Mohr CT100B Series User manual

Operator’s Manual:
CT100B Series
TDR Cable Analyzers
For Software Version 2.15
Part No.: CT100B-M-OM-008
CAGE Code: 4JEE1
Revision Date: 2018.12.10


Copyright Notice
Copyright ©2008-2018 MOHR Test and Measurement LLC (MOHR). All rights reserved.
Reproduction of this manual in print and electronic form is authorized for U.S. Government
purposes only. This manual may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed,
published, or broadcast in any form or medium by any other party without written permission
from MOHR.
MOHR products are covered by U.S. and foreign patents, issued and pending. Information in
this publication supersedes all previously published material. MOHR reserves the right to
change product specifications or pricing at any time without notice.
This manual contains trademarks and material copyrighted or patented by MOHR and other
third parties. All marks, copyrights, trade secrets, and patents should be considered to be the
property of their respective owners and all rights are reserved. Nothing contained herein shall be
construed by implication, estoppels, or otherwise as granting to the user a license under any
copyright, trademark, patent, or other intellectual property right of MOHR or any third party.
Statutory notice contained herein represents trademark status in the United States.
MOHR Test and Measurement LLC, 2105 Henderson Loop, Richland, WA 99354 USA
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual i


Manual Updates
We at MOHR are always working to improve the written materials we offer to our valued
customers. Since our last printing, there may have been minor updates to this manual.
To view our most recent manual revision, open the accompanying CT Viewer 2 DVD, or visit us
online at www.mohrtm.com. (Please click on Products, CT100, Downloads.)
Date and Time Generated 10th Dec, 2018 2:21pm
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual iii


Warranty
Purchase and/or use of this product signifies your agreement to the terms of this Warranty.
MOHR Test and Measurement LLC (MOHR) warrants that this product will be free from
defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of shipment
unless otherwise stated in writing by MOHR. If any such product proves defective during this
warranty period, MOHR, at its option, will either repair the defective product without charge
for parts and labor, or will provide a replacement in exchange for the defective product.
MOHR’s liability and Buyer’s remedies under this Warranty shall be limited solely to repair,
replacement, or credit.
In order to obtain service under this Warranty, customers must notify MOHR of the defect
before the expiration of the warranty period and make suitable arrangements for the
performance of service. Customers shall be responsible for packaging and shipping the defective
product to MOHR with shipping charges prepaid. Customers shall be responsible for paying all
return shipping charges, duties, taxes, and other charges for units returned to any location.
Customers shall be responsible for removing and reinstalling the equipment and for any
decontamination procedures that may be necessary in preparation for shipment.
THIS WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ANY OTHER WARRANTIES,
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
MOHR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FOR
CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
LABOR COSTS OR LOSS OF PROFITS, DAMAGE TO PERSONS OR PROPERTY
ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USED PRODUCTS
PURCHASED FROM MOHR.
Specific limitations of this Warranty:
This Warranty only applies to normal and reasonable use of this product. Damage
to this product resulting from improper use, the determination of which is solely at
the discretion of MOHR, is specifically excluded from this Warranty.
Any electrical damage to this product resulting from connection of a cable or
device carrying a static electrical charge to the front panel BNC connector or SMA
connector without first properly grounding the conducting elements of the cable or
device is specifically excluded from this Warranty.
Any Electrical damage to this product resulting from connection of a cable or
device carrying an electrical signal or other non-zero electrical potential relative to
earth ground to the front panel BNC connector or SMA connector is specifically
excluded from this Warranty.
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual v


Contacting MOHR
Phone
+1-888-852-0408
Mail
MOHR Test and Measurement LLC
2105 Henderson Loop
Richland, WA 99354
USA
E-mail
Sales: [email protected]
Web
www.mohrtm.com
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual vii


