Time DOMAIN REFLECTOMETERS
Contents
1. 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETERS User Manual for HL TDR Version 1 1 x Applies to Model Numbers HL1101 HL1202 HL1204 2013 HYPERLABS Inc Revision 1 1 1 www hyperlabsinc com 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Introduction These consolidated reference materials apply to all Time Domain Reflectometer TDR instruments from HYPERLABS and the included HL TDR software Not all instruments have all of the features included below Please note that each model number includes its own HL TDR software package which can be downloaded from our website Software packages are not cross compatible with other instruments For further technical support please visit our website www hyperlabsinc com Table of Contents Section 1 Instrument SetUp iiisiin sisii Ein s EE aE E SEI E ESE E T En EE Erti 2 Section 2 Driver and Software Installation ccccccccccccccccccceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeseeeeees 2 Section 3 Software Start Dhsssnisnn ehsonni odin niha ania EE a r NEON EEOC E ORED GON E EEEE NENEN 2 Section 4 Overview of HL TDR Software Controls ccccccccccccceccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeseseees 3 Section 5 Test Environment StU Pics ceaichciase cencranh cea sabia teincianesanciard delncsaniiaciansoshseeteedeaceeshdebedeabdpacuesbceeieas 4 section 5 1 Vertical Scale and UNS iis siisscativ2. The HL Circle and HYPERLABS logo found at the top of each page of this User Manual are 2012 2013 by HYPERLABS Inc Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corp which is not affiliated with HYPERLABS User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 9
3. information on how to correctly read distance and time measurements Section 5 3 User Message Box In the top right corner of the HL TDR software is a small text box that provides messages about the status of the software and hardware Currently this is only used to indicate the calibration status of the instrument If the instrument is working properly it will read Calibration Done While the instrument is being calibrated this will indicate Calibration in Progress Section 5 4 Waveform Acquisition Modes and Averaging By default the HL TDR software operates in continuous acquisition mode In this mode new waveforms are outputted to the Waveform Display Area as quickly as the instrument can Acquire Waveform acquire them Alternatively the software can set to acquire and display a single Acquire Continuously waveform In this mode the operator must manually click the Acquire Waveform button to output a new waveform Average Record Length A Continuously checkbox can be toggled xl 024 To switch between constant and manual acquisition the Acquire As of Version 1 1 of the HL TDR software waveform averaging is Figure 4 Waveform Acquisition Mode functional and can be controlled by adjusting the control Controls set to Continuous Acquisition NOTE Waveform averaging slows the software considerably If more than 2 waveforms are averaged we recommend manual waveform acquisition mode Also in
4. Version 1 1 the default number of data points on the waveform 1024 is a locked variable and cannot be modified User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 5 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 5 5 Dielectric Constant K Controls To obtain an accurate measure of distance when analyzing an electrical system the correct dielectric constant K must be used In particular the different insulating materials used in various cable types affect the signal s velocity of propagation which is used to calculate distance The Dielectric Constant Controls in the HL TDR software are found in the right instrument panel and shown in detail in Figure 5 at right z z P a j Dielectric K is a numerical value that can be changed by the user based on the material being A tested The box below allows the user to enter a number for the dielectric constant 225 The Cable Type drop down menu can also be used to switch between cable types A table of common dielectric constant values can be found in Figure 6 below To find Cable Type the dielectric constant of other unusual materials please contact HYPERLABS for assistance Nominal Figure 5 Dielectric F Constant Controls Material K set to Nominal Type K 2 25 Insulation Coaxial cable with polyethylene insulation Nominal 2 25 Type Coaxial cable with Teflon insulation 2 06 Printed Circuit Board PCB 4 0 4 3 Gallium Arsenide Integrated Circuit
5. atsaiivainsivatsasivasiivaisadiasbateasloreusasioracensinienadionieass 4 Section 5 2 Horizontal Scale and Units 0 0cccceeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 5 Section 5 3 User Message BOX sasiccescicce octet alate deca tadaceciai ee lansged ued tcetencese sey a eseee tienes eae 5 Section 5 4 Waveform Acquisition Modes and Averaging ceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenneeeeeeeeeeseeeenneeeeeeees 5 Section 5 5 Dielectric Constant K Controls ceeeeeececeeeeee eee eeeeeeeeaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeesaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseaaees 6 Section 6 Waveform Display Area cccccceeeeeeeeeecceceeeeeeeeeeaaaaeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaeaaaeeeeeeeeseesnaaaaaeeeeeeeeeneas 7 Section 6 1 Positioning the CUMSOMS wicsscaiciss cesdecaccacnceledewasasenerkcaedaasasadaeckcebenendseninsguansedinneendeadeanheebecetl 7 Section 6 2 Horizontal and Vertical Cursor Values cccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetneaaaees 7 Section 6 3 Using the Cursors tO ZOOM eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeseseeeeeeeeeeereees 7 Section 6 4 Calibration Controls cn cian iain aah ARiIORRGIGING 8 Section 6 5 SETREF Functionality ccccccseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee settee aaaaeaaeeeeeeeesaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeesaaaaes 8 Section 6 6 Storing and Retrieving Waveforms c ecceeeeeeeeeeeeeecneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneaaees 8 Section 6 7 Comparing Activ
