TEST & MEASUREMENT

418/433-MHz field-
strength meter
Reliable data trans- range-test and equip-
mission using a radio
link requires the trans-
ment positioning aid
mitter signal to be
received as clean as
for 70-cm SRDs
possible, and at suffi-
cient fieldstrength.
Particularly inside
buildings this is often
problematic because
of reflections and
attenuation. The field-
strength meter pre-
sented in this article is
specifically designed
for type-approved
licence-exempt
418/433 MHz short-
range signalling
devices (SRDs),
allowing the local RF
fieldstrength to be
measured, and
receivers and trans-
mitters to be installed
in favourable
positions.
Main Specifications
- Simple construction using few parts
- Simple to use
- Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of fieldstrength
- AM/FM modulation detection
- LED bar readout (dot mode)
Based on an Application Note from Heiland Electronics - Compact construction with integrated antenna
- Battery operated

Elektor Electronics 10/98

14
 of two preset potentiometers in the
1 external voltage divider. In this way,
RF input stage mixer selection the RHI and RLO pins receive
adjustable voltage levels representing
the upper and lower switching thresh-
old, which define the range of the bar-
graph readout.
The measurement input of the
LM3916, labelled SIG (pin 5), is not
connected directly to the AM output of
oscillator the SRD module, but via peak detector,
D1-C2, and a level control, P3-R4.
When a frequency-modulated trans-
mitter is being received, the level at the
AM output is virtually independent of
the modulation signal. After all, the
AF amplifier IF amplifier carrier level remains virtually constant
pulse shaper FM demodulator when FM is used. In that case, the
diode and capacitor have no function
— the diode could be replaced by a
980038 - 16 wire link, and the capacitor could be
Ub = 5V OUT omitted. The situation is different in
Figure 1. Block diagram of the case an AM transmitter is used because
The field- receiver module. This is basically ence voltage the demodulated signal then appears
strength meter is a superheterodyne receiver with source. Each at the AM output of the receiver mod-
based on a a SAW-stabilized local oscillator individual com- ule. In that case, the diode-capacitor
ready-made and an intermediate frequency of parator output combination ensures that the peak
SRD receiver 10.7 MHz. directly drives value of the demodulated signal is
module with a the associated taken as a measure of the fieldstrength.
factory-installed LED. The scale of Preset P3 allows the signal voltage to
output that supplies a voltage between the readout is linear in case of the be attenuated to some extent, enabling
0.2 V and 1 V which is logarithmically- LM3914, and logarithmic in case of the the scale factor of the LED bar to be set.
proportional to the RF signal strength LM3916. The latter scale has dB steps Because pin 9 (MODE) of the readout
at the receiver input. The receiver as usually applied in VU (volume unit) driver is not connected, the LED bar is
module type HE433/2R (UK: meters. As indicated by the block dia- operated in ‘dot’ mode, in which only
HE418/2R), by the way, is the same as gram of the LM3916 (Figure 4), the one LED lights at a time.
the one used in the 418/433 MHz Con- internal potential divider is connected The circuit is powered by a 9-V bat-
trol System described in last month’s between the pins labelled RHI (pin 6) tery in combination with a 5-volt fixed
issue. and RLO (pin 4). In the circuit of the voltage regulator type 78L05 (IC1).
The pinning of the receiver module fieldstrength meter these two pins are Instead of a regular on/off switch, a
is shown in Figure 2. The receiver is connected to an external voltage push-button is used to power the
capable of demodulating AM (ampli- divider (R1, R2, R3, P1 and P2). This instrument. After all, your in-situ field-
tude modulation) and FM (frequency divider is supplied with the reference strength readings should only take a
modulation) transmissions. For FM voltage from the receiver module few seconds at different locations.
use, the AM output doubles as the sig- (2.4 V), so that the internal reference Because the current consumption is
nal strength (S meter) output, supply- voltage of the IC is not required here. modest at just 13 mA or so, the battery
ing a direct voltage which is logarith- This is in contrast with the standard will have along life. Finally, diode D12
mically proportional to the level of the application circuit of this integrated cir- acts as a polarity reversal protection,
received RF signal. Also of good use is cuit. and LED D14 as an on/off indicator.
the 2.4-volt (±100 mV) reference volt- The output labelled REFOUT
age at pin 2 of the module. This voltage (pin 7) is therefore only connected to CONSTRUCTION
may be loaded with up to 1 mA. In the ground via resistor R5. This resistor is Provided you stick to the component
present circuit, it acts as a reference needed because the load on the mounting plan shown in Figure 5,
potential for an LED bargraph display. REFOUT pin determines the LED building the fieldstrength meter
brightness. should not cause problems.
BARGRAPH READOUT The internal voltage divider pins, If you do not have an RF signal
As you can see from the circuit dia- RHI and RLO, are taken to the wipers generator available for the final align-
gram in Figure 3, the electronics con-
sist of no more than a type-approved
and licence-exempt SRD receiver mod-
ule coupled to an LED driver IC type Technical Data
LM3916 (alternative: LM3914). This IC
accurately converts a direct voltage Receiver type: SAW-stabilized superheterodyne receiver
applied to its input into LED scale Power supply: 9-V battery (IEC6F22)
units. Many of you will be familiar Current consumption: approx. 13 mA
Receiver frequency: 433.92 MHz
with the basic operation of the
Range: 30-90 dBµV
LM3914/16, because it is often used for
Intermediate frequency: 10.7 MHz
bargraph LED readouts. Ten compara- Modulation detection: AM and FM
tors compare the input voltage with Temperature range: 0-50 ºC
discrete values supplied by a voltage Size: 142 x 57 x 24 mm
divider. As you can see, the voltage to
be divided is obtained from the refer-

