Bird BPME – Broadcast Power Monitor with 3-1/8” Line Section

The item on this page is a Bird BPME with 3-1/8” line section. Other sizes are available and can be navigated to from the product series above.

Bird’s Broadcast power monitors are a compact, microprocessor-controlled instruments intended for long-term VSWR and power monitoring. Get continual, accurate power readings and VSWR monitoring with around-the-clock remote access from any web enabled device. This unit can be configured in the field for frequency and channel and offers integration of forward and reflected elements into the RF Detection/Control Circuit for added stability and greater dynamic range.

• Integral Power Monitor System
• Integration of forward and reflected elements into the RF Detection/Control Circuit yields added stability and greater dynamic range
• Frequency/Channel Field Configurable
• Provides channel flexibility when needed in the field
• Ethernet & RS-232 Enabled
• Future-ready remote monitoring, control & instant alarm alert
• Integral RF Test Port
• Enables mask compliance testing, as well as monitoring of spectrum, modulation, frequency & RF envelope performance
• Data Logging Capabilities
• System trends and anomalies can be detected before failures

The enhanced Broadcast Power Monitor (BPM-E) is an instrument that is inserted directly into a transmission line to monitor the forward power, reflected power, and VSWR of the system. The BPM-E consists of a line section with forward and reflected directional couplers and an additional housing that contains the external circuitry. The external circuitry consists of a detector circuit and a control circuit.

The directional couplers sample, through a known coupling factor, the forward and reflected wave in the transmission line. The coupled RF signal is passed to the detector board and converted into a DC voltage. The DC voltage, which is proportional to the RF power in the line section, is then sent to the control circuit.

In the control circuit, an analog-to-digital converter digitizes the incoming signal and passes it to a micro controller that manages input and output processing. The control circuitry communicates by sending signals to the alarm and power LEDs, receiving a user initiated signal from the reset button, and both sending and receiving signals via the RS-232 connector (DB9), the Ethernet connector (RJ45), and the power/alarm connector (DB15).

Bird offers over 100 variations of its BPME RF power monitor. To simplify the selection and ordering process, the BPME is divided into six parts based on the size of the line section. All six of these can be navigated to from this page.

Line section sizes are as follows:

• 7/8”
• 1-5/8”
• 3-1/8”
• 4-1/16”
• 4-1/2”
• 6-1/8”

Within each group, there is a dropdown menu at the top of the page. Products are sorted in order by the following selection criteria:

• For 7/8” systems
• First sorted by frequency band, next by input and output connectors, power level and panel mount
• For 1-5/8”, 3-1/8”, 4-1/16”, 4-1/2” and 6-1/8” systems
• First sorted by frequency band, then input interface and power level

The chart below indicates power and frequency ranges covered for each line size in the BPME product series.

1. RF input

2. Power/alarm parallel port

3. RS-232 serial port

4. Alarm LED

5. Monitor on LED

6. Reset switch

7. Ethernet port

8. RF output

9. RF test port

Measuring RF power and system match characteristics can be made with the BPME in any installation, regardless of the signal waveform. Complex waveforms such as 8-VSB and COFDM, used in IBOC, DAB and HDTV systems, as well as FM, AM and CW signals are accurately measured to ensure total power output requirements.

HD Radio is combined with the analog signal at the input to the antenna. Analog power coupled to the digital transmitter must be considered when specifying the BPME. The 20 dB dynamic range of the BPME will allow for easy high-level combined installations. HD Radio is combined with the analog signal at the input to the antenna. Analog power coupled to the digital transmitter must be considered when specifying the BPME. The 20 dB dynamic range of the BPME will allow for easy high-level combined installations.

HD Radio and an analog signal can use interleaved antennas for separate but simultaneous transmission. High isolation reduces the mutual coupling however, analog power coupled to the digital transmitter must be considered when specifying the BPME. With 20 dB of dynamic range, the BPME is ready to handle this type of installation.

Multi-station operation will have a high peak-to-average power ratio, depending on the number of stations combined. Power meters not equipped to handle this high ratio will display accuracy errors up to 20%. With the ability to accurately read greater than 10 dB peak-to-average power, the BPME is your choice for multi-station applications.