Thinkrf D4000 User manual

D4000

40 GHz RF Downconverter/Tuner

User Guide

Version 1.0

July 2020

Docu ent no. 75-0044-200731

All product na es are trade arks of their respective co panies.

This docu ent contains infor ation that is proprietary to thinkRF Corporation.

Important notice

The infor ation in this

guide is furnished for

infor ational use only

and is subject to change

without notice. thinkRF

Corporation assu es no

responsibility or liability

for any errors or

inaccuracies that ay

appear in this docu ent.

No part of this

publication ay be

reproduced, published,

stored in an electronic

database, or trans itted,

in any for or by any

eans, electronic,

echanical, recording,

or otherwise, for any

purpose, without the

prior written per ission

of thinkRF Corporation.

Trademarks

thinkRF, the thinkRF

logo and D4000 are

trade arks of thinkRF

Corporation.

All other brand or

product na es are

trade arks or registered

trade arks of their

respective co panies or

owners.

thinkRF Corp

390 March Road

Kanata, ON K2K 0G7

(613) 369-5104

HARDWARE WARRANTY AND LIMITATI N F LIABILITY

Read this warranty carefully before you use the product.

D4000 40 GHz RF Downconverter/Tuners are warranted for work anship and

aterials for a period of one (1) year fro the date of ship ent as identified by the

Custo er’s packing slip or carrier waybill. thinkRF reserves the right to void the

warranty on any equip ent that has been altered or da aged due to Custo er

negligence, unauthorized repair, isuse of equip ent, evidence of physical or

environ ental da age, transportation abuse or re oval of any thinkRF identification

labels or serial nu bers.

It will re ain the responsibility of the Custo er, having obtained a Return Material

Authorization (RMA) and shipping instructions fro thinkRF, to return, at the

Custo er's expense, the defective unit to thinkRF’s repair facilities. thinkRF will

incur shipping charges for the return of warranty repaired equip ent. The RMA

nu ber can be secured by contacting thinkRF Custo er Service and Support

([email protected] ). If the product does not fall within thinkRF’s warranty period

or the product is found to be functioning as designed, then under the ter s of

thinkRF’s warranty policy, all costs of repairs and shipping will be charged directly to

the Custo er. thinkRF will warrant repaired units for a period of 90 days fro date

of ship ent fro thinkRF to the Custo er. If the re aining period on the original

hardware warranty is greater than 30 days, then thinkRF will honor this re aining

warranty period.

thinkRF EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS,

WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION,

WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR REPRESENTATIONS OF WORKMANSHIP,

MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, DURABILITY, OR

THAT THE OPERATION OF THE HARDWARE OR LICENSED SOFTWARE WILL

BE ERROR FREE. IN NO EVENT WILL thinkRF BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT,

SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.

USE F PR DUCTS IN HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES

thinkRF PRODUCTS ARE INTENDED FOR STANDARD INDOOR COMMERCIAL

USE. WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE NETWORK DESIGN ENGINEERING, THEY

MUST NOT BE USED FOR ANY “HIGH RISK ACTIVITY”, as described in this

paragraph. Custo er acknowledges and agrees that the products supplied

hereunder are not fault-tolerant and are not designed, anufactured or intended for

use or resale as on-line control equip ent in hazardous environ ents requiring fail

safe perfor ance including but not li ited to the operation of nuclear facilities,

aircraft navigation or co unication syste s, air traffic control, direct life support

achines, or weapons syste s, in which the failure of products could lead directly to

death, personal injury, or severe physical or environ ental da age, all of which are

exa ples of “High Risk Activity”. thinkRF AND ITS SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY

DISCLAIM ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR HIGH

RISK ACTIVITIES.

