Agilent Technologies 8163A - Calibrating the Return Loss Module

Getting Started With Return Loss Return Loss Measurement
Agilent 8163A Lightwave Multimeter, Agilent 8164A Lightwave Measurement System, & Agilent 8166A Lightwave
Multichannel System, Fourth Edition
137
2 Make sure that the source is inactive and that you have covered the end of the
patchcord to prevent light being coupled into the end. Move to the Return Loss
module channel and press [Zero] to remove electrical offsets in the instrument.
3 Move to the [AvgTime] parameter (the measurement averaging time). Make
sure that the selected averaging time is suitable for your measurements. You
should use at least 200 ms, but you should increase this to at least 1 s for return
losses greater than 50 dB. Longer averaging times give more accurate results,
but decrease the speed at which the instrument measures.
4 Move to [λ] and set this parameter to the actual wavelength of the laser source.
5 Enable the source.
Calibrating the Return Loss Module
To measure insertion loss and the front panel delta, see “Calculating the Front
Panel Delta” on page 149, you must measure the return loss of a reference cable.
You must first calibrate the return loss module using the Agilent 81000BR
reference reflector. Once you have calibrated a reference cable, you can use this
reference cable, in future, to calibrate the return loss module as described in
“Measuring the Reflection Reference using a Reference Cable” on page 140.
Figure 88 Agilent 81634A Details Screen