RF Standard RS-232 User Manual

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RFStandard

RF Power Measurement Solutions

RF Power Meter

USER MANUAL

for Instruments with Firmware 70.08 or higher

info@rfstandard.com

www.rfstandard.com

Doc# 6001601

Page 1

Rev1.86

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Page 1 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions RF Power Meter USER MANUAL for Instruments with Firmware 70.08 or higher info@rfstandard.com www.rfstandard.com Doc# 6001601 Page 1 Rev1.86...
Page 2: Table Of Contents
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Table of Contents Introduction ......................3 RF Power Meter Description................3 Items Supplied ....................3 Optional Accessories ..................3 Applicability of this User Manual ..............3 Specifications ....................4 Installation ......................6 RF Line Connection ..................6 AC Line Connection ..................
Page 3: Introduction
The technology is patent pending and covered by intellectual property legislation. All readings are displayed on the front panel and are also available through a serial communication. The RF Standard Power Meter can be powered by a wall power plug adapter, USB interface, or internal rechargeable battery. Items Supplied •...
Page 4: Specifications
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Specifications Nominal Impedance Nominal Power See the instrument front panel* Nominal Frequency See the instrument front panel* MAX Power Allowable 120% of Nominal Power LCD will display a message “Power Overload” if RF power is in excess of 120% of Nominal Power Max.
Page 5 Built in. Power supplied by wall plug adapter or USB Battery Charger port Display LCD 4 lines of 16 characters Interfaces RS-232 standard, USB 2.0 Output Data Rate, Nominal 15 readings/second Operating Environmental conditions Humidity, Max. 85% (non condensing) Operating Temperature +68°...
Page 6: Installation
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Installation This chapter provides information about preparing the RF Standard Power Meter for use. RF Line Connection WARNING Never attempt to connect or disconnect RF equipment from the transmission line while RF power is ON! CAUTION Do not exceed the specified Maximum Power Allowable for the device.
Page 7: Ac Line Connection
Let us know if you are going to use the RF Power Meter outside U.S. so we can supply the proper wall plug. NOTE: Notify RF Standard if you are going to use the device with non-U.S. voltages. A proper wall plug adapter will be provided.
Page 8: Chapter Two
RF Power Measurement Solutions Chapter Two Operating Instructions This chapter describes operator controls and indicators on the RF Power Meter. For remote operation using a USB or RS-232 interface, refer to the instructions in following two chapters Front Panel Charging indicator...
Page 9 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Push Button Description Navigational button. Press to increase the set value or to move UP. Navigational button. Press to decrease the set value or to move DOWN. Press to indicate the value that you want to set.
Page 10: Charging The Battery
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Charging the battery The charging LED is going to be ON if the Li-Ion battery is charging (from the USB connection or from the wall plug adapter). The LED will turn OFF when the battery is fully charged (4.2V) Battery charge is performed either the instrument is ON or OFF.
Page 11: Performing A High Accuracy Power Measurement
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Performing a High Accuracy Power measurement There are several simple rules that will help the user perform accurate measurements: Use only good cables and connectors. Any sign of heating is a result of RF losses; therefore some of your RF power is lost as heat instead of being delivered to your application.
Page 12: Averaging And Pulsing Signals Operation
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Averaging and Pulsing Signals Operation The standard instrument works in two modes, depending on the number of averages (higher or lower than 32). Up to 31 averages the firmware will perform an adaptive averaging: if the power level is increasing (or decreasing) with more than 10% the previous value, the averaging is reset and starts with the new power value.
Page 13: Serial Interface
ON/OFF button to reset the instrument. Serial Communication Flow Control Operators should understand EIA Standard RS-232-C and have basic computer programming skills before attempting serial communication with the device. The RF Standard RS-232 interface has the communication parameters fixed (factory set) and the user cannot change them.
Page 14: Serial Cable Connector
We recommend sending a Key Lock command (to lock the keyboard) in order to preserve the communication rate. Serial Cable Connector The serial RS-232 host port connector is a 9-pin, female, shielded subminiature- D connector. A standard 9-pin serial cable can be used for serial communication. Figure 3-1...
Page 15: Command Syntax
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Command Syntax NOTE: All commands are case sensitive. There are two types of commands: Read and Set. Read commands are executed by sending 2 characters. No termination has to be sent. Sending a termination will either make the instrument to ignore or delay the command.
Page 16 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Reports the VSWR Reports the Gamma Reports the Forward and Reflected Power Reports the Forward Power Reports the Reflected Power Reports the number of Errors Reports the voltage of the internal bus Reports the temperature of the RF sensor Locks/Unlocks the device keyboard Reports the status of the keyboard (locked=1,unlocked=0) rR<CR>xxx...
Page 17 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Re Set Format FUNCTION – will reset the device NOTE: Reset takes 10 seconds. Do NOT send any serial commands during this period of time! IMPLEMENTATION – RS The device will reset. All the settings will go to default values. The LCD will display the device information (serial number, firmware version, power and frequency specifications, last calibration date).
Page 18 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions IMPLEMENTATION – Pm The device can measure below the minimum power but the accuracy is not guaranteed by the manufacturer The answer has the following format: PRFLMax=yyyyyW The answer has a variable length depending on the number of digits of the min power.
Page 19 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions The device will do measurements outside the frequency range but they will not be within the manufacturer accuracy specifications. The answer has the following format: FMin=cccccccHz<CR> The answer has a variable length depending on the number of digits of the frequency.
