Markers can be applied to active or recalled measurements. The instrument supports eight markers. Marker information is stored in measurement and setup files and is displayed when either file type is recalled. Pressing the Marker main menu key will bring up the marker functions.
Overview of Markers:
• Frequency measurements (Return Loss, Cable Loss, and VSWR) have common markers. Distance measurements (DTF Return Loss and DTF VSWR) also have common markers.
• To turn on a marker, press the Marker main menu key, then press Marker Setup if the submenu is collapsed. Press the Select (1-8) key and select the desired marker number (M#).
• To turn off a marker, touch the marker line in the trace window to select it, then press the M# On/Off key, where # is the marker number.
• The currently selected marker is displayed as a red vertical line and is the highlighted row in the marker table.
• To move a marker, press the marker line and drag. To set a more exact location, press the marker to select, then press Edit and enter the frequency value.
• Markers set beyond the current frequency or distance range are displayed at either the left or right of the trace window.
• If the frequency (F1 or F2) or distance (D1 and D2) parameters are moved inside a current marker location, the out-of-range (---> or <----) indicator is displayed and marker values in the table are blanked (--). See Figure: Markers 1, 2, and 5 are Out of Range for an example of markers outside the current span.
• Marker location and type are stored after the marker is turned off.
• Marker Preset restores the markers to their default state. All markers are turned off except for Marker 1, which is set to the middle of the sweep. Previous marker information is not saved.
Markers 1, 2, and 5 are Out of Range
Select, Activate, and Place a Marker / Delta Marker
1. Press the Marker main menu key. To select a marker, press the Select (1-8) key under Marker Setup. Press one of the Marker buttons M# to turn the marker on and make it active. The active marker is shown in red.
2. Press the Edit key and use the virtual keypad to enter the frequency value in the edit box.
3. Press one of the unit keys as appropriate to apply the entered value and close the edit box.
To exit without making a change, press Esc to cancel the entry, and Esc again to close the edit box.
4. Markers 2 through 8 can be set as deltas to a reference marker. Use the Type key to set the marker type as Reference or Delta marker. Figure: Delta Marker 2 and Marker Table illustrates using a delta marker to estimate the passband of a filter.
Marker Table
The Marker Table displays below the sweep window. The table lists marker frequency/distance and amplitude information for all markers currently on.
To display the marker table, press the Marker main menu key, then press Display under Marker Setup, and select Mkr + Table. To hide the table, select Mkr Only. The Display Off setting turns off both the table and all markers.
Delta Marker 2 and Marker Table
Marker Search
All the cable & antenna measurements include markers that will find trace peak and or trace valley automatically.
1. Press the Marker main menu key, then Marker Setup if the submenu is collapsed.
2. Press Select (1-8), then press one of the Marker buttons M# to turn the marker on and make it active.
3. Press Marker Search.
4. Press Marker To Peak to set the marker to the peak of the measurement or Marker To Valley to set the marker to valley of the measurement.
Marker Search, Marker 1 Set to Peak
Peak Between Markers
Another marker search option is to select the peak or valley between two markers instead of the entire displayed frequency or distance span.
Markers 5 and 7 can be used to find the peak or valley between Marker 1 and Marker 2.
Markers 6 and 8 can be used to find the peak or valley between Marker 3 and Marker 4.
This example illustrates finding the valley between Markers 1 and 2.
3. Press Marker Search and select Valley Between M1 & M2. Marker 5 will move to the valley between M1 and M2. See Figure: Bounded Marker Search. The valley search would also work if M1 and M2 were set and then turned off.
Bounded Marker Search
Tracking Markers
A tracking marker is set to a peak or to a valley. As the peak (or valley) varies in the measurement trace, the tracking marker stays at the peak (or valley).
Any marker can be set for tracking from the Marker Search menu. When set to Tracking, the marker number is displayed inside a triangle rather than a rectangle. For a Tracking marker set for Marker To Peak, the apex of the triangle points upward. For a Tracking marker set for Marker To Valley, the apex of the triangle points downward.
The markers that can be set for Peak Between can also be Tracking markers that are bounded by M1 and M2 or by M3 and M4.
Tracking markers can be especially helpful for specific measurements, such as tuning and testing filters or antennas.
In Figure: Tracking Marker Set to Valley, Marker M1 is set for Tracking a Valley. The three images show how the marker remains at the valley as the measurement trace changes.
