Product Update

Featured test and measurement products from the February 2011 issue.

-- Test & Measurement World, 2/1/2011 12:00:00 AM

USB power sensors measure up to 40 GHz See frequency and its time Module performs Fibre Channel analysis 24-bit module enables audio/vibration testing Software allows precise frequency analysis

Audio tester measures Bluetooth sound
The dScope III audio tester from Prism Sound lets you measure sound quality on Bluetooth devices such as headsets, microphones, and speakers. You can use the audio tester for development, manufacturing, and compliance testing. The dScope III consists of an audio generator and analyzer that connects to a PC through a USB port. Software lets you measure sound quality from both analog and digital audio with time-domain and frequency-domain plots.

You can also use the dScope III to evaluate ADCs, DACs, and codecs for Bluetooth and other devices. For codec tests, you can use multitone tests to evaluate frequency response, amplitude, and harmonic distortion. When testing digital audio streams, the dScope III lets you check for dropouts and glitches in Bluetooth data streams that can affect audio quality.

Prism Sound, www.prismsound.com.

USB power sensors measure up to 40 GHz
Rohde & Schwarz is expanding its portfolio of USB-capable power sensors with the new R&S NRP-Z85 and R&S NRP-Z86, which can measure power from 50 MHz to 40 GHz without requiring a base unit. Instead of a base unit, the sensors are connected to a PC via a USB interface. The sensor and PC combination displays envelope power over a dynamic range of –47 dBm to +20 dBm. Additionally, the R&S NRP-Z85 and -Z86 provide high-precision continuous-average measurements over the entire dynamic range from –60 dBm to +20 dBm, and they also offer high-resolution pulse analysis.

The wideband power sensors can be operated from a PC via the R&S NRP-Z4 USB adapter or in combination with an R&S NRP/NRP2 power meter. They can also be connected to any signal generator and virtually any signal, spectrum, or network analyzer from Rohde & Schwarz. Users can read the power measured from the device under test directly at the generator or analyzer.

With a video bandwidth of up to 30 MHz and a sampling rate of 80 MHz, the R&S NRP-Z85 and -Z86 can be used to analyze the time characteristics of modulated signals. The rise time of less than 13 ns enables measurement of frequently analyzed pulse shapes. The power sensors can measure both peak power and average power over a defined time interval as well as perform statistical signal analysis. Measurement uncertainty is 0.18 dB at 40 GHz.

The power sensors' automatic pulse-analysis function provides peak-power and average-power measurements as well as information on other power and time characteristics of pulsed signals, including pulse top level, pulse duration, pulse period, pulse duty cycle, and pulse rise and fall times. Using equivalent time sampling, the R&S NRP-Z85 and -Z86 can display pulsed signals with a very high time resolution by sampling a series of consecutive waveforms of a pulsed signal. The measurements are time-shifted relative to one another, yielding a compacted sequence of samples, which over time are combined into a complete waveform. The R&S NRP-Z85 connects to a DUT via a 2.92-mm connector; the R&S NRP-Z86, via a 2.4-mm connector.

Rohde & Schwarz, www.rohde-schwarz.com.

See frequency and its time
If wireless communications signals frequency hop or if a wireless transmitter shuts down, you may need to see how a signal's frequency, amplitude, and phase characteristics change over time. The RSA5000 series of signal analyzers from Tektronix can show you those changes, because they let you trigger a measurement on a frequency characteristic much in the way an oscilloscope lets you trigger on a signal's timing. A color-density display lets you statistically see frequency occurrences just as an oscilloscope displays time occurrences.

The RSA5000 series consists of two models with different frequency ranges—the RSA5103A (1 Hz to 3 GHz) and the RSA5106A (1 Hz to 6.2 GHz). The instruments have acquisition bandwidths of 25 MHz, with 40 MHz and 85 MHz available as options. The 85-MHz wide acquisition bandwidth lets you see the complete signal for wireless signals such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, RFID, and WLAN.

Base price: $34,900. Tektronix, www.tektronix.com.

Module performs Fibre Channel analysis
Designed for high-speed network analysis, the modular Xgig 16G Fibre Channel analyzer from JDSU fits into the company's Xgig 5000 chassis to help network-equipment manufacturers ensure their systems comply with the 16G Fibre Channel specification. With support for upper-layer protocols, including FCP (Fibre Channel Protocol), IPFC (Internet Protocol over Fibre Channel), FICON (Fibre Connectivity), SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), and FC-AE (Fibre Channel Avionics Environment), the Xgig analyzer blade analyzes 16G Fibre Channel links to let manufacturers identify and fix errors, ensure quality data transmission, and improve overall equipment and network performance. JDSU claims that the Xgig 16G Fibre Channel analyzer captures 100% at any line rate up to the maximum data rate of 14 Gbps (the real wire rate).

Each blade can serve as a protocol analyzer, jammer, and load tester through simple software reconfiguration. By cascading multiple Xgig systems, you can group up to 64 time-synchronized ports for system analysis and testing.

JDSU, www.jdsu.com.

24-bit module enables audio/vibration testing
Equipped with a 24-bit simultaneous-sampling ADC and DAC, the PCI-9527 signal-acquisition module from Adlink Technology is intended for audio testing, acoustic measurement, and vibration analysis. The board furnishes two analog-input channels with a sampling rate of up to 432 ksamples/s, along with two analog-output channels with an update rate of up to 216 ksamples/s. You can adjust the sampling rate by setting the onboard DDS clock source to the appropriate frequency.

The PCI-9527 features a dynamic input range of greater than 100 dB and an input voltage range of ±40 V to ±0.316 V. Analog inputs are software-configurable for AC or DC coupling, and integrated piezoelectric sensors interface with an accelerometer sensor and microphone. In addition, the PCI board supplies one external digital trigger I/O connector.

The PCI-9527 includes drivers and software-development-kit support for Windows and for third-party applications such as LabView. It also comes with Adlink's Dynamic Signal Assistant, a software utility for signal acquisition and waveform generation.

Adlink Technology, www.adlinktech.com.

Software allows precise frequency analysis
Pendulum TimeView 3 software from Spectracom turns the Pendulum CNT-91 timer/counter into a real-time measurement analyzer. Applications for the TimeView 3 MDA (modulation-
domain analyzer) software include analysis of pulsed RF in radar equipment and testing of frequency-control components. Spectracom says it also emulates Agilent Technologies' discontinued Model 53310A MDA.

TimeView 3 builds on the features of version 2.1 and adds an improved GUI and more automated settings. In addition to the Model 53310A emulation mode, new features include precise FM calibration; additional post-processing functions, including MTIE (maximum time-interval error) and TDEV (time deviation) wander metrics; and improved pulsed RF visualization.

Spectracom, www.spectracomcorp.com.