Visually inspect connectors for general wear, for cleanliness, and for damage such as bent pins or connector rings. Repair or replace damaged connectors immediately. Inspect and clean all RF connectors to remove metal flakes and contamination. Dirty connectors can limit the accuracy of your measurements. Damaged connectors can damage the instrument. Connection of cables carrying an electrostatic potential, excess power, or excess voltage can damage the connector or the instrument or both. Connection of cables with inadequate torque settings can affect measurement accuracy. Over torquing connectors can damage the cable, the connector, the instrument, or all of these items.
Connecting Procedure
1. Carefully align the connectors.
The male connector center pin must slip concentrically into the contact fingers of the female connector.
2. Push connectors straight together. Do not twist or screw them together.
3. To tighten, turn the connector nut, not the connector body. Major damage can occur to the center conductor and to the outer conductor if the connector body is twisted.
4. When you use a torque wrench, initially tighten by hand so that approximately 1/8 turn or 45 degrees of rotation remains for the final tightening with the torque wrench.
Relieve any side pressure on the connection (such as from long or heavy cables) in order to assure consistent torque. Use an open‑end wrench to keep the connector body from turning while tightening with the torque wrench.
Do not over torque the connector.
Test Port Cable from PIM Master to DUT
Remove o‑rings from the test port cable and be sure that the connectors are clean. If the DUT connector has an o‑ring, then use a torque wrench to tighten the connector.
Note
When testing, cables are connected and disconnected many times. In order to save wear on these test port cables, Anritsu recommends removing the o‑rings. This allows getting a sufficiently tight connection without unnecessary stress on the connectors. In the field, o‑rings are important to maintain connection integrity over long time periods. Connections must be torqued to specifications in order to ensure that they prevent water intrusion.
During your test, if the DUT connector has an o‑ring, leave it in place and tighten to the correct torque.
Disconnecting Procedure
1. Use an open‑end wrench to keep the connector body from turning while loosening with a second wrench.
2. Complete the disconnection by hand, turning only the connector nut.
3. Pull the connectors straight apart without twisting or bending.
Connector Saver
Anritsu recommends attaching an adapter to the 7/16 DIN female RF Out connector and using the adapter for the working connector. This connector saver reduces wear on the built‑in RF Out connector. Typically, 500 matings is the life of a connector for PIM testing. The connector saver can remain on the PIM Master inside the soft case.
Adapter: 7/16 DIN(f) to 7/16 DIN(m), 50 Ω (Connector Saver). One connector saver is provided with your test instrument. Replacement connector savers can be purchased from Anritsu. The part number is in your Technical Data Sheet.