Pulse Detection Tab (Pulse)

Menu Path: MeasSetup > Pulse Properties > Pulse Detection

The Pulse Detection tab lets you specify appropriate amplitude reference, threshold and hysteresis levels which are used to derive the Pulse Detection Threshold (dBm deciBels referenced to a milliWatt: dB relative to 1 milliwatt dissipated in the nominal input impedance of the analyzer) level as reported in the Pulse Summary results table. The Pulse Detection Threshold (dBm) level is used to detect which measured pulse signal amplitude level transitions will be considered as valid pulses for inclusion within pulse analysis results.

The Pulse Detection Tab allows you to set the following parameters:

Reference -- Defines the level to be used as a reference for the pulse detection threshold. You can select a reference "Relative To Top Level", "Relative To Base Level", "Relative To Range", "Equal to Trigger", or you can select an "Absolute” reference level.
Threshold -- The threshold determines whether a pulse is detected or not. The top of a pulse must exceed the threshold in order to be detected. The threshold is defined in dB in relation to the defined reference, or as an absolute threshold in dBm. By default, the threshold is in (dB). The threshold is in (dBM) when the Reference is set to "Relative to Range" or "Absolute".
Hysteresis -- Defines a hysteresis for pulse detection in dB in relation to the defined threshold. As long as the signal does not exceed the hysteresis, the next threshold crossing is ignored.
Ignore Dropouts -- When checked, rejects short drops in amplitude during pulse "on" time . These are typically a side effect of intra-pulse modulation (Barker phase shift, FSK Frequency Shift Keying: A form of modulation using multiple carrier frequencies to carry the digital information. The most common is the two frequency FSK system using the two frequencies to carry the binary ones and zeros. or frequency-stepping, etc.), where the magnitude of the pulse briefly falls. The value you set, in seconds, is the maximum Pulse Power Dropout duration (sec) to be ignored during pulse detection.

If a pulse at the end of a segment ends within the Ignore Dropouts limit, the pulse will be ignored. To prevent the possibility of ignoring a real pulse due to segment length being too short, either increase the segment length or turn off Ignore Dropouts. When Ignore Dropouts is enabled, the segment length should be greater than the maximum expected pulse width plus the Ignore Dropouts limit.
Min Pulse Width -- Specifies minimum Pulse Width (sec) for a pulse to be included in detected pulse results when Min Pulse Width is checked.
Max Pulse Width -- Specifies maximum Pulse Width (sec) for a pulse to be included in detected pulse results when Max Pulse Width is checked.
Display Detection Threshold Line-- Displays a line on the active trace that shows the threshold for the current measurement.