Patent ID: 8186877

Claim:
A method of using a common subchannel to assess operating characteristics of one of a plurality of transducers that are coupled to said subchannel, said method comprising: providing a plurality of transducers and a plurality of sensors, each of the plurality of transducers having one of the plurality of sensors coupled thereto for determining the temperature of the transducer, and each transducer configured to be selectively powered with RF energy; connecting an output of each of the plurality of sensors to a common subchannel, said subchannel having a measurement terminal on one end and a coupling input on the other end, said measurement terminal being configured for connecting to a meter, and said coupling input being configured to be coupled to an output of each of the plurality of sensors; connecting an RF power source to a selected one of the plurality of transducers; selectively providing a low frequency power source to the sensor coupled to the selected transducer; and measuring at least one voltage on the measurement terminal and using the measured at least one voltage to determine the temperature of the sensor coupled to the selected transducer.