Advanced Power Meter Information - Ramsey Electronics COM3010 User Manual

DETAILED INFORMATION

6.20 Advanced Power Meter Information

The COM3010 power meter is a voltage mode power meter.
The COM3010 power meter is not a true RMS type of power meter, meaning that it will
measure your primary carrier voltage accurately and convert it to a power in dBm. It is
possible for harmonics and other signals to cause error. Measurement is performed internally
using a broadband log detector IC with 70 dB of dynamic range. The incoming RF voltage
level is detected and converted to a log value on the output, digitized, and then converted to
a power value based on a calibration table and sent to the display. This method is used since
it offers the greatest flexibility and dynamic range.
The power meter is very accurate with a single carrier with harmonics at least 30dB down, but
when harmonics increase over this level, and especially if there are high levels of multiple
harmonics, the error factor will increase. The amount of error depends on the phase of the
harmonics in respect to one another, along with other factors, and is unpredictable.
Property of Ramsey Electronics, Inc.
Automatic Power Meter Switchover of the COM3010
The COM3010 power detector is set at a threshold of approximately 0.25 W of RF before a
relay trips and the power meter is activated. However, under 70 MHz this value increases,
Do not reproduce or distribute.
and reaches roughly 2-3W around 10 MHz.
By default, if you are planning on testing the output power of radios in these frequency
ranges, manually switch in the power meter using SHIFT, 3 before keying the radio.
Your Notes:
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