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From Dayton Ohio Hamvention 2016 to SEAPAC Oregon

This was our first attendance at Hamvention in Dayton Ohio. We drove in our HAM RV (W1RMS) from Oregon to Dayton Ohio loaded with our display booth and products. While we knew there would be more hams attending than at the regional ham shows we attend as vendors, we had no idea just how big Hamvention really was. Some estimated more than 600 vendors and more than 33,000 attendees. We were very pleased and a little overwhelmed by the intense interest the folks attending had in our products. In spite of bringing a large selection of our products, we still sold out on some products. Our new DPM6000 power meter received a lot of attention, and enjoyed excellent sales. The new TP1-PRO tuning pulser and SSB standard received a lot of interest and proved to be a very desirable kit option. Rob and I had planned to check some of other  vendors, but had very little time. The isles were stacked so deep that we were only able see a small portion of the vendors.  Next up is “The Northwest’s Largest Ham Convention” 2016_SEA-PAC_Booklet available for download  June 3, 4 and 5, 2016 ARRL Northwestern Division Convention Seaside Convention Center, Seaside, OR See you there. Check the pictures below:

73,

Roger W1RMS

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Before the convention started. Left to right: Robert KI6HNA, Florene and Audrie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Here is Roger W1RMS, is explaining the features and performance of our products to a customer.
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Demonstrating the TDR PG1 Cable analyzer and our new DPM 6000 power meter.
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Rob is fielding one of the many questions from interested Hams.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: New products to be announced at May 20-22, 2016 Hamvention

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Roger M. Stenbock W1RMS

Web site: preciserf.com

503-320-6152

Email Address: arrlw1rms@gmail.com
This news release is available at www.preciseRF.com on the home page.

DPM 6000 Lab-Grade SWR/Power Meter introduced. 

Dayton Ohio May 19, 2016 PreciseRF today introduced, for immediate sale, two exciting new products at the annual Hamvention in Dayton Ohio (Booth NH0169 NH0170b). They are the DPM6000 lab-grade SWR/power meter and the TP1-PRO tuning pulser and SSB standard (see the following page).

DPM6000-4web1080

The new DPM6000 raises the bar in RF power measurements. The DPM6000 digital SWR/power meter provides the high accuracy demanded by ham radio operators and engineers alike, at a price that’s affordable. It provides superior accuracy and a dynamic range of 70 dB.

It is the only SWR/power meter with a built in temperature compensated calibrated Power Reference (1 mW 0 dBm 50 MHz) allowing instant field calibration of the DPM6000. Traditional power meters for ham radio provided only a partial answer and were not suitable for precision measurements for hams wishing to experiment and design instruments and radios in their ham shack. Until now new lab-grade instruments were beyond the reach of the average ham. But with the introduction of the new DPM6000, the paradigm has changed.

Says Roger Stenbock, W1RMS CEO of preciseRF, “Our team of talented engineers, all hams, are very proud to offer an affordable lab-grade power meter with the most extensive measurement set available anywhere at any price. The new DPM6000 measures power in watts and dBm, SWR, return loss, bar graph power & SWR, peak and average power, mismatch in dB and reflection coefficient, mismatch loss in %, watts & dBm and transmitted CW frequency with these exclusive features”:

  • High 70 dBm dynamic range
  • Couplers to measure power from -50 dBm (.01 uW) to  +63 dBm (2000W)
  • 500 MHz forward and reflected power, 6 GHz range with external sensor
  • 1 mW 0 dBm 50 MHz Power Reference
  • TCXO with an external reference clock input.

Introductory price at Hamvention is $725

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TP1-PRO TUNING PULSER and SSB Standard introduced 

PreciseRF today introduced, for immediate sale, the TP1 PRO. It is a precision pulse generator to safely tune power amplifiers (often called linear amps) at high power levels. It is also a calibrated burst generator simulating the average sound levels of the “human voice” when evaluating power amplifiers.

TP1-PROweb1080

According to Roger Stenbock, W1RMS CEO of preciseRF, “Our engineers at preciseRF have for some time now needed an accurate calibrated tuning pulser.  It’s primary application was for amplifier tuning and as a repeatable SSB modulation standard to make accurate PEP power measurements. None were to be found. So we created our own, and it is embodied in the  TP1-PRO TUNING PULSER.  It worked so well, we decided to put it in production and offer it to other hams needing one as well.”

The TP1 provides a modulation envelope consisting of a 2.5 KHz burst with an adjustable duration of 10 ms to 25 ms and rep rate of 20-50 Hz. The calibrated setting for a Crest factor of C=20 dB is a 10 ms burst and 25 Hz. The Pk-Pk output level is calibrated from -30 dBu to -3 dBu. This setting is repeatable and can be used as a standard when evaluating amplifier PEP performance.

PreciseRF was created by retired Tektronix engineer Roger M. Stenbock (W1RMS) were he worked as a design engineer on oscilloscopes and the TM500 instruments. With a small but dedicated professional staff, he is now serving the ham radio market.