Table of Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................................ 5
Audience....................................................................................................................5
Conventions..............................................................................................................5
 btaining the Latest Documentation and Software..............................................6
Document Feedback.................................................................................................6
 btaining Technical Assistance..............................................................................6
 verview of the D4000 .................................................................................................. 7
Getting Familiar with the D4000..............................................................................7
The Front Panel............................................................................................................................ 7
The Rear Panel............................................................................................................................ 8
The Underside.............................................................................................................................. 8
Precautions and  peration Consideration ................................................................. 9
Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage.........................................................9
Preventing RF Connector Damage.........................................................................9
2.92   Fe ale Connector....................................................................................................... 10
SMA Connectors......................................................................................................................... 10
 peration Consideration and Maintenance.........................................................10
Setting Up the D4000 ................................................................................................... 11
Unpacking the Box..................................................................................................11
Connecting the Ethernet and Cables....................................................................11
Use of D4000 with External 10 MHz Reference....................................................12
Interfacing with the D4000 .......................................................................................... 13
Network Application Access Methods..................................................................13
SCPI Raw................................................................................................................................... 13
Establishing Ethernet Connection with D4000....................................................14
Changing the Method of IP Address Allocation for D4000.................................14
Device Reset ................................................................................................................. 15
Reset to Factory IP Configuration.........................................................................15
Restore to Factory Settings...................................................................................15
Status Indicator LED ................................................................................................... 16
Hardware Reference .................................................................................................... 18
System Specifications............................................................................................18
2.92 mm and SMA Connectors..............................................................................18
RJ-45 Ethernet Port Pinout....................................................................................19
RJ-45 Straight-Through Ethernet Cable...............................................................19

RJ-45 Crossover Ethernet Cable...........................................................................19

Document Revision History ........................................................................................ 20

Preface

This preface describes the audience for, the organization of, and conventions used in this

docu ent. It also identifies related docu entation and explains how to access electronic

docu entation.

Audience

This docu ent is written for technical people who have basic understanding, fa iliarity

and experience with network test and easure ent equip ent.

Conventions

This section describes the conventions used in this docu ent.

Grayed-out Font

Indicates a co and or a feature is not yet available in the current release.

Courier Font

Illustrates this is an exa ple for a co and or a concept.

Light Blue Font

Contains hyperlink to the referenced source that can be clicked on.

Normal Bold Font

When used within a sentence or a paragraph, it e phasizes an idea to be paid attention

to particularly.

Red Font

Conveys special infor ation of that section.

Note: This sy bol eans take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to

additional infor ation and aterial.

Caution: This sy bol eans be careful. In this situation, you ight do so ething that

could result in equip ent da age or loss of data.

Warning: This sy bol eans danger. You are in a situation that could cause bodily

injury. Before you work on any equip ent, be aware of the hazards involved with

electrical circuitry and be fa iliar with the standard practices for preventing accidents.

5 thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide

btaining the Latest Documentation and Software

Please visit our website's resource page at http://www.thinkrf.co /resources/ to obtain the

latest docu entation and releases of new fir ware and software.

Document Feedback

Please send your co ents about this docu ent or our other docu entation to

[email protected] .

Thank you, we appreciate your co ents.

btaining Technical Assistance

For all custo ers who hold a valid end-user license, thinkRF provides technical

assistance 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern Ti e, Monday to Friday. Contact us by filling out the

for listed on http://www.thinkrf.co /support/.

Before contacting Support, please have the following infor ation available:

D4000 serial nu ber, product version (and options if available), which are

located on the identification label on The Underside of the D4000.

The fir ware version running on the D4000 (use *IDN? co and).

If applicable, the versions of thinkRF software you are using or any third-party

applications.

The operating syste and version you are using.

For any other infor ation, contact thinkRF at:

thinkRF Corporation

390 March Road

Kanata, ON K2K 0G7

+1.613.369-5104

[email protected]

www.thinkrf.co

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 6

verview of the D4000

Note: This is a living and evolving document. We welcome your feedback.

The features and functionality described in this section may exist in the current product or

are scheduled for a future product release.

D4000 40 GHz RF Downconverter/Tuner is used to convert RF signals in the range of 24-

40 GHz down to an inter ediate frequency (IF) of 1.536 GHz. This is designed to extend

the functionality of existing spectru analyzers that can operate at 1.536 GHz to easure

and analyze 5G signals in the range of 24-40 GHz band.

