Birds' SiteHawk SK-200-TC Antenna and Cable Analyzer Detects and Finds the Location of Transmission Line and Antenna Problems

SOLON, OH, December 1, 2015--Bird Technologies, a leading provider of RF components, subsystems, test equipment, and services, today introduced the SiteHawk SK-200-TC hand-held antenna and cable analyzer that operates from 300 kHz to 200 MHz. The instrument makes it simple to detect problems in coaxial transmission lines and antenna systems and pinpoint their source using distance-to-fault measurements.

The SiteHawk SK-200-TC provides all of the measurement capabilities required to evaluate the performance of a communication system’s transmission path, and has the same features as its higher-frequency counterpart, Bird’s SiteHawk SK-4000-TC, which operates over a frequency range of 85 MHz to 4000 MHz. The SiteHawk SK-200-TC is a rugged, compact instrument, measuring only 7.2 x 3.8 x 1.9 in. and weighing 2 lb. that is easy to use by novices and veterans alike. It has an intuitive user interface displayed on its high-resolution TFT LCD color display that is readable in bright sunlight, and has 16 Gbytes of internal flash memory for storing thousands of traces and measurement setups.

The distance-to-fault measurement indicates VSWR or return loss at various points from the beginning of the transmission line all the way to the antenna and identifies the location of a problem with high resolution. The cable loss function measures insertion loss of the transmission line over a given frequency range.

The instrument makes fast swept measurements at up to 0.25 ms per data point of return loss and cable loss as well as VSWR and distance to fault and allows users to set trace capture using 51, 101, 201, 401, 801, 1601 or 3201 data points per sweep. Both X and Y scales as well as measurement units can be changed by the user as can a pass-fail limit with visual indicator for quick “go/no-go” indications. There are six user-selectable markers for direct or difference measurements that can be referenced to the limit line or a recalled trace. A measurement-hold feature also allows a trace to be stored temporarily for analysis.

Pricing and Availability

The SiteHawk SK-200-TC is priced at $2,950 and includes an AC adapter, hard and soft carrying cases, USB cable, coaxial cable, 8-Gbyte USB thumb drive for exporting measurement data, updating firmware, and battery charging, and is backed by a three-year limited warranty. It is available now from Bird or Bird distributors.