USB spectrum analyzer, next chapter

There was a generally favourable review in the September 2011 RadCom (RSGB magazine) which only listed one negative: apparently wide band sweep can take several seconds to complete, which could be a problem when making certain types of adjustments.

Yes, I've read it. That's the review they have stored on the above web site. So I wanted to see if there was a 2nd opinion :-)

Just remembered that Nico Coesel had mentioned it here. Nico, did you buy it?

Someone else too. It does look like a decent analyzer for rough EMC measurements. There is an API so you can do custom programming of measurements. Which you'd probably want to to for EMC.

Someone pointed out the phase noise(or something related) isn't all that good.

Cheers

Pre-compliance is all I need. I don't know what the TSA security folks will say when they see it in my carry-on. It sure would be better than hoping the client got their rental analyzer in time, and not always knowing which one they got. This way they'd only have to rent antennas and those are nearly always the same.

That's great but programming isn't my turf. I've done some but can't say I'd ever enjoyed it.

Bram (ham radio call sign SM0FLY) seemed to be quite happy. Further below in this thread but not in English:

On page 2 he has a PDF attachment (it won't link to here) and it doesn't look all that bad WRT phase noise. Anyhow, I just sent him an email, see if he still likes it after using it for a year.

Nope. I went for an old junker from Advantest and patched it up. It still cost me about the same but people here had some doubts about the specs of the Signalhound. I also considered building one of the many homebrew devices floating around the internet but I soon figured that building a proper spectrum analyser is not easy at all hence the steep prices you pay for new and used ones.

Ok then, I might still bite. The old Advantest would wrinkle up the shirts and trousers in the carry-on, and give me a back pain :-)

What I really like are things such as their harmonics display. That would have helped with many PFC efforts, big time. In that mode it hops from one harmonic to the next and displays all of them on one screen. The large analyzers usually don't have stuff like that.

So far I haven't seen any other USB-operated device like this, at least not this small.

Joerg Inscribed thus:

Likely written by someone with a vested interest !

That I don't think. He is a British ham radio operator, and also a bit far away for vested interest. However, I am surprised that the device seems to be less popular than I thought. I've asked in a German NG as well and it appears nobody there knew it.

I've emailed them asking about the computer requirements, to see if it'll work on a netbook that is slower than they recommend (when accepting slower scans). Mentioned my intent to buy, yet no response from their sales folks all day.

I just brought a prototype back from a trade show in my carry-on luggage a few hours ago, and the TSA people didn't even blink at it. No extra attention from the X-ray operator in either direction (SEA-

looks much more diabolical.

OTOH, the checked suitcase with my HP bench supply and some large ovenized crystal oscillators in it was searched both times.

-- john

They can search me or ask me all sorts of questions. That's no problem because I usually arrive early enough. What would not be so cool is if they'd want to take it away.

I've carried all sorts of electronics through TSA when going to trade shows. Always some 'scopes but sometimes other weird looking things. Most of the time they want to look at it, but never has it been taken away. The only time we had trouble was going into Canada, we described all the instruments on some form. The pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer caused big head aches. It's nuclear after all!

George H.

Should have said "nucular", then it would have been waived right on through :-)

Isn't that why they were renamed to MRIs?

At Birmingham Airport (UK):

"And what is *that* sir?"

"Uh... Equipment"

"Equipment?"

"Yes... I can go into detail if you like!"

".... Uh, no thats OK. Carry on."