Small EMC antenna

Pack it properly and send it ahead by FedEx?

In a wooden crate, maybe. Else it can break just as easy. A few months ago I saw a formerly pristine HP3585 that must have had a head-on with the tarmac. Even the deflection plates in the CRT had torn off. That can make grown men cry, they don't build analyzers of that caliber anymore. That delayed our project substantially.

I assume you know about stuff like this:

This looks tough, sort of a cross berween an antenna and a surfboard:

Not real expensive, I seem to recall. I'd go for the transparent, hand-polished version... all the girls would swoon.

John

Joerg hath wroth:

Well, if small is what you want:

I haven't used these and no clue on the prices.

Aargh! The person responsible for that should be hung by the testicles and have his liver pecked out by vultures!

Sure. But show up at the TSA check point with that kind of stuff and there will be a lengthy chat, plus maybe a missed flight. As checked baggage it's the usual white-knuckle flight. Will it be there when I reach the conveyor belt?

There has got to be something simpler and much cheaper. Pre-compliance does not require 3dB accuracy at all.

Yes, that's one option. Rumors have it they'll even make a pre-compliance handheld soon with the right frequency range. Their chip designer is on the German equivalent of s.e.d. so we hear the rumors first :-)

But it would have to be self-imported.

Ah, yes! Thanks. Now I'll scope out a place where I can rent one and try it out on the next pre-compliance job in a few weeks. Plus it's a US source. Sweet.

Looks like it would be a self-import, plus the $/GBP rate ain't so favorable these days.

As long as it's reasonable. If not, and if I have my druthers, I'll calculate one and build it. Preferably totally open so the TSA guys can take a good look and feel confident that it's passive and harmless. Stuff with batteries in there isn't too practical these days if you must fly to your client. Unless it's something a lot of people have like music players.

You won't be able to do any valid measurements without a shielded room unless the EMI from your device is really bad. The noise from the ambience obscures the results. Since you will be able to spot only the major problems, pretty much any antenna will do for that purpose. Of course, the basic antenna theory applies.

Vladimir Vassilevsky DSP and Mixed Signal Design Consultant

I know, it's just for pre-compliance. I've had pretty good luck so far doing that anywhere, always hoping it's not raining and we can measure out on the lawn away from computers and stuff. It works. Except that sometimes you'll have to deal with nosy people walking by, or animals. Once even a deer that decided that the grass between my antenna and the DUT was the best in the whole region. Totally unfazed by clicking relays and all that. Even left a "souvenir" for us.

As for the antenna, yes, I can calculate my own. I was just hoping someone had already kludged and measured one out and posted the "recipe" on the web :-)

Joerg, I get the impression, you're not used to imports. A direct import is usually much better than going through one of those dealers. They just multiply the price without actually doing much. I'm used doing my own imports multiple times a year.

Rene

Or, on something large I don't mind. Except that the power plugs don't jibe, got a scope from England and it came with those unwieldy plugs they have ;-)

They make scopes in England?

John

No, they deserve something even worse. Locked in the same cell with Radium, Eeyore, w_tom, brad_gurth and Phil Allison for eternity.

That comes under "Cruel and unusual punishments".

Not anymore since the Telequipment days I think. It was made in China but only in Europe was there a decent deal to be found. Then a common weirdness applied: It was much cheaper for export than for the Europeans. I have seen that happen a lot.

Joerg snipped-for-privacy@removethispacbell.net posted to sci.electronics.design:

OK, from context and some googling i can see that it is some kind of network analyser. I sure would like a one paragraph description. Manuals for fancy eaglesoft / genisys software packages just are not doing it for me. (available from the Agilent site)

Go to the mfg sites instead. Most companies including Agilent are pretty good about providing manuals for legacy gear. Here are the complete operating and service manuals for the HP3585B but beware, the files are about 14MB and 24MB respectively:

Anyhow, IMHO the HP3585 is the mother of all spectrum analyzers. Audio through 40MHz, has a built-in tracking generator. Huge dynamic range, steep filters, the works. With us analog dudes it has nearly cult-like status, just like the Tek 2465 series, the Harley Fat-Boy and the Pontiac GTO. But it is like with Hammond organs. Every time one is destroyed the total number of units out there shrinks by one. Unlike with cars such as the Cobra there is no realistic chance to build a new one.