How to measure rf cable losses by using VSWR meter?

Connect the VSWR meter between the transmitter ( or signal source ) and the length of RF cable. The far end of the cable must be OPEN ( or directly shorted ). Power up the transmitter ( perhaps at a reduced power level to protect the transmitter ). Quickly measure the resulting SWR.. If the cable had zero loss ( not possible ), all of the energy would be reflected back and the SWR meter would indicate infinite SWR. Since some loss occurs on the round trip, the SWR reading will be less. SWR reading VS LOSS 3.0 3.0 dB 2.5 3.6 dB 2.0 4.7 dB 1.7 5.8 dB 1.5 6.9 dB 1.2 10.3 dB The matched-line loss ( Lm) for the frequency of measurement may be determined from: Lm = 10 log [ ( SWR + 1) / (SWR - 1) ] were SWR = the SWR value measured at the line input.