Getting Familiar with the D4000

This section provides infor ation about the front and rear panels, connection ports and

identification label of the D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner.

Note: The type and place ent of connectors and co ponents on the panels and the

case ay vary depending upon the product version.

The Front Panel

The front panel of the D4000 contains, fro left to right:

7 thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide

•+12 VDC LEMO connector, 4 pin

•RF IN port, 2.92 fe ale connector, +10 dB Max, +10 VDC Max

•IF OUT port, fe ale bulkhead SMA connector

•10 MHz IN port, fe ale bulkhead SMA connector, 0 dB Min, +10 dB Max

•10 MHz OUT port, fe ale bulkhead SMA connector

•RST, factory reset button

•STS/PWR/EXT REF, Status LEDs

•CTRL, GPIO port, D-Sub high density receptacle 15 Position

•RJ-45 Ethernet port

The Rear Panel

The rear panel of the D4000 contains a power switch, and a gore vent for getting

oisture out of the device.

The Underside

The underside of the D4000 provides an identification label, as illustrated below. The

label on your product ay vary depending on your product variant and version.

The product “Version” nu ber is i portant for identifying which fir ware can be used to

update your product. The “Options” nu ber is to identify which product odel you have,

see D4000’s datasheet if the Options is not NONE.

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 8

Precautions and peration Consideration

Ensure that you read and understand the following infor ation about safety and

electrostatic discharge before you unpack and set up the D4000.

Warning: Only trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to install or replace this

equip ent. Read the installation instructions before you connect the syste to its power

source.

Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is a single-event, rapid transfer of electrostatic charge

between two objects, such as an operator and a piece of electrical equip ent. ESD can

occur when a high electrostatic field develops between two objects in close proxi ity.

ESD occurs when electronic co ponents are i properly handled and is one of the ajor

causes of device failures in the se iconductor industry.

Electrostatic discharge is ore likely to occur with the co bination of synthetic fibers and

dry at osphere. Always follow these steps to prevent ESD.

Warning: Never open the front or rear panels of the D4000 as personal injury ay result

and opening the chassis will void the warranty. There are no user-serviceable parts

inside. Always contact thinkRF support for service through the online support for at

http://www.thinkrf.com/support/.

Caution: To prevent ESD, wear an ESD-preventive wrist strap that you provide, ensuring

that it akes good skin contact.

Caution: Do not touch any exposed contact pins or connector shells of interface ports

that do not have a cable attached. If cables are connected at one end only, do not touch

the exposed pins at the unconnected end of the cable.

Preventing RF Connector Damage

When connecting to an RF connector, whether it is SMA or other connectors, it is

i portant that proper care and connector connection practice is used to prevent

irreversible da age to the connector and its port.

Caution: When ating/de ating the connectors,

- Do: align the ating connectors properly to prevent da aging the center pin, ake

preli inary connection by using fingers, use correct torque spanner for the final

connection

- Do not: apply bending force to connection, over-tighten to a connector on the jack or

9 thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide

overturn point of the torque wrench. Using incorrect torque wrench, wrench, pliers or even

your hand to over-tighten a connector can cause per anent da age to a D4000.

2.92 mm Female Connector

Caution: Use only 2.92 Male connector as the ating part to the D4000’s RF IN port.

NLY use 2.92 cables and connectors.

Use only a proper torque wrench with torque setting intended for a 2.92 Male

connector (not the sa e one for a SMA connector). The reco ended torque setting is

100 N.c (8.9lbs.in). An exa ple of a torque wrench that can be used for this is Huber-

Suhner P/N 74 Z-0-0-21.

SMA Connectors

The reco ended torque setting for all SMA connectors is 45 N.c (4lbs.in). An

exa ple of a torque wrench that can be used for this is Huber-Suhner P/N 74 Z-0-0-79.

peration Consideration and Maintenance

The D4000 should be operated only within its specified operation te perature and

specification of 14°F to 131°F (-10°C to 55°C). The ideal operating te perature for

opti u perfor ance is between 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C).