Introductory price at Hamvention is $210

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TDR pulse generator model number updated to PreciseRF TDR-PG1

ITEM TDR-PG1 panelAurora, Oregon November 1, 2013 Our popular TDR pulse generator, formerly referred to as “TDR-CableScout” has been updated with new nomenclature to “PreciseRF TDR-PG1. This change was done to avoid confusion with another product called “CABLESCOUT” from a different manufacturer not affiliated with PreciseRF.

There is no change in performance to the PreciseRF TDR-PG1 and  PreciseRF TDR-PG1 Pro. Owners of the existing products need not do anything. Inventory, manufacturing, and marketing material will be updated accordingly.

 

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TDR Pulse Generator provided with individual calibration data

IMG_1230Our latest manufacturing run (manufactured in the USA) of our popular TDR pulse generator now features individualy calibratd TDR pulse data and pulse outputs rise times times under 150 ps. Each unit in this manufacturing run calibrated and performed better than our published specifications. Feedback from current users has been positive, and no firmware upgrades are required.

Verify your transmission line quality and measure losses
In addition to measuring the actual cable impedance of your transmission lines, a feature especially popular is the ability to measure cable losses in dB per hundred feet. The fast rise time and narrow pulse width allows loss measurement by analyzing GHz harmonic contents and converting this signal into pulse integration using an ordinary 200 MHz oscilloscope. The TDR computer compares the input pulse to the output pulse given a known cable length and computes the loss in dB/100 feet at 100 MHz. While there are a number of 50 ohm cables for example, not all cables have identical losses. With the loss measurement feature, hams can verify their cable impedance with as little as a 12″ cable sample.  See our video on making TDR cable measurement..

Those hams with older Tektronix sampling scopes can take advantage of the TDR pulse generator fast rise time by using the 100 ns pre-trigger output and as a result can view the leading edge of the pulse TDR waveform and achieve a stable display.

TDRSN1314Calibration verification
For accurate and consistent results, Ham radio operators and experimenters rely on their test and measurement equipment accuracy. When making transmission and feed line impedance measurements step and pulse performance is especially important. Now, in addition to specifications published on our data sheets, each new TDR pulse generator  is delivered with a comprehensive five channel display characterizing the each output from the TDR pulse generator.

In addition to measured values the calibration now includes actual values and statistical data such as mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values. Rise time performance is measured down to the picosecond level. Click on the image to view in greater detail.

 

 

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Hantek 200 MHZ DSO available

Aurora, Oregon. After an extensive evaluation of portable digital scopes, taking into account performance, cost, and suitability for ham radio applications, PreciseRF is please to announce the selection of the Hantek 200MHZ DSO5202B Digital Storage Oscilloscope.

Our engineer Robert Kirkpatrick KI6HNA was so impressed with this scope that he purchased a Hantek DSO5202B for his own lab replacing an aging Tektronix scope.  Said Rob: “For hams wanting to equip their shack with a new modern scope, this scope is an ideal addition. Besides the usual scope functions, this scope includes a powerful FFT function, turning the scope into a digital spectrum analyzer ideally suited for the HF ham bands.”

Said Roger Stenbock of W1RMS. “With the exception of the Hantek 200MHZ DSO5202B, there simply is not a more economical scope out there that provides 200 MHz bandwidth and 1GSa/s for under $1000. The price is actually quite a bit lower….while other scopes in this performance range from Tektronix and Angilent are quite good, those scopes are priced out of the ham radio market…”

The Hantek DSO5202B Digital Storage Oscilloscope is a 200MHz scope that provides real-time sample rates up to 1GSa/s and equivalent sample rates up to 25GSa/s. In addition, it has 1M memory depth for better observation of waveform details. The 7 inch color TFT LCD Display with Windows-style interface and menus provide easy operation.

A PreciseRF exclusive is a NIST reference certificate. Each New Hantek scope undergoes a rigorous performance check with NIST traceable calibration instruments in our lab prior to delivery to you. This insures the scope meets published specs and characterizes the actual bandwidth and rise time achieved.

 

For product details and price visit http://preciserf.com/shop/hantek-dso5202bmv/

 

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PreciseRF launches YouTube channel with TDR tutorial

Preciserf Logo TV CHANNELWe are excited with the launch of the PreciseRF YouTube channel. The first in a series of application videos is the TDR Tutorial Video. Our customers wanted  video instruction and demonstration. For this production the foundation of this new video came from our application notebook. This new video running time is 23 minutes.  It covers the basics of TDR applications and a detailed demonstration of the popular TDR CableScout.

tdr filmstrip

Step-by-step demonstration cover:

  • TDR concepts
  • reflection coefficient
  • Distance to Fault
  • Cable impedance
  • Matched loads
  • Velocity Factor
  • VSWR
  • Return loss
  • Cable losses
  • Common faults
  • Impedance measurements by substitution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sea-Pac 2013 wrap up

June 2, 213 Seaside Oregon. The Annual Sea-Pac show was a great success and exceeded our goals over last year. We met with hundreds of hams from the Oregon, Washington and California area.0

Our crew had a wonderful time showing our new products. We sold-out our inventory of the CableScout ® we brought to the show. Our customers really liked its ability use the TDR features to check their transmission lines and cables.

