Gigahertz Solutions NFA 1000, NFA 400 User guide

© Gigahertz Solutions GmbH - 1 - 350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011

NFA 1000
NFA 400

3D Low Frequency
Analyzer
with Data Logger

NFAsoft

Analysis and Configu­ration Software

Operating Manual

(Version 6.2)

350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011 - 2 - © Gigahertz Solutions GmbH

Thank you!

We thank you for the confidence you have shown by buying this product. It allows
for a professional analysis of AC electric and AC magnetic fields according to inter­nationally recognized guidelines and the recommendations of the building biology.

In addition to this manual you can watch the tutorial videos on our website con­cerning the use of this meter.

Please note:
The only significant difference between the NFA 1000 and the NFA 400 in this man-

ual is the fact that the NFA 1000 allows a three-dimensional potentialfree measure­ment of the E-field, while the NFA 400 can only be used for one-dimensional poten­tialfree measurements of the E-field. This distinction is specified in detail in the rele­vant chapters.

© Gigahertz Solutions GmbH - 3 - 350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011

Contents

1 Quick Start Guide............................................................................................ 4

2 NFA 1000 Front Cover..................................................................................... 5

3 LEDs / Display / Audio Signals ........................................................................ 6

4 Switches / Push-Buttons / Connectors........................................................... 9

5 How to Measure and Data-Log ......................................................................15

6 Power Supply .................................................................................................18

7 „NFAsoft“........................................................................................................20

8 Firmware-Update............................................................................................27

9 What if… (FAQ)...............................................................................................28

This manual is based on the firmware version 48 and NFAsoft version 109.
The firmware and software of the NFA will be continuously improved and made available via e-mail or download

from our homepage.

Features not yet implemented, but under development, are printed in GREY in this manual.

350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011 - 4 - © Gigahertz Solutions GmbH

1 Quick Start Guide

The instructions below refer to the factory default settings. These settings can easily
be customized with the help of the supplied software „NFAsoft“.

When you switch on the instrument the LCD will briefly show “batt” and the remain­ing operation time in the log.-mode with the current capacity of the batteries.

Set all switches to their top position! (Auto, tRMS, M3D and On)

With these settings and the mode button, one can quickly and easily begin the con­ventional measurement process, without detailed knowledge of the instrument´s fea­tures.

The LCD display will now indicate the isotropic (3D) AC magnetic field strength as
the primary measurement. The coloured frequency LEDs above the LCD display
show the active frequencies, the red LED indicating the dominant one. The dominant
axis x, y or z is indicated by a red LED on the right of the LCD display. That’s it – no
further switches or steps needed.

NFA 1000:

To measure the E-field with ground-reference (1D) simply connect the grounding
cable. The NFA detects the attached cable and automatically shows the corre­sponding AC electric field strengths and frequencies. The E-field measurement will
now be displayed as the primary measurement and the 3D magnetic field as the
secondary. By depressing the ‘mode’ button you can easily switch from this to the
3D magnetic field on the display.

To measure the three dimensional potential-free AC electric field, switch to E3D
and fix the instrument onto a potential-free rod or onto a support. By pressing the
‘mode’ button you can easily switch from this to the Z-axis of the AC magnetic field
on the display.

NFA 400:
For an E-field measurement simply switch to Ey. You now have two possibilities:

 If the grounding cable is plugged in and connected to the ground potential,

you are measuring “against ground”.

 If you attach the meter to a potentialfree rod or place it onto a support, you

are measuring “potential free”.

Press the ‘mode’ button to switch from this to the 3D magnetic field on the display.

Should the meter not do what you expect, please turn to the chapter on FAQs (fre­quently asked questions) at the end of this manual (Chapter 9)!

Note: For potential-free e-field-measurements the highest accuracy will be reached when used without the
yellow silicone holster.

© Gigahertz Solutions GmbH - 5 - 350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011

2 Front Cover NFA 1000 and NFA 400

Analogous front cover for NFA 1000 and NFA 400

NFA 400: „Ey“

12-15 V

Y

X

Z

Power

Signal

Made in Germany

R

GIGAHERTZ

Mode

NFA 1000

3D-NF-Analyser

5 Hz - 1000 kHz

Freq.

AC/DC

Peak

Rec.

Mode

mV

nT

mG

V/m

Band

E

3D

M

3D

tRMS

Auto

XYZ

On

Off

Log

I/O

X
Y
Z

Hold

/

TCO-Band I II

350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011 - 6 - © Gigahertz Solutions GmbH

3 LEDs / Display / Audio Signals

3.1 LEDs and Display

The measured value shown on the display ...

