For reaching the farther end at a budget one can swing, I think this series is more suited.
You simply need to supply a PC/Laptop, which isn't a big deal these days.
P.S.
I have absolutely no affiliation with this company..:)
Jamie
I'll second that. Most of all, the track gen looks a lot more clean than what Dave Jones showed for the TG of the Rigol. What I like most is that it's all so small, I can easily carry that plus enough clothing and stuff for 3-4 days in a pilot's case. But one has to keep in mind that this is a fairly bare-bones SDR, so things like image rejection are done mathematically, meaning it can fool you with pulsed signals.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
I think your results on a run of the mill PC will be disappointing. You need hi-end rendering ability, like a hand me down gamer machine or something. Definitely the case if any DSP, FFT, etc. is involved.
Nah. I do this on a Gammatech Durabook laptop that is around five years old. Runs like a champ. It was a bit advanced for its time back then and contains a very sporty AMD processor.
On the road I used the Signalhound with a Samsung NC-10 which has a li'l Atom processor. That is more like trying to pull a horse trailer with a Toyota Hilux but when backing off on the display mode it was no problem at all. Did a whole big pre-compliance job that way. The plots I got were rather close to what the client later got at the EMC lab (and passed).
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Most of my PC's and laptops are high end stuff. THe older slower items I use for hooking up to micro controllers for programming etc.
Most systems these days will render a basic image just fine. I think you'll find that games have a lot more cpu intense processing going on out side of rendering that slows things down a bit.
Anything coming through the USB port is not going to be real time but close enough for GOV work.
Jamie
I would not count on that:
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
On a sunny day (Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:53:50 -0800) it happened Joerg wrote in :
I did spend about 50 $, and have close to DC [1] to 2.1 GHz range and 1 MHz BW full speed on USB2 with display even on a Sempron 145 [2].
The other 2400 $ can be used for cookies. Silly, I can record 2 FM stations a the same time too. I will go one step further, I can receive DVB-T (terrestrial) and record a 2 TV stations at the same time with this. And don't even ask how many digital radio stations... And I have FM, AM, USB, LSB, DSB. And mine is (are I have 2) smaller, the one with the Elonic 4000 tuner chip is the size of a stamp.
Any soft I need I write, open source too.
LOL Any other fights?
[1] Use a RF converter. [2] make no mistake, this is a different Sempron cpu MHz : 2812.834 cache size : 1024 KB
full speed on USB2
So can you get a true resolution bandwidth of less than 1Hz? How about track gen measurements to characterize a narrow crystal filter?
[...]-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
I just did some Conducted Line Noise tests with the Signal Hound. While not an EMC Quasipeak reciever, it proved to be worth the effort to set it up. The ballpark results were not far from the actual lab measurements. And thats even after we rolled our own LISN.
Cheers
On a sunny day (Sat, 23 Feb 2013 15:59:06 -0800) it happened Joerg wrote in :
BW full speed on USB2
Yes that should be no problem.
Not sure what you mean by that, but writing soft is up to you to do whatever you think you need. If you have no clue about digital signal processing, start reading this free online book:
These thing produce (among other things like transport stream), IQ pairs of the signal, so complex, and with that you can do anything.
It sure does satisfy all my needs for a 'spectrum analyzer' plus some more.
The price difference is a sign on the wall for where it will go. All because of consumer electronics and integration, Just did read Qualcomm brought out a LTE chipset that supports world wide standards...
But the gist is that with all these cool integrated RF things, that what did cost a zillion now goes for a few $$, or maybe $$$ if 0bama keeps printing.
BW full speed on USB2
standards...
cost a zillion now goes for a few $$,
and he will until the dollar is just kinlin wood.
Jamie
AFAIK that is a major challenge with these cheap sticks. On my last trip to Europe I was almost tempted to buy one because it's smaller than the Signalhound. But when I saw the result from others I refrained. Dynamic range and intermodulation range were also issues.
So your software solders together a complete TG? Wow! But before I believe that I'd like to see it.
If you have no clue about digital signal
I know signal processing.
Yeah, for hobby those can be nice. Give you a tool that wasn't on the shelf before, for little money.
Oh, I won't :-)
IMHO he has no fiscal discipline whatsoever :-(
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
Building a small LISN for it is on my to do list since I get involved in this more and more. I don't want to schlepp a big one because now most airlines over here charge even for the first check piece of luggage.