6. e Waveforms to Stored Waveforms ccccceeeeeeeseseeseeeeeseeseeeeeeeeees 9 Section 7 Additional Resources cece cceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeaaaeeeaeeeaeeeeeeeeeees 9 Section 8 Copyright Information srssiitireativarseaniiidesieaadiedvnatiesisadentiatiesiidadielpmatieattasshadeieirusivesunlsvasdeass 9 User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 1 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 1 Instrument Setup All HYPERLABS TDRs are self contained instruments powered and controlled via a single USB port The included HL TDR software and drivers are compatible with all versions of Windows XP Windows Vista Windows 7 and Windows 8 At this time there are no plans for OS X Linux or other operating system support The instrument should always be plugged into the PC prior to running the HL TDR software NOTE Model numbers HL1101 HL1202 and HL1204 are electrostatic protected instruments complaint with Class 2 of ESDS Component Sensitivity Classification ESD STM5 1 1998 Static protection is not required to use these instruments in most applications Section 2 Driver and Software Installation HYPERLABS TDRs utilize drivers from FTDI On computers connected to the internet the latest signed drivers will be automatically downloaded and installed as soon the instrument is plugged in to a working USB port If the computer is not connected t
7. en Creer Rice Eee ees ee renee eet werra frenn rr bee Per cet eter ene tt Gee cee TTK ia oe ao 10 20 o ieo ieo 300280340 360 bBo B00 480 ado a80 380 400 SO Nominal Figure 10 Stored Waveform in Green and Active Waveform in Magenta Section 7 Additional Resources This manual for HYPERLABS Time Domain Reflectometer instruments is primarily intended to cover instrument setup and familiarize the user with the major features of the HL TDR software The applications for TDRs are too many and varied to cover fully in this User Manual Accordingly we have made a wide variety of Application Guides and other reference materials on our website A full listing of Application Guides can be found at http www hyperlabsinc com application guides aspx If help for your application isn t shown in our Application Guides HYPERLABS is always happy to provide unlimited technical support to our customers For up to date telephone or email support options please see our webpage http www hyperlabsinc com contact us aspx Section 8 Copyright Information The information contained in this User Manual is 2013 by HYPERLABS Inc This manual may be freely distributed as is but any translations edits or revisions are prohibited unless expressly approved by HYPERLABS The HL TDR software title and screenshots and all instrument model numbers e g HL1101 HL1202 listed in this User Manual are also 2013 by HYPERLABS Inc
8. en for HL TDR for HL1101 with Important Features Labelled gt E Detailed descriptions of the highlighted features and controls can be found in the following Sections 1 Waveform Display Area Section 6 Vertical Scale and Unit Controls Section 5 1 Cursor Position Readout Section 6 2 Horizontal Scale and Unit Controls Section 5 2 User Message Box Section 5 3 Waveform Acquisition and Averaging Section 5 4 Calibration Controls Section 6 4 Waveform Storage and Comparison Controls Sections 6 6 6 7 o oN oNN FO DN Dielectric Constant K Controls Section 5 5 NOTE Not all software features are available on all models The interface will vary slightly based on the number of instrument channels of each model User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 3 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 5 Test Environment Setup The HL TDR software allows users to modify most environmental variables and create a test setup that fits their specific application needs The Subsections below explains the available options for each control and the most common situations in which they are useful For further help determining the ideal test setup for your application please review the Application Guides on our website or contact HYPERLABS Section 5 1 Vertical Scale and Units The vertical scale and units of the HL TDR software are controlled using the Y axis Scale and Units op
