An RF sampler provides a low power image of the RF signal propagating in a coaxial line. It is a 3 ports device inserted between a power source (transmitter or amplifier) and the terminating load while its sample output (third port) is connected to a measuring equipment ( powermeter, spectrum analyzer, oscilloscope, etc...).
Some characteristics of a typical sampler are summarized below :
- It should have a known attenuation between its main ports and the sample port.
- Its attenuation plot should be as flat as possible over the usable frequency range.
- It should handle the power of the tested transmitter.
- Its Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) should be low over its frequency range.
There are several methods to design such a sampler but one of
the simplest is a 50 ohms line associated with a resistive
divider. Some years ago, W. Hayward, W7ZOI described such a device in QST (1) : he
used a brass stripline inside a Hammond
1590A die cast box.
The reason for my design is that I wanted something easier
to duplicate, so I used a 50 ohms microstrip line etched on one side of double-side Epoxy PCB instead
of the Hayward's
stripline.
1. The sampler.
The schematic appears on the left below and an inside view on the right.
The sampler is built on ordinary double-side Epoxy PCB so the 50 ohms microstrip is 2.8 mm wide : click here to download the PCB artwork (12 k PDF file).
R1, R2 and R3 values are computed in accordance with the required
coupling coefficient : I used R1=R2=R3= 820 ohms to get
a -40 dB coupling.
This resistors being rated at 0.25 W each, I can use my RF sampler with
transmitters up to 40 W. If you want a higher power limit (100 W)
build this circuit with 3 x 820 ohms 0.5 W each.
The sampler is housed in a "tinplate Schubert box" (37 x 55 x 30 mm) available in many electronics shops in Europe, but other brands and models could probably be used.