Caution: Do not expose the device to direct sunlight or radiation fro other sources of

heat.

So e regular aintenance is needed to aintain the unit in its good working state. This

includes inspect and keep all the connectors clean, especially the threads by using, for

instance, Lint Free cloth or Q-tip with Isopropyl alcohol.

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 10

Setting Up the D4000

Unpacking the Box

The following table lists the ite s that co e with your D4000. If any of the ite s are

issing or da aged, please contact your thinkRF custo er service representative.

D4000 Shipping Box Contents:

•D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner

•Power supply – with barrel connector

•Power cord – Country specific by Type

•Ethernet cable

•Thank you/Reference card

Connecting the Ethernet and Cables

Follow the steps below to connect up the D4000 ports. The diagra bellow illustrates the

setup steps.

1. Before connecting D4000 to a spectru analyzer (SA), if instead of the provided

+12 VDC power adapter, a power source or power pack is used, then first power

up the power source device and set the voltage to +12 VDC and 3 A in.

Connect the power supply source to D4000’s LEMO power connector.

11 thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide

Caution: Do not supply a power source exceeding +15 VDC to the D4000. It can cause

per anent da age to the device.

2. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable to the D4000's Ethernet port and the

other end to an Ethernet port on the SA or a co puter.

Caution: For the following RF connectors, see Preventing RF Connector Da age section

for i portant cautions and torque suggestion.

3. Connect the Antenna or an RF input source to the D4000’s RF IN port.

4. Connect the SMA connector end of the cable co ing fro D4000’s 10 MHz OUT

port to the SA’s External IN port. I portant to see Preventing RF Connector

Da age and its SMA Connectors section for caution and torque suggestion.

5. Connect the SMA connector end of the cable co ing fro SA’s RF IN port to the

D4000’s IF OUT SMA port.

Connecting to D4000’s 10 MHz IN port is optional or on per needed basis for clock

synchronization. See Use of D4000 with External 10 MHz Reference for ore

infor ation and i portant cautions.

6. Connect the auxiliary GPIO to SA’s control port for controlling (Future feature)

Use of D4000 with External 10 MHz Reference

The thinkRF D4000 can be synchronized with the use of an external 10 MHz reference,

for exa ple, fro an external oscillator or fro the digitizer section of the data acquisition

syste .

As well, this 10 MHz is redistributed within the D4000 and sent to the 10 MHz OUT SMA

connector for use by external equip ent that needs a 10 MHz reference source.

To set the D4000 to use the external 10 MHz reference, send the SCPI co and

:SOURce:REFerence EXT (Refer the D4000 Progra er’s Guide for ore details).

Cautions:

- When the external 10 MHz IN reference is used, its reference level ust be between 0

dBm and +10 dBm.

- The axi u power level to the D4000’s 10 MHz IN is +10 dB . Exceeding this value

ight degrade the product perfor ance.

- The 10 MHz reference source to the 10 MHZ IN port ust be powered down prior to

powering down the D4000.

- See Preventing RF Connector Da age and its SMA Connectors section for i portant

caution and torque suggestion.

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 12

Interfacing with the D4000

This section provides instruction for different ethods of accessing the D4000 via its

Ethernet port and obtaining its IP address.

The D4000 is network ready devices conveying SCPI (Standard Co ands for

Progra able Instru ents) co ands and data using the TCP/IP protocol via a Gigabit

Ethernet connection. Network application access is via SCPI Raw or SCPI Telnet.

Note: The SCPI co ands consist of network configuration, device status checking,

input filter selection, frequency settings, bandwidth and attenuation values, etc. To see a

co plete SCPI co and list for D4000, please refers to the D4000 Progra er’s Guide.

The D4000 also supports different ethods of obtaining its IP address including:

Dyna ic IP address allocation via the Dyna ic Host Configuration Protocol

(DHCP), which is applicable to a routed network topology that has a DHCP

server;

Static IP address allocation, which is applicable to any network topology.

