is energized directly on the return plate! Who knows.
Happily, there is quite a lot of good stuff about electrosurgery available on the web ... this
.pdf, for example.
What's that tester the guy is using on page 33?