Gigahertz Solutions NFA 1000 User manual

Made in Germany
NFA 1000
NFA 400
3D Low Frequency
Analyzer
with Data Logger
NFAsoft
Analysis and
Configuration
Software
Operating Manual
Version 7.3

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Thank you!
We thank you for the confidence you have shown by buying this product. It allows
for a professional analysis of AC electric and AC magnetic fields according to inter-
nationally recognized guidelines and the recommendations of the building biology.
In addition to this manual you can watch the tutorial videos on our channel on
youtube.com concerning the use of this meter.
Please note:
The only significant difference between the NFA 1000 and the NFA 400 in this man-
ual is the fact that the NFA 1000 allows a three-dimensional potentialfree measure-
ment of the E-field, while the NFA 400 can only be used for one-dimensional poten-
tialfree measurements of the E-field. This distinction is specified in detail in the rele-
vant chapters.

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Contents
1 Quick Start Guide ............................................................................................ 2
2 NFA 1000 Front Cover..................................................................................... 3
3 LEDs / Display / Audio Signals ........................................................................ 4
4 Switches / Push-Buttons / Connectors ........................................................... 7
5 How to Measure and Data-Log ......................................................................13
6 Power Supply .................................................................................................15
7 „NFAsoft“........................................................................................................17
8 Firmware-Update............................................................................................24
9 What if… (FAQ) ...............................................................................................25
Do not leave in the hot car,
protect from humidity,
do not wipe or touch display foil!
(details on page 29)
This manual is based on the firmware version 75 and NFAsoft version 172.
The firmware and software of the NFA will be continuously improved and made available via e-mail or download
from our homepage.

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1 Quick Start Guide
The instructions below refer to the factory default settings. These settings can easily
be customized with the help of the supplied software „NFAsoft“.
When switching on the instrument the LCD will briefly show “batt” and the remaining
operation time with the current capacity of the batteries (you may need to switch off
the NFA after a couple of minutes and on again in order to update the information
(see page 2)).
Set all switches to their top position! (Auto, tRMS, M3D and On)
With these settings and the mode button, one can easily start the conventional
measurement process, without detailed knowledge of the instrument´s features.
The LCD display will now indicate the isotropic (3D) AC magnetic field strength as
the primary measurement. The coloured frequency LEDs above the LCD display
show the active frequencies, the red LED indicating the dominant one. The dominant
axis x, y or z is indicated by a red LED on the right of the LCD display. That’s it – no
further switches or steps needed.
NFA 1000:
To measure the E-field with ground-reference (1D) simply connect the grounding
cable. The NFA detects the attached cable and automatically shows the corre-
sponding AC electric field strengths and frequencies. The E-field measurement will
now be displayed as the primary measurement and the 3D magnetic field as the
secondary. By depressing the ‘mode’ button you can easily switch from this to the
3D magnetic field on the display.
To measure the three dimensional potential-free AC electric field, switch to E3D
and fix the instrument onto a potential-free rod or onto a support. By pressing the
‘mode’ button you can easily switch from this to the Z-axis of the AC magnetic field
on the display.
NFA 400:
For an E-field measurement, simply switch to Ey. You now have two possibilities:
 If the grounding cable is plugged in and connected to the ground potential,
you are measuring “against ground”.
 If you attach the meter to a potentialfree rod or place it onto a support, you
are measuring “potential free”.
Press the ‘mode’ button to switch from this to the 3D magnetic field on the display.
Should the meter not do what you expect, please turn to the chapter on FAQs (fre-
quently asked questions) at the end of this manual (Chapter 9)!
Note:
For potential-free E-field-measurements the highest accuracy will be reached when used without the yellow
silicone holster.
To allow a simplified freehand measurement, the meter is pre-adjusted with a 16 Hz high pass filter for the mag-
netic field and a 50 Hz high pass filter for the electric field (see page 23 for measurements from 5 Hz onwards).

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2 Front Cover NFA 1000 and NFA 400
Analogous front cover for NFA 1000 and NFA 400
NFA 400: „Ey“
12-15 V
Y
X
Z
Power
Signal
Made in Germany
R
GIGAHERTZ
Mode
NFA 1000
3D-NF-Analyser
5 Hz - 1000 kHz
Freq.
AC/DC
Peak
Rec.
Mode
mV
nT
mG
V/m
Band
E3D
M3D
tRMS
Auto
XYZ
On
Off
Log
I/O
X
Y
Z
Hold
/
TCO-Band I II

