Test Equipment Depot XFTP SAT LITE User manual

XFTP SAT LITE
Satellite Meter
OPERATION
MANUAL
99 Washington Street
Melrose, MA 02176
Fax [phone]
TestEquipmentDepot.com
Test Equipment Depot - 800.517.8431 - 99 Washington Street Melrose, MA 02176
FAX [phone] - TestEquipmentDepot.com

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Trilithic Company Profile
Trilithic is a privately held manufacturer founded in 1986 as an engineering
and assembly company that built and designed customer-directed
products for telecommunications, military and industrial customers. From
its modest beginnings as a two-man engineering team, Trilithic grew over
the years and broadened its offerings of RF and microwave components by
adding broadband solutions to its product line. This was accomplished
with the acquisition of components manufacturer Cir-Q-Tel and instruments
manufacturer Texscan.
Today, Trilithic is an industry leader providing telecommunications
solutions for major broadband, RF and microwave markets around the
world. As an ISO 9000:2001 certified company with over 40 years of
collective expertise in engineering and custom assembly, Trilithic is
dedicated to providing quality products, services and communications
solutions that exceed customer expectations.
Trilithic is comprised of three major divisions:
•Broadband Instruments & Systems
Offers test, analysis and quality management solutions for the
major cable television systems worldwide.
•RF Microwave Components
Provides components and custom subsystems for companies
specializing in cellular, military and other wireless applications.
•Emergency Alert Systems
Leading supplier of government-mandated emergency alert
systems used by HFC service providers.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Table of Contents
1. General Information .......................................................................... 5
Helpful Website ................................................................................. 5
Where to Get Technical Support ........................................................ 5
How this Manual is Organized ........................................................... 6
Conventions Used in this Manual ....................................................... 7
Precautions ....................................................................................... 7
2. Introduction ........................................................................................ 9
What is the XFTP SAT LITE? ............................................................. 9
Supplied Equipment ........................................................................... 9
Mechanical Features ....................................................................... 10
Using the Alphanumeric Keypad ...................................................... 12
Entering Numeric Values ........................................................... 12
Entering Alphanumeric Characters ............................................. 13
Battery Operation and Charging ....................................................... 14
Battery Charge Level ................................................................. 14
Power Saving ............................................................................ 15
3. Operation ......................................................................................... 17
Overview .......................................................................................... 17
Let’s Get Started ............................................................................. 17
Loading a Satellite Configuration ...................................................... 17
Signal Display ................................................................................. 18
Signal Measurements ...................................................................... 19
4. Satellite Configurations .................................................................. 21
Viewing Configuration Parameters ................................................... 21
Changing Configuration Parameters ................................................. 22
Configuration Name ................................................................... 22
Local Oscillator Frequency ........................................................ 23
Downstream Frequency ............................................................. 23
Symbol Rate ............................................................................. 24
LNB Power Supply .................................................................... 24
Satellite Longitude ..................................................................... 25
22 KHz Status Switch ............................................................... 25
QPSK Modulation ..................................................................... 26
Saving Configurations ...................................................................... 27
5. Appendix .......................................................................................... 29
Specifications .................................................................................. 29
Warranty Information .............................................................................. 31

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Helpful Website
The following website contains general information which may be of
interest to you:
http://www.trilithic.com
Trilithic’s website contains product specifications and information, tips,
release information, marketing information, Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs), bulletins and other technical information. You can also check this
website for product updates.
Where to Get Technical Support
Trilithic technical support is available Monday through Friday from 8:00AM
to 5:00PM EST. Callers in North America can dial 1-317-895-3600 or
1-800-344-2412 (toll free). International callers should dial 1-317-895-3600
or fax questions to 1-317-895-3613. You can also e-mail technical support
at [email protected].
For quicker support response when calling or sending e-mail, please
provide the following information:
• Your name and your company name
• The technical point of contact (name, phone number, e-mail)
• The XFTP SAT LITE serial number and firmware version number
• A detailed description of the problem you are having, including any
error or information messages
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1
1. General Information

