RF Venue RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User manual

RF EXPLORER®PRO AUDIO EDITION
User Manual
Updated to Firmware Version 3.06

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................3
Description of Main Features.................................................................................................................................................4
Connecting RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition.............................................................................................................................5
Spectrum Analyzer mode - Main Screen................................................................................................................................6
Using menus...........................................................................................................................................................................8
Operational Mode menu........................................................................................................................................................9
Frequency Menu ..................................................................................................................................................................10
Analyzer screen in Advanced Mode.....................................................................................................................................12
Advanced: Understanding RBW...........................................................................................................................................12
Attenuator Menu .................................................................................................................................................................14
Configuration Menu .............................................................................................................................................................16
Preset Menu.........................................................................................................................................................................17
Using RF Explorer Preset Manager ..................................................................................................................................18
HELP button..........................................................................................................................................................................19
RF Explorer internal battery .................................................................................................................................................20
Charging the internal battery...........................................................................................................................................20
Using the Battery dedicated screen.................................................................................................................................21
Charging a fully depleted battery ....................................................................................................................................23
Automatic idle mode with battery charge.......................................................................................................................23
Supplied UHF Antenna.................................................................................................................................................23
Protecting your instrument from damage ...........................................................................................................................25
Connecting RF Explorer to a computer ................................................................................................................................26
FCC and CE regulations.........................................................................................................................................................26
License..................................................................................................................................................................................26

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 3
INTRODU CTION
RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition has been designed to be intuitive and easy to use. There is no need to read large user
manuals to gain advantage of its advanced functionality.
Most of the complexity inherent to full sized Spectrum Analyzers is simplified with automatic functionality resolved by the
firmware. For instance, you do not need to adjust Resolution Bandwidth (RBW) every time you select a different frequency
span. Actually, you do not even need to know what RBW is. You can progress in your RF learning curve and come back to
this manual and online tutorial anytime.
When used to setup, troubleshoot, or commission wireless microphone or in-ear monitor systems, the RF Explorer Pro
Audio Edition can be a powerful tool. Use it to identify interference, check signal levels, position antennas for optimal
performance, and more.
For questions or feedback, please visit rfvenue.com.

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 4
DE SCRIPTIO N OF MAI N FE ATU RES
✓Pocket-size and light weight with solid aluminum metal case
✓50 Ohm BNC Input for interfacing with wireless microphone and IEM systems and accessories
✓Peak Max, Max Hold, Normal, Overwrite and Averaging modes
✓High capacity Lithium Ion battery for up to 16 hours of continuous use, rechargeable by USB.
✓Mac OSX Vantage software and Windows software applications available online
✓USB Communication protocol is open for custom solutions and extensions.
✓Free firmware upgrades available

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 5
CONNE CTING THE RF EX PLO RE R PRO AU DIO EDI TIO N
The RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition includes 9 functional buttons on the front side, including contextual HELP and preset
handling with the SET button. The unit also includes one 50 ohm impedance BNC RF input connector.
The unit will automatically start running on USB power when a compatible mini-USB cable is connected.
Important: The internal battery power switch must be in the ON position for the battery to charge when the USB cable is
connected. The internal battery will not charge when the power switch is in the OFF position.

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 6
SPECTRU M ANA LYZE R MO D E - MAIN SCRE EN
RF Explorer goes to Spectrum Analyzer mode automatically when powered on.
The X axis represents frequency in MHz and the Y axis displays received power in dBm or dBuV (selectable). In this example
above, the frequency span goes from 2390 MHz to 2450 MHz (that is a 60MHz range), and the visual amplitude goes from -
1 dBm to -110 dBm.
Configuration settings such as amplitude reference and frequency span are preserved between sessions, stored in the unit’s
internal FLASH memory.
The main screen automatically displays a small marker with a triangle shape. This indicates the peak amplitude found in the
current frequency span, noted in the first text line in MHz and the second line in dBm at that particular point.
The main screen has a number of additional indicators:

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 7
The available indicators are:
•USB / battery status: this indicator will display USB
1
when a valid 5V USB connection is available. This will be true
even if the connection is through a wall wart charger, meaning it does not indicate a data connection but rather a
power bus connection. Alternatively, a battery icon with charge level indicator will display when the RF Explorer
unit power switch is set to ON. If both connections are enabled, then USB and Battery will alternate and, in this
case, the battery will be charging.
•Sweeps per second: this is an approximate value of the number of full screen sweeps happening every second. In
the example above, there are 5 sweeps per second or, in equivalent terms, one sweep every 200ms.
•Calculator mode: this indicator may have different values as specified by the Calculator mode in the frequency
menu. Please check the section Frequency Menu in page 10.
•DSP mode: this indicator shows the actual value being used by the Analyzer. The DSP:Auto is the recommended
setting in the Frequency Menu (see page 10) so RF Explorer will select the best possible option as per below:
oFST: Fast mode. This mode will configure the unit for fastest scanning.
oFIR: Filter mode. This is the recommended mode for Pro Audio users, as it will increase accuracy using
filtering.
•Marker: There are different operational modes for the marker, see Configuration Menu in page 16.
The analyzer screen can be turned into advanced mode using the [Return] key:
Note the frequency axis indicators changes at the bottom. More details about this screen mode in section Analyzer screen
page 12.
1
USB refers to Universal Serial Bus, the standard connectivity bus in all modern computers. Our fellow HAM users should
not confuse this with Upper Side Band communication, even though uses the same mnemonic.

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 8
USI NG ME NUS
There are several menus in RF Explorer. They are organized on different screens, which you can navigate through using the
[Menu] key. If you click the [Menu] button multiple times, you will toggle through them:
You can also navigate screens using the [Left] and [Right] keys. You can exit from a menu anytime by using the [Return]
key.
The first time you click on [Menu] button in a RF Explorer session, Frequency Menu will open. This may change as we will
see later, so every time you click on [Menu] from Spectrum Analyzer main screen, you re-open the last menu you were
working with. This saves time by not having to navigate through all the menus to go the same place you were before.

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 9
OP ERATI O NAL MOD E ME N U
The menu display different functional modes available in your Analyzer.
Use [Up] and [Down] arrow keys to select the desired mode and click on [Enter] to activate it immediately.
•Spectrum Analyzer mode is the default mode, available in all RF Explorer models
•WiFi Analyzer is available in the Pro Audio Edition for analyzing 2.4 GHz spectrum in standard channel format.
•RF Connections displays the installed RF module
•Battery includes details on internal battery charge level, and assist you on charging the unit when connected to
USB. For more details read section Charging the internal battery in page 20.
•About displays information about installed firmware and versioning. Use any key to get out of this screen.

RF Explorer Pro Audio Edition User Manual page 10
FREQU ENCY MENU
•Center Freq: Center frequency in MHz
•Freq Span: Frequency span (or range) to display on screen in MHz
•Start Freq: Lower frequency range to display on screen in MHz
•Stop Freq: Higher frequency range to display on screen in MHz
•Module: Active selected RF module.
The selected frequency band to display can be specified in two different but complementary ways:
•Center/Span: This is the traditional Spectrum Analyzer format many engineers are used to. Select the Center
frequency at which the band will be displayed, and then a Frequency Span.
•Start/Stop: This alternative mode is very useful to select frequency range between two frequencies of interest,
with no need to manually calculate the Center or the Span.
As you edit Center/Span or Start/Stop, the other values are updated accordingly, so feel free to use the method you prefer.
In general, you will use Center/Span more frequently when you know the frequency you want to look at, and Start/Stop
when you just want to look at a larger span to see what is happening in a specific range.
To navigate through the menu, just use [Up] and [Down] keys to go to the option you want, then click on [Enter] to edit that
option, [Left] or [Right] to go to the digit you want to change, and [Enter] to confirm or [Return] to cancel.