Test bits

Pre-to-post-game analysis

Anritsu will supply the National Football League with 36 MS2721B Spectrum Master handheld spectrum analyzers to research, troubleshoot, and analyze the RF spectrum at the league’s 32 stadiums before, during, and after games.

During a regular-season NFL game, 400 or more frequencies are used at each stadium by all broadcast TV and radio entities, medical teams, team security, and public safety, as well as by team coaches to communicate with players on the field. “Wireless communications usage has increased greatly since . . . [the 1996] Super Bowl XXX,” noted Jay Gerber, NFL Frequency Organization Group manager.

Mobile WiMAX win

Anite, the U.K.-based manufacturer of wireless test instruments, say its Protocol Conformance Toolset and Base Station Emulator have been selected by all of the leading Mobile WiMAX chipset developers and vendors for use in ensuring conformity to the WiMAX Forum’s certification requirements.

According to Intel Mobile Wireless Group Business Development Manager Wolfgang Moeseneder, the tools will “enable customers to accelerate their certification processes for WiMAX devices” which “will be critical to success in the early days of this technology.”

Tips of the trade

Agilent Technologies is offering a series of practical measurement tips and hints based on real applications and test scenarios. The first set in the series focuses on making temperature measurements: picking the right sensor, working in noisy environments, and making fast scans of multiple sensors. Visit http://www.agilent.com/find/measurement_tips.