AD8318 RF Logarithmic Detector RSSI Measurement Power Meter 1-8000MHz 70dB

Wished it worked better.... unit was enclosed in a RF tight enclosure with proper terminationsto be used as a log detector for a sweep setup using a HP-3336 and Tek 604 XY monitor.Several problems with the board were noted: When changing RF input the levels the log outputshowed signs of oscillation.The usable display range was at best 60dB before either noting gain compression at the high end, or poorlog tracking at lower levels.Users who are using these boards with an oscilloscope display for sweeping might consideradding a 1k resistor in series with a .05uF cap to ground to form a simple video filter--that will reduce base band noise, but it will also require slower sweep times to avoid skewing.These were probably intended for use with as power level detectors, and for that applicationI suspect they will be fine.

Using a 9 volt battery for power but the output is stuck at 2.1 volts regardless of RF activity level. Very disappointed. Fluke? I don’t know, but very frustrating. Might try to return this and look for a different product.Update! -- A meter is not the tool to measure the output of this device because the voltage varies with the RF level and that can be quite fast. A scope would help, but a meter will blend the effect of the duty cycle and not show the triggering events. Best to use this with an arduino and look at the "Serial Scope" output to understand what's actually happening. This device works and it will give you a response, but it's not as sensitive as some YouTube videos would lead you to believe. And it is not effective at seeing your cell phone transmission. But it does work and does show RF transmissions. As usual, Amazon quickly replaced the item I thought to be faulty - which I will be returning in exactly the same working order as it arrived.

I don't have it installed where I want it, yet, and I have not tested it for absolute sensitivity, but knowing AD it will meet the specs - hence minus one star - But it does work and it is NEAT! It can be used for many measurement tasks (not just RSSI) with a little bit of signal processing or voltage dividers or filters. Analog Devices is "Make it Smaller, More affordable, Easier to Design stuff" Company these days. The ability to measure and convert signals like this used to take a whole bunch of components, but not any more! You gotta love AD! And the PLL Synthesizers RULE THE EEE Design world - PERIOD.

Haven't given it any sort of workout, but it looks nice and I can see the demodulated signals on my oscilloscope.I wanted to find RF sources in my house - TV stations within 50 miles and RFI around the house that might interfere with my TV reception and my Z-Wave and Wi-Fi systems.

Not as good as i would like

use it as a RF power meter ( sensor )

I had to experiment to find the working power level for the input. Other wise the part works as advertised.

We bought these for a Mini-Circuit replacement that actually uses the same circuit. What is nice about this unit is there is a voltage regulator which is not in the very expensive Mini-Circuit equivalent.The readings are very close to the AD8318 datasheet and I could say confidently they were within 2-3dB of estimated readings from datasheet. I compared with our spectrum analyzer.We bought two of these and one of the capacitors was place sideways, so I'm giving 4 stars based on build quality.