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Power calibration with use of receiver "A"

Question asked by tigrane on Sep 21, 2012
Latest reply on Sep 28, 2012 by Dr_joel

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Hello everyone,

I am currently writing a code in 'C' using labwindows/CVI to perform a power calibration on my PNA-X N5245A. I want to calibrate the source power, using only the receiver reference. (receiver "A").
So I launch a source power cal, define the SetCalInfoEx for port 1, source 1 but when the calibration panel appears on the pna screen(very quickly), the source power field is empty. The calibration is performed and we can see the message "PASS" on the screen. But when i try applying this cal, no function is working, i tried:
-SourcePowerCalibratorApplyPowerCorrectionValues
-SourcePowerCalibratorApplyPowerCorrectionValuesEx
-ChannelSetSourcePowerCorrection

At this step I am facing two problem to finish my calibration:
First problem,I get the error althought I really apply the cal for port1 source1.
      +Message: 686+
      +Source power calibration has not been performed or uploaded for the specified channel and source port.+
      +Severity: Error+
      +EventID: E80202AE (hex)+
Second problem after one error 686, i get this error until I reboot the whole PNA althought nothing is happening on the PNA.
    +Message: 685+
    +Power meter is reserved by a source power cal acquisition already in progress.+
    +Severity: Error+
    +EventID: E80202AD (hex)+

How can I clear this 685 error without rebooting the system? How can I apply my source power calibration Correction to source 1 (maybe the problem is coming from the source power empty field during the calibration).

I have a short video of the pna screen showing the errors (It is going very fast but when watching with vlc-player in very slow motion, we can note those problems: empty source field, error message...). I can post that if it can help.

Thank you for your help, I really don't know what can I try now,

I can provide precision i needed.

Kind regards

Tigrane

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Dr_joel

Sep 21, 2012 8:39 PM

You might post your firmware revision.

There are two kinds of source power calibraiton and you may be calling the wrong one in the wrong order.

There is "legacy" source power calibration which operated by measuring the source power on the power meter and setting an offset array in the channel.

In newer firmware (9.33 I think) we added "guided power calibration" where the source and receviers were calibrated as part of the S-parameter guided calibration. This is saved to a calset and when the calset is applied to the channel, the source power cal data is copied from the calset to the offset array.

In general, the latter method is preferred. The former method can give some difficulties if not done in proper order.

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tigrane086 @ Dr_joel on Sep 24, 2012 6:45 AM

Hello and thank you for your answer,

I had a lot of problem to connect to my agilent account(currently trying to fix it with the support team), that is why i get a new one.

My agilent firmware on my PNA is the A 09.33 but i can't use the guided cal because i just want to perform a source power cal using the receiver "A" inside the pna. I don't want to use any external power meter for this manipulation so i have to perform a power cal in unguided.

So for you, can i use the former method you were talking about? In this case could you help me to get the proper order?

In fact it seems the calibration is going well but i simply can't apply the calibration once it is done. I get the message that the calibration hasn't been done on this port or channel.

In the attached file i put the function in C that perform my power calibration.

Thank you

Attachments

power_calib.c2.8 KB

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tigrane @ tigrane086 on Sep 26, 2012 7:03 AM

Hello and thank you for your answer,

I had a lot of problem to connect to my agilent account(currently trying to fix it with the support team), that is why i get a new one.

My agilent firmware on my PNA is the A 09.33 but i can't use the guided cal because i just want to perform a source power cal using the receiver "A" inside the pna. I don't want to use any external power meter for this manipulation so i have to perform a power cal in unguided.

So for you, can i use the former method you were talking about? In this case could you help me to get the proper order?

In fact it seems the calibration is going well but i simply can't apply the calibration once it is done. I get the message that the calibration hasn't been done on this port or channel.

In the attached file "in the previous post" i put the function in C that perform my power calibration.

Thank you

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Dr_joel

@ tigrane on Sep 27, 2012 11:34 PM

source cal with receiver "A" is very unusual. Usually it is with R1 or B. Why A? for that you must have some odd signal routing. Did you do the calibration manually (not remotely) from the front panel with success?

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tigrane @ Dr_joel on Sep 28, 2012 12:20 AM

Hi,
And thank you.
I didn't realise that the use of receiver "A" was unusual. I did already a calibration manually on the front panel with success. But it doesn't matter for me to use the receiver "B" instead of "A" to do the source cal. Unfortunately the problem is the same using receiver "B", I get the message that the calibration hasn't been done when i perform it automatically.

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Dr_joel

@ tigrane on Sep 28, 2012 11:59 AM

It doesn't matter what receiver is used: what matters is that the receiver must have a signal into it, and if the source cal is to be accurate, the receiver must be calibrated in power.

