Summary of the content on the page No. 1
N3970A OPTICAL POWER METER
Operating and
Maintenance Guide
Summary of the content on the page No. 2
Summary of the content on the page No. 3
■ N3970A OPTICAL POWER METER SOURCE QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE ■ To remove interchangeable connector, move interface to MANUAL OPERATION mid position, and pull off adaptor. ■ To turn on and select wavelength, push: POWER, Power ■ To defeat auto power-off, hold POWER for 3 seconds at Meter, -/+. turn on until ON and perm are displayed. ■ To display linear mode, push dBm/W. ■ To access hidden keypad, pull up display cover. ■ To display max/min values, push MAX/MIN repeatedly. Select POWER, Source, then
Summary of the content on the page No. 4
■ INTRODUCTION AND A P P L I C AT I O N S N3970A OPTICAL POWER METER Congratulations on your purchase of this instrument, which has been engineered to provide the best possible reliability, convenience and performance. To get the best use from your equipment and ensure its safe operation, please spend a few minutes to read this manual. 1
Summary of the content on the page No. 5
■ CO N T E N T S Service and Support 3 Care of your instrument 19 Introduction & applications 4-5 Accuracy considerations 20-21 Safety Summary 6-7 Calibration, maintenance & instrument r e t u rn s 22-24 Battery and external power 8 Specifications - Definition of terms 25 Optical connector 9-10 Specifications and ordering information 26-28 How to use: Performance test 29-38 Getting started and turning on 11-12 Cleaning information 39-40 Autotest operation 13-14 Cleaning procedures 41 Power meter
Summary of the content on the page No. 6
■ S E RVICE AND SUPPORT Any adjustment, maintenance, or repair of this product must be Australia 1 800 629 485 (613) 9272 0749 (Fax) p e rf o rmed by qualified personnel. Contact your customer engineer through your local Agilent Technologies Ser v i c e New Zealand 0800 738 378 Center. You can find a list of local service representatives on the 64 4 495 8950 (Fax) Web at: http://www.agilent.com/find/assist Asia-Pacific (852) 3197 7777 (852) 2506 9284 (Fax) If you do not have access to the Intern
Summary of the content on the page No. 7
■ IN T R O D U C T I O N A N D AP P L I C AT I O N S The N3970A Optical Power Meter is used for field or laboratory High operational reliability & availability is achieved with 250 testing of fiber optic systems at typically 850, 1300, 1310 and hour battery life, 3 year recommended re-calibration cycle, 1550 nm. It features superb measurement confidence, ease of negligible warm up and no range-changing delays. Dark current use and reduced cost of ownership, and is for use by installers, offset i
Summary of the content on the page No. 8
■ IN T R O D U C T I O N A N D AP P L I C AT I O N S The tone detector is very sensitive, and is useful for fiber identification, and calibrating the modulation frequency of test tone sources. The instrument has shock absorbent corners, and a tough polycarbonate housing which has passed extensive drop testing. Typical applications ■ Singlemode testing, with versatile inter c h a n g e a b l e connectors. ■ Telecom construction, maintenance, CATV, LAN and R&D applications. ■ Measurements where tr
Summary of the content on the page No. 9
■ SAFETY SUMMARY The following general safety precautions must be observed CAUTION during all phases of operation, service, and repair of this The CAUTION sign denotes a hazard. It calls attention to an instrument. Failure to comply with these precautions or with specific warnings elsewhere in this manual violates safety operating pro c e d u re, or the like, which, if not corre c t l y p e rf o rmed or adhered to, could result in damage to or standards of design, manufacture, and intended use o
Summary of the content on the page No. 10
■ SAFETY SUMMARY Initial Inspection Line Power Requirements Inspect the shipping container for damage. If there is damage to The Agilent N3970A Power Meter operates at line power when the container or Cushioning, keep them until you have checked applied to the optional external power supply N3979A 9V DC the contents of the shipment for completeness and verified the Operating Environment instrument both mechanically and electrically. The Agilent N3970A Power Meter can be operated at The Perf o rm
Summary of the content on the page No. 11
■ BATTERY AND EXTERNAL POWER The instrument is powered by two 1.5V dry batteries (Alkaline C) for For operation of the instrument by external power use Agilent an operating period of typically 250 hours or two 1.2V AC adaptor N3979A (9V DC, 1.33 A, ). rechargeable batteries for an operating period of approximately Use of the external power supply disconnects the batteries. 125 hours. Ensure that the mains supply has the correct voltage rating and Do not use lithium batteries or ot