Note: The D4000’s default factory configuration at the first power up or after a factory

reset is set to STATIC type with IP 192.168.1.2.

Network Application Access Methods

SCPI Raw

SCPI Raw uses a TCP/IP connection to establish a bidirectional link with ini al

overhead. Although it can be used as a co and line interface, it is better suited for use

with an application.

SCPI Raw is accessible via TCP port 5025, see the following figure.

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide

Establishing Ethernet Connection with D4000

This section provides instruction on connecting the D4000 directly to a SA via their

Ethernet ports using an Ethernet cable.

To connect the D4000 directly to your SA:

1. If this is not the very first ti e connecting to the D4000, skip to the next step.

Otherwise, your SA’s Ethernet interface ust be configured first to use static IP

ode in order to work with the D4000’s factory default IP of 192.168.1.2. This

involves setting your SA to have an IP address of 192.168.1.x (x cannot be 2)

with a subnet ask 255.255.255.x and a gateway 192.168.1.x. If still not sure of

the setting, please contact your network ad inistration for valid settings.

2. Connect the Ethernet cable to both your SA's and the D4000 Ethernet ports.

3. Power up the D4000 if haven’t done so and wait until the status LED turns green.

4. Check to ensure that either your SA’s or the D4000 Ethernet’s jack LINK indicator

is illu inated. If it is not, then your SA ay not support auto atic crossover on

its Ethernet connection and you ay require an RJ-45 crossover Ethernet cable.

5. Choose one of the ethods entioned in Network Application Access Methods

to verify the established connection with the D4000.

6. With an assigned IP, the D4000 could now be controlled through SCPI

co ands described in the D4000 Progra er’s Guide docu ent.

7. If necessary, after establishing a successful connection, configure the D4000 to

your chosen ethod of IP allocation following the instruction in the Changing the

Method of IP Address Allocation for D4000 section.

Changing the Method of IP Address Allocation for D4000

This section provides instruction for re-configuring one IP address allocation type to

another for a D4000.

Notes:

- The D4000 is configured to STATIC IP 192.168.1.2 by factory default.

- Decide on whether you will be using static or dyna ic IP allocation. Regardless of

which ethod you choose, both your SA's and the D4000’s Ethernet interface ust be

configured for the sa e ethod of IP allocation.

If your D4000 is configured for static IP allocation, then it ay be reconfigured for

dyna ic IP address allocation using the :SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN co and set

(see D4000 Progra er’s Guide docu ent).

If your D4000 is configured for dyna ic IP allocation, then it ay be reconfigured for

static IP address allocation either using the :SYSTem:COMMunicate:LAN co and set

(see D4000 Progra er’s Guide) or via a hardware factory reset. Using the hardware

factory reset to reconfigure to static IP allocation is the si plest ethod and is described

in the Device Reset section.

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 14

Device Reset

The pushbutton is accessible using a thin object such as a paperclip through the access hole.

It is used only during powerup to request a factory reset or restore. The pushbutton ust be

depressed before turning on power. The PWR LED turns solid yellow (Standby) to

acknowledge the keypress.

Reset to Factory IP Configuration

If for any reason you cannot connect to the D4000 via the Ethernet, then perfor ing this

following procedure will reset the D4000 network configuration to the factory installed

static IP configuration with IP address of 192.168.1.2.

Follow the steps below to reset your box.

1. Power off the D4000

2. Use a s all pin to access the reset button locating in The Front Panel of the

D4000

3. Press and hold while powering on the unit

4. Three fast flashing yellow LED light up on PWR LED

5. Release pin fro reset button within 10 seconds after powering up the unit

6. LED beco es nor al start-up sequences: PWR solid yellow, then solid green

7. Follow Establishing Ethernet Connection with D4000 section to setup the

connection

Restore to Factory Settings

If for any reason, unit need to be restore to factory load fir ware, then perfor ing this

following procedure will restore the D4000 to the factory load fir ware.

Follow the steps below to reset your box.