… is the unit adjacent to the solid green LED (primary measurement).

A flashing LED indicates the unit of the secondary measurement, which
can be selected by depressing the “Mode>” button .

In fields of very high magnetic intensity, the value will be displayed in uT

(microTesla), indicated by the red LED “X 1000”. Also the green LED will
then turn red indicating a change of scale. Both LEDs will start flashing red when the
measured values are higher than the instrument can display. Similarly, when meas­uring body voltage, a change from mV to V for higher values is indicated.

Special LCD Display Messages

“Low Batt“: The rechargeable battery is low – please charge the battery
“Err.“: Short for ‘Error’. Indicates an erroneous configuration. This can occur when a

grounding cable or mains adapter is connected and potential-free E-field measure­ment is selected. Select a different setting!

„----“: Instrument is in the process of determining the measurement, or the value is
too small to be measured.

„CHAr“: Instrument is being charged.

(For technical reasons “FULL” will be shown shortly before this, which is to be ignored)

„FULL“: During the charging process, with the mains adaptor connected, this indi­cation means: charging process completed, battery loaded. During normal opera­tion, however, “FULL” means the SD memory card is full.

The time indications are set up as follows:
„XXXd“: XXX days or
„Xd.XX“: X days and XX hours or
„XX.XX“: XX hours and XX minutes.
„XX.XX“: (with blinking dot): XX minutes und XX seconds.
It will be shown upon switching on the NFA and when logging (see chapter 5.4).

Due to the increased power consumption (LEDs, sound signal, etc), the remaining
battery life in the operating mode “ON” is reduced by up to 30%.

© Gigahertz Solutions GmbH - 7 - 350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011

Status and Frequency LEDs

The “Status” LED indicates the current mode of operation

“Red” means “instrument is being charged”.
“Yellow” means “measurement in progress, NO recording”.
“Green” means “measurement in progress WITH recording”,

however with the switch set to “log.” the “Status”-LED is switched off to extend battery life.

LEDs to indicate the applicable frequency bands:

The frequency-LEDs change their colour in propor­tion to their contribution to the total field strength.
See below for details on LED display modes.

”16.7 Hz“: In use for railway lines in some Europe­an countries. The reading also includes the 2

nd

harmonic.
”50/60 Hz“1: Mains frequency. The bandwidth only

covers individual frequencies of 50 Hz and 60 Hz with their respective lock-in rang­es.

”100/120 Hz“1: This LED indicates the contribution of the second through fifth
“even” harmonics. The strongest frequency can be numerically displayed when using “Freq” mode.

”150/180 Hz“1: This LED indicates the contribution of the third through fifth “une­ven” harmonics. The third harmonics will presently be found in many homes and most offices as a signifi-

cant portion of the total measurement. The frequency of the strongest source can be numerically displayed when
using “Freq”.

”R < 2kHz“: Means “Remainder of frequencies below 2 kHz”.

This LED does not show the whole band, but only the sum of all frequencies below 2 kHz which are not covered

by the LEDs on the left.

”> 2kHz“: Comprises frequencies within the upper TCO-band of 2 KHz up to 1 MHz.

“x 1000”-LED

Turns red when the measurement scale increases.

The NFA automatically detects the mains frequency and adjusts the indication of its harmonics. With “Freq.”
the actual mains frequency can be determined exactly. The LED’s for 16.7 Hz, mains frequency and its harmon­ics up to 2 kHz have a suitable lock-in range to cover mains fluctuations.

1

350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011 - 8 - © Gigahertz Solutions GmbH

There are two display modes for the frequency-LEDs:

“Simple/Steady“: (= preset)
The red LED represents the strongest frequency , and the yellow LED the second
strongest. The green LEDs indicate the total frequency range in the current setting.

“Full Information/Volatile”: This makes the LEDs rather unsteady/volatile. (To be
configured with NFAsoft)
The proportion of the respective frequency band in relation to the total signal is be­ing displayed. These proportions are shown as follows3:

RED = DOMINANT (> 50%)
YELLOW = MEDIUM (< 50%)
GREEN = SMALL (< 10%)

3.2 Audio Signal

The acoustic signal is always linked to the respective measured value and has a
„Geiger Counter” characteristic, i. e. an increasing signal intensity will in turn cause
an accelerated rattling sound.

If the “Mode”-switch is set to „

/

“ , press the ‘Mode >’ button to turn the volume
up and the ‘Rec. >’ button to turn the volume down (and finally: off), as long as no
grounding cable is connected to the instrument.