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3 LEDs / Display / Audio Signals
3.1 LEDs and Display
The measured value shown on the display...
…is the unit adjacent to the solid green LED (primary measurement).
A flashing LED indicates the unit of the secondary measurement, which
can be selected by depressing the “Mode>” button.
In fields of very high magnetic intensity, the value will be displayed in uT
(microTesla), indicated by the red LED “X 1000”. Also the green LED will
then turn red indicating a change of scale. Both LEDs will start flashing red when the
measured values are higher than the instrument can display. Similarly, when meas-
uring body voltage, a change from mV to V for higher values is indicated.
Special LCD Display Messages
“Low Batt“: The rechargeable battery is low – please charge the battery
“Err.“: Short for ‘Error’. Indicates an erroneous configuration. This can occur when a
grounding cable or mains adapter is connected and potential-free E-field measure-
ment is selected. Select a different setting!
„----“: Instrument is in the process of determining the measurement, or the value is
too small to be measured.
„CHAr“: Instrument is being charged.
(For technical reasons “FULL” will be shown shortly before this, which is to be ignored)
„FULL“: During the charging process, with the mains adaptor connected, this indi-
cation means: charging process completed, battery loaded. During normal opera-
tion, however, “FULL” means the SD memory card is full.
„nbAt“: The processor cannot recognize the battery (see the note below)
The Time indications are set up as follows:
„XXXd“: XXX days or
„Xd.XX“: X days and XX hours or
„XX.XX“: XX hours and XX minutes.
„XX.XX“: (with blinking dot): XX minutes und XX seconds.
Elapsed time will be shown when switching on and while logging.
Please note: when switched on, the NFA will normally show the remaining battery
life. However certain events may cause wrong times, “00:00” or “nbAt” to be dis-
played. In that case please leave the meter switched on for a few minutes to perform
its calibration algorithm, then switch off and back on to display the updated battery
life for the “Log” mode. If case the false readings persist, please check chapter 9 for
further information.

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Status LED
The “Status” LED indicates the current mode of operation
“Red” means “instrument is being charged”.
“Yellow” means “measurement in progress, NO recording”.
“Green” means “measurement in progress WITH recording”,
Note: with the switch set to “Log.”, the “Status”-LED is switched off after a short while, in order to extend bat-
tery life.
LEDs to indicate the applicable frequency bands:
The frequency-LEDs change their colour in propor-
tion to their contribution to the total field strength.
See below for details on LED display modes.
”16.7 Hz“: In use for railway lines in some Europe-
an countries. The reading also includes the 2nd
harmonic.
”50/60 Hz“1:Mains frequency. The bandwidth only
covers individual frequencies of 50 Hz and 60 Hz with their respective lock-in rang-
es.
”100/120 Hz“1: This LED indicates the contribution of the second through fourth
“even” harmonics. The strongest frequency can be numerically displayed when using “Freq” mode.
”150/180 Hz“1: This LED indicates the contribution of the third through fourth “une-
ven” harmonics. The third harmonics will presently be found in many homes and most offices as a signifi-
cant portion of the total measurement. The frequency of the strongest source can be numerically displayed when
using “Freq”.
”R < 2kHz“: Means “Remainder of frequencies below 2 kHz”.
This LED does not show the whole band, but only the sum of all frequencies below 2 kHz which are not covered
by the LEDs on the left.
”> 2kHz“: Comprises frequencies within the upper TCO-band of 2 KHz up to 1 MHz.
“x 1000”-LED
Turns red when the measurement scale increases.
1The NFA automatically detects the mains frequency and adjusts the indication of its harmonics. With “Freq.”
the actual mains frequency can be determined exactly. The LED’s for 16.7 Hz, mains frequency and its harmon-
ics up to 2 kHz have a suitable lock-in range to cover mains fluctuations.

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There are two display modes for the frequency-LEDs:
“Simple/Steady“: (= preset)2
The red LED represents the strongest frequency , and the yellow LED the second
strongest. The green LEDs indicate the total frequency range in the current setting.
“Full Information/Volatile”: This makes the LEDs rather unsteady/volatile. (To be
configured with NFAsoft)
The proportion of the respective frequency band in relation to the total signal is be-
ing displayed. These proportions are shown as follows3:
RED = DOMINANT (> 50%)
YELLOW = MEDIUM (< 50%)
GREEN = SMALL (< 10%)
3.2 Audio Signal
The acoustic signal is always linked to the respective measured value and has a
„Geiger Counter” characteristic, i. e. an increasing signal intensity will in turn cause
an accelerated rattling sound.
If the “Mode”-switch is set to „ /“, press the ‘Mode >’ button to turn the volume
up and the ‘Rec. >’ button to turn the volume down (and finally: off), as long as no
grounding cable is connected to the instrument.
Please note: For extra-precise measurement requirements turn the acoustic signal
volume down or even switch it off completely.
2 In order to allow for less fluctuations in this mode an internal high pass filter is switched on. With NFAsoft it can
be configurated to 16.7 and 50 Hz. Experience has shown that the best combination for a freehand measure-
ment is a filter set to 16.7 Hz for magnetic fields and to 50 Hz for electric fields. Electric fields of the 16.7 Hz
railway line power frequency (in some European countries) are quite rare indoors and can still be evaluated in the
“band” mode. They can still be separately evaluated with NFAsoft.
3To make it more ergonomic for the user, frequencies below the nominal display resolution (that is < 0.1 V/m or
< 1 nT) are not indicated by an LED-signal but will still be recorded down to the noise level. Hysteresis: 9/12%
resp. 45/50%.

