Product Update

The A3303 tester puts all the instruments you need to test ISO layers 1, 2, and 3 in a single package. The fiber-optics tester operates at data rates as high as 2.5 Gbps, and it includes a bit-error-rate tester (BERT), attenuators, power meters, an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), an optical spectrum analyzer (OSA), couplers, splitters, protocol analyzers, optical filters, and optical sources. Because the internal instruments are ready to use as soon as you turn the system on, moving the A3303 to a new location doesn't involve reconfiguring sensitive optical links for a new operating environment.

A clever display that departs from the Windows motif shows available tests, instruments running tests, and test results. Users can rearrange the screen to set test criteria, establish multiple-test menus, present test results, and display statistical and other test data. The unit easily automates testing on physical-layer criteria, layer-2 protocols, and layer-3 protocols.

Price: $90,000. Circadiant Systems , Allentown, PA. 610-871-0500; www.circadiant.com .

Manually "connecting" the outputs of JTAG tests to schematic diagrams and PCB layouts used to take considerable time. The JTAG Visualizer software now provides a link between the JTAG Technologies' JTAG tools and EDA data from Cadence, Innoveda, Mentor Graphics, and Zuken. As a result, you can see signals on a schematic that do and don't have fault coverage, as well as view JTAG control signals as they pass through a complex circuit. Previously, tracing and highlighting such signals across dozens of printed pages was an error-prone chore.

The JTAG Visualizer software aids during production test by displaying nets that cause errors and require repair. By highlighting faults right on schematic diagrams and on PCB layouts, it reduces the time used for diagnostics and repair. You can find all instances of a signal within multiple pages of schematic diagrams by clicking on a net name or a pin number.

Price: $4750 for extractor and schematic Visualizer; $4750 for PCB Visualizer. JTAG Technologies , Stevensville, MD. 877-367-5824; www.jtag.com .

Fluke's popular ScopeMeter line—handheld instruments that combine the features of an oscilloscope, a digital multimeter, and a paperless recorder—includes two models with color displays, making it easier to view the waveforms. The 200-MHz model 199C and the 100-MHz model 196C provide larger displays and more acquisition memory than their monochrome predecessors. Both models have displays with 12 horizontal divisions; to accommodate the extra divisions without losing sample resolution, the instruments store 1200 samples rather than 1000. The color screens use 320x240 pixels, which results in 25 pixel columns in each of the 12 horizontal divisions.

Using four intensity levels, the color ScopeMeters give you a graded persistence that emulates analog scopes. You can set the decay time for each intensity so you can view modulated analog signals and get a feel for jitter in digital signals.

With the 199C and 196C, Fluke has extended the scope's auto setup so the instrument can trigger on signals that used to elude most auto setup algorithms. The "Connect-and-View" feature, for example, can trigger on a digital signal that repeats a series of differing-width pulses.

Prices: 199C—$2995; 196C—$2695. Fluke , Everett, WA. 425-347-6100; www.fluke.com .

To help you analyze the optical and electrical signals in telecom and datacom transmissions, Tektronix has introduced a family of communications signal analyzers—the CSA7000 series digital oscilloscopes. The first two members of the family—the CSA7404 and CSA7154—combine a digital oscilloscope with optical input, clock recovery, serial triggering, and optical signal-analysis tools. You can view optical signals with one channel while you view electrical signals with the other channels.

The instruments can extract a clock from data streams, enabling you to synchronize measurements without using an external trigger source. The CSA7404's 2.3-GHz optical bandwidth lets you measure data streams at 2.5-Gbps (OC-48) rates. The CSA7154's 1.3-GHz optical bandwidth lets you analyze 1.25-Gbps data streams.

Prices: $37,500 to $57,500. Tektronix , Beaverton OR . 800-426-2200 (request code 1241); www.tektronix.com.

Third Millennium Test Solutions (3MTS) has introduced three test systems that can serve in a variety of application areas. Personal_ATE incorporates system-on-chip (SOC) instrumentation capabilities in a package designed to fit on an engineer's desk. The system supports application development, program verification, device characterization, test-time optimization, and failure analysis. A quiet air-cooling system directs airflow away from the engineer's workspace. The desktop-level DUT site features a light-tight enclosure to enable testing of light-sensitive circuits.

A flexible architecture that adapts to various test strategies highlights DFT_ATE, which can be reconfigured to meet changing DUT test needs throughout the product lifecycle. The system mates traditional instrumentation with low-cost DFT-ready test channels. It accommodates a variety of traditional digital and mixed-signal instruments, including four-quadrant power sources to ±50 V at 5 A, digitizers to 16-bit resolution, 40-Msample/s arbitrary waveform generators, 80-MHz clock generators, and various digital-I/O and general-purpose analog-measurement capabilities.

Targeting high-volume production, Integrated_ATE combines low-cost test resources with high-throughput production-handler resources. Integrated_ATE features a 10-ft² footprint and a 3-kW power supply; it weighs less than 40 lbs. An automated docking system enables rapid exchange of DUT boards without the need for a manipulator. The compact system can be readily hard-docked to handlers and probers, minimizing test-signal path lengths and consequently minimizing guardbands.

Base prices: Integrated_ATE—$200,000; Personal_ATE and DFT_ATE—$100,000. 3MTS , San Jose, CA. 408-435-1788; www.3mts.com .

A handheld tachometer lets you quickly measure the rotational rate of motors, shafts, gears, and other equipment. The HT-5100 and HT-5200 provide a visible-light LED that lets you position the instrument close to the rotating device you want to check. Both models produce readings in units of rpm, rps, m/min, count, and ms, and you can measure maximum and minimum values. Using the LED mode, you can measure from 6 to 99,000 rpm. You also can use contact rings to touch a rotating object and measure rates from 6 to 20,000 rpm. The HT-5100 produces an auxiliary analog output, and the HT-5200 provides an auxiliary pulse output. Price: HT-5100—$500; HT-5200—$580. Ono Sokki Technology , Addison, IL. 630-627-9700; www.onosokki.net.

Although most PCs come with standard RS-232 serial I/O ports, few offer RS-485 ports. You can overcome this deficiency by using a Magic485 converter module to convert RS-232 signals to RS-485 signals that communicate with RS-485- or RS-422-compatible devices. The screw contacts provide transmit and receive pairs, so you can use the module in four-wire full-duplex or two-wire half-duplex systems. The module turns off the transmitter line between messages, thus removing the transmitter from a communication loop that may include several transmitters. The Magic485 converters come with 25- or 9-pin connectors that attach directly to a serial-port connector. Price: $125. ICSDataCom , Pleasanton, CA. 925-416-1000; www.icsdatacom.com.