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V3500A Handheld RF Power Meter

Technical Overviews

Demonstration Guide

Keysight’s First Handheld RF Power Meter for Average Power Measurement

Conventional power measurements were performed using bench-top power meters with power sensors and USB power sensors. These require external power supply (115 V/230 V) and powered-up USB respectively. When working in the outdoors or in the field, external power supplies or PCs are not available, so power measurement could not be carried out. Today, Keysight Technologies, Inc.

introduces its first handheld RF power meter—V3500A, which can be used in both outdoor and field and research-and-development (R&D) laboratory environments. The Keysight V3500A handheld RF power meter is a low-cost solution for measuring average power with a frequency range up to 6 GHz and a dynamic range up to 83 dB (+20 to -63 dBm), which comes with a built-in LCD display. 

This guide explains how to measure average power and average pulse power using the V3500A. It also covers the key features of the V3500A that enable you to optimize your measurement speed and accuracy. 

Introduction

The Keysight V3500A handheld RF power meter is a compact handheld instrument designed for making RF power measurements in both the field and in R&D laboratory environments. Its built-in power sensor eliminates the need for users to carry both an instrument and a separate sensor module, and the same sensor is used when duplicating tests or measurements for better repeatability.

To optimize flexibility, the V3500A is capable of drawing operating power from batteries, an AC-DC converter module, or a computer via the USB interface. The Keysight 3500A handheld RF power meter is suitable for a wide variety of RF measurement applications. 

In the laboratory, the V3500A handheld RF power meter can be used as an RF power data logger by transferring data through its built-in USB interface to a computer, allowing for trend or drift analysis. It is ideal for production testing, R&D or design-verification applications. 

For use in the field, the compact size of the V3500A handheld RF power meter allows it to be placed in a toolkit. Users do not have to carry both an instrument and a separate sensor module (the V3500A has a built-in sensor). The V3500A is ideal for installation and maintenance (I&M) or outdoor field (satellite or base station) applications. 

Key Features

- Wideband frequency, 10 MHz to 6 GHz for average RF power measurements. 

- Large dynamic range of +20 dBm to –63 dBm. 

- Both sensor and display housed in the same compact handheld package. 

- Built-in LCD display allowing measurement in a single-function unit. 

- Universal Serial Bus (USB) control interface. 

- Flexibility of drawing operating power from an on-board battery, an optional external power supply, or a computer via the USB interface. 

- Internal power reference, enabling self-calibration and eliminating the need for the user to perform an independent calibration before the instrument can be used. 

- Ability to compensate for cable losses with the Relative Offset function that can add an offset to the display ranging between –99.99 dB and +99.99 dB. 

Demonstration Preparation

The following instruments are used in this demonstration guide:

1. E44380 ESG Vector Signal Generator1

2. V3500A Handheld Power Meter

Average Power Measurement Demonstration

Objective

To demonstrate the capability of the V3500A handheld power meter for average power measurement.

The zeroing function is used to zero the V3500A handheld power meter. When ‘Z’ is pressed, the V3500A handheld power meter measures the offset voltages in the signal path and zeroes the power meter. This allows a more accurate measurement at low power levels.

The V3500A RF input may be left disconnected when it is zeroed, or it may be connected to other hardware, but make sure that no signals are present on the RF input (inaccurate readings will result).

For example, if the V3500A is connected to a signal generator, turn off the signal generator’s output before pressing the zero key. When the V3500A is zeroed, the display will show “ZEROING.” The entire operation takes approximately 30 seconds. 

Average Pulse Power Measurement Demonstration

Pulse power is determined by measuring the average power of the pulse and then dividing the measurement results by the pulse-cycle value to obtain the pulse power reading, as expressed by the following equation:

The measurement result is a mathematical representation of the pulse power rather than the actual measurement with the assumption of constant peak power. To ensure accurate pulse power readings, the input signal must be a repetitive rectangular pulse with a constant duty cycle. 

There are some advantages to using duty cycle to calculate the pulse power. The duty-cycle technique provides the lowest-cost solution, with average power meters and sensors being less expensive than peak and average power meters and sensors. Average power meters also have the ability to measure over a wide power and frequency range. 

In this demonstration, we are supplying a pulsed signal with the pulse width of 20 μs and a pulse period or pulse repetition interval (PRI) of 40 μs. The pulse signal is set to the power level of approximately 0 dBm. 

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