FROM EDN EUROPE: 6 GHz spectrum analyser mixes production and portable roles

Rhode & Schwarz has added the model FSL into its line-up of spectrum analysers; intended as a budget instrument with a comprehensive feature set, it comes in four models that range up to 3 or 6 GHz and have the option of a tracking generator. I/Q demodulation band-width is 20 MHz (sufficient, its designers say, for work on wireless LAN projects), and the dis-played average noise level in a 1Hz bandwidth is –152 dBm (Picture). Total measurement uncertainty is under 0.5 dB. Phase noise is –103 dBc in 1Hz, 10 kHz from a carrier. Users can connect the instrument directly to high-level signals without external attenuators—its 1-dB compression point is at +5dBm.

The FSL is intended both for bench and production environments, with a measurement speed of over 80 sweeps/sec, and electronic attenuators to speed set-up changes and eliminate wear. It includes R&S's "fast ACP" measurement routine to determine adjacent-channel power with a time-domain technique. The instrument's designers have made extensive use of digital filtering, and have included a 10/1000 BaseT LAN port for data transfer. Users can also operate the FSL for up to one hour from an internal battery supply. Price point for the analyser is from just under €11,000 to €16,500, depending on specification.

In the field of network analysis, R&S has extended the concepts behind its ZVB family of instruments (4 and 8 GHz network analysers) into the microwave spectrum. The ZVB family introduced the architecture of a separate generator (source) for each of the ports on the unit, with continuous monitoring to ensure that the multiple sources remain locked and levelled. Each port also features an independent receiver, so that each has a separate reflectometer function. This speeds up measurement by removing the need for extensive internal switching to set the instrument up, and simplifies the task of providing "one-button" reporting of, say, complete S-parameter sets. With the new models in the family, the frequency range is extended to 20 GHz—first in a 2-port version, and later in 3- and 4-port variants. A Windows-based instrument, the ZVB20 can output 16 dBm on all ports, with a power sweep range of over 50 dB. Dynamic range is quoted as over 123 dB. Users can control the unit either from the Windows interface, or by hard- and soft-keys. In the Windows interface, menus are context-sensitive to the current measurement set-up.

Rohde & Schwarz, 149 89 412911765, www.rohde-schwarz.com.