Shown at right is Bob of W7BKN, the raffle winner of one of our HF 1.5KW samplers, next to Florene and Audrie, part of our show team.

Shown below is Rob, Florene and Audrie ready to greet our customers. They really enjoyed showing our products and exchanging friendly QSOs.

Said Roger of W1RMS “This show exceeded our expectations. 0-1The amateur radio community is a wonderful group. We will be sure to attend again next year, you never know what new products we’ll be showing in 2014″

In the mean time, 73s from all of us at preciseRF.

 

 

 

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TDR-CableScout® in Production

cable scout production audrieAfter nearly a year of product design and development, we are pleased to announce that production of the TDR-CableScout® has began.

To meet the performance goals of our ultra fast rise time and pulse TDR function, we had to switch from axial leaded components to strip-line and SMD technology in the microwave circuitry. This required  new manufacturing processes using the latest in air-bath pre-heating and reflow hot air soldering methods.

The first production run exceeded our performance expectations. The TDR-CableScout® will be available for sale to ham radio operators May 31 at the Sea-Pac ham radio convention at Seaside, Oregon.

Shown above is Audrie, busy producing the first production run and really getting the hang of the Zephyrtronics hot air soldering equipment.
Cablescout production run.Below, the first run of instruments are going through final QC. Rob Kirkpatrick, developed the CPU and firmware, and Roger Stenbock designed the analog and high frequency circuit.

Said Roger “We are excited and are looking forward to show our new TDR CableScout ® to ham radio enthusiasts and to the engineering community.”

 

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Application note featuring the new TDR-CableScout ® released.

Aurora, Oregon

PreciseRF published a new application note entitled “Using TDR for Measuring Transmission Lines in Ham Radio Installations”

appnote coverThis application note reviews the elements of transmission line measurement in the ham radio environment. It demonstrates how you can measure line impedance, return loss, SWR, velocity factor, distance to fault and line losses using pulse interrogation techniques. It focuses on the new preciseRF TDR-CableScout® pulse generator as a companion acces- sory to an oscilloscope.

This application note serves as a tutorial and review of TDR measurements and as a user guide for the TDR-CableScout®. Included are step-by-step instructons on how to use it with your oscilloscope. Topics include  transmission line faults and how to locate them, reflection coefficient, return loss, SWR, cable impedance (Zo) measurements, distanced to fault (DTF), velocity factor (VF) and line loss measurements.

Appnote#6 TDR Final web

 

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New! Precision TDR Pulse Generator for Ham Radio features TDR computer with 150ps pulse Tr.

Aurora, Oregon, May 1, 2013. PreciseRF announced today that the new TDR-CableScout® will be introduced at the annual SEA-PAC Ham Convention May 31-June 2, 2013 at Seaside, Oregon http://www.seapac.org. tdr cablescout product photo 1024

The TDR-CableScout® gives Hams, with access to an oscilloscope, the means to analyze transmission lines and circuit board strip lines. Line impedance from 50 ohms to 600 ohms can by measured with 25 ps resolution.

TheTDR-CableScout® features isolated high speed samplers and separate device under test (DUT) outputs. This design allows a direct, fast Tr 50 ohm connection to the oscilloscope for accurate TDR measurements without the inconvenience and lower performance  of the “T” connector technique.

A transmission line library is included, it contains data for velocity factor (Vf), line impedance (Zo) and line loss data. The integrated TDR measurement computer takes the work out of TDR measurements, such as time to fault (TTF), reflection coefficient (p), cable length, velocity factor (VF), Line impedance (Zo), return loss (RL), SWR and cable loss.

The TDR-CableScout® has both pulse and step TDR TDR functions. The step TDR has a maximum range of 15 KM and time resolution is better than 1 ns. The pulse TDR features a 500 ps pulse width and 150ps Tr. The resolution is under 5mm, this is well suited for analyzing circuit board strip lines. A dedicated trigger output with a 100ns pre-trigger delay allows viewing of the TDR pulse leading edge when using sampling scopes without a delay line such as the 7S11 and 7T11 installed in legacy Tektronix 7000 scopes.

“While TDR transmission line testing is not new in the commercial communications industry, it has always been expensive and not in reach of the average ham. The new TDR-CableScout® will now help make TDR measurements affordable for ham radio operations,” said preciseRF CEO, Roger Stenbock W1RMS.

Two versions will be introduced, the standard version and the professional version. Options include a variable terminator for direct impedance measurements, expanded measurement firmware, and a bundled scope package featuring a 200 MHZ DSO, NIST calibration and extended warranty.

Pricing will be announced at the SEA-PAC convention.

PreciseRF is a leading developer and supplier of oscilloscope measurement accessories for ham radio operators, measurement industry and the U.S. Government, with production and sales located in Aurora, Oregon and product development and engineering in Placerville, California. www.preciserf.com