Manual | Software | Installation | ZM Data Plotter | Tips (Back to ZM30 home page) ZM30 Antenna Analyzer RESOURCE PAGE Manual | Back to Top The Users Manual contains full operational description and instructions on using the ZM30 Antenna Analyzer. Download ZM30 Users Manual Software Installation Guide | Back to Top The Software Installation Guide provides step-by-step instructions for loading new software onto your ZM30 Antenna Analyzer. Download Software Installation Guide ZM30 Software | Back to Top ZM30 Software Update V.6.0Version 6.0     (Apr 1, 2008)   Bug fixes. [Don't forget to select Setup ==> Default Settings to keep internal memory in sync with new software load.] ZM30 Software Update V.5.0Version 5.0     (Nov 12, 2007)   Bug fixes. [Don't forget to select Setup ==> Default Settings to keep internal memory in sync with new software load.] ZM30 Software Update V.4.0aVersion 4.0a     (Nov 28, 2006)   Bug fixes. [Don't forget to select Setup ==> Default Settings to keep internal memory in sync with new software load.] Version 3.0b     (Dec 11, 2005)   Many nice user interface improvements: menu item re-entry, frequency display remains between modes, dial press to exit start/end freq selection, and more. [Don't forget to select Setup ==> Default Settings to keep internal memory in sync with new software load.] Version 2.7a     (June 25, 2005)   Improves selection process for Start/End scan frequencies. Version 2.6a    (May 15, 2005)    Adds extra scan bands, works with ZM-Link, fixes tone feature. Tips & Tricks | Back to Top Default Settings -- It is a good practice to select Setup --> Default Settings after loading new software onto your ZM30.  This brings back most settings to the standard/default state for normal operation. This is also a handy menu selection to bring back all settings to the default state after selecting many alterations during a measurement session.  (Note:  This menu selection does not affect Calibration data, so you do not need to recalibrate after selecting Default Settings.) Custom Band Scan -- If you wish to scan a band of requencies whose start/end frequencies are not already available in the menu selections, you can set the custom Star and End frequencies in the Setup menu. Once you exit Setup, you must then select Band --> Custom Band in order for those new Start/End frequencies to take effect when the Scan button is pressed. Finding Resonance -- Once you have found the minimum SWR for the antenna system being measured while manually adjusting in Impedance mode or after automatically scanning, you may wish to drop the frequency dial resolution down to a lower increment in order to more precisely determine the resonance frequency.  Press and hold the Dial while turning to move the cursor to a lower point in the display and continue adjusting the frequency while monitoring the SWR display. ZM Data Plotter | Back to Top Download ZM Data Plotter (zip file) Here is a wonderful little Excel macro program that takes the scan data produced by the ZM30 Antenna Analyzer and automatically generates a plot of the SWR, Resistance and Reactance.  By a simple keystroke and pointing to the previously-uploaded data file, the macro generates a colorful scaled graph such as this one that shows the results from a multiband dipole: Image (click on text): Screen shot of Excel Data Plotter [2-30 MHz scan of K7SBK multiband dipole using ZM30 and the Excel Plot macro] Note all the useful data shown in the plot: major resonance at 14 MHz, interesting minor resonances at the SWR dips at 5 and 24 MHz, interesting behavior of resistance and reactance at various frequencies, and especially on either side of the resonances. DESCRIPTION The TeraTerm "log" function allows you to write an AA908 data file to anywhere on your PC and name it anything you like very easily.   ZM30plot is an Excel workbook containing a macro that goes and gets these files and imports them into Excel.  It then plots a graph of the data and the macro subsequently terminates leaving you inside Excel to do what you want with the graph and data.   It can handle multiple data sets on separate Excel sheets and then the whole thing can be saved as a workbook containing the graphs and datasets.   The workbook and its macro is written in Excel 2003. OPERATION 1) Getting the ZM30 scan data into the PC     When you bring up TeraTerm, select "Log" under the File menu and select a filename and location where you want your data file to go. Then just get your scan data from the ZM30 in the normal way ... connect it to the PC with your serial cable, select the Data Option "Send during scan" on the ZM30, and then hit the Scan button!  The data sent to the PC and shown on the screen will be saved to the file you specified when you close TeraTerm. 2) Displaying the plot of your antenna scan     Double-click on the ZM30plot.xls file on your PC, which will bring up Excel and load the worksheet. (You may need to select the "Allow macro execution" button if it pops up in Excel when you run the program.)  A message will be shown in the workbook saying "ZM30 Data Plotter: CTRL m to select input file".  Press Control and M at the same time and a dialog box will come up for you to navigate to the data file you just created from the scan.  Once you select it, a chart of the scan data will be displayed.  You can print the chart or save it as a unique filename, like the name of your antenna or date of the scan. Caution: Don’t change the read only property on the workbook file and then save a ‘used’ workbook back on top of it -  it can result in a real mess :-) This is yet another neat accessory program for the ZM30 Antenna Analyzer and it is a great way to archive graphic results of one's antenna work. Image (click on text): This is a plot of the dummy antenna that N2APB uses during ZM30 development.