9. hms Q of the device under test Reflection Coefficient Rho 1 0 1 0 Coefficient of impedance where 0 0 represents 50 Q Figure 3 Recommended Vertical Scale for Each Unit Type User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 4 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 5 2 Horizontal Scale and Units The horizontal scale of the Waveform Display Area is controlled using the Start and Window sliders found below and to the right the display area Numerical values can also be inputted directly in the corresponding boxes located to the right of each slider The Start slider defines the beginning of the Waveform Display Area The Window slider determines its width Note that the maximum range of HYPERLABS TDRs is 200 m 400 m roundtrip There are three options for horizontal units e Distance m Default setting used to locate discontinuities in the device under test requires the proper value for the dielectric constant K see Section 5 5 for more information to provide an accurate measurement of distance e Distance ft Alternate measure of distance also requires accurate dielectric constant K value e Time ns Time in nanoseconds NOTE All horizontal measurements indicate the round trip distance or time of the reflection i e the distance covered by the impulse reaching the end of the system and coming back or the time it takes to do so See our website for more
10. igure 7 Cursor 1 is positioned at a position of X 2 15 m and Y 249 98 mV Cursor 1 Cursor 2 is positioned at X 6 68 m and Y 241 34 mV 215 249 98 Horizontal values are provided in the active horizontal unit either distance m distance eieo ft or time ns Note that the horizontal values will always be displayed in round trip distance or time 6 68 241 3 The vertical values are provided in the active vertical unit see Section 3 2 above Delta X Y In the Delta X Y box shown at right the horizontal and vertical differences between the cursor are shown in the X Y format In this example the cursors are 4 53 m apart and there is 491 32 mV difference between them Once positioned each cursor also has a colored horizontal and vertical line to help the 4 53 491 32 operator quickly locate them These can be seen in Figure 10 on the next page Figure 7 Cursor Position Controls Section 6 3 Using the Cursors to Zoom To quickly zoom in on a smaller portion of the waveform the ZOOM button shown in Figure 7 above can be used This fits the horizontal scale of the Waveform Display Area to an area slightly wider than the position of the cursors User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 7 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 6 4 Calibration Controls All HYPERLABS TDRSs have auto calibration features and the instrument automatically calibrates on software
11. ing that time and Calibration in Progress will be shown in the top right corner When calibration is complete a Calibration Done message will appear If the installation was successful the operator will see the user interface shown on the following page If any error messages are shown please make sure that the instrument is plugged in and the drivers installed see Sections 1 2 above before contacting HYPERALBS for additional support NOTE All HYPERLABS instruments include free lifetime software upgrades The installed software version is shown in the top left corner of the HL TDR software above the Scaling control Please check our website regularly for updated versions which include the latest features described here User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 2 5 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 4 Overview of HL TDR Software Controls When the HL TDR software is running the user will see a screen similar to Figure 1 below which has been marked up to highlight the important software features and controls HL TOR for HL1101 Calibration Done I7 Acquire Continuously Average Record Length sh Z 1024 4 0 45 50 55 60 65 7 0 75 80 85 Round Trip m gt al ielectri Pe ee E b25 n as P easreercar Cable Type Figure 1 Startup Scre
12. m installation directory The HL TDR software does not currently allow the user to change the file location while saving To retrieve a previously stored waveform follow these steps 1 Click the RECALL button 2 Navigate to the program installation directory or other location where the waveforms have been saved choose the file and click Select 3 The stored waveform will be displayed in green with the black waveform of the current device under test User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 8 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 6 7 Comparing Active Waveforms to Stored Waveforms Figure 10 below shows a coax cable in open under test magenta compared against the stored waveform green of a cable with a short at the far end connector Note how these two waveforms are immediately discernable to the naked eye BE Messages Calibration Done I Acquire Continuously HL1101 v1 1 0 Scaling MANUAL Y Axis anv Y max f500 00 min Sf 500 00 Cursor 1 Average Record Length sft Sfio24 ese sete Lee Cea ae a A S o5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 9598 xadis Distancem Round Trip im P Sheeehbaeseusgaeeeeeas g7 R o 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 380 380 400 Prev
