The new PFM3000 from TTi (Thurlby Thandar Instruments) is a UK built hand-held frequency counter which can measure signals from below 3 Hz to above 3 GHz
Its low cost of £115 puts it into a similar price category as hand-held multimeters.
Despite its compact size and low cost, the PFM3000 incorporates several advanced features.
It uses the 'reciprocal counting' measurement technique to achieve high measurement resolution at all frequencies.
The system yields up to eight digits of resolution per second of measurement time, and can resolve low frequencies to 0.001mHz (0.000001Hz).
Two measurement ranges are provided.
Range A covers from below 3Hz to above 125MHz via a high impedance input.
Range B covers from below 80MHz to above 3000MHz via a 50ohm input.
Sensitivity is typically better than 15mV across the range, rising to 25mV at 2.5GHz and 50mV at 3GHz.
Period measurement is provided for signals in the range from 8 ns to 330 ms.
A selectable low-pass filter is provided to reduce the noise on lower frequency signals.
A 'hold' key allows readings to be frozen on the display whenever required.
Low power consumption circuitry ensures long battery life, and a 'push to measure' facility is also incorporated.
This provides an immediate reading on the press of a key followed by an automatic power down after 15 seconds, thus ensuring maximum battery life when continuous signal monitoring is not required.
The PFM3000 is housed in a robust ABS case measuring 81 x 173 x 30mm (7 x 3 x 1.2 inches) and weighing less than 200 g (7 ounces).
A large LCD display of very high contrast with 11.5mm high characters is incorporated.
The display incorporates 15 annunciators covering measurement function, measurement time, units, overflow, trigger activity and low battery.
