
AD606
REV. 0
–8–
Adjustment Procedure
The slope and intercept adjustments interact; this can be mini-
mized by reducing the resistance of R1 and R2, chosen here to
minimize power drain. Calibration can be achieved in several
ways: The simplest is to apply an RF input at the desired oper-
ating frequency which is amplitude modulated at a relatively
low frequency (say 1 kHz to 10 kHz) to a known modulation in-
dex. Thus, one might choose a ratio of 2 between the maximum
and minimum levels of the RF amplitude, corresponding to a
6 dB (strictly, 6.02 dB) change in input level. The average RF
level should be set to about –35 dBm (the midpoint of the
AD606’s range). R2 is then adjusted so that the 6 dB input
change results in the desired output voltage change, for ex-
ample, 226 mV at 37.5 mV/dB.
A better choice would be a 4:1 ratio (12.04 dB), to spread the
residual error out over a larger segment of the whole transfer
function. If a pulsed RF generator is available, the decibel incre-
ment might be enlarged to 20 dB or more. Using just a fixed-
level RF generator, the procedure is more time consuming, but
is carried out in just the same way: manually change the level by
a known number of decibels and adjust R2 until V
LOG
 varies by
the corresponding voltage.
Having adjusted the slope, the intercept may now be simply ad-
justed using a known input level. A value of –35 dBm (397.6
mV rms, or 400 mV to within 0.05 dB) is recommended, and if
the standard scaling is used (P
X
 = –88.33 dBm, V
Y
 = 37.5 mV/
dB), then V
LOG
 should be set to +2 V at this input level.
A Low Cost Audio Through RF Power Meter
Figure 7 shows a simple power meter that uses the AD606 and
an ICL7136 3-1/2 digit DMM IC driving an LCD readout. The
circuit operates from a single +5 V supply and provides direct
readout in dBm, with a resolution of 0.1 dBm.
In contrast to the limited dynamic range of the diode and
thermistor-styled sensors used in power meters, the AD606 can
measure signals from below –80 dBm to over +10 dBm. An op-
tional 50 
 termination is included in the figure; this could form
the lower arm of an external attenuator to accommodate larger
signal levels. By the simple expedient of using a 13 dB attenua-
tor, the LCD reading now becomes dBV (decibels above 1 V
rms). This requires a series resistor of 174 
, presenting an
input resistance of 224 
. Alternatively, the input resistance can
be raised to 600 
 using 464 
 and 133 
. It is important to
note that the AD606 inputs must be ac coupled. To extend the
low frequency range, use larger coupling capacitors and an
external loop filter, as outlined earlier.
The nominal 0.5 V to 3.5 V output of the AD606 (for a –75 dBm
to +5 dBm input) must be scaled and level shifted to fit within
the +1 V to +4.5 V common-mode range of the ICL7136 for
the +5 V supply used. This is achieved by the passive resistor
network of R1, R2, and R3 in conjunction with the bias net-
works of R4 through R7, which provide the ICL7136 with its
reference voltage, and R9 through R11, which set the intercept.
The ICL7136 measures the differential voltage between IN HI
and IN LO, which ranges from –75 mV to +5 mV for a
–75 dBm to +5 dBm input.
To calibrate the power meter, first adjust R6 for 100 mV be-
tween REF HI and REF LO. This sets the initial slope. Then
adjust R10 to set IN LO 80 mV higher than IN HI. This sets
the initial intercept. The slope and intercept may now be
adjusted using a calibrated signal generator as outlined in the
previous section.
To extend the low frequency limit of the system to audio fre-
quencies, simply change C1, C2, and C3 to 4.7 
μ
F.
The limiter output of the AD606 may be used to drive the high-
impedance input of a frequency counter.
C4
1
μ
F
R1
1M
dBm
INPUT
C1
*
100pF
C2
*
100pF
0.1
μ
F
200
+5V
7
8
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
10
15
16
14
13
I
V
I
I
C
B
O
L
L
F
F
V
P
C
I
L
12
11
AD606JN
51.1
174
dBV
INPUT
C3
*
150pF
OPTIONAL
DRIVE TO
FREQUENCY
COUNTER
+5V
R9
5k
R8
100k
 
R10
100k
R2
54.9k
+5V
R3
54.9k
ICL7136CPL
V–
26
0.1
μ
F
33
34
180k
50pF
40
39
38
1.8M
0.1
μ
F
0.047
μ
F
27
28
29
–75.0
DISPLAY
+5V
1
0.1
μ
F
IN HI
IN LO
30
31
COMMON
REF LO
REF HI
36
35
32
R4
4.99k
+5V
R5
4.32k
R6
500
R7
162
100mV
2.513V NOM
80mV
FOR
0 dBm  
SIGNAL
INPUT
2.433V NOM
+5V
NC
NC
NC
*
FOR AUDIO MEASUREMENTS CHANGE
 C1, C2, AND C3 TO 4.7
μ
F; POSITIVE POLARITY
 CONNECT TO PINS 1, 16 
≈
Figure 7. A Low Cost RF Power Meter