13. o the internet or not configured for automatic driver installation the FTDI drivers must be manually installed Please visit the following page to download the latest version of the FTDI drivers http www ftdichip com Drivers D2XX htm If the program states it cannot find FTD2xx dll download the driver package at the address above extract the ZIP file and copy the FTD2xx dll file into the installation directory listed below Once the FTDI driver is installed the HL TDR software can be installed by running setup exe in the included install package If the package is in compressed zip format all files must be extracted prior to installation By default the software will install to the following directory where HLxxxx is the model number e For all versions of Windows C HYPERLABS HLxxxx During installation the user may elect to install to a different directory No other user options are available during the installation process Section 3 Software Startup Each instrument model has its own build of the HL TDR software customized for that instrument s speed and number of channels The software packages are not cross compatible with other models The executable for each instrument will be the same as the instrument model number e g HL1101 exe for the HL1101 model The instrument is calibrated at startup a process that takes 5 10 seconds The software will not be responsive to user input dur
14. s 13 1 Figure 6 Table of Dielectric Constants for Common Materials User Manual for HYPERLABS TDRs and HL TDR Software Page 6 4 HYPERLABS Innovation at Hyperspeed since 1992 Section 6 Waveform Display Area The HL TDR software presents data in both visual and numerical formats The acquired waveform is displayed graphically in the main portion of the screen This User Manual does not cover tips for understanding and interpreting waveforms encountered in specific instrument applications Given the variation of instruments test environments and outcomes instruction in this area is provided in Application Guides found on our website http www hyperlabsinc com application guides aspx Section 6 1 Positioning the Cursors A pair of cursors can be used to take numerical readings at any point along the waveform These cursors are positioned via drag and drop and automatically snap to the closest point on the waveform Cursor 1 is blue while Cursor 2 is red NOTE Because the cursors automatically snap to the waveform it may be difficult to position the cursors or obtain accurate values when the instrument is set to continuous acquisition mode We recommend switching to manual acquisition mode see Section 5 4 above prior to positioning the cursors Section 6 2 Horizontal and Vertical Cursor Values Values for cursor positions are provided in the X Y format In the example shown in F
15. startup Manual calibration can be performed by clicking one of the buttons shown in Figure 8 at right Figure 8 Calibration Controls The CALIBRATE button performs a full instrument calibration including the vertical and time base calibration This may take up to 10 seconds to complete and a confirmation message will be shown when it s done The VERT CAL button performs a simple vertical calibration based on the internal reference cable of the instrument This calibration happens instantly and no confirmation message is shown on completion Section 6 5 SETREF Functionality The SETREF feature shown in Figure 9 below is not currently available as of HL TDR Version 1 1 This functionality will be added in the near future Section 6 6 Storing and Retrieving Waveforms Individual waveforms can be stored for later reference and retrieved using the panel shown in Figure 9 at right In applications where all devices are expected to conform to pre defined specifications each unit can be quickly compared against a known standard SETREF RESET 1 Connect the instrument to the device whose waveform you wish to Figure 9 Controls for To store a waveform follow these steps Manipulating Waveforms store and acquire a waveform 2 Click the SAVE button 3 Inthe prompt that says Enter File ID enter a filename for the stored waveform NOTE Stored waveforms does not have a file extension and are saved to the progra
16. tions shown in closer detail in Figure 2 at right The Y Axis control changes the units displayed on the vertical axis of the Waveform Display Area Different vertical units provide different types of information about the device under test For recommendations on which units to use in specific test environments please reference Figure 3 below or contact HYPERLABS The top button can be toggled between AUTO which scales the vertical axis automatically based on the waveform values and MANUAL which constrains the display based on the selected Y max and Y min values Suggested values for Y max and Y min depend on the selected vertical unit and can also be found in Figure 3 below NOTE When the software is in MANUAL mode the Y max and Y min values do not automatically scale to the recommended values when the user switches units This can cause the waveform to become unreadably large or small relative to the vertical scale Be Figure 2 sure to readjust the Y max and Y min values once the desired unit is selected Close up of Y axis Scale and Units Controls UNITS Y max Ymin Description mV millivolts 250 250 Default setting measures the voltage of the 250 mV pulse sent by the instrument Normalized Voltage 2 0 0 0 Voltage represented as a fractional value where 0 indicates no reflection 1 0 indicates the full 250 mV is reflected and 2 0 indicates an open Impedance Q 500 0 0 Impedance in o
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