X-10 RF meter (was Re: XTB II Review)

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Dave Houston" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:459b1d21.9944265@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> >>
http://www.rfsolutions.co.uk/acatalog/RF_Signal_Strength_Meter.html
> >
> >Only 49 pounds for thre 315MHz units.  Not sure what that comes to in
> >American money but I suspect it's outside my price range again.  I've
found
> >some used meters on Ebay for cheap (under $50) but with very little
> >documentation it's hard to tell if they work in the proper frequency
range.
>
> It might be possible to build one for under $15 but I'm not sure how it
> might be affected by being handheld while searching for a transmitter.
>
> The RF receiver modules that I specified the BX24-AHT and roZetta have a
> linear output pin which can be used as a signal strength indicator. You
> would want an inefficient antenna, a battery and you might get buy with a
> multimeter as the readout. More likely you would need a PIC and an LED or
> some type of visual indicator.

I googled some more and found this after plugging in the specs of the UK
model you found:

http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/7573/7573.html

"Priced at only $80, the portable RF Meter is a low-cost signal-strength
measurement tool for designers of RF radio systems. Two models are available
to detect signals at 315 MHz or 433.2 MHz. Radio-transmitter signal strength
is indicated by a 10-digit LED display with a one-second peak hold function
to simplify measurement readings. The unit operates from a 9-V flat battery,
and it has low-battery indication and an auto-shutoff feature that activates
after 60 seconds of no operation. RF sensitivity is -110 dBm. The IF
bandwidth is 600 kHz. Housed in a 4.33- by 2.56- by 0.94-in. ABS enclosure,
it operates from 0°C to 60°C."

I can live with $80.  The only problem is the above turns out to be an older
article.

The vendor site:

http://www.okwelectronics.com/products/radio/rfmeter.html

Lists it currently at $114.  If this site that tested the output of various
X-10 transmitters was right,

http://billfernandez.com/bfd2/hobbies/home_automation/X10_xmit_strength.txt

there's no guarantee that this meter will even be able to detect X-10
transmissions at more than a few feet.  That may or not be enough to work as
a stuck key finder.  I guess I'll keep looking - someone might have had a
pallet load of them made in China and are selling them for less.  If I
*knew* it would find stuck transmitters, I'd make the purchase but $114 for
what could turn out to be totally useless gear is not an attractive
prospect.

Side note to Jeff: "nevermind!"  (-:

--
Bobby G.