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
How this Manual is Organized
This manual is divided into the following chapters:
• Chapter 1, “General Information” provides Trilithic contact
information and describes how this Operation Manual is
structured.
• Chapter 2, “Introduction” describes the XFTP SAT LITE. This
chapter describes the mechanical features of the instrument and
the equipment that is supplied with the instrument. This chapter
also describes the battery operation and charging.
• Chapter 3, “Operation” describes how to use the XFTP SAT LITE
for easy satellite dish alignment and testing.
• Chapter 4, “Satellite Configurations” describes how to view satellite
configurations, change individual configuration parameters, and
save new satellite configurations.
• Chapter 5, “Appendix” shows the technical specifications of the
XFTP SAT LITE.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Conventions Used in this Manual
This manual has several standard conventions for presenting information.
•Connections, menus, menu options, and user entered text and
commands appear in bold.
• Section names, Web and email addresses appear in italics.
WARNING: Do not use the XFTP SAT LITE in any manner
not recommended by the manufacturer.
WARNING: A warning alerts you to any condition that
could cause personal injury.
Note: A note is information that will be of assistance to
you related to the current step or procedure.
Precautions
CAUTION: Since the battery is delivered with the minimum
amount of charge, you should charge the battery before
first use.
CAUTION: A caution alerts you to any condition that could
cause a mechanical failure or potential loss of data.
CAUTION: Do not use any charger other than the charger
that is supplied with the instrument. Doing so may result in
damage to the instrument and/or battery and will void your
warranty.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
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2
2. Introduction
What is the XFTP SAT LITE?
The XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter makes satellite dish alignment simple
and fast. The satellite meter provides the following functions:
• Provides signal level and quality indicators (bar graphs) along with
an audio tone proportional to signal strength for fine tuning the dish
position.
• Provides a measurement screen with C/N and BER
measurements to confirm a quality signal with the dish setup.
The XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter includes the following features:
•Provides LNB power for dish alignment without a receiver or TV
connection.
•Stores up to 60 satellite configurations.
•22 KHz switching.
Supplied Equipment
The XFTP SAT LITE comes with the following:
• XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter
• Instrument Bag
• XFTP SAT LITE Battery Charger
• RF Input Connector
• Operation Manual

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Mechanical Features
1. RF Input - BNC or F-Type input connection.
2. LCD Display - Displays the various parameters for the selected
function.
3. Function Keys - There are four functions keys that function as
follows:
F1 - Use this button to view and edit the satellite configuration
parameters. (Same as SET Button)
F2 - Use this button to view the list of stored satellite
configurations (Same as LOAD Button)
F3 - Use this button to display the battery voltage and power
settings (shutdown) screen.
F4 - Use this button to exit any mode and go to the signal
display mode.
1
2
3
4
5
6
13
7
12
11
10
9
8