Elektor Electronics 10/98 15

 as a function of the RF signal level (in
2 dBm V) available at the antenna input.
Because this characteristic was found
to be repeatable on several modules we
HE 433-2/R had on test, the possibility exist to enter
dBm V marks on the curve, where the

DATA OUT
FM/AM IN
adjustment is carried out using direct

30
AM OUT

FM OUT
voltages. This adjustment is the same

GND

GND
for the LM3914 and the LM3916 — the

VCC
ANT

REF
RM 2,54 only difference is the print around the
readout.
Connect the 9-V supply voltage to
the board (LED D14 lights), short-cir-
50 cuit the push-button contacts, and first
check the presence of the 5-V supply
980083 - 12 voltage at pin 7 of the receiver module.
Figure 2. Pinout of the Next, see if the 2.4-V reference is pre-
ment of the instru- SRD receiver module fitted in the case, how- sent at pin 5 (normal tolerance:
ment, only the cathode from Heiland Elec- ever, until it has been ±100 mV). If this value is correct, then
of diode D1 should be tronic. adjusted. the voltage at the wiper of P2 is set to
soldered — the anode The antenna con- 200 mV, and that at the wiper of P1, to
terminal remains open as yet for direct nected to the receiver input is a straight 700 mV. Because of the loading of these
voltage measurements. It is not possi- piece of solid wire with a length of two pins by the internal voltage
ble to connect the module the wrong about 17 cm (see photograph). divider in IC1 (between RHI and
way around because its pinning RLO), the two settings will interact to
matches the PCB layout. A different ADJUSTMENT some extent. Consequently, the wiper
receiver module can only be used if it As already mentioned, there exists a voltages mentioned above will only be
has an S-meter output supplying the logarithmic relationship between the achieved by alternate tweaking of the
same voltage range as the HE433/2R. local fieldstrength and the voltage level two presets.
Also, you have to take a serious look at at the AM output of the receiver mod- Next, connect the anode of D1 to
the connections to the readout circuit, ule. Using the linear the above-mentioned
the readout range, the supply voltages, LM3914, you therefore Figure 3. Circuit dia- auxiliary voltage for
etc., and, of course, the final adjust- obtain an LED scale (dB gram of the field- the adjustment of P3
ments. Unfortunately, no SRD receiver scale) with a logarith- strength meter. The (scale factor). This
modules other than the ones from Hei- mic range. The charac- module has an AM helper voltage is best
land Electronic could be tested for this teristic shown in Fig- demodulator output derived from the stabi-
design. ure 6 illustrates the supplying a voltage lized 5-volt supply line
The printed circuit board fits exactly direct voltage at the which is proportional by means of a 3.9-kΩ
in the transparent case mentioned in AM OUT output (pin 2 to the fieldstrength. series resistor and a 1-
the parts list. The board should not be of the receiver module) This S-meter voltage is kΩ preset. The wiper
processed by a LED
bargraph driver.
5V D1
3
7
M1
2 P3
5V
* see text * zie tekst
AM-OUT BAT82
F/A-IN
3 100k * voir texte * siehe Text
C1 4
FM-OUT
C2
390k

