DESCRIPTION:

The Bird 5017D Wideband RF Power Sensor is a high-accuracy in-line RF measurement instrument designed for laboratory, field service, production, and communications testing applications. Covering frequencies from 25 MHz to 1.0 GHz, the sensor provides direct measurement of true average power, peak power, and duty cycle while automatically calculating important RF parameters including VSWR, return loss, reflection coefficient, crest factor, average burst power, and CCDF.

Designed for modern analogue and digital radio systems, the 5017D accurately measures complex modulation formats including DMR, TETRA, APCO P25, LTE, GSM, WCDMA, CDMA, TDMA, MOTOTRBO, WiMAX, WLAN, broadcast, avionics, marine, tactical military, and public safety communications. Unlike conventional directional wattmeters, the 5017D delivers modulation-independent measurements with no field calibration required, requiring only annual factory calibration traceable to NIST standards.

The sensor connects directly to compatible Bird Digital Power Meters or to a PC via USB using Bird Virtual Power Meter (VPM3) software, allowing users to display, log, and analyse RF measurements without requiring a separate bench instrument. Its rugged in-line design makes it suitable for transmitter commissioning, RF maintenance, base station testing, broadcast engineering, defence communications, and industrial RF applications.

Technical Specifications

• Model: Bird 5017D
• Product type: Wideband RF Power Sensor
• Frequency range: 25 MHz to 1.0 GHz
• Average power range: 500 mW to 500 W
• Peak power: 1300 W
• Average power accuracy: +/-4 percent of reading plus 0.17 W
• Minimum forward power for reflected measurements: 0.5 W
• Impedance: 50 ohm
• RF connector: N Female
• Maximum insertion loss: 0.05 dB
• Maximum input VSWR: 1.05
• Directivity:
  • 29 dB from 25 MHz to 50 MHz
  • 30 dB from 51 MHz to 1 GHz
• Measurements:
  • True average power
  • Peak power
  • Duty cycle
• Calculated parameters:
  • VSWR
  • Return loss
  • Reflection coefficient
  • Crest factor
  • Average burst power
  • CCDF
• USB interface
• RS-232 interface
• Compatible with Bird Digital Power Meters
• Compatible with Bird Virtual Power Meter (VPM3) software
• Annual NIST-traceable calibration recommended
• No field calibration required
• Maximum average power derates above 300 MHz according to Bird specifications.

Key Features

• 25 MHz to 1.0 GHz frequency coverage
• 500 mW to 500 W average power measurement
• 1300 W peak power capability
• True average RF power measurement
• Peak power and duty cycle analysis
• Measures forward and reflected power
• Calculates VSWR and return loss
• USB plug-and-play operation
• Compatible with Bird VPM3 software
• Compatible with Bird Digital Power Meters
• No field calibration required
• NIST-traceable annual calibration
• Supports analogue and digital modulation formats
• Suitable for broadcast and land mobile radio
• Suitable for public safety and military communications
• Suitable for production, laboratory, and field RF testing