Page 20 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions FV=cc.cc<CR> The answer has a fixed length of 9 bytes (including the Carriage Return). Calibration Date Format FUNCTION – will return the date of the last calibration NOTE: Allow 65mSec between the write and the read commands. IMPLEMENTATION –...
Page 21 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions IMPLEMENTATION – SW The answer has the following fixed format: VSWR=c.cc<CR> The answer has a fixed length of 10 bytes (including the Carriage Return). GAmma Format FUNCTION – will return the Gamma NOTE: Allow 65mSec between the write and the read commands. IMPLEMENTATION –...
Page 22 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Forward Carrier Format FUNCTION – will return the Forward Power Carrier NOTE: Allow 65mSec between the write and the read commands. IMPLEMENTATION – FC The answer has the following fixed format: Fwd=xxxx.xW<CR> The answer has a fixed length of 12 characters (including Carriage Return) xxxx is the Forward power.
Page 23 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions IMPLEMENTATION – ER The answer has the following fixed format: Error=zzz<CR> The answer has a variable length depending on the number of errors BaTtery Format FUNCTION – will return the voltage of the bus NOTE: Allow 65mSec between the write and the read commands. IMPLEMENTATION –...
Page 24 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions ▲ ▼ Temp out of spec T=3DegC Figure 3-2 Extreme temperature values (too high or too low) are not supported (see specifications) and the readings may be out of the accuracy specifications. In these cases the meter will display a specific message (see Fig 3.1). In this case we recommend waiting for the temperature to reach the specifications limits.
Page 25 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Key? Format FUNCTION – will return the status of the keyboard NOTE: Allow 65mSec between the write and read commands. IMPLEMENTATION – K? The answer has the following fixed format: Keyboard=1<CR> (the keypad is locked) Keyboard=0<CR>...
Page 26 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Set commands are executed by sending 2 characters followed by a delay of at least 65mSec followed by 3 or 4 decimal digits. No termination has to be sending. Sending a termination will either make the instrument ignore or delay the command. NOTE: Set command must be complete.
Page 27 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions If the value send is outside the range an error message will be displayed for a second on LCD “Freq out of spec” and the frequency will remain unchanged. If the command was successful the new frequency is displayed on the LCD and it can be read using the command FR.
Page 28: Usb Interface
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Chapter Four USB Interface The RF Power Meter interface is USB2.0 Compatible. USB interface contains a “bridge“ that translates the USB communications to a RS232 communication. Practically the software drivers will install first the USB resources and after that will create a virtual RS232 port.
Page 29: Virtual Com Port Driver Installation Windows 2000 / Xp
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Upon successful installation of the USB drivers one can use serial commands to communicate with the RF Power Meter. See previous chapter for serial commands. NOTE: Always first power ON the RF Power Meter and only then connect USB cable.
Page 30: Virtual Com Port Driver Installation Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions 5. Press Browse to locate the “slabbus.inf” driver installation file. The default location is the “D:\USB Drivers\Win 98_2000_XP” directory. Once this file is selected press OK. 6. Verify that the correct path and filename are shown and press “Next”. 7.
Page 31: Virtual Com Port Driver Installation Windows 10
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Virtual COM Port Driver Installation Windows 10 Windows 10 contains by default the drivers for the CP210x chipset, no user interaction required. Upon connecting the instrument, Windows 10 should automatically recognize the chipset and list it as a COM port. In the isolated case Windows 10 is requesting the drivers, point to the folder “D:\USB Drivers\Win 7_8_8.1_10”...
Page 32: Maintenance
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Chapter Five Maintenance This chapter describes routine maintenance, along with troubleshooting instructions for the RF power meter. Calibration Recommended calibration time interval for standard instruments is 12 Months. Transfer standards (higher accuracy) or custom standards can have a lower calibration period (typical 6 months).
Page 33: Cleaning
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Cleaning WARNING NEVER ATTEMPT TO CONNECT OR DISCONNECT RF EQUIPMENT FROM THE TRANSMISSION LINE WHILE RF POWER IS BEING APPLIED. LEAKING RF ENERGY IS A POTENTIAL HEALTH HAZARD. The Power Meter requires simple, routine maintenance. •...
Page 34: Troubleshooting
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Troubleshooting CAUTION Due to the complexity of the RF Power Meter, field repairs beyond general maintenance should not be attempted. Removal or disturbance of the instrument cover will affect the calibration and will result in cancellation of the warranty. If a malfunction is not listed or is not corrected by the listed corrective actions, contact the manufacturer Thermal devices insure internal protection.
Page 35 RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Meter displays Temperature of the ambient is out Wait until the meter “Temp out of range” of specifications reaches a temperature message within specifications Meter does not Serial/USB cable connected? Connect the serial cable respond to serial commands Serial cable too long or routed Standard serial cable...
Page 36: Warranty
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Chapter Six Warranty Limited Warranty The products manufactured by Seller are warranted to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from date of shipment and to conform to applicable specifications, drawings, blueprints and/or samples. Seller’s sole obligation under these warranties shall be -at his discretion- to either: issue credit (up to the invoice value), repair or replace any item or part thereof which is proved to be other than as warranted.
Page 37: Chapter Seven
RFStandard RF Power Measurement Solutions Chapter Seven Revision History Revision 1.86 The instruments with Firmware previous to 70.08 were starting with Nominal Frequency while Instruments with Firmware 70.08 and later are starting with last Frequency set before power down. Inserted Instructions for Windows 10 installation. Revision 1.85 Inserted Instructions for Windows 7 installation.