Table of Contents
Copyright Notice i
Manual Updates iii
Warranty v
Contacting MOHR vii
Table of Contents ix
List of Figures xiii
List of Tables xv
1. General Information 1
1.1. Product Description . . . . . . . 1
1.2. Power Requirements . . . . . . . 1
1.3. Options and Accessories . . . . . 1
1.4. Unpacking and Initial Inspection 2
1.5. Repacking for Shipment . . . . . 2
2. Safety Summary 3
2.1. Terms in the Manual . . . . . . . 3
2.2. Terms on the CT100B . . . . . . 3
2.2.1. DANGER . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.2. WARNING . . . . . . . . 3
2.2.3. CAUTION . . . . . . . . 3
2.3. Symbols in the Manual . . . . . . 4
2.4. Symbols on the CT100B . . . . . 4
2.5. Static Charge . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.6. Fuses................ 5
2.7. AC Power Source . . . . . . . . . 5
2.8. Grounding the CT100B . . . . . 6
2.9. Danger Arising From Loss of
Ground .............. 6
2.10. Explosive Atmospheres . . . . . . 6
2.11. Do Not Remove Covers or Panels 7
2.12. Connecting Cables to the Test Port 7
2.13. Battery Replacement and Disposal 7
3. Operating Instructions 9
3.1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1.1. Handling . . . . . . . . . 9
3.1.2. Powering the CT100B . . 9
3.1.3. Caring for the Battery . . 10
3.1.4. Charging and Power Status 10
3.1.5. Batteries and Long-Term
Storage . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.1.6. Low Battery . . . . . . . 10
3.1.7. Nameplate . . . . . . . . 11
3.1.8. Discharge Warning Label 11
3.2. License Codes . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.3. Preparing to Use the CT100B . . 11
3.4. Front Panel Controls and Con-
nectors............... 12
3.5. Rear Panel Connectors and
Switches.............. 13
3.6. Keyboard Alternate Controls . . 14
3.7. Setting up the CT100B . . . . . 14
3.7.1. Setting Date and Time . . 14
3.7.2. Navigating Dialog Boxes . 15
3.8. Display Features . . . . . . . . . 15
3.9. Menu Selections and Function
Buttons .............. 16
3.9.1. M-FUNC Button . . . . . 16
3.9.2. SCAN Button Menu . . . 16
3.9.3. SELECT Button . . . . . 19
3.9.4. AUTOFIT/HELP Button 19
3.9.5. CURSOR Button . . . . . 19
3.9.6. FILE Button and Menu . 19
3.9.7. “Blue” MENU Button
and Top-Level Menu . . . 20
3.10. Test Preparations . . . . . . . . . 27
3.10.1. Connecting to the Ca-
ble or Device-Under-Test
(DUT)........... 27
3.10.2. Change Velocity of Prop-
agation (Vp) . . . . . . . 28
3.10.3. Find an Unknown Veloc-
ity of Propagation (Vp) . 29
3.10.4. Smooth Settings . . . . . 29
3.10.5. Sample Resolution . . . . 30
3.10.6. Temperature Correction . 32
3.11. Test Procedures . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.11.1. Measure Distance-to-
Fault (DTF) . . . . . . . 32
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual ix