But you know how it is with to-do lists. There's higher priority items that SWMBO put on there. A "minor" bathroom remodel, some plumbing, ...
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
BW full speed on USB2
You need the oscillators to be that stable, though. Cranking down the filter BW is not the issue.
Software won't cut it for that job. Oscillator phase noise will smear out the response before the digitizer ever sees it, unless of course you're actually digitizing at the RF frequency directly. (And of course the phase noise will be statistically nonstationary, so good luck deconvolving it out.)
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 USA +1 845 480 2058 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net
On a sunny day (Sun, 24 Feb 2013 07:40:21 -0800) it happened Joerg wrote in :
You did not answer the question?
It is not that difficult, especially since a huge amount of work has already been done by others with open source code. The 'resolution' in Hz is just simple math.
The absolute oscillator frequency can be a bit off, but not a big problem as I have the rubidium generator, you can make markers with it, or set a reference carrier with a PLL. About 20 kHz off at 1 GHz is normal. Just add it in the FFT.
I did add some fun features in the latest code (not on website yet).
I will wait for LTE, maybe then I will buy a xxxpad just for fun. With LTE I could drop cable again... cable is getting pretty expensive here, and I do not watch TV via cable, just via sat.
Well he prints his own pocket money, and gives people food stamps to vote for him, from his pov that is clever.
Huh? You cannot make a TG with software.
been done by others
have the rubidium
PLL.
And how exactly does that create a TG?
If the prices for using LTE arrive at a reasonable level I might bite as well. Or if I need it for the job some day, then I'll just have to.
him,
Sure, but that wrecks a country. And it seems the majoprity of people no longer understand that.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
On a sunny day (Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:53:54 -0500) it happened Phil Hobbs wrote in :
BW full speed on USB2
Depends, seems pretty stable (amazing) so far, yes there is an offset, but not a lot of phase noise or drift, look up the Elonics 4000 tuner datasheet also called 'super tuner' by some. And in one sample run it is like a snapshot, like a camera flash, motion freezes :-)
I think because that tuner is 100% integrated it is much less sensitive to environment. I tried tapping it, try that with a discrete design, it will shoot all over the place. Not saying this is better than your 10k$ boat-anchor, although perhaps it could be, just that from the perspective of what I use it for, it is good enough for me. And I like the programming (opportunity) that comes with it. Been studying digital processing for more than a week now. Maybe I should get a Phd... idea did enter my head, but it did before and think I am too old and too much of mind of my own (also called experience sometimes) to pick up that stuff. But nice to play with it.
On a sunny day (Sun, 24 Feb 2013 08:06:47 -0800) it happened Joerg wrote in :
Sorry my ignorance what do you mean by TG (meaning of that abbreviation)?
The majority does not care :-) They have the foodstamps :-)
MHz BW full speed on USB2
freezes :-)
environment.
the place.
could be,
think I am too old and
stuff.
So use it to scan something nice and stable, like some harmonic of your Rb standard, and you'll see what the oscillator stability is.
Not to say that this isn't a fun and useful gizmo--it is. But there's a reason for all of those phase-locked YIG-tuned oscillators in high-end analyzers.
Cheers
Phil Hobbs
-- Dr Philip C D Hobbs Principal Consultant ElectroOptical Innovations LLC Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics 160 North State Road #203 Briarcliff Manor NY 10510 USA +1 845 480 2058 hobbs at electrooptical dot net http://electrooptical.net
On a sunny day (Sun, 24 Feb 2013 11:42:45 -0500) it happened Phil Hobbs wrote in :
Numbers, I want numbers: From Elonics-E4000-Datasheet.pdf 'E4000 MULTISTANDARD CMOS TERRESTRIAL RF TUNER': Frequency Synthesiser (Note 7) min typ max FVCO VCO frequency range 2600 3900 MHz /R R (VCO output) divider ratio 2 48 FLO Local Oscillator Frequency Range 64 1700 MHz FLO Local Oscillator Frequency Step Size(Note8) 10 20000 Hz Integrated phase noise (1kHz 8MHz) -29 dBc Phase Noise @ 10kHz -80 dBc/Hz Phase Noise @ 2MHz -125 dBc/Hz /Z Z (phase detector) divide ratio 64 255
Mean anything to you?
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