Pickering Pxi 41-182A User Manual

Pickering Pxi 41-182A User Manual

50ω 6ghz solid state attenuator

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pickering
User Manual
50Ω 6GHz Solid State Attenuator
(Model No. 41-182A)
Issue 1.1 February 2019
pickeringtest.com
pickering
50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A
Page (1)

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Summary of Contents for Pickering Pxi 41-182A

  • Page 1 User Manual 50Ω 6GHz Solid State Attenuator (Model No. 41-182A) Issue 1.1 February 2019 pickeringtest.com pickering 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page (1)
  • Page 2 © COPYRIGHT (2019) PICKERING INTERFACES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, translated or stored in any form, or by any means without the written permission of Pickering Interfaces. Technical details contained within this publication are subject to change without notice.
  • Page 3 Pickering Interfaces strives to fulfil all relevant environmental laws and regulations and reduce wastes and releases to the environment. Pickering Interfaces aims to design and operate products in a way that protects the environment and the health and safety of its employees, customers and the public. Pickering Interfaces endeavours to develop and manufacture products that can be produced, distributed, used and recycled, or disposed of, in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.
  • Page 4: Product Safety

    PRODUCT SAFETY SAFETY SYMBOLS The following safety symbols may be used on the product and throughout the product documentation. MEANING / DESCRIPTION SYMBOL PROTECTIVE EARTH (GROUND) To identify any terminal which is intended for connection to an external conductor for protection against electric shock in case of a fault, or the terminal of a protective earth (ground) electrode.
  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Pre Operation Checks ............3.1 Hardware Installation ............3.2 Software Installation .............3.2 Section 4 Programming Guide ..............4.1 Programming Options For Pickering PXI Cards....4.1 Module Architecture ..............4.3 Programming The Module ............4.4 Using Pickering Drivers in LabVIEW ........4.6 Programmable Attenuator Soft Front Panel .......4.7 Section 5 Connector Information ..............5.1...
  • Page 6 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page (VI)
  • Page 7: Warnings And Cautions

    Unused slots in the PXI/LXI chassis are populated with blanking plates to prevent access to user I/O signals that may be present. Blanking panels are available to order from Pickering in a variety of slot widths. If the product is not used in this manner for example by using an extender card then additional care must be taken to avoid contact with exposed signals.
  • Page 8 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page (VIII)
  • Page 9: Technical Specification

    SECTION 1 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION pickering PXI 6GHz Triple Solid State Attenuator 41-182A SECTION 1 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION • 10MHz To 6GHz Programmable Attenuator • 0 to 31.75dB in 0.25dB Steps For Fine Level Control • Three or Six Channels Per Module •...
  • Page 10 SECTION 1 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION pickering Specifications 6GHz Triple Solid State Attenuator – 41-182A Insertion loss for every discrete attenuator setting Insertion loss for 41-182A-003 with each for all channels of 41-182A-003 (normalized to 0dB) attenuator channel set to 0dB...
  • Page 11 Intermodulation: +57dBm @ 4GHz Product Customization +56dBm @ 6GHz Pickering PXI modules are designed and manufactured on our own (20MHz tone separation, third flexible manufacturing lines, giving complete product control and order intercept point). enabling simple customization to meet very specific requirements.
  • Page 12 We provide a full range of supporting cable and connector solutions for all our switching products—20 connector families with 1200+ products. We offer everything from simple mating connectors to complex cables assemblies and terminal blocks. All assemblies are manufactured by Pickering and are guaranteed to mechanically and electrically mate to our modules. Connectors & Backshells...
  • Page 13 6GHz Triple Solid State Attenuator – 41-182A Programming Pickering provide kernel, IVI and VISA (NI & Keysight) drivers which are compatible with all Microsoft supported versions of Windows and popular older versions. For a list of all supporting operating systems, please see: pickeringtest.com/os...
  • Page 14 SECTION 1 - TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION pickering THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 1.6...
  • Page 15: Technical Description

    SECTION 2 - TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION pickering SECTION 2 - TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION A functional block diagram is provided in Figure 2.1. The Programmable Attenuator Module is powered by 3.3V and 5V inputs via Compact PCI connector J1. The interface to the user test equipment is via the front panel mounted SMA coaxial connectors.
  • Page 16 SECTION 2 - TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION pickering THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 2.2...
  • Page 17: Installation

    Modular products require installation in a suitable PXI/LXI chassis. The module is designed for indoor use only. PREOPERATION CHECKS (UNPACKING) 1. Check the module for transport damage and report any damage immediately to Pickering Interfaces. Do not attempt to install the product if any damage is evident.
  • Page 18: Hardware Installation