Table of Contents
3.11.2. Relative Distance and
DTF Measurements . . . 33
3.11.3. Multi-Segment Cable
DTF Measurements . . . 34
3.11.4. Ohms-at-Cursor Mea-
surements . . . . . . . . . 35
3.11.5. Scan a Cable . . . . . . . 36
3.11.6. Select a Trace . . . . . . . 37
3.11.7. Store a Trace . . . . . . . 38
3.11.8. Load a Trace (Cable
Records) . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.11.9. Storing, Transferring,
and Deleting Traces . . . 41
3.11.10.Mask Testing . . . . . . . 42
3.11.11.Envelope Plot (Tran-
sient/Intermittent Fault
Detection) . . . . . . . . . 44
3.11.12.Difference (Subtraction)
Traces . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.11.13.First Derivative (Slope)
Traces . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.11.14.Second and Higher Order
Derivative Traces . . . . . 47
3.11.15.Vertical Reference (Vert.
Ref.) Calibration . . . . . 47
3.11.16.Cable Resistive Loss Cor-
rection . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.11.17.Return Loss (S11) Traces 49
3.11.18.Return Loss (S11)Options 50
3.11.19.Improving S-Parameter
Measurements . . . . . . 54
3.11.20.Smith Charts . . . . . . . 54
3.11.21.Normalized TDR Traces . 56
3.11.22.Vertical Units . . . . . . . 57
3.11.23.Layer Peeling (Dynamic
Deconvolution) Traces . . 58
3.11.24.Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT) Traces . . . . . . . 59
3.11.25.Web Export . . . . . . . . 59
3.11.26.Remote Control . . . . . . 60
3.11.27.Cable Type Library . . . 60
3.11.28.Other Measurement Set-
tings............ 60
3.11.29.User Configurations . . . 61
3.11.30.Take a Screenshot . . . . 62
4. CT Viewer 63
4.1. Sending Saved Traces to a Com-
puter................ 63
4.1.1. Send Saved Traces with a
Thumb Drive . . . . . . . 63
4.1.2. Send Saved Traces over
USB............ 64
4.1.3. Send Saved Traces Using
Ethernet . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.1.4. Using Remote Control . . 66
4.1.5. Record and Playback
Real-Time TDR Trace
Movies . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5. TDR Measurement Theory 67
5.1. Time-Domain Reflectometry
(TDR)............... 67
5.2. Reflection Coefficients . . . . . . 67
5.3. Common Types of TDR Cable
Faults ............... 68
5.4. Velocity of Propagation (VoP, Vp) 70
5.5. Distance-to-Fault (DTF) and
Cable Length . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.6. Impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
5.7. Return Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.8. VSWR............... 73
5.9. Rise Time and Spatial Resolution 74
5.10. Timebase/Cursor/Horizontal
Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
5.11. Frequency-Domain Measurements 76
5.11.1. Scattering Parameters . . 76
5.11.2. Return Loss (S11) . . . . 77
5.11.3. Insertion Loss (S21) . . . 77
5.11.4. Cable Loss (S21) . . . . . 77
5.12. Smith Charts . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.13. Normalized TDR Traces . . . . . 78
5.14. Layer Peeling/Dynamic Decon-
volution .............. 79
6. Options and Accessories 81
6.1. Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.2. Accessories . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
6.2.1. Service accessories
(CT100B / CT100HF) . . 81
6.2.2. Standard BNC Acces-
sories – CT100B (BNC) . 81
6.2.3. Standard SMA Acces-
sories – CT100B (SMA),
CT100HF . . . . . . . . . 82
6.2.4. Optional accessories . . . 82
A. Specifications 83
A.1. Electrical Specifications . . . . . 83
A.2. Environmental Specifications . . 84
A.3. Mechanical Specifications . . . . 84
A.4. Certifications and Compliances . 85
xCT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual

Table of Contents
B. Operating Performance Checks 87
B.1. General Information . . . . . . . 87
B.2. Required Equipment . . . . . . . 87
B.3. Getting Ready . . . . . . . . . . 88
B.4. Operator Performance Checks . . 88
C. Operator Troubleshooting 93
C.1. General Information . . . . . . . 93
C.2. Power On Test . . . . . . . . . . 93
C.3. Functional Block Diagram and
Troubleshooting Flowcharts . . . 93
C.4. Parts List . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
D. Maintenance and Service Instructions 105
D.1. Cleaning and Lubrication . . . . 105
D.2. Cleaning and Lubrication Interval 105
D.3. Battery Removal/Replacement . 105
D.4. Calibration and Calibration In-
terval ............... 105
D.5. Install CT100B License . . . . . 106
D.6. Clean Storage . . . . . . . . . . . 106
E. Vpof Common Cables 107
E.1. Cable Types . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
E.2. Dielectric Material . . . . . . . . 107
E.3. RG Standards . . . . . . . . . . . 108
E.4. MIL-C-17 Standards . . . . . . . 108
E.5. Commercial Designations . . . . 109
E.6. Twisted Pair . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Glossary 111
Index 117
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual xi


