RigExpert Stick Pro.
Users Manual

The Stick Pro analyzer can be turned on in several ways: – by pressing the  key. – when connecting the analyzer to a PC via a USB cable (the analyzer will turn on automatically). – by long-pressing one of the keys :     Important! At the same time, the analyzer will turn on and activate the measurement mode to which the pressed key corresponds.

You can turn off the analyzer from any mode by long pressing the  key.

After turning on the analyzer, using the  key a screen with the main menu of the analyzer is available for the user.

Important! Unlike the Stick 230 analyzer, the Stick Pro analyzer has three main screens with menus.
Screen switching is carried out by short pressing of key.
In addition to service information, at the top of the screen (battery charge, the indication of connection to a PC, charger, Bluetooth connection), the screen displays 4 main measuring functions of the analyzer:

Singe   Multé 

HAM    Free

The Singe and Multé modes display the measurement result as numbers, while the HAM and Free modes display the measurement results as numbers and charts.

Bound   TDR

R&X    RLoss

The TDR, R&X and RLoss modes display the result in the form of charts and numbers, and the Bound mode in the form of numbers and color indication.

StubT   cLen

cImp    cLoss

The cImp and cLoss modes display the result in the form of charts and numbers, and StubT and cLen mode in the form of numbers and color indication.

When you press   in the Main Menu, 13 information screens will be available.
The first 12 screens will briefly talk about the main measuring functions of the analyzer (Single, Multé, HAM, Free and others). By pressing the  key, you can switch to the corresponding measurement mode.
On the thirteenth screen when you press the key, you will enter the Settings menu.

Single is a measurement of all parameters. The mode is started by pressing the    key.
After pressing the key, the measurement will start automatically. This is indicated by a flashing antenna icon located at the top of the screen. You can stop the measurement by pressing  once. You can resume the measurement by pressing   once.

In Single mode, the analyzer has 5 screens with information.
The first screen displays:

• working frequency
• SWR value
• return loss value

The second screen displays:

• working frequency
• |Z| value
• value of active (R) and reactive (X) resistance (taking into account the sign) for the series mode

The third screen displays:

• working frequency
• |Z| value
• inductance (L) and capacitance (C) value for series mode

Important! Sometimes inductance or capacitance values are displayed with a minus sign. It would seem to be contrary to the laws of physics. But no, in RigExpert analyzers, the minus sign next to the value indicates how much inductance or capacitance you need to add to the circuit in order to compensate for the reactive component of the impedance.
On the fourth screen are displayed:

• working frequency
• magnitude
• value of active (R) and reactive (X) resistance (taking into account the sign) for parallel mode

The fifth screen displays:

• working frequency
• phase value
• inductance (L) and capacitance (C) value for parallel mode

Screens switch among themselves by pressing    keys.
There are two ways to change the value of the operating frequency:

• keystrokes  and  A single press changes the frequency value minimally. If you press and hold the keys, the frequency will change continuously with an accelerated step.
• pressing and holding the   key for 2 seconds. After that, an information window will appear on the analyzer screen. Press  key again. A window will appear on the analyzer screen with the setting of the operating frequency. The   keys select the cursor position to change units, tens, hundreds, thousands of kHz, and the   keys change the value.

A single press of the  key saves the change and returns to Single mode.
A single press of the  key returns to Single mode without saving changes.
The help menu is accessible by pressing and holding the  key and then selecting the Help mode with the   keys.

Multé is a new mode, in which you can quickly assess how well your antenna works on different HAM bands. The result is displayed as stars. The smaller the SWR of the antenna in the range, the more stars.
Table of the dependence of the number of stars on the SWR:

5   –   SWR from 1.0 to 1.1

4   –   SWR from 1.1 to 1.15

3   –   SWR from 1.15 to 1.3

2   –   SWR from  1.3 to 1.7

1   –   SWR from 1.7 to 3.0

The SWR over 3 analyzer in Multé mode ignores.

If, after scanning, the analyzer didn’t find a single resonance, then this means that either your antenna has a minimum SWR of more than 3, or the antenna or coaxial cable is damaged.

Restarting this mode is possible by pressing any key except  key.
After successful measurement in Multé mode, the following information will be displayed on the analyzer screen:

• band
• number of stars (out of 5)
• a minimum value of SWR and the frequency at which this value was found

If there are more than one results detected by the analyzer, then the screens are switched using the   keys.
When you press the   keys on one of the results screens, the analyzer switches to HAM mode on the same band.