    For a system comprising more than one chassis, turn ON the last chassis in the system followed by the penultimate, etc, and finally turn ON the external controller or chassis containing the system controller. 9. For Pickering Interfaces modular LXI installation there is no requirement to use any particular power up sequence.
  • Page 19: Programming Guide

    IVI Driver for Windows - pi40iv The pi40iv IVI (Interchangeable Virtual Instrument) driver supports all Pickering Interfaces PXI switch cards that are consistent with the Iviswtch class model - as are the great majority of cards in the System 40/45/50 ranges. It integrates well with LabWindows/CVI and LabVIEW, and is fully compatible with Switch Executive.
  • Page 20 Pickering LXI products include an SSH interface which allows remote command line access to control cards, or, using a suitable package, programmatic control. The user is advised to visit the Pickering web site for further details of all the above drivers, where documentation, example programs, and further help with driver choice are available.
  • Page 21 SECTION 4 - PROGRAMMING GUIDE pickering SWITCH MODULE ARCHITECTURE The 41-182A is a programmable RF attenuator available with three or six separate channels. Each channel has seven attenuator pads with values between 0.25dB and 16dB. Enabling a particular bit brings a pad into circuit, and loading a channel with a bit pattern allows attenuation values between 0dB and 31.75dB in steps of 0.25dB...
  • Page 22: Programming The Module

    Once the drivers are installed the manual “Sys40Prg.pdf” and driver help files which fully describes these functions can be found in the Pickering folder(s) or the Pickering entries on your Start Menu. The card must be opened before use and closed after using the following function calls: Direct I/O Driver - Open with PIL_OpenCards or PIL_OpenSpecifiedCard and close with PIL_CloseCards or PIL_CloseSpecifiedCards respectively.
  • Page 23 //Disable bit 6 (0dB channel attenuation) PIL_WriteSub(card_num, sub_unit, data); Using PIPX40 (VISA) There are a number of functions provided specifically for controlling and interrogating Pickering attenuator instruments as follows: pipx40_attenGetType() - Get attenuator sub-unit information (in string format) pipx40_attenGetInfo() - Get attenuator sub-unit information (numeric format)
  • Page 24: Using Pickering Drivers In Labview

    USING PICKERING DRIVERS IN LabVIEW Most Pickering drivers include a LabVIEW wrapper to permit full operation of the Pickering product from the LabVIEW environment. These wrappers are normally installed to the current LabVIEW folder system during installation of the Pickering driver.
  • Page 25: Programmable Attenuator Soft Front Panel

    PROGRAMMABLE ATTENUATOR SOFT FRONT PANEL A dedicated Soft Front Panel application is available on the Pickering distribution disk and from the Pickering web- site. On the disk it can be found in the /Applications/Soft Front Panels/ folder, on the web-site it is located at: http://downloads.pickeringtest.info/downloads/Soft_Front_Panels/Programmable%20Attenuator%20v1.1.2.exe...
  • Page 26 SECTION 4 - PROGRAMMING GUIDE pickering THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 4.8...
  • Page 27: Connector Information

    SECTION 5 - CONNECTOR INFORMATION pickering SECTION 5 - CONNECTOR INFORMATION pickering Figure 5.1 - 41-182A-003 Triple 6GHz Programmable Attenuator: Connector Positions 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 5.1...
  • Page 28 SECTION 5 - CONNECTOR INFORMATION pickering THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 5.2...
  • Page 29: Trouble Shooting

    PCI configuration, highlighting any potential configuration problems. Specific details of all installed Pickering switch cards are included. All the installed Pickering switch cards should be listed in the “Pilpxi information” section - if one or more cards is missing it may be possible to determine the reason by referring to the PCI configuration dump contained in the report, but interpretation of this information is far from straightforward, and the best course is to contact Pickering support: support@pickeringtest.com, if possible...
  • Page 30 SECTION 6 - TROUBLE SHOOTING pickering THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 6.2...
  • Page 31: Maintenance Information

    For PXI modules which are supported in one of Pickering Interfaces’ Modular LXI Chassis (such as the 60-102B and 60-103B) no module software update is required. If the module was introduced after the LXI chassis was manufactured the module may not be recognized, in this case the chassis firmware may need upgrading.
  • Page 32 SECTION 7 - MAINTENANCE INFORMATION pickering THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK 50Ω 6GHz SOLID STATE ATTENUATOR 41-182A Page 7.2...

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