Please note: For extra-precise measurement requirements turn the acoustic signal
volume down or even switch it off completely.

In order to allow for less fluctuations in this mode an internal high pass filter is switched on. With NFAsoft it can
be configurated to 16.7 and 50 Hz. Experience has shown that the best combination for a freehand measure­ment is a filter set to 16.7 Hz for magnetic fields and to 50 Hz for electric fields. Electric fields of the 16.7 Hz
railway line power frequency (in some European countries) are quite rare indoors and can still be evaluated in the
“band” mode. They can still be separately evaluated with NFAsoft.

To make it more ergonomic for the user, frequencies below the nominal display resolution (that is < 0.1 V/m or
< 1 nT) are not indicated by an LED-signal but will still be recorded down to the noise level. Hysteresis: 9/12%
resp. 45/50%.

2

2

3

© Gigahertz Solutions GmbH - 9 - 350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011

4 Switches/Push-Buttons /Connectors

4.1 On / Off switch (“Power“)

“On” = Standard Measurement Setting

LEDs and acoustic signal remain activated for manual measurements

“Log” = Logging / long term recording

All LEDs and the acoustic signal are deactivated to save battery life during data log­ging. This is the mode in which the instrument is most precise.

“Off” = Device is off

4.2 Field Selection for 3D Measurement

M3D = Magnetic field measurement (3D)

The isotropic point or magnetic field sensors are below the coordinate
system printed on the meter faceplate. The dominating axis is indicated
by a red LED next to the display.

XYZ = Axis indication

Here, the NFA 1000 will show either the magnetic or the electric field in its three in­dividual components depending on the field type from which the switch was set to
“XYZ”, whereas the NFA 400 will only show the individual components of the mag­netic field. Press the ‘Mode >’ button to switch from one axis to the other. Please
see chapter 4.9 for details to this or to the automated scrolling.

E3D

(NFA1000)

/ Ey

(NFA400)

= Potential-free E-field measurement

The field sensor pairs for the X-, Y- and Z-axis (directions correspond to the imprint)
are situated within the meter close to the housing. For a proper measurement the
meter has to be set up more than 12 inches away from any metal objects on an in­sulated “holder” (accessory PM1) or held with an insulated rod (accessory PM4s).
Also cables or probes must not be connected during this measurement setting. In
the case of an erroneous configuration, the display will indicate “Err.” until the con­figuration is corrected or the setting is changed to magnetic field measurement. The
measuring person should avoid hectic movements and keep a distance of at least

1.5 m to the object of measurement.

Y

X

Z

350-027_NFA1000400-6-2_EN-von-susanne as of October 2011 - 10 - © Gigahertz Solutions GmbH

For E-field measurements against earth potential, please plug in the grounding cable
and

- switch to “M3D” (automatic adjustment) on the NFA 1000

- switch to “Ey” on the NFA 400.

4.3 Sockets for Inputs and Grounding

AC/DC = Combined AC/DC-Input

The moment you connect an external sensor, its signal will automatically
be displayed in mV and recorded, if required. For recording, make sure
the “Mode” switch is set to “Auto”.

 AC: A displayed value of 2000 corresponds to “1Vpeak-peak“4.
 DC: +/- 0.1 to 1500 mV, i.e. with an HF59B connected in the

coarse measuring range (scaled to 1.5 V DC), the device plots
measurement values from 1 to 15,000 µW/m²; the displayed val­ue in mV is 10 times less than the actual reading in µW/m².

This input can also be used for the connection of an optionally available magneto­static and electrostatic sensor (in preparation).

= Input socket for body voltage hand probe

Input for the connection of a hand probe for the measurement of body voltage in
mV. The connector is a 4 mm banana jack. For displaying and recording, set the

“Mode”-switch to

/

and plug in the grounding cable.

This is the only input which cannot be recognized automatically (being single-pole).

= Socket for the grounding cable

Allows the connection of a grounding cable for an E-field measurement with refer­ence to ground (in compliance with TCO). This will be detected automatically by the
instrument and the display will change to E-field with reference to ground corre­spondingly.

Socket for the TCO-conformed probe at the front end of
the meter

This is for the TCO-conformed probe available as an optional accessory from Giga­hertz Solutions.

Note: The information produced by the frequency decomposition of a demodulated pulsed HF signal will, of
course, not provide any really useful data.

For other measuring ranges just compare the position of the comma and convert accordingly. Readings below

0.1µW/m² cannot be displayed or recorded because of noise-issues.

5

4

5