ACTERNA’s cable leakage meters elim-
inate the need for complicated calcu-
lations during field RF leakage meas-
urements. A complete set of antenna
factors is stored in the meter’s internal
memory. The various antennas are
keypad-selectable from the leakage
meter display screen. Your leakage
meter will perform all field strength
calculations automatically, displaying
the correct result in microvolts per
meter. In addition, your leakage meter
provides a custom antenna factor
entry for those who wish to supply
their own antenna factors.
Remember: If you remove the CLI-
1450 or CLI-1750 from the docking
station after it had been connected to
the VMA-3 monopole, you must
change the antenna type displayed on
your meter to the antenna type you
are currently using for the walk-about
(e.g. dipole).
3-15
~ Antennas
Selecting the correct antenna for
cable leakage detection is as impor-
tant of a decision as choosing a quali-
ty leak detection meter. Antenna sys-
tems are among the most important
and often least understood aspects of
leakage field strength measurement.
Understanding the characteristics and
use of the various types of leakage
measurement antennas is essential if
accurate measurements are to be
made. A variety of antennas can be
used for the purpose of locating and
pinpointing cable system leaks.
How Antennas Work
The major function of an antenna is to
receive or radiate RF signals. Therefore,
different types of antennas are rated
based on their gain, and polarization.
The term gain refers to the antenna’s
ability to pick up signals better than
another antenna type. The gain value
assigned to an antenna is determined
by comparing its reception ability to an
idealistic theoretical reference antenna
called an isotropic radiator (see dia-
gram on next page). An isotropic
antenna produces a perfectly uniform
radiation pattern in three dimensions
“emitting the same amount of energy
in all directions”. Since the isotropic
antenna does not exist in the real
world, it is used as a standard for com-
paring different types of antennas.
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