RigExpert AA-30

RigExpert AA-30 and AA-54 are powerful antenna analyzers designed for testing, checking, tuning or repairing antennas and antenna feedlines. Mainly, these are SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) and impedance measurement instruments (vector impedance analyzers). Easy-to use measurement modes, as well as additional features such as connection to a personal computer (to plot Smith charts, etc.), make RigExpert AA-30 and AA-54 attractive for professionals and hobbyists. It is quite important that graphical display of various parameters over a wide frequency range is a key feature of these analyzers which significantly reduces the time required to adjust an antenna. The following tasks are easily accomplished by using RigExpert AA-30 and AA-54:

Rapid check-out of an antenna

Tuning an antenna to resonance

Antenna SWR and impedance measurement and comparison before and after specific event (rain, hurricane, etc.)

Making coaxial lines or measuring their parameters

Cable testing and fault location

Measuring capacitance or inductance of reactive loads

RigExpert AA-30
Specifications

Frequency range

AA-30: 0.1 to 30 MHz
AA-54: 0.1 to 54 MHz

Frequency entry

1 kHz

SWR measurement range

1 to 10 in chart modes

R and X range

0…10000, -10000…10000 in numerical modes
0…200, -200…200 in graph mode

Display modes

R, X graph, 100 points
SWR at single or multiple frequencies
SWR graph, 100 points
SWR, return loss, R, X, Z, L, C at single frequency

RF output

Connector type: UHF (SO-239)
Output power: +13 dBm (at 50 Ohm load)
Output signal shape: square, 0.1…10 MHz (AA-30) or 0.1…10.8 MHz (AA-54). For higher frequencies, third or fifth (AA-54) harmonics are used

Power

Max. 3 hours of continuous measurement, max. 2 days in stand-by mode when fully charged batteries are used
Two 1.2V, 1800…2700 mA·h, Ni-MH batteries, type AA *
Two 1.5V alkaline batteries, type AA
When the analyzer is connected to a PC or a DC adapter with USB socket, it takes power from these sources

Interface

128×64 graphical backlit LCD
6x3 keys on the water-proof keypad
AA-54: multilingual menus and help screens, AA-30:menus and help screens in English language
USB connection to a personal computer

Dimensions

22·10·3.6 cm (9·4·1.5”)

Operating temperature

0…40 °C (32…104 °F)

Weight

400g (14 Oz)

Accessories inside the box

Alkaline batteries
CD with drivers and software
RigExpert AA-30
Soft case (optional, not included in standard package)
Software manual
USB cable (optional, not included in standard package)
User’s manual

GTIN-13

4820185420020

Note

Specifications are subject to change without notice
Мade in Ukraine

RigExpert AA-30 – How it works?

Structure diagram

The structure diagram of the RigExpert AA-30/AA-54 Antenna Analyzer is located below:

The “brain” of the analyzer is Atmel 8-bit RISC microcontroller. It controls two AD9833 DDS chips running at 25 MHz and generating two sinusoidal signals. Both signals are low-pass filtered and then put through pulse shapers, producing two square signals with CMOS levels. Resistive bridge was chosen to measure parameters of a load because of its simplicity and good frequency response. The switch commutates two outputs of the bridge. After the switch, the signal is mixed with the second channel output to produce audio frequency of 1.7 kHz. A variable attenuator is used to maintain the audio signal level in the desired range. This signal is then filtered and fed into the 10-bit ADC of the microcontroller. There is a simple relationship between the measurement frequency, DDS frequencies and attenuator division ratio:

Subband	Measurement frequency	DDS1 frequency	DDS2 frequency	Harmonic number	Attenuator ratio
1	0.1 … 10 MHz	0.1 … 10 MHz	DDS1 + 1.744 kHz	1	/25
2	10 … 30 MHz	3.333 … 10 MHz	DDS1 + 581 Hz	3	/3
3 (AA-54 only)	30 … 54 MHz	6 … 10.8 MHz	DDS1 + 349 Hz	5	/1

The 128×64 graphical LCD and the 6×3 keys keypad are connected directly to the CPU. Also, the AA-54 is equipped with 128K of external Flash memory to store measurement results. The USB interface chip allows connecting the analyzer to the PC.

Close look at the bridge

This is a diagram of the resistive bridge and its connection to the mixer:

The switch which is controlled by the CPU feeds the signal from the certain side of the bridge to the mixer chip. When the load is totally active and its resistance is 50 Ω, the bridge is balanced and the switch outputs the same signal in both positions. This eliminates the need of calibration of the analyzer, also giving very good precision near SWR=1.

RigExpert AA-30

RigExpert AA-30 Specifications

RigExpert AA-30 – How it works?

Structure diagram

Close look at the bridge

RigExpert AA-30
Specifications