Time-domain reflectometry for beginners

Ease of use, even for those who have little experience of cable testing by reflectometry, is one of the key benefits of the new and competitively priced Megger TDR1000/2 time-domain reflectometer.

Ease of use, even for those who have little or no experience of cable testing by reflectometry, is one of the key benefits of the new and competitively priced Megger TDR1000/2 time-domain reflectometer.

Based on the popular Megger TDR1000, the new instrument offers enhanced features which include automatic event location, single-function keys, and suitability for use on live circuits without the need for separate blocking filters.

With automatic event location, the instrument determines the position of the furthest likely event, such as a cable fault, at the push of a button.

The range and gain settings are then optimised without further operator intervention, and the cursor is set to give the best possible display resolution.

The enhanced keypad design of TDR1000/2, which now has a dedicated key for each function, greatly reduces the time needed to learn how to use the instrument, and eliminates the possibility of confusion over function selection.

As supplied, the new Megger TDR1000/2 is suitable for use on 150V Category III installations, but this can now be extended to include 300V Category III installations simply by using fused test leads which are available as an optional extra.

In applications where live circuits may be encountered, this makes the TDR1000/2 much safer and more convenient to use than older instruments which needed separate blocking filters.

The TDR1000/2 also retains all of the facilities which made its predecessor so popular.

These include transmit pulse nulling, which allows faults close to the instrument to be easily located, test ranges from 10 to 3000m, and measurement resolution down to 100cm.

Selectable impedance matching from 25 to 100ohm, and velocity factor settings from 0.33 to 0.99, make the instrument suitable for testing cables of all types, in both communication and power installations.

(This was Electronicstalk's Top Story on 17 July 2002).

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