R4 C3 D11
100n HE433 MIN
2/R 330n
1 8 100n
DIG-OUT D10
6 5
REF
3 D9
1
L1
3k3

R1 9
D12
IC2 MODE 18 D8
5 L2
1N4001 78L05 5V SIG 17
6 IC1 L3
RHI 16 D7
D13 P1 7 L4
S1 REFOUT 15
R5 L5
4V7 1k D6
14
L6
3k3

0W5
LM3916 * L7 13
220Ω

R2
12 D5
R6 8 L8
REFADJ 11
BT1
820Ω

4 L9
RLO 10 D4
P2 L10
9V C4 C5
1k D3
D14 2
100µ 10µ
16V 10V
390Ω

R3
D2

MAX
980083 - 11

16 Elektor Electronics 10/98


4 LED driver type LM3916. It dif-
of the preset is then connected to the
anode of D1, and a voltage of 0.75 V is
set. According to the graph in Figure 6,
5 quality and the suitability of certain
(C) ELEKTOR
980083-1
Elektor Electronics
Figure 4. Block diagram of the
fers from the LM3914 and
3915 in respect of the values
of the resistors in the internal
voltage.
SIG input (pin 5 of IC1). LED D7 (the
one at pin 15 of IC1) should just go out,
and LED D6 (at pin 14) should start to
come on.
If you have a calibrated RF test gen-
erator available, its output is connected
to the antenna input of the receiver
module. Next, you set a generator out-
put level of 45.5 dBm, which equals
about 1.3 mV at the antenna input, or
60 dBµV across 60 Ω. D1 has to be sol-
dered in place at this point, and P1 is
adjusted to 530 mV at pin 5, as
described above.
When the LM3916 is used, the scale
shown in Figure 7 may be used, the
divisions were established on the basis
of field trials. The scale is shown at true
size for convenient copying (for private
ands personal use only).
When the LM3914 is used, the LED
scale has divisions of 5 dBµV per LED,
allowing the respective values to be
easily printed on the case.
APPLICATIONS
that direct voltage level corresponds to The fieldstrength meter is suitable for
a fieldstrength of about 60 dBµV. Next, checking the operation of AM and FM
adjust P1 to a voltage of 530 mV at the transmitters operating at 418 MHz or
433 MHz, as well as for the evaluation
of transmission paths, the absolute
range of a certain transmitter, reception
locations for a transmitter or receiver.
Also of great importance is the ability
D10
D7
D6
D14
D11
D9
D8
D5
D4
D3
D2
to spot sources of interference, and the
presence of foreign transmitter signals
C3
IC1
in the area normally covered by your
R5
own receiver system.
P3
P2
If, for example, you plan to imple-
P1
ment a wireless data transmission sys-
R4
R2
tem using SRD modules for the 70-cm
R3
band, the fieldstrength meter is
R1 installed at the planned receiver loca-
tion, and the ‘test’ push-button is
C2
pressed. If the readout already shows
D1 an indication, that is, with your own
M1
R6
transmitter switched off as yet, then
D13
another user is on the same frequency.
ROTKELE )C(
1-380089
980083-1
Obviously, this signal may interfere
C5
with that to be picked up from your
D12
own transmitter. It is a simple matter to
S1 IC2
C1
determine whether the interfering sig-
nal is AM or FM. In the case of FM, a
fixed number of LEDs will light all the
C4
time. If an AM signal is picked up, the
BT1
readout will show some variation.
-
Figure 5. Single-sided
9V
printed circuit board
designed for the
instrument.
10/98 17
18 Elektor Electronics 10/98
 COMPONENTS LIST
6 1.1
1.0 Resistors:
UOUT (V) 0.9 R1,R5 =3kΩ3
0.8 R2 =220Ω
R3 =390Ω
0.7
R4 =390kΩ
0.6 R6 =820Ω
0.5 P1,P2 =1kΩ
P3 =100kΩ
0.4
0.3 Capacitors:
0.2 C1,C3 =100nF ceramic
threshold 18 dB V approx. 8 V C2 =330nF MKT
0.1
C4 =100µF 16V radial
0.0 C5 =10µF 10V radial
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

