User manual

Digitaler Hochfrequenz Analyser HF38B
© Gigahertz Solutions GmbH, D-90579 Langenzenn Revision 2.3 Page 3
Getting Started
Turning On
If no display is activated, insert new battery.
(See section „Changing Battery“)
Battery Voltage Check
If the „low-batt.“ indicator appears vertically
in the center of the display, measurement
values are not reliable anymore. In this case,
change the battery. This RF analyzer requires
a high-quality alkali-manganese battery with
a 9-volt nominal voltage. 9-volt rechargeable
batteries are not recommended.
Function Testing
Basics
Any RF analyzer can only be calibrated with a
certain measurement tolerance, which is
also affected by environmental conditions
and the age of the instrument.
This tolerance becomes especially unpleas-
antly noticeable in values close to zero („off-
set“ or „zero point deviation“). It is therefore
common practice among manufacturers of
testing equipment in this price range to sim-
ply ignore this crucial tolerance value. This of
course does not mean that the tolerance
value would not exist, but it looks better! Be-
side a reasonable range of functions, the
most important aspect of using a testing in-
strument is to be sure that the stated toler-
ances are also met
. The tolerance values
technically achievable in the RF testing tech-
nology are several times higher than those in
the ELF range.
Actual Function Testing
Turn on RF analyzer with the antenna still de-
tached and wait a few seconds until the dis-
play has „settled“ down. The displayed value
is the background noise plus offset. Values
up to 20 digits, that are digits independent of
actual decimal points, are within the speci-
fied tolerance.
Note
Each time you make a new selection (e.g.
switch to another measurement range) the
display will overreact and show higher val-
ues.
Measurement Instructions
Introduction to the Properties of RF
Radiation
This instruction manual focuses on those
properties that are particularly relevant for
measurements in residential settings.
Across the specified frequency range (and
beyond), RF radiation causes the following
effects in materials exposed to it:
1. Partial Permeation
2. Partial Reflection
3. Partial Absorption.
The proportions of the various effects de-
pend, in particular, on the exposed material,
its thickness and the frequency of the RF ra-
diation. Wood, drywall, roofs and windows,
for example, are usually rather transparent
spots in a house.
Minimum Distance
In order to measure the quantity of RF radia-
tion in the common unit „power density“
(W/m²), a certain distance has to be kept
from the RF source. At higher frequencies,
this distance measures only a few meters
and at lower frequencies a few tens of me-
ters. When the base station of a 2.4-GHz
cordless phone or a handset of a cellular
phone is placed right in front of the antenna,
a very high value will appear on the display.
Though this number reflects the high biologi-
cal relevance of this type of radiation (espe-