Homebrew Attenuator Measurements contd

It was interesting to measure the insertion loss and maximum attenuator accuracy over a wider frequency range.

The BIG attenuator has a maximum attenuation of 68dB.
The Copper attenuator has a maximum attenuation of 71dB.


As for the previous measurements I used the HP 8657B as the 'standard' against which to compare.

I also used a 0dBm input level for the 71dB (copper attenuator) and 68dB (Big attenuator) measurements in order to move the measurements comfortably up from the lower end of the Power Meter measuring capability. The Power Meter in fact showed a consistent slope ranging from 20.5mV/dB for 1.6MHz to 19.69 mV/dB at 450 MHz. Quite cool for a homebrew power meter!

Reference the following links:

68dB slope calculation

Insertion Loss Measurements

Maximum Attenuation Measurements

In conclusion both attenuators show significant insertion loss and maximum attenuator errors for the 148MHz, 224MHz and 450MHz measurements.

'BIG' Attenuator

'Copper' Attenuator