  

A long press of the key will bring up the Help menu.

This mode allows you to measure and display the SWR antenna chart on the analyzer screen on one of the fixed HAM radio bands such as:

2.2 km, 630 m, 160 m, 80 m, 60 m, 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m, 12 m, 11 m, 10 m, 6 m, 2 m, 70 cm.

Enabling this mode is possible either from the main menu by pressing the   key or when the analyzer is off by a long press of the same key.  The measurement will be performed automatically in the range that was used in the previous measurement.

To repeat the measurement, press   once. To measure in a cycle, press the  key two times at short intervals. A long press of the   key will bring up the Help window.

 You can change the measuring range using the    keys.

In HAM mode, the SWR icon and the range over which the measurement is carried out are displayed at the top of the screen.

In the center of the screen, a chart of the SWR values for the range is displayed.

The value of the minimum SWR found and the frequency at which this value was found are displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Important! To the left and right of the graph are two vertical stripes. They indicate going out of range. Sometimes the resonance of the antenna may be out of range, but very close to the beginning or end. In such cases, the analyzer will determine the resonance beyond the limits of the ranges.

When you press the  or  keys the analyzer switches to Free mode with the center frequency of measurement corresponding to the center frequency of the selected range:

  

You can exit the mode in the main menu by briefly pressing the  key.

This is a classic SWR measurement mode with plotting in a user-defined frequency band.

This mode is useful for survey measurement of the antenna in a wide frequency range or for measuring the SWR in a very narrow predetermined area.

In Free mode, the following is displayed on the analyzer screen:

• at the top of the screen: the value of the center frequency of the measurement and the width of the measurement band.
• in the middle of the screen: SWR chart
• at the bottom of the screen: the SWR value under the marker (solid vertical line) and the minimum of the SWR found (dashed vertical line).

 

There are two ways to set the center of the measurement frequency:

•   keys. Pressing the key once will change the frequency discretely to a certain value. Pressing and holding the key will cause an accelerated continuous change in frequency.
• long press   After press, a window will be available with a choice of setting the center frequency, exit or calling Help. Press    briefly and enter the frequency setting menu.

  

The   keys select the cursor position to change units, tens, hundreds, thousands of kHz, and the   keys change the value.
Setting the measurement bandwidth by pressing the   keys.
The minimum bandwidth is 10 kHz.
A quick double press of the  key will cause a measurement in a loop. To stop click  key.
To exit the mode, briefly press  key.

The Stick Pro analyzer has 24 memory cells for storing measurement results from any graphic modes, such as HAM, Free, R&X, Return Loss.

To save the measurement results into memory after plotting the graph, press and hold the key. Then press the  key (Save).
Use the   keys to select an empty memory slot and press the key.

You can name the cell (maximum 13 characters). Use the   keys to select a character, the key to adding a character, and the key to delete a character.

Loading results from memory is similar, instead of the key, use the key.

Important! In HAM mode, you can only load measurements that have been taken and saved in this mode.

In this mode, you can quickly check your antenna for “pass/fail”
The measurement is performed at one frequency.
Set in the settings (long press of the key) the value of the operating frequency.
You can select the measured parameter (SWR or RL) by simultaneously pressing the arrow keys.
Here, set the value below which the measurement will be considered “good”.

This mode is convenient when you tune the antenna and at the same time visually follow the readings on the analyzer screen. Large print and color alarms will not let you miss out on the best results.

Time Domain Reflectometers (TDR) are electronic instruments used for locating faults in transmission lines.
A short electrical pulse is sent over the line, and then a reflected pulse is observed. By knowing the delay between two pulses, the speed of light, and the cable velocity factor, the DTF (distance to fault) is calculated. The amplitude and the shape of the reflected pulse give the operator idea about the nature of the fault. Time Domain Reflectometers (TDR) are electronic instruments used for locating faults in transmission lines.
A short electrical pulse is sent over the line, and then a reflected pulse is observed. By knowing the delay between two pulses, the speed of light, and the cable velocity factor, the DTF (distance to fault) is calculated. The amplitude and the shape of the reflected pulse give the operator idea about the nature of the fault.

Instead of a short pulse, a “step” function may be sent over the cable.

