Times-7 Slimline CP Antenna ETSI A6032 Operating instructions

Antenna
Troubleshooting

A quick guide
This document is intended to cover a few basic troubleshooting
procedures to enable you to quickly diagnose possible problems with
Times-7 Antennas

Quick Checks
1Operating Frequency
Does the antenna operating
frequency match the reader
frequency?
3Cable Condition
Does the cable have any visible
damage?
2Cable Termination
It is possible to incorrectly
connect an RP-SMA Male to a
SMA Female.
4Cable Swap Test
An easy test is to swap the
antenna cable for a known
working cable and check again.
510K Resistance Check
The internal 10K ohm resistor can
be checked using a multimeter.
6RF Power Check
An RF power meter can also be
used to test if the antenna is
transmitting.

Operating Frequency
Times-7 antennas generally come in two
different operating frequencies, these are
FCC and ETSI.
•FCC: 902-928MHz
•ETSI: 865-868MHz
It is important that the operating frequency
of the antenna matches the region settings
of the reader. The frequency of the antenna
can easily be found on the back label of the
antenna.
Some antennas, such as the A1001 and
A1030 are wideband antennas, meaning
that the same antenna will work at both
FCC and ETSI frequencies.

Cable Termination
While it is usually not possible to connect
wrongly terminated cables to each other,
a situation can occur when trying to mate
a reverse polarity (RP) Male connector, to
a standard Female connector.
While the connectors will fit together, the
centre pins will not make proper contact
and therefore the signal will not be
transmitted across the connection.
Along with this, also check that all
connectors are securely and firmly mated.

Cable Condition
An easy check is to visually inspect the
cable for obvious damage.
Things to look out for include:
•Kinks and sharp bends –this can result
in damage to the cable dielectric.
•Fraying
•Connector damage
•Exposed conductors and insulators

Cable Swap Test
Faulty cables may also appear visibly to be
in perfect condition.
Because of this, it is useful to test an
antenna with another cable that is known
to be in working condition

10K Resistance Check
Times-7 antennas include a 10K resistor
inline with the cable termination, as this is
used by readers to sense a connected
antenna.
A failed connection somewhere in the
antenna can therefore be checked, by
connecting a multimeter to the antenna
connector, and checking the resistance
between the ground (outer body of the
connector) and the centre pin.
The resistance should be approximately
10K ohms (+/-10 % is acceptable)
A reading that is much higher than this
(open circuit), or a zero ohm resistance
(short circuit) indicates a fault.

RF Power Check
If an RF power meter is available, this is a
very easy check to make sure that the
antenna is transmitting.
In normal operation, the RF power meter
should show pulses of power when placed
in front of a transmitting antenna.
Make sure the reader is active and
transmitting before use.

Still can’t find the problem?
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