The most normal case for this is to calibrate the source power to the reference receiver, and this is typically done after the reference receiver has been calibrated to power power meter, usually as part of an earlier source power cal. Thus, the PNA receivers are usually used as the reference for a source power cal only as a "touch-up" to the source power calibration, to account for source level drift and linearity. The source power is set by an analog diode detector that is not as linear nor as stable as the reference receiver.

So: why do you want to use the PNA receiver and not a power meter? What is the signla path to the receiver? how is the receiver calibrated to ensure it provides an accurate reference?

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kathuria02 Sep 24, 2012 5:24 AM

test -please ignore

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7 Replies

Dr_joel Sep 21, 2012 8:39 PM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
You might post your firmware revision.

There are two kinds of source power calibraiton and you may be calling the wrong one in the wrong order.

There is "legacy" source power calibration which operated by measuring the source power on the power meter and setting an offset array in the channel.

In newer firmware (9.33 I think) we added "guided power calibration" where the source and receviers were calibrated as part of the S-parameter guided calibration. This is saved to a calset and when the calset is applied to the channel, the source power cal data is copied from the calset to the offset array.

In general, the latter method is preferred. The former method can give some difficulties if not done in proper order.
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- tigrane086 @ Dr_joel on Sep 24, 2012 6:45 AM
  Mark Correct
  Correct Answer
  Hello and thank you for your answer,
  
  I had a lot of problem to connect to my agilent account(currently trying to fix it with the support team), that is why i get a new one.
  
  My agilent firmware on my PNA is the A 09.33 but i can't use the guided cal because i just want to perform a source power cal using the receiver "A" inside the pna. I don't want to use any external power meter for this manipulation so i have to perform a power cal in unguided.
  
  So for you, can i use the former method you were talking about? In this case could you help me to get the proper order?
  
  In fact it seems the calibration is going well but i simply can't apply the calibration once it is done. I get the message that the calibration hasn't been done on this port or channel.
  
  In the attached file i put the function in C that perform my power calibration.
  
  Thank you
  Attachments
  - power_calib.c2.8 KB
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  - tigrane @ tigrane086 on Sep 26, 2012 7:03 AM
    Mark Correct
    Correct Answer
    Hello and thank you for your answer,
    
    I had a lot of problem to connect to my agilent account(currently trying to fix it with the support team), that is why i get a new one.
    
    My agilent firmware on my PNA is the A 09.33 but i can't use the guided cal because i just want to perform a source power cal using the receiver "A" inside the pna. I don't want to use any external power meter for this manipulation so i have to perform a power cal in unguided.
    
    So for you, can i use the former method you were talking about? In this case could you help me to get the proper order?
    
    In fact it seems the calibration is going well but i simply can't apply the calibration once it is done. I get the message that the calibration hasn't been done on this port or channel.
    
    In the attached file "in the previous post" i put the function in C that perform my power calibration.
    
    Thank you
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    - Dr_joel @ tigrane on Sep 27, 2012 11:34 PM
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      Correct Answer
      source cal with receiver "A" is very unusual. Usually it is with R1 or B. Why A? for that you must have some odd signal routing. Did you do the calibration manually (not remotely) from the front panel with success?
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      - tigrane @ Dr_joel on Sep 28, 2012 12:20 AM
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        Correct Answer
        Hi,
        And thank you.
        I didn't realise that the use of receiver "A" was unusual. I did already a calibration manually on the front panel with success. But it doesn't matter for me to use the receiver "B" instead of "A" to do the source cal. Unfortunately the problem is the same using receiver "B", I get the message that the calibration hasn't been done when i perform it automatically.
        Like • Show 0 Likes0
        Actions
        Dr_joel @ tigrane on Sep 28, 2012 11:59 AM
        Mark Correct
        Correct Answer
        It doesn't matter what receiver is used: what matters is that the receiver must have a signal into it, and if the source cal is to be accurate, the receiver must be calibrated in power.
        
        The most normal case for this is to calibrate the source power to the reference receiver, and this is typically done after the reference receiver has been calibrated to power power meter, usually as part of an earlier source power cal. Thus, the PNA receivers are usually used as the reference for a source power cal only as a "touch-up" to the source power calibration, to account for source level drift and linearity. The source power is set by an analog diode detector that is not as linear nor as stable as the reference receiver.
        
        So: why do you want to use the PNA receiver and not a power meter? What is the signla path to the receiver? how is the receiver calibrated to ensure it provides an accurate reference?
        Like • Show 0 Likes0
        Actions
kathuria02 Sep 24, 2012 5:24 AM
Mark Correct
Correct Answer
test -please ignore
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Power calibration with use of receiver "A"

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