Spectrum Analyzers

6/19/2018

Jason Chonko from Siglent America is joined by Nick KN6NK to give an in-depth intorudction to spectrum analyzers. We talk about the specs, features, and engineering that make up this handy piece of frequency-domain test equipment. We also explore several common spectrum analyzer uses such as filter and cavity tuning as well as radio purity evaluation.

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Siglent America - https://www.siglentamerica.com/

Siglent SSA3000X Series Spectrum Analyzers - https://www.siglentamerica.com/spectrum-analyzers/

EEVBlog Interview with Eric Qin Founder and CEO of Siglent - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9M397sUkEA

Spectrum Analyzer Do’s and Don’ts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6P-R0C9ro0

Sweeping an Antenna for Return Loss - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X50qybdiLuk

LXI Tools https://github.com/lxi-tools/lxi-tools

SSA3021X/SSA3032X reviews:
EEVBlog review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLciTsjGZg teardown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fr_otW0q4
Block diagram in teardown at 27:05 https://youtu.be/-8fr_otW0q4?t=27m5s
The Signal Path http://thesignalpath.com/blogs/2017/09/20/siglent-ssa3032x-9khz-3-2ghz-spectrum-analyzer-tg-review-teardown-experiment/

2 Comments

Dr. Frank M. Howell link

6/21/2018 21:27:42

Great, great episode, guys! Y'all had great leading and follow-up to the Siglent rep who gave lucid and thorough responses about SAs.

A couple of thoughts....

An RF Sampler for both a SA and Oscope can be bought commercially or built. Here's a recent, QRO, version:
http://www.collinsradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Build-a-Quality-RF-Power-Sampler-Jackson.pdf

Here's another homebrew: https://n9sja.com/2013/10/06/rf-oscilloscope-sampler/

A Vector Network Analyzer that I have is the SDR-KITS Ver 3: www.sdr-kits.net. Mine with the extended board and a few accessories was about $550. The add-on of a Leo Bodnar GPSDO for it was another item I acquired. Plus, the test set board. I'll add a torque tool from them soon. I'm building a "jig" mount for using this VNA on my workbench.

The VNA adds to my Tek 496 SA plus the Tek Tracking Generator. I also have the Digilent AD2.

A new item is the free software for the SDR-PLAY RSP1 that I have...the free software accesses the RSPx SDRs and uses them as a Spectrum Analyzer. Since I acquired the AirSpy HF+ to replace the RSP1, I've found a new use for that SDR. See this link for the discussion and the software in Alpha stage right now:

https://www.sdrplay.com/spectrum-analyser/

Keep up the great work! I'm now interested in Siglent...

Steve Thomas

7/1/2018 21:54:11

Very good episode. I was the senior product manager for handheld spectrum analyzers at a bay area company. I listened very carefully to the content. and was extremely impressed by the accuracy of the presentation. Well done! de N6ST

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