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
4. Direction Keys - Use these keys to highlight the desired field on
the LCD Display.
5. Alphanumeric Keypad - Use these keys to input numeric values
as well as alphabetical characters including the decimal point and
positive/negative symbols.
6. POWER Button - Use this button to turn the instrument on and
off.
7. Charge Indicator Light - This light will be illuminated when the
charger is connected to the instrument and AC power.
8. ENTER Button - Use this button to select the currently highlighted
field on the LCD Display or change views in signal display mode.
9. C/S Button - Use this button from the configuration parameter
display to save your satellite configuration to the satellite
configuration list. Also, use this button from the signal display
mode to enable or disable audio.
10. LOAD Button - Use this button to view the satellite configuration
list.
11. SET Button - Use this button to view and edit the loaded satellite
configuration parameters.
12. FIND Button - Use this button to display the list for satellite
configuration selection and loading.
13. DC Charge Port - Use this port to connect the XFTP SAT LITE
charger to the instrument.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Using the Alphanumeric Keypad
The instrument makes use of an alphanumeric keypad similar to that of a
telephone for entering both numbers and letters.
• The 1Button supports the number 1.
• The 2
ABC Button supports A, B, C, a, b, c, 2.
• The
3
DEF
Button supports D, E, F, d, e, f, 3.
• The 4
GHI Button supports G, H, I, g, h, i, 4.
• The 5
JKL Button supports J, K, L, j, k, l, 5.
• The 6
MNO Button supports M, N, O, m, n, o, 6.
• The 7
PQRS Button supports P, Q, R, S, p, q, r, s, 7.
• The 8
TUV Button supports T, U, V, t, u, v, 8.
• The
9
WXYZ
Button supports W, X, Y, Z, w, x, y, z, 9.
Entering Numeric Values
Within several screens, you must enter numeric values. Use the or
Direction Button(s) to highlight the desired field to change, press
the
ENTER
Button or the Button to edit the field, and then press the
alphanumeric buttons to enter the desired value.
For example to enter the number 12.0: Press +
1
+
2
ABC
+ + 0
Then press the
ENTER
Button or the Direction Button to enter the
value into the instrument. If the value that you entered is in an invalid
format, the field will default to its previous value when you press the
ENTER
Button or the Direction Button.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Entering Alphanumeric Characters
You can enter alphanumeric data for satellite configuration names by
using the or Direction Button(s) to highlight the desired field to
change, press the
ENTER
Button or the Direction Button, and then
press the alphanumeric buttons to enter the desired value.
To enter the next character, you must press the
ENTER
Button or
Direction Button to shift the cursor to the next character.
For example to enter the text “TEST”, perform the following steps:
•Use the or Direction Button(s) to highlight the desired
field to change.
•Press the
ENTER
Button or the Direction Button to edit the
highlighted field.
•Press
8
TUV
to enter “T” in the field and then press the
ENTER
Button or Direction Button to move the cursor to the next
character.
•Press
3
DEF
+ 3
DEF to enter “E” in the field and then press the
ENTER
Button or Direction Button to move the cursor to the
next character.
• Press
7
PQRS
+
7
PQRS
+ 7
PQRS +
7
PQRS
to enter “S” in the field and then press
the
ENTER
Button or Direction Button to move the cursor to
the next character.
•Press 8
TUV to enter “T” in the field.
•Press the
ENTER
Button or Direction Button twice to
accept the changes.
Note: If you make an error when entering a number or
name, you can press the
C/S
Button or Direction
Button to backspace and then re-enter the text.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Battery Operation and Charging
The XFTP SAT LITE operates on a high performance built-in 8.4 Volt Ni-MH
battery and will typically provide more than three (3) hours of operation
(more than one and a half (1.5) hours with LNB powered) if fully charged.
The time to fully charge the battery is typically less than three (3) hours
while turned off. When you charge the battery for the first three times, it is
recommended that you charge the battery for four (4) hours.
To charge the battery, connect one end of the charge cube to the DC
Charge Port on the bottom of the instrument and plug the charge cube into
an AC power supply. When the Charge Indicator Light next to the
POWER
Button is illuminated, the instrument is charging. The LED on the charger
will illuminate red while fast charging the XFTP SAT LITE. The LED will be
green after full charge and current is reduced to trickle charge.
Battery Charge Level
To view the battery voltage, press the
F3
Button, the instrument will
display the power settings screen as shown in the figure below.
CAUTION: Since the battery is delivered with the minimum
amount of charge, you should charge the battery before
first use.
The instrument has an automatic battery voltage monitoring function to
alert the user to a low battery voltage condition. When the battery is
below 7.7 Volts (± 0.2 Volts), the instrument will beep. After the
instrument beeps, you must charge the battery or the instrument will
automatically shut down.
CAUTION: Do not use any charger other than the charger
that is supplied with the instrument. Doing so may result in
damage to the instrument and/or battery and will void your
warranty.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Power Saving
To change the power saving selection, press the
F3
Button, the
instrument will display the power settings screen as shown in the
figure below.
Press the Button to move down to highlight the Shutdown Field as
shown in the following figure.
To change the power saving setting, press the
ENTER
Button or the
F4
Button repeatedly to scroll through the following options;
always, 3m, 10m, or 30m.
When you select always, the instrument will always remain on. When
you select 3m, 10m, or 30m; the instrument will shutdown after the
specified amount of time as described below.
When the power saving feature is activated and the user has not
performed any keyboard actions, the instrument will beep three times
as the idle time approaches the user determined shutdown time. If the
user doesn’t press any keyboard buttons and the idle time exceeds
the user determined shutdown time, the instrument will beep three
times and then automatically shut down.

