Times Technology T100+ User Manual

T100+ Vector Impedance Analyzer
User Manual Ver. 2.1
T100+ is a state of the art portable Vector Impedance Analyzer. This powerful yet handy instrument is specifically designed for the advanced amateur radio experimenters working at the VHF and UHF bands.
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION........................3
T100+ MENU STRUCTURE.......................4
KEY DEFINITIONS............................5
SINGLE FREQ................................7
SWR.......................................7
IMPEDANCE (SERIES)........................7
IMPEDANCE (PARALLEL)......................8
S11.......................................8
SWEEP FREQ PLOT............................9
CALIBRATION...............................10
SETTINGS..................................12
PC MODE...................................14
FIRMWARE UPDATE...........................16
T100+ SPECIFICATIONS......................18
ACCESSORIES...............................19
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
T100+ Vector Impedance Analyzer is a device to measure complex impedance at VHF/UHF frequencies. This is accomplished by injecting an RF signal into the target under test connected to the SMA test port, and measuring the amplitude and phase of the reflected RF signal.
The reflected amplitude and phase are calibrated with industrial standard 3-term Open/Short/Load (OSL) calibration method.
T100+ Vector Impedance Analyzer can operate from 100MHz to 170MHz (VHF), and from 400MHz to 470MHz (UHF), with a 25KHz minimum step size.
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T100+ MENU STRUCTURE
MAIN MENU
SINGLE FREQ
•SWR
•IMPEDANCE (SERIES)
•IMPEDANCE (PARALLEL)
•S11 (RECTANGULAR & POLAR)
SWEEP FREQ PLOT
•SWR
•IMPEDANCE (Z)
•RESISTANCE (R)
•REACTANCE (X)
•RETURN LOSS (S11)
•PHASE ANGLE
CALIBRATE
•CONNECT OPEN
•CONNECT SHORT
•CONNECT LOAD
SETTINGS
•BACKLIGHT
- AUTO
- ON
- OFF
•AUTO POWER OFF
- ENABLE
- DISABLE
•BATTERY
ALKALINENIMH
•CAL DATA PROTECT
- LOCK CAL DATA
- UNLOCK CAL DATA
•INFO
PC MODE
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KEY DEFINITIONS
POWER : Press and hold this key for two seconds to turn on or off T100+ Vector Impedance Analyzer.
CONFIRM : Use this key to confirm the desired selections and frequencies entered.
MODE : In SINGLE FREQ, this key is used to switch between the following modes cyclically:
• SWR
• IMPEDANCE (SERIES)
• IMPEDANCE (PARALLEL)
• S11 In SWEEP FREQ PLOTS, this key is used to switch between the following functions cyclically:
• FREQUENCY
• Y SCALE
• ALIGNMENT
• STEP SIZE
ARROWS : These keys are used to select the desired menu items or options. They are also used to increase or decrease the frequency. Keep holding the keys to increase or decrease the frequency automatically. In SINGLE FREQ, the step size is fixed at 25KHz. In SWEEP FREQ PLOT, the current step size can
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be selected with the MODE key.
NUMERICS : Use these keys to enter the desired frequency directly. Frequencies within the valid operating range will automatically be aligned to the 25KHz steps. Frequencies outside the valid operating range will be ignored.
BACK : Cancel the current operation and/or go back to the previous menu.
IMPEDANCE
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SINGLE FREQ
In this mode, T100+ can display the measured data in any of the following four representations. You may switch cyclically through these representations with the MODE key.
•SWR
•IMPEDANCE (SERIES)
•IMPEDANCE (PARALLEL)
•S11 (RECTANGULAR & POLAR)
SWR
This mode displays the Standing Wave Ratio in large font for easy reading. It also displays the impedance (Z) for your reference.
IMPEDANCE (SERIES)
This mode displays the impedance seen from the test port. The impedance is resolved into the real (resistive)part and imaginary (reactive) part connected in series. The corresponding inductance or capacitance is also
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displayed according to the sign of the reactance.
IMPEDANCE (PARALLEL)
This mode displays the impedance seen from the test port. The impedance is resolved into the real (resistive) part and imaginary (reactive) part connected in parallel. The corresponding inductance or capacitance is also displayed according to the sign of the reactance.
S11
This mode displays the rectangular and polar representations of the S11 measured.
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SWEEP FREQ PLOT
Under this menu, T100+ can plot any of the following measured data over the desired frequency range:
•SWR
•IMPEDANCE (Z)
•RESISTANCE (R)
•REACTANCE (X)
•RETURN LOSS (S11)
•PHASE ANGLE
Use the MODE key to switch cyclically between any of the following parameters to change their value.
FREQUENCY - use the ARROW keys to increment or decrement the frequency by the value of STEP SIZE. The cursor on the plot will move accordingly. The frequency can also be entered directly using the numeric keys.
Y SCALE - use the ARROW keys to select the maximum value on the Y axis. Possible values are 3, 10, 30, 100, 300, and 1000.
ALIGNMENT - use the ARROW keys to select if the directly entered frequency should be aligned to the CURRENT position of the cursor, BEGIN (leftmost on the plot), CENTER (of the plot), or END (rightmost of the plot). Ranges outside the valid frequencies will be shaded.
STEP SIZE - use the ARROW keys to select the desired frequency step size. Possible values are 25KHz, 100KHz, 500KHz,and 1MHz.
