User Manual 1502C Metallic Time-Domain Reflectometer 070-7169-05 This document applies for firmware version 5.04 and above. www.tektronix.com Copyright © Tektronix, Inc. All rights reserved. Tektronix products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and pending. Information in this publication supercedes that in all previously published material. Specifications and price change privileges reserved. Tektronix, Inc., P.O. Box 500, Beaverton, OR 97077 TEKTRONIX and TEK are registered trademarks of Tektronix, Inc. WARRANTY Tektronix warrants that the products that it manufactures and sells will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of shipment. If a product proves defective during this warranty period, Tektronix, at its option, either will repair the defective product without charge for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product. In order to obtain service under this warranty, Customer must notify Tektronix of the defect before the expiration of the warranty period and make suitable arrangements for the performance of service. Customer shall be responsible for packaging and shipping the defective product to the service center designated by Tektronix, with shipping charges prepaid. Tektronix shall pay for the return of the product to Customer if the shipment is to a location within the country in which the Tektronix service center is located. Customer shall be responsible for paying all shipping charges, duties, taxes, and any other charges for products returned to any other locations. This warranty shall not apply to any defect, failure or damage caused by improper use or improper or inadequate maintenance and care. Tektronix shall not be obligated to furnish service under this warranty a) to repair damage resulting from attempts by personnel other than Tektronix representatives to install, repair or service the product; b) to repair damage resulting from improper use or connection to incompatible equipment; c) to repair any damage or malfunction caused by the use of non-Tektronix supplies; or d) to service a product that has been modified or integrated with other products when the effect of such modification or integration increases the time or difficulty of servicing the product. THIS WARRANTY IS GIVEN BY TEKTRONIX IN LIEU OF ANY OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TEKTRONIX AND ITS VENDORS DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. TEKTRONIX' RESPONSIBILITY TO REPAIR OR REPLACE DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS IS THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY PROVIDED TO THE CUSTOMER FOR BREACH OF THIS WARRANTY. TEKTRONIX AND ITS VENDORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER TEKTRONIX OR THE VENDOR HAS ADVANCE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Contacting Tektronix Phone Address 1-800-833-9200* Tektronix, Inc. Department or name (if known) 14200 SW Karl Braun Drive P.O. Box 500 Beaverton, OR 97077 USA www.tektronix.com 1-800-833-9200, select option 1* 1-800-833-9200, select option 2* Email: techsupport@tektronix.com 1-800-833-9200, select option 3* 1-503-627-2400 6:00 a.m. ­ 5:00 p.m. Pacific time Web site Sales support Service support Technical support * This phone number is toll free in North America. After office hours, please leave a voice mail message. Outside North America, contact a Tektronix sales office or distributor; see the Tektronix web site for a list of offices. Table of Contents General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation and Repacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii viii Safety Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operating Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preparing to Use the 1502C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Front-Panel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menu Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test Preparations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cable Test Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional Features (Menu Selected) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi 1­1 1­1 1­5 1­6 1­7 1­8 1­12 1­14 1­29 Operator Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What is the Tektronix 1502C? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How Does It Do It? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You, the Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menus and Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Waveform Up Close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Longer Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ohms-at-Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set Ref (Delta Mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIEW INPUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STORE and VIEW STORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VIEW DIFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menu-Accessed Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TDR Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2­1 2­1 2­1 2­1 2­1 2­2 2­5 2­7 2­8 2­11 2­13 2­17 2­18 2­20 2­21 2­26 Options and Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Option 04: YT-1 Chart Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Option 05: Metric Default . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Option 07: YT-1S Chart Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Power Cord Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Test data record Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Option DE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3­1 3­1 3­1 3­1 3­1 3­2 3­2 3­2 Appendix A: Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electrical Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Environmental Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Certifications and Compliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Physical Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A­1 A­1 A­3 A­4 A­5 Appendix B: Operator Performance Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix C: Operator Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B­1 C­1 C­3 1502C MTDR User Manual i Table of Contents Appendix D: Application Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pulse Echo Testing of Electrical Transmission Lines Using the Tektronix Time-Domain Reflectometry Slide Rule . . . . . . . . . . . Terms and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VSWR vs. Percent Reflected Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Return Loss (dB) vs. Percent Reflected Voltage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent Reflected Voltage vs. Characteristic Line Impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent Reflected Voltage vs. Load Resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Characteristic Line Impedance or Load Resistance vs. Reflection Amplitude . . Centimeters vs. Inches or Meters vs. Feet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dielectric Constant vs. Velocity Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Time vs. Short Distances, in Centimeters or Inches (any dielectric) . . . . . . . . . . Time vs. Long Distances, in Meters or Feet (any dielectric) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D­1 D­1 D­1 D­2 D­2 D­3 D­4 D­6 D­6 D­7 D­8 D­8 D­9 Glossary Index ii 1502C MTDR User Manual Table of Contents List of Figures Figure 1­1: Rear Panel Voltage Selector, Fuse, AC Receptacle . . . . . Figure 1­2: Display Showing Low Battery Indication . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­3: 1502C Front-Panel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­4: Display and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­5: Vp Set at .30, Cursor Beyond Reflected Pulse (Set Too Low) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­6: Vp Set at .99, Cursor Less Than Reflected Pulse (Set Too High) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­7: Vp Set at .66, Cursor at Reflected Pulse (Set Correctly) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­8: 20-ft Cable at 5 ft/div . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­9: Short in the Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­10: Open in the Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­11: 455-ft Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­12: 455-ft Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­13: Reflection Adjusted to One Division in Height . . . . . . . Figure 1­14: Return Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­15: Ohms-at-Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­16: Display with VIEW INPUT Turned Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­17: Display of a Stored Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­18: Display of a Stored Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­19: Waveform Moved to Top Half of Display . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­20: Current Waveform Centered, Stored Waveform Above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­21: Current Waveform Center, Stored Waveform Above, Difference Below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­22: Waveform of Three-Foot Lead-in Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­23: Cursor Moved to End of Three-Foot Lead-in Cable . . . Figure 1­24: Cursor Moved to End of Three-Foot Lead-in Cable . . . Figure 1­25: Cursor Moved to 0.00 ft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­26: Incident Pulse at Three Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­27: Waveform of Short 75 ohm Cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­28: Waveform Centered and Adjusted Vertically . . . . . . . . Figure 1­29: Cursor Moved to Desired Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Figure 1­30: Waveform Viewed in Normal Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . Figur ...