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4 Switches /Push-Buttons / Connectors
4.1 On / Off switch (“Power“)
“On” = Standard Measurement Setting
LEDs and acoustic signal remain activated for manual measurements when you
switch to “Log” until the Status-LED is lit green, logging continues even when you
switch back to “On”.
“Log” = Logging / long term recording
All LEDs and the acoustic signal are deactivated to save battery life during data log-
ging.
“Off” = Device is off
4.2 Field Selection for 3D Measurement
M3D = Magnetic field measurement (3D)
The isotropic point or magnetic field sensors are below the coordinate
system printed on the meter faceplate. The dominating axis is indicated
by a red LED next to the display.
XYZ = Axis indication
Here, the NFA 1000 will show either the magnetic or the electric field in its three in-
dividual components depending on the field type from which the switch was set to
“XYZ”, whereas the NFA 400 will only show the individual components of the mag-
netic field. Press the ‘Mode >’ button to switch from one axis to the other. Please
see chapter 4.9 for details to this or to the automated scrolling.
E3D(NFA1000) / Ey(NFA400) = Potential-free E-field measurement
The field sensor pairs for the X-, Y- and Z-axis (directions correspond to the imprint)
are situated within the meter close to the housing. For a proper measurement the
meter has to be set up more than 12 inches away from any metal objects on an in-
sulated “holder” (accessory PM1) or held with an insulated rod (mounting aid PM5s).
Also cables or probes must not be connected during this measurement setting. In
the case of an erroneous configuration, the display will indicate “Err.” until the con-
figuration is corrected or the setting is changed to magnetic field measurement. The
Y
X
Z

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measuring person should avoid hectic movements and keep a distance of at least
1.5 m to the object of measurement.
For E-field measurements against earth potential, please plug in the grounding cable
and
- switch to “M3D” (automatic adjustment) on the NFA 1000
- switch to “Ey” on the NFA 400.
4.3 Sockets for Inputs and Grounding
AC/DC = Combined AC/DC-Input
The moment you connect an external sensor, its signal will automatically be
displayed in mV and logged if required. When Recording, make sure the “Mode”
switch is set to “Auto”. This input is protected from overvoltage conditions for both
AC and DC sources.
 AC: A displayed value of 2000 corresponds to an AC signal of
“1Vpeak to peak”. The AC portion is still under development4.
 DC: It can linearly display and log signals from +/- 0.1 to +/- 1500mV, i.e. with an
HF59B connected and set to coarse (adjust to 1V), the values recorded will be
between 1µW/m² and approx. 30,000 W/m². The value will be displayed in mV5.
For logging high frequencies please make sure to remember the settings of the con-
nected HF-Analyser, as they will not be registered by the NFA. You may use the au-
dio note feature for that.
This input can also be used for the connection of an optionally available magneto-
static and electrostatic sensor.
= Input socket for body voltage hand probe
Input for the connection of a hand probe for the measurement of body voltage in
mV. The connector is a 4 mm banana jack. For displaying and recording, set the
“Mode”-switch to /and plug in the grounding cable.
This is the only input which cannot be recognized automatically (being single-pole).
= Socket for the grounding cable
Allows the connection of a grounding cable for an E-field measurement with refer-
ence to ground (in compliance with TCO). This will be detected automatically by the
instrument and the display will change to E-field with reference to ground corre-
spondingly.
4Note: The AC-functionality is not yet been fully qualified and is presented as is. The information produced by
the frequency decomposition of a demodulated pulsed HF signal will, of course, not provide any useful data.
5For all measurement ranges, even when using an attenuator or amplifier, NFAsoft offers a comfortable conver-
sion tool. The random noise will make it impossible to properly display or record measurement values below
0.1µW/m², though.