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CALIBRATION
T100+ Vector Impedance Analyzer employs industrial standard Open/Short/Load (OSL) calibration method to eliminate various system errors. To perform accurate measurements, T100+ needs to be calibrated against the OPEN, SHORT, and LOAD standards. Three high quality OPEN, SHORT, and LOAD SMA terminators are included for this purpose. Resulting calibration data to be used in computations will be stored in non-volatile memory in T100+.
Calibration data is locked upon power up of T100+ to avoid accidental erasure. It has to be unlocked in the SETTINGS menu, before CALIBRATION can be performed.
Connect the OPEN standard, and then press the Confirm key to start calibration. Likewise for the SHORT and LOAD standards in sequence to complete the calibration.
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Calibration data will be locked again automatically after calibration. The instrument is now ready to use. If desired, T100+ can be re-calibrated at any time.
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SETTINGS
A number of general options and information are available in this menu.
BACKLIGHT
AUTO - Turn off
backlight automatically if no key is pressed for 30 seconds.
ON - Leave backlight
always on
OFF – Leave backlight
always off
AUTO POWER OFF
ENABLE – Automatic
power off if no key is pressed for 5 minutes.
DISABLE - No automatic
power off.
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BATTERY Choose between ALKALINE and NIMH to reflect the type of batteries being used. It only affects the threshold voltage dictating when a low battery sign on the upper right hand corner of the display will appear.
CAL DATA PROTECT Select UNLOCK CAL DATA before calibration. Calibration data will be locked automatically after a calibration. Alternatively, choose LOCK CAL DATA to lock calibration data manually if necessary.
INFO Display general information of the device, as well as the battery voltage. ( 5 blocks on the battery bar as battery full and 1 block as battery empty.)
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PC MODE
T100+ has a build-in USB bridge (CP2102) by Silicon Labs (Silabs) and is capable of communicating with a PC via an emulated serial link over this USB connection. You will need to install a Virtual COM Port (VCP) driver before connecting your T100+ to a PC. Links to these VCP drivers for Windows are available on our web site
http://www.timestechnology.com.hk or you may
visit Silicon Labs' web site directly. A sample host program for Windows XP/Vista/7 is also included to demonstrate controlling T100+ from a PC, and displaying T100+ measured data.
The (virtual) serial communication between T100+ and the PC should be configured as follows:
Baud Rate = 115200 baud Parity Bit = None Data Bits = 8 Stop Bit = 1
On entering the PC MODE, T100+ will display the message “WAITING FOR HOST CMD” and listen to the serial port.
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To command T100+ to tune to a specific frequency, the host program shall transmit a six-digit frequency in ASCII characters via the serial port.
To command T100+ to take a measurement, send an ASCII character ‘S’. Then receive from the serial port a null terminated ASCII string. This is the measured magnitude and argument in degrees, separated by a comma. The same result will be displayed on T100+ at the same time.
Send another ‘S’ to repeat making a measurement at the same frequency, or issue another six-digit frequency to tune to a new frequency.
Sending an ASCII character ‘D’ will bring T100+ back to the initial state, displaying the “WAITING FOR HOST CMD” message and listen to the serial port.
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FIRMWARE UPDATE
T100+ firmware can be updated as new releases are available. Updated firmware file can be downloaded from our web site
http://www.timestechnology.com.hk to a PC
and be programmed to the T100+ via the USB interface.
You will need to have the Virtual COM Port (VCP) driver installed before you can update the firmware via USB. Links to these VCP drivers for Windows are available on our web site or you may visit Silicon Labs' web site directly.
Follow these procedures to update the firmware:
Caution
1. Please use fresh batteries when updating firmware.
2. Do not turn power off or remove batteries during firmware updating.
Hold down the “Mode” key while switching on T100+ to enter the “Firmware Update” Mode. T100+ will show the screen on the right.
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On a PC running Windows XP/Vista/7 operating system, open a Command Prompt in a directory with the two files update.exe and firmware.ENC (available on our web site
http://www.timestechnology.com.hk)
*You may need to execute the Command Prompt as Administrator.
Plug in the USB cable to connect the PC and T100+. Find out which USB emulated COM port T100+ is connected to from the Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager on the PC.
With T100+ in “Firmware Update” mode, issue the following command in the Command Prompt to update the firmware with the firmware
file “firmware.ENC”:
update firmware.ENC -COMx -115200
where x is the number of the COM port your T100+ is connected to, and firmware.ENC is
the name of your firmware file.
The screen on T100+ will stay displaying “Firmware Update”. When updating is in progress, there will be a message like “Transferring.. xx% done.” on the Command Prompt and T100+ will turn off automatically when the update completes.
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T100+ SPECIFICATIONS
Frequency Range 100MHz ~ 170MHz (VHF)
400MHz ~ 470MHz (UHF) All PLL Synthesized
Frequency Resolution: 25KHz
Output Power : > 0dBm (typical)
Harmonics : < -30dB (typical)
Test Port Connector : SMA (female)
Display : 128 x 64 dots
graphical LCD with backlight
Physical Dimensions : 140mm(length) x
68mm(width) x 25mm(thick)
Net Weight : 130 grams (without
battery)
Power : AA Size Battery x 2
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ACCESSORIES
SMA connector for OPEN Calibration: P/N 202112 SMA connector for SHORT Calibration:P/N 132331 SMA connector for LOAD Calibration: P/N 132360 SMA male to BNC female adapter SMA male to SO-239 adapter USB A to mini-B cable
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other products or brand names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective holders.
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