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3
3. Operation
Overview
The XFTP SAT LITE is designed to make satellite dish alignment easy and
fast. The operation includes the following steps:
•Loading the satellite configuration.
•Signal and quality level meter for fine tuning of the satellite dish
position.
•Display of measurement screen to confirm setup.
Let’s Get Started
Turn the instrument power on by pressing the
POWER
Button at the bottom
left of the keypad.
The instrument will briefly display an introduction screen with the model
name, serial number, and firmware version number.
Loading a Satellite Configuration
After the power-up screen, the instrument will display the satellite
configuration list as shown in the figure below. You can also access the
satellite configuration list for loading from any screen by pressing the
FIND
Button.
Note: You can also use the
F4
Button from any screen
to go directly to the signal display mode.
You can load a new satellite configuration or use the last loaded
configuration (including a configuration loaded prior to power off) by
pressing the
F4
Button to go directly to the signal display mode.
To select a new satellite configuration simply press or Direction
Button(s) to highlight the desired configuration or press the or
Direction Button(s) to move through the list four configuration at a time.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Signal Display
After loading a satellite configuration or pressing the
F4
Button to use
the last configuration, one of the two signal display screens will be
displayed for dish alignment as shown below.
You can switch between the view of bar graphs with signal and quality level
percentages or satellite name with percentages by pressing the
ENTER
Button.
S(Signal Level) - This is the satellite signal level indicated as a
percentage. The bar graph directly corresponds to the percentage
shown to the right. To obtain a better signal level, adjust the Azimuth
and Elevation of your satellite dish. Using the bar graph and speaker
tone, you can easily find the maximum signal level. When the bar
graph is longer, the percentage is higher, and the speaker’s tone is
higher, the signal level is stronger.
Q(Signal Quality) - This is the satellite signal quality indicated as a
percentage. The bar graph directly corresponds to the percentage
shown to the right. To obtain a better signal quality, adjust the
polarization (tilt/skew) of the satellite dish. Using the bar graph, you
can easily find the maximum signal quality. When the bar graph is
longer, the percentage is higher, and the signal quality is better.
With the desired satellite configuration highlighted, press the
ENTER
Button to load the satellite configuration. The display will momentarily
indicate Loading... and then display waiting for a few seconds while
looking for a signal.

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XFTP SAT LITE Satellite Meter - Operation Manual
Note: The BER and C/N measurements are for reference
only and are only to be used to confirm the quality of your
satellite dish setup.
Press the Direction Button again to display the name of the satellite
and its longitude as shown in the following figure.
If desired, you can press the or Direction Buttons to cycle through
the signal display, measurement mode, and selected satellite information
again.
In the signal display mode, an audible tone may be heard when the signal
level is greater than approximately -67 dBm (-20 dBmV or 40 dBµV) with a
pitch proportional to signal strength to aid in fine tuning the dish position.
Press the
C/S
Button to enable or disable audio.
Align the satellite dish to get the maximum values of signal level and
quality.
When the XFTP SAT LITE is locked onto the satellite signal, the text OK
will appear in the upper right portion of the screen.
Signal Measurements
From the signal display, press the Direction Button to display the
measurements of Bit Error Rate and Carrier-to-Noise ratio as shown in the
following figure.

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