1. Power off the D4000

2. Use a s all pin to access the reset button locating in The Front Panel of

the D4000

3. Press and hold while powering on the unit

4. Three fast flashing yellow and a slow flashing yellow LED light up on

PWR LED

5. After powering up the unit for ore than 10 seconds, release pin fro

reset button

6. LED beco es nor al start-up sequences

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 15

Status Indicator LED

The D4000 has a status (STS) indicator LED located on The Front Panel.

Using different colours and blink codes, the STS LED indicates the following device

conditions.

STS Indicator LED Internal Status

Green All internal power conditions are good and the device is

ready

Yellow The RF path and LOs are settling after a tune request

Red One or ore PLLs re ain unlocked past the expected

ti e

3 fast yellow blinks No network connection is present (e.g. unplugged, or

re ote peer is not connected)

2 fast, 1 slow yellow blinks The device has not received an IP address fro a

DHCP server

3 slow red Hardware failure

Off n/a

PWR Indicator LED Internal Status

Green All internal power conditions are good and the device is

ready

Yellow Device is in power down state

Red One of the power rails, other than the 3.3V rail, is

reporting a fault. This ay also indicate a icrocontroller

failure (e.g. unprogra ed or broken)

3 fast yellow blinks Factory Reset request is detected (pushbutton is

released in less than 10s)

2 fast, 1 slow yellow blinks Factory Restore request is detected (pushbutton held for

at least 10s)

Long short long yellow

blinks

A te perature sensor is reporting a te perature above

the warning threshold.

Long short long red blinks A te perature sensor is reporting a te perature above

the error threshold.

3 slow red Hardware failure

Off Not receiving power fro the power source

16 thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide

EXT REF Indicator LED Internal Status

Green Internal 10 MHz Lock

Yellow Overload Warning

Red Overload Error

3 slow Green External 10 MHz Lock

Off Not receiving power fro the power source

Fast blink is defined as 0.25 second long and slow blink is 0.75 second.

thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide 17

Hardware Reference
This section provides physical and perfor ance specifications, and port and cable 
pinouts for the D4000.
System Specifications
The following table outlines the physical and electrical specifications for the D4000.
Description Design Specification
Di ensions (W x L x H) 7.6 x 7.6 x 1.6 in. (19.3 x 19.3 x 4.1 c )
Weight (approxi ately) Approx 1.7 Kg (3.7 lb)
Digital interface ports Ethernet 10/100/1000
Analog interface ports RF IN, IF OUT, 10 MHz IN and OUT
Input supply voltage 12 VDC +/- 5%
Input supply current 1.73 A at 12V
Power Consu ption 20.76 Watts
Operating te perature 14 to 131°F (-10 to 55°C)
Storage te perature -60 to 160°F (-51 to 71°C)
2.92 mm and SMA Connectors
The 2.92   and SMA connectors on the front panel are all fe ale jacks.  The SMAs are
with 50Ω no inal i pedance.  The following table outline the  axi u  and  ini u  
power level restrictions on these connectors.
Caution: Injecting signal levels that exceed the specifications described in the following 
table will result in per anent da age to the RF Downconverter/Tuner.
Connector Name Direction Max Power Level Min Power Level
RF IN1in +10 dB 4, 10 Vdc4---
10 MHz IN2,3in +10 dB 40 dB 4
10 MHz OUT out +10 dB 4+5 dB   in4
1 It is reco ended that the output of a signal source be verified with the use of a power  eter 
prior to connecting the source directly to the RF IN connector.  It is best to inject signals equal to or 
lower than -20 dB ; otherwise, an external attenuator should be considered to prevent da aging 
the D4000.  Additionally, any external signal sources connected to RF IN  ust be turned on only 
after powering on the D4000 and turned off prior to powering down the D4000.
2 The 10 MHz reference input  ust be powered down prior to powering down the D4000.  See also 
the Caution Note of Use of D4000 with External 10 MHz Reference section on page 18.
thinkRF D4000 RF Downconverter/Tuner User Guide                                                                           18