Signal analyzers from under $35,000 combine higher bandwidth, advanced real-time capabilities

Signal analyzers from under $35,000 combine higher bandwidth, advanced real-time capabilities

The mid-range RSA5000 Series signal analyzers offer more than double the acquisition bandwidth available today in competing instruments, thus covering the entire ISM band used by technologies such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, RFID, and Wireless LAN, Providing highly advanced real-time capabilities to reduce the so-called time-to-insight (the amount of time it takes to understand the nature of a problem and find a solution) while lowering cost (instrument prices start at under $35,000), the analyzers aim to let engineers reliably and efficiently discover transient spectral phenomena created by digital RF circuitry.

The series initially consists of two basic models: the RSA5103A with an input bandwidth from 1 Hz to 3.0 GHz, and the RSA5106A whose input bandwidth goes to 6.2 GHz. For both models, the acquisition bandwidth can be either 25, 40, or 85 MHz. Critical measurement specs include 17 dBm third-order intermodulation (TOI) and -154 dBm/Hz displayed average noise level (DANL) at 1 GHz, and phase noise of -131 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset and -150 dBm DANL at 10 MHz carrier frequency.

Traditional midrange signal analyzers, whose maximum acquisition bandwidth has been 40 MHz, are unable to trigger on transient problems, while the RSA5000 analyzers offer DPX Live RF spectrum display to permit rapid detection of previously unseen signal behavior: the new instruments can measure spectral transients as brief as 5.8 µs. Standard capture memory is 48,000 spectrums/s, optionally expandable with the Swept DPX engine to 292,000 spectrum/s for up to 7 s over the full 85 MHz measurement bandwidth and 6.2 GHz input range.

Triggering options include frequency mask, frequency-edge, density, time-qualified, and runt triggers, and the units can be used to isolate hardware/ software anomalies with cross domain triggering between multiple instruments. To speed troubleshooting, the instruments can analyze captured data in any domain at any time with correlated markers. Automatic pulse measurement and detection options support multiple measurements on the same set of captured data, replacing multiple test runs. (Base prices from $34,900 for 25 MHz/3.0 GHz to $ 68,800 for 85 MHz/6.2 GHz, plus options — available now.)

Tektronix , Beaverton , OR
Information 800-833-9200
http://www.tek.com