List of Figures
3.1. Example nameplate label found on back of a CT100B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2. Diagram of the CT100B front panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3. Diagram of the rear panel of the CT100B/CT100HF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.4. Screenshot showing typical features of the CT100B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.5. Clip lead adapter and controlled impedance adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.6. Screenshot showing AUTOFIT result. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.7. Use of the HORIZONTAL SCALE knob to improve Vp accuracy. . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.8. FinalVpofthecable. .................................. 30
3.9. Smoothed vs. unsmoothed traces at very small vertical scales . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.10. A small fault in a long cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.11. AUTOFIT cable. The cable termination is a short. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.12. Vertical scale used to emphasize cable fault. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.13. A zoomed in view of the cable fault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.14. Relative distance measurement between two small impedance “faults” caused by
BNCconnectors. ..................................... 34
3.15. Multi-segment cable segment with Vp of 0.400 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.16. Multi-segment cable segment with Vp of 0.850 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.17. Scan progress display with Cancel button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.18. Scan of a portion of a cable, zoomed-in vertically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.19. Selecting the live trace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.20. Selecting a scanned trace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.21. Selecting a difference trace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.22. Using the on-screen keyboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.23.Loadingatrace. ..................................... 40
3.24. A trace that passes the mask test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.25. A trace that fails the mask test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.26. Envelope Plot with Fill Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.27. Envelope Plot with Probability Density display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.28. Envelope Plot with Fill Mode, showing the range of impedance values . . . . . . . 46
3.29.Differencetrace...................................... 46
3.30.First-derivativetrace................................... 47
3.31. Resistive cable loss correction, before. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.32. Resistive cable loss correction, after. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.33. S11 returnlossplot. ................................... 51
3.34. S11 between cursors bracketing an SMA barrel adapter on the TDR trace. . . . . . 53
3.35. S11 between cursors with tightened connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.36. S11 between cursors with loosened connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.37. Using a phase stable cable to improve S-parameter measurements . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.38. Smith chart representation of open fault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
3.39. Smith chart representation of short fault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.40. Smith chart representation of a 50 ohm resistive load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
3.41. Smith chart of reactive 200 ohm load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.42. Normalized trace showing short fault in a 50 ohm cable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual xiii

List of Figures
3.43. TDR trace with impedance vertical units demonstrating vertical scale in ohms . . 58
3.44. Example layer peeling trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.1. Options under the Connect to CT Viewer menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.2. Selecting Manual Connect in the Connect to CT Viewer menu will bring up a server
menu. ........................................... 65
5.1. An open cable fault shows an upward step edge at the location of the fault. . . . . 68
5.2. A short cable fault shows a downward step edge at the location of the fault. . . . . 69
5.3. An open cable fault at 824 ft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.4. Normal SMA female barrel interconnect measuring 52.1 ohms. . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.5. Comparison of typical SMA and BNC coaxial cable interconnects. . . . . . . . . . 70
5.6. Relationship of impedance to reflection coefficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5.7. Relationship of return loss to reflection coefficient. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.8. Relationship of voltage standing wave ratio to reflection coefficient. . . . . . . . . . 74
5.9. Simulated comparison of a 90 ps rise time TDR and an 800 ps TDR . . . . . . . . 75
5.10. Comparison of S11 return loss of a 2.4 GHz WiFi patch antenna. . . . . . . . . . . 77
5.11. Impedance Smith chart relationships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
5.12. Layer peeling scattering diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
xiv CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual

