A power meter.....I should have thought of that.

On 12/17/2015 1:00 PM, Brian Webster wrote:

Cheapest way is to use a watt meter on one end with a known transmit power on the other, calculate loss. Also measure SWR at the radio with a meter that covers that range, you can calculate the return loss based on SWR readings.

Thank You,

Brian Webster

www.wirelessmapping.com <http://www.wirelessmapping.com>

www.Broadband-Mapping.com

*From:*Af [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Jaime Solorza
*Sent:* Thursday, December 17, 2015 10:51 AM
*To:* Animal Farm
*Subject:* Re: [AFMUG] Measure return loss

Check out Commscope website for some tools ,calculators and tips. Watt meter is what we use with a Bird Tester but only up to 2.4

On Dec 17, 2015 8:41 AM, "Adam Moffett" <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:

Specifically 3.6ghz in this case.
In a perfect world I would hope for something that can test from 2.4 up to 6ghz.

On 12/17/2015 10:40 AM, Jaime Solorza wrote:

    What frequency?

    On Dec 17, 2015 8:29 AM, "Adam Moffett" <[email protected]
    <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:

    What device could we use to measure return loss at microwave
    frequencies on a coax cable and/or antenna (N-connectors if that
    matters)?  A TDR perhaps?  Will this cost thousands of dollars or
    is there a cheap/simple tool?

    A lot of coax testers I see online are targeted at CATV so I'm
    guessing they won't test at the higher frequencies that we care
    about in our business.  I'm afraid I'm too ignorant in this area
    to make a good product choice.

    My root issue is that I have a piece of equipment which produces
    radio head alarms.  The manufacturer is telling us it's caused by
    "reflected power".  They say it could be the unit is faulty, or it
    could be your cables or antennas.  So I'm supposed to replace
    cables and antennas and then wait a few weeks to see if the
    problem comes back, then they'll RMA the radio if it does.  I'd
    like to stop wasting time and just have a definitive way to test
    the cables.


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