Radiodetection 3300 User manual

Model 3300
Twisted Pair/Metallic Time Domain Reflectometer
Operation Manual
250-0023-03

Thank you for purchasing Radiodetection's Model 3300 Metallic Time Domain Reflectometer.
Our goal is to provide you with a high quality troubleshooting tool which is both powerful and easy to use.
We all share a commitment to quality and excellence and will do our best to continue to provide you with
test equipment to meet your needs. Please read the operator's manual thoroughly to ensure the best results
from your TDR. As always, Radiodetection welcomes your comments and suggestions.
Radiodetection
28 Tower Road
Raymond
ME 04071
USA
Tel: [phone]
Toll Free: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION..................4
1.1 Safety Information...........................................4
1.2 Introduction ........................................................5
1.3 General Features.................................................6
SECTION 2: OPERATING PROCEDURES..............6
2.1 Theory of Operation...........................................6
2.2 Front Panel Description .....................................8
2.3 Instrument Operation........................................16
SECTION 3: TDR FUNDAMENTALS......................25
3.1 First-time Start Up............................................25
3.2 Cable Connection.............................................25
3.3 Cable Check......................................................25
3.4 Cable Impedance..............................................26
3.5 VOP ..................................................................26
3.6 Pulse Widths.....................................................28
3.7 Noise Filter / Powered Cable............................29
SECTION 4: APPLICATION NOTES........................30
4.1 Locating Splits and Resplits..............................30
4.2 Locating Bridged Taps......................................31
4.3 Moisture in Twisted Pair...................................40
4.4 Locating Intermittent Faults.............................42
SECTION 5: WAVEFORM EXAMPLES...................44
SECTION 6: MAINTENANCE................................53
SECTION 7: SPECIFICATIONS..............................55
APPENDIX A....................................................................57
APPENDIX B....................................................................58
WARRANTY
TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Safety Information
Symbols:
!Caution: Refer to accompanying
documents
Warning Any Warning sign identifies a
procedure or process, which if not
correctly followed, may result in
personal injury.
Caution Any Caution sign identifies a
procedure or process, which if not
correctly followed, may result in
equipment damage or loss of data.
Warnings
Before using, review all safety precautions. Note and ob-
serve all warning and caution statements on the equipment
and in the documentation.
Do not operate this instrument near flammable gases or
fumes.
Do not modify any part or accessory of this instrument. If
the unit is damaged, do not use. Make sure the product is
secured from use by others.
To avoid electric shock, do not remove covers or any parts
of the enclosure.
If the instrument or any associated accessory is used in
any manner not detailed by the accompanying documen-
tation, the safety of the operator may be compromised.

Caution: As with most electronic equipment, care should
be taken not to expose the equipment to extreme tempera-
tures. To ensure that your Model 3300 will be ready to use,
store the instrument indoors during extreme hot or cold
temperatures. If the instrument is stored overnight in a ser-
vice vehicle, be certain the instrument is brought to speci-
fied operating temperatures before use.
1.2 Introduction
The Model 3300 is a multipurpose metallic time domain
reflectometer, cable fault locator. Model 3300 is designed
to quickly and easily locate cable faults in metallic cables,
primarily on non-loaded twisted pair cable in the telecom-
munications industry.
Using time domain reflectometry, or cable radar, the Model
3300 transmits a signal down the cable. Impedance dis-
continuities along the length of the cable reflect some or
all of the signal energy back to the instrument. These re-
flections are measured and displayed as both a waveform
and a numeric distance to the fault.
The Model 3300 will test all types of metallic paired cables
for open, shorts, impedance discontinuities and many other
cabling problems common to the telecommunications in-
dustry.

1.3 General Features
Locates cable and connector faults in all types of twisted
pair telephone cables.
Compact, lightweight, portable.
Rugged packaging for testing in all types of weather con-
ditions.
Pre-set Ranges for quick testing.
Exclusive SUPER-STORE waveform storage.
RS-232 Port.
Automatic and manual cursor placement functions.
Intermittent Fault Detection Capabilities.
SECTION 2: OPERATING PROCEDURES
2.1 Theory of Operation
A Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR) works on the same
basic principle as radar. Pulses of energy are transmitted
down the cable under test. If the cable has a constant im-
pedance and is properly terminated, all of the energy will
be absorbed.
If the pulse reaches an impedance discontinuity, part or all
of the pulse energy is reflected back to the instrument. If
the cable is an open circuit, the reflected pulse will be in-
phase (upward reflection) with the output pulse. If the
cable is a short circuit, the reflected pulse will be out-of-
phase (downward reflection) with the output pulse.

In either case, a substantial amount of energy will be re-
flected. If it were possible to have a cable with no loss, all
of the signal energy would be reflected. The incident and
the reflected signals would look identical.
Reflections from an impedance higher than the character-
istic impedance of the cable are in-phase, or upward. Re-
flections from an impedance lower than the characteristic
impedance of the cable are out-of-phase, or downward.
Inductive faults cause the TDR to display an impedance
higher than the characteristic impedance of the cable be-
ing tested. Capacitive faults cause the TDR to display an
impedance lower than the characteristic impedance of the
cable.
The Model 3300 displays the cable under test as a digi-
tized waveform and a numeric distance readout on the Liq-
uid Crystal Display.
The digitized waveform enables the operator to view the
signature of the cable in great detail. An impedance mis-
match (opens, shorts or faults of less severity) can be iden-
tified and the distance to the fault determined.

2.2 Front Panel Description
O
I
Model 3300
*
L i n e 1 P u l s e = 1 0 0 n s e c V O P
V G a i n= 4 x
V O P = 6 5 %
L 1 : 1 5 d B R L
ttaBecnalaB
P r e s s *
f o r m e n u .
▲▼
131 ft
200
1
0
2
BACK
LIGHT
CONTRAST
CONTRAST
ZOOM
OUT
ZOOM
IN
V GAIN V GAIN
RANGE RANGE
CURSOR CURSOR
WAVEFORM
POSITION

Keypad
I/O Use the I/O key to turn the instrument on and off.
Backlight Use the backlight key to turn the electrolumi-
nescent backlight on or off.
Contrast Use the two arrow keys to change the contrast of
the LCD.
Zoom In, Zoom Out Use the two zoom keys to “zoom”
in or out on an area of interest on the waveform display.
Waveform Position Use the four arrow keys to move the
position of the waveform(s) left, right, up and down.
V Gain Use the two arrow keys to decrease and increase
the vertical waveform amplitude or gain.
Range Use the two range keys to increase and decrease
the cable distance displayed on screen. Pulse width and
vertical gain are automatically adjusted for each range.
Cursor Use the two arrow keys to move the cursor left
and right.
* A menu will pop-up when the asterisk key is pressed.
The unlabeled icon keys control a selection cursor for
choosing the desired instrument control. Once the control
is selected, pressing the asterisk key will close the pop-up
menu and activate the control.
When a control is activated, the icon keys will control the
function and on-screen icons will graphically represent how
the keys affect the control. The icons will change depend-
ing on the type of action in the particular control.

Back panel description
RS-232 CHARGER
LINE 1 LINE 2
!
12V
!