List of Tables
3.1. SCANButtonandMenu. ................................ 16
3.2. MathMenu ........................................ 17
3.3. FILEButtonandMenu ................................. 19
3.4. MENUButtonandMenus................................ 20
B.1. Required Performance Check Equipment for CT100B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
B.2. Required Performance Check Equipment for CT100HF and CT100B with SMA
Option........................................... 87
C.1.PartsList .........................................104
E.1. Vp of Common Dielectric Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
E.2.VpofRGStandards ...................................108
E.3. Vp of MIL-C-17 Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
E.4. Vp of Commercial Designations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
E.5.VpofTwistedPairs ...................................109
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual xv


1. General Information
1.1. Product Description
The MOHR CT100B TDR Metallic Cable Analyzer uses a form of closed-circuit radar known as
time-domain reflectometry (TDR) to test cables for defects or “faults”. The instrument applies a
fast rise time broadband step signal to the cable under test and then measures the reflected
voltage at very short time intervals. The resultant TDR trace allows the operator to identify
changes in impedance along the length of the cable indicating the presence of faults such as
opens, shorts, kinks, defects in the shield or conductor, foreign substances such as water,
thermal damage, among others. The CT100B provides sophisticated signal processing software
that lets users analyze the frequency-domain characteristics of the TDR trace, replacing a
handheld vector network analyzer (VNA) or frequency domain reflectometer (FDR) for many
applications. With the CT100B TDR Cable Analyzer a user can detect, localize, and
characterize almost any cable fault in both the time and frequency domains.
Please note that with the release of the CT100B, the CT100HF instrument has been updated
with the CT100B hardware, firmware, and software improvements. Any reference to the
CT100B in this manual also applies to the CT100HF unless specifically stated.
1.2. Power Requirements
The CT100B may be operated using either the supplied AC adapter or internal NiMH batteries
(for a minimum six hours operating time, typical use). The internal NiMH battery charges
under AC during normal operation.
The external AC power adapter (pn CT100-AC-PS) operates on 100-240V AC at 50-60 Hz and
draws a maximum current of 1.5A. Use of a grounded AC socket (US 3-prong or EU 3-prong) is
essential for safe operation of the CT100B with the included AC power adapter. Review the
Safety Summary section before operating the CT100B.
1.3. Options and Accessories
Options and accessories available for the CT100B are described in Section 6, Options and
Accessories.
CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual 1

1. General Information
1.4. Unpacking and Initial Inspection
Before opening the shipping package containing the CT100B, first inspect it for signs of damage.
If there is evidence of damage to the shipping package, notify both the shipping carrier and
MOHR.
The shipping container should contain the CT100B and standard accessories, including this
Operator’s Manual, front panel cover, external AC adapter and power cord, soft transit case,
and calibration fixture(s). If the shipping container is intact but there are missing items or if the
CT100B is damaged, defective, or does not meet operational requirements, contact a
MOHR-authorized sales representative.
1.5. Repacking for Shipment
In the event that the CT100B needs to be shipped to a MOHR-authorized service center for
repair, calibration, or other service, contact MOHR for an RMA number. Affix a label to the
outside of the shipping container indicating:
•RMA number
•name, address, phone, and email of the owner
•name of the MOHR service representative who was contacted regarding the shipment
•serial number of the instrument
•description of the problem with the instrument and/or the desired service or maintenance
Optimally, the original shipping carton and packing material should be used to repack the
CT100B for shipment. Otherwise, the following steps should be taken:
1. Place CT100B in ESD-safe (Electro Static Discharge) Bag.
2. Wrap with 3 in. of anti-static bubble wrap or non-movable foam cushioning. DO NOT
USE packaging peanuts.
3. Place in a sturdy cardboard box and fill any additional void with packaging material. DO
NOT USE packaging peanuts.
4. Include any Purchase Orders, Work Orders, or special instructions with shipment.
5. Write the RMA number on outside packaging.
2CT100B TDR Cable Analyzers Operator’s Manual
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