VSWR Measurement

When a transmission line (cable) is terminated by impedance that does not match the
characteristic impedance of the transmission line, not all of the power is absorbed by
the termination. Part of the power is reflected back down the transmission line. The
forward (or incident) signal mixes with the reverse (or reflected) signal to cause a
voltage standing wave pattern on the transmission line. The ratio of the maximum to
minimum voltage is known as VSWR, or Voltage Standing Wave Ratio. Signal reflection
occurs when the RF signal reflects back due to an impedance mismatch or change in
impedance caused by excessive kinking or bending of the transmission line. The best
possible value is 1:1 which means that all of the power generated by the transmitter is
radiated from the Antenna.

Where to Measure

It is important to know that for accurate VSWR measurements of devices, the VSWR
should be measured at the input of the device in question (antenna etc). Any cable loss
or attenuation, will make the VSWR at the input of the cable appear much better than at
the load or termination. The reason is that the cable loss or attenuation increases the
return loss.
VSWR of the feeder cable is measured with the help of site master. Open/Short/Load
50 ohm is required for calibrating the site master for accurate result. At the BTS site RF
cable (jumper cable connected to feeder cable) is removed from BTS and connected to
site master RF Out/Reflection port. Other end of the RF cable is connected with sector
Antenna. Site master is operated with 12.5 V dc. At tune on the site master runs
through a series of quick checks to ensure the system is functioning properly. The
Anritsu site Master is capable of up to 1.5 Hours of continuous operation from a fully
charged, field replaceable battery. It can also be operated from an external DC source
using AC-DC adapter. If the battery is low, or if the ambient temperature is not within
the specified operational range, self test will fail. Site master must be re-calibrated
whenever the setup frequency changes, the temperature exceeds the calibration
temperature range or when the test port extension cable is removed or replaced. If the
cal off message is displayed, or the test port cable has been changed, a new calibration
is required.
Mode key

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How to Operate

Press the ON/OFF key on the Site Master.

Press the MODE key.
Use the Up/Down arrow key to select the Freq-SWR mode and press enter
Press the Freq/Dist key.
Press the F1 soft key as displayed on screen.
Enter the desired start frequency using the key pad or the up/down arrow key.
Press enter to set F1 to the desired frequency.
Press the F2 soft key as displayed on screen.
Enter the desired stop frequency using the keypad or the up/down arrow key.
Press Enter to set F2 to the desired frequency
Check that the start and stop frequencies displayed match the desired measurement
range.
Press the Start -Cal key
The message Connect OPEN to RF out port will appear in the message box.
Connect the calibrated OPEN and press the ENTER key.
The messages Measuring OPEN and connect SHORT to RF Out will appear.
Remove the OPEN, connect the calibrated SHORT and press the ENTER key. The
message Measuring SHORT and Connect LOAD to RF Out will appear.
Remove the SHORT and connect the LOAD. An audible tone will sound when the
calibration is complete.
Cal On message is now displayed
Press Mode key, select Freq-SWR mode at display with up/down arrow key then
press ENTER key.
Press Amplitude key, select top and bottom amplitude of VSWR
Press Meas/Disp key to display VSWR reading
Connect the device (RF cable terminating at Duplexer or terminating at anteena
port) under test to the site master. RF out port will be displayed on the screen.
Press Marker key, press M1 and press On/Of to turn on Marker-1

Distance-To-Fault (DTF)
The Distance to Fault transmission line test verifies the performance of the
transmission line assembly and its components and identifies the fault locations in the
transmission line system. After pressing the Freq/Dist press D1 to enter the start
distance and press Enter, D2 to enter the stop distance and press Enter. Calibration is
done again if the frequency (F1 and F2) of operation is changed. By pressing the DFT
Aid soft key, select the appropriate cable type to set the correct propagation velocity
and attenuation factor. Markers can be set as per requirement. The display will show

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distance and VSWR in front of M1 and M2 at the bottom of the screen. It can be saved
and printout can be taken.
Procedure
Connect one end of the RF cable terminating at Duplexer or terminating at anteena
port to the RF Out/Reflection port in Site Master.
Press the Mode key. Select the DTF-SWR using the Up/Down arrow key and press
Enter.
Press the Freq/Dist key, set the distance by pressing D1 and D2 soft key as per
measurement distance.
Press Meas/Disp key. Distance and VSWR with Marker will be display in the trace.
Press Save Display, name the file and Enter.

Power Measurements
The Site Master can be used for making power measurements with broadband RF
detectors, such as the 10 MHz to 20 GHz Anritsu 560-7N50B. The power monitor
displays the measured power results in dBm or Watts.
Note: Always make it sure while doing power measurement that all device under test
should not be withdrawing supply while connecting it to Site Master
Required Equipment
Site Master model S331D with Power Monitor option
Broadband RF detector, Anritsu P/N 5400-71N50B
30 dB, 50 Watt, bi-directional, DC 18 GHz, N(m) N(f), Attenuator, 42N50A-30
Procedure
Press the ON/OFF key on the Site Master.
Press the MODE key.
Use the Up/Down arrow key to select the Power Monitor mode and press enter
Note: DO NOT connect Site Master directly to DUT as it can damage Site
Master. Always remember to connect attenuater in between DUT and Site
Master. Attenuater will be connected to sensor cord and sensor cord will be
connected to RF port of Site Master.
Zeroing the Power Moniter
With no power applied to the DUT (Device under Test), press the Zero soft key. Wait
for a few seconds while the Site Master accumulates data samples of the quiescent
power. When complete, Zero Adj: On is displayed in the message area.
Measuring High Input Power Levels
Insert an attenuator between the DUT and the RF detector to protect the Site Master
so that the input power level is less than or equal to 20 dBm.

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Press the Ofset dB soft key.

Enter the attenuation in dB using the keypad. Press the ENTER key to complete the
entry. The message area will show Relative: On along with the entered value in dB.

Note: Attenuation value that we insert while doing power measurement

depands upon capacity of attanuater that we are using in between DUT and
Site Master.
(Output Power=Actual Power + Offset Power)
Displaying Power in dBm and Watts
Press the Units soft key to display power in Watts.
Displaying Relative Power
With the desired base power level input to the Site Master, press the REL soft key.
The message area will show Relative: On and the power reading will indicate 100%.
Press the Units soft key to display power in dBm. Since Relative is ON, the power
reading will be in dBr relative to the base power level.

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