Suppose I want to measure the reflection coefficient, Gamma_L, of my measuring receiver.
I propose to connect the PSA to my calibrated VNA and perform a standard S-parameter measurement to determine Gamma.
Furthermore, I wish to measure Gamma_L for a whole bunch of different PSA settings and ranges, including configuration with "Range Hold" turned and the range held in Range 3 where the receiver is most sensitive.
My questions are:
(a) is there a better way to measure Gamma_L than this?
(b) how can I do this safely without damaging the PSA mixer or other elements, ie., what is the maximum power the mixer can take (given any possible PSA settings)?
I propose to connect the PSA to my calibrated VNA and perform a standard S-parameter measurement to determine Gamma.
Furthermore, I wish to measure Gamma_L for a whole bunch of different PSA settings and ranges, including configuration with "Range Hold" turned and the range held in Range 3 where the receiver is most sensitive.
My questions are:
(a) is there a better way to measure Gamma_L than this?
(b) how can I do this safely without damaging the PSA mixer or other elements, ie., what is the maximum power the mixer can take (given any possible PSA settings)?
If I wanted to measure a CW signal, I would use zero span (make sure to use 10 MHz ref between source and PSA) measure the load match at each center frequency and step through all attenuator ranges I might need (there can be a LOT of attenuator ranges on a PSA). If you want to measure harmonics, it gets even trickier, since setting the center frequency to the second harmonic can change the load match at the fundamental. Of course, if you have the attenuation set at 10 dB or above, the load match change will be very small between settings and gets progressively worse as you go from 10 dB to 0 dB.
For a standard PSA, the input damage level is on the front of the box near the connector. It is 1W for my PSA. This should apply to all settings.