980083 - 14 Semiconductors:
D1 =BAT82
Figure 6. Logarithmic D12 =1N4001
Weak interference and transmit the D2...D11=LED red high efficiency
characteristic of the S-
from an AM trans- results at certain inter- D14 =LED green high efficiency
meter output. The dia- D13 =4V7/500mW
mitter is generally gram shows the relation vals. In that case, it
IC1 =LM3916 (LM3914) (see text)
not a problem if you between the direct volt- will typically be suffi-
IC2 =78L05
use FM yourself. age at pin 2 of the cient if a temperature
The fieldstrength receiver module and the value is transmitted Miscellaneous:
meter also enables RF signal voltage at the every minute or so. BT1 = 9V PP3 battery with clip and
you to get an idea antenna input, measured For reliable recep- wires
how often an inter- on three modules of the tion of the kind of sig- S1 = push-button 1x make
fering transmitter is same type. nals transmitted by M1 =HE433 2/R* (UK: HE418 2/R*,
actually on the air. see text)
approved SRDs for
Case: Heddic type 222*
When the off-air 70 centimetres, a field- PCB, order code 980083-1 (see
periods are sufficiently long, there strength of about 50 dBµV is required, Readers Services page)
should not be problems if your system or about 360 µV at the receiver input.
is designed to perform measurements In many cases, a small change in the *Manufacturer: Heiland Electronics,
D-48351 Everswinkel, Germany. Tel.
(+49) 2582 7550, fax (+49) 2582
7887.

dB µV, dB and dBm

Because the values involved may be considered (logarithmic) ratios rather than
physical units, measuring and expressing relative signal levels, both RF and
AF, is easier if the dB unit is consistently applied instead of, say, millivolts, micro-
position of the receiver or the trans-
volts or milliwatts. In principle, the dB (decibel) may be used to express the
ratio of two (measured) values. For voltage and power ratios, the following basic mitter will enable them to be moved
equations apply for expressions using dB numbers (here, expressed as ‘a’): out of a ‘dead zone’.
(980083-1)

Voltage ratio a = 20 log10 (U1/U2)

Power ratio a = 10 log10 (P1/P2)

The really practical thing about this notation is that it makes calculations involv-
ing gain and attenuation figures much easier. Whereas gain and attenuation
factors have to be multiplied to arrive at the overall gain or attenuation figure
of a certain circuit or system, the same values expressed in dB are simply
added or subtracted.
A value expressed in dB always expresses a ratio between two arbitrary volt-
age or power values. In RF technology, dBµV and dBm represent two of the
most popular reference units. The first is referred to 1 µV, the second, to 1 mW.
So, a level of 20 dBm means 100 mW.
To enable two dBµV values to be compared to one another, the indi-
cation has to be based on one and the same impedance at which the voltages
have been measured. In RF technology, the reference impedance is normally
50 Ω, 60 Ω or 75 Ω (the first is the most popular).
If you are interested in knowing the exact antenna voltage in µV, this value may
be calculated using the above equation for voltages, by using the reference ON 20 45 55 65 75 85
value 1 µV for 0 dBµV.
The same applies to power levels expressed in dBm, only then the 980083 - 15
equation for power ratios is used, and a reference level of 1 mW is assumed.
Here, too, it makes no sense to compare values unless they refer to the same
impedance. Converting from dBm to dBµV and the other way around is no
problem if the impedance, Z, is known. The relation between the three units is
expressed by Figure 7. Suggested scale
(actual size) for the LED read-
P[dBm] = U[dbµV] – 10 log Z[Ω] out if the LM3916 is used.

Elektor Electronics 10/98 19