Summary of the content on the page No. 12
■ OPTICAL CONNECTOR The optical port is mounted on a swivel, which allows the Optical connectors are precision components, and require care connector to be angled outwards for accessibility, and then in use: pushed back and covered with the snap cover to provide dirt and ■ Always clean the mating connector tip and ferrule before drop protection. mating, using approved materials. The other port can be used to store a spare interchangeable ■ This instrument can be used with both PC and APC optical
Summary of the content on the page No. 13
■ OPTICAL CONNECTOR meter inaccuracy may result. Preferred bare fiber adaptors Cleaning consist of a connector with fiber retention device. The glass power meter interface does not make contact with the If you work regularly with bare fibers, to avoid potential damage inserted connector: there is a slight air gap. Therefore it should to the meter, it is generally preferable to use an alternative not wear out, and only needs occasional cleaning. a rrangement such as a multimode pigtail with a T
Summary of the content on the page No. 14
■ GETTING ST A RTED AND TURNING ON This and following sections show you how to use your This instrument uses a menu driven keypad. The function of instrument: each button is shown on the display. Check that the correct accessories have been supplied, and an To access the optical connector, grasp a top corner of the optical connector adaptor has been fitted. If you have any instrument, and pull off the cover. The connector can be queries, call your supplier to resolve the situation. swivelled to
Summary of the content on the page No. 15
■ GETTING ST A RTED AND TURNING ON To disable or enable the buzzer, hold down SHIFT for 3 seconds. To add the carry strap: slip the end of the strap through the slit on the curved section at the back of the instrument, and secure the buckle. This instrument requires no warm up, and no user adjustment of dark current to achieve it’s specified performance. To learn how to use the instrument features, go to the next section. Should the instrument fail to turn on, the microprocessor may need re-boo
Summary of the content on the page No. 16
■ AUTOTEST OPERA T I O N General Autotest features Operation For Autotest to function, all instruments involved in the test Turn on the source and meter, and connect them with a test lead. must be Agilent Handheld instruments with an Autotest On the light source, push AUTOTEST. function. This is all that is required to start Autotest operation on the The Autotest feature performs automated measurement (and power meter. automatic λ detection) by data exchange between instruments, The meter will
Summary of the content on the page No. 17
■ AUTOTEST OPERA T I O N meter with a test lead. Set the source to Autotest mode, and then push SET REF on the meter for 3 seconds. This will store the reference at all relevant wavelengths. Either a ‘local’ or ‘remote’ reference can be stored. To exit Autotest mode, either disconnect the optical test lead, or exit Autotest mode on the light source for > 8 seconds. Refer also to manual sections on: ■ Storing and recalling readings. 14
Summary of the content on the page No. 18
■ PO W E R ME T E R OP E R AT I O N After instrument turn on, the meter will be calibrated at the last used λ. To change parameters, push POWER METER, then: To select a calibrated λ, push +/-. λ is displayed on the top right side of the display. To display relative power, push ABS/REL. The display will show dB R. To store a new reference, push SET REFfor 3 seconds. To display the stored reference value, keep ABS/REL depressed. To change the dBm display between linear and log, access the hidden
Summary of the content on the page No. 19
■ STORING & RECALLING READINGS There are various ways of storing and recording data, giving the Storing & recalling readings using non-volatile memory user flexible ways of working. They are summarised here for In Autotest, stored data includes absolute & relative values at all your convenience. possible wavelengths. Storage of reference values: A separate reference is stored for Note: To recall data, the unit must be in manual ‘power meter’ each λ and can be recalled when the instrument is ne
Summary of the content on the page No. 20
■ STORING & RECALLING READINGS The memory location is shown at the top right of the display. Read from any location: push RECALL, +/-. To display the relative value, push ABS/REL, and to display the reference, hold When storing data, the memory automatically increments to down ABS/REL. facilitate the collection of data on a job. Clear the whole memory: push CANCEL and RECALL together You can also go back and over-write particular records. for 2 seconds. CLR will display. After the data has been