Unlike many other commercially-available reflectometers, Stick Pro does not send pulses into the cable. Instead, another technique is used. First, R and X (the real and the imaginary part of the impedance) are measured over the whole frequency range (up to 600 MHz). Then, the IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform) is applied to the data. As a result, impulse response and step response are calculated.
This method is often called a “Frequency Domain Reflectometry”, but the “TDR” term is used in this document since all calculations are made internally and the user can only see the final result.

The vertical axis of the resulting chart displays the reflection coefficient: Γ= -1 for short load, 0 for matched impedance load (ZLoad=Z0), or +1 for open load. By knowing the cable velocity factor, the horizontal axis is shown in the units of length. Single or multiple discontinuities can be displayed on these charts. While the Impulse Response chart is suitable for measuring distance, the Step Response chart helps in finding the cause of a fault.

Connect the cable to the analyzer and click the key. Do not forget to set the vel. factor of the cable used in the settings.

 

Use the   keys to change the vertical scale.
Use the   keys to change the position of the cursor on the chart.

A mode that almost completely corresponds to the SWR mode. RL is the ratio of signal power or reflection coefficient expressed in decibels.

In RL mode, the following is displayed on the analyzer screen:

• at the top of the screen: the value of the center frequency of the measurement and the width of the measurement band.
• in the middle of the screen: RL chart
• at the bottom of the screen: the RL value under the marker (solid vertical line) and the max of the RL found (dashed vertical line).

 

There are two ways to set the center of the measurement frequency:

•   keys. Pressing the key once will change the frequency discretely to a certain value. Pressing and holding the key will cause an accelerated continuous change in frequency.
• long press   After press, a window will be available with a choice of setting the center frequency, exit or calling Help. Press    briefly and enter the frequency setting menu.

  

The   keys select the cursor position to change units, tens, hundreds, thousands of kHz, and the   keys change the value.
Setting the measurement bandwidth by pressing the   keys.
The minimum bandwidth is 10 kHz.
A quick double press of the  key will cause a measurement in a loop. To stop click  key.
To exit the mode, briefly press  key.

R&X mode displays values ​​of active and reactance in a user-selected frequency range.
Set the center frequency of the measurement by long-pressing the  key.

The frequency band is changed by pressing the   keys.
Set the full range by simultaneously pressing the   and keys.

The R&X mode works in two modes:

Standard. In this mode, changing the shift of the cursor with the   keys will cause repeated measurement and redrawing of the chart.

In pan mode, you can move the cursor left and right without redrawing the chart. This is convenient when you need to quickly view the R X values ​​in a certain frequency range.
This mode is entered by simultaneously pressing the  and  keys.

Exit the mode – quickly press the key.

The Stub tuner mode is designed to help making or checking 1/4-λ or 1/2-λ coaxial stubs.

Connect either open or short circuited cable to the analyzer and press the  key to start.

The analyzer will immediately show resonant frequencies for both quarterwave and halfwave stubs.

The Stick Pro analyzer is powered by a 18650 Li-ion battery. The analyzer comes with a 2800 mAh battery.

The analyzer can be charged from a PC. According to the specification, when connecting the analyzer to the USB 2.0 connector, the maximum charge current is
0.5 A. When connecting the analyzer to the USB 3.0 standard connector, the maximum charge current is 0.9 A.

The analyzer for charging can be connected to any charger (for phones/tablets) with an output voltage of 5 volts and a current of at least 0.5 A.

The maximum charge current of the analyzer is 1 A.

The time for a full charge of a battery with a capacity of 2800 mAh (from 0 to 100%) is about 3 hours (when using a charger).

During charging, the bottom of the analyzer near the USB connector may become slightly warm. This is not a malfunction.

During charging in the off state, the lightning icon is displayed on the analyzer screen.

During charging, when the analyzer is on, the CRG icon will be displayed at the top of the screen. If the charge occurs with a current of 1 A, then, in this case, the
FAST icon is additionally displayed. For example, a screenshot of the screen of the analyzer charged from the charger:

The analyzer battery can also be charged separately. For this, it is necessary to remove it from the analyzer by unscrewing the two screws of the battery cover and place it in an external charger.

The Stick Pro analyzer is protected against battery polarity reversal. An incorrectly installed battery will not cause damage to the analyzer, and when the charger
is connected, the analyzer will display an error message on the screen.

Important! Do not use other types of batteries! Do not use chargers with a voltage of more than 5 volts! This may damage the analyzer.

Remember to prepare the calibration kit in advance!
During the calibration process, the analyzer screen looks something like this: