Evaluation Engineering - 18

PORTABLE INSTRUMENTS

Some instruments designed for the lab
can also serve as portable instruments.
For example, Tektronix recently introduced updated versions of its TBS1000
and TBS2000 oscilloscopes, according to
David Pereles, technical marketing manager, global marketing. " These scopes are
designed for bench use, but are compact
and often follow engineers and technicians into the field, " he said. " The TBS1000
weighs just 4.4 lbs. and is roughly the same
size as the TDS2000, which has been used
by field engineers for years. "
Pereles added, " These are line-powered
oscilloscopes, so they are best-suited to
applications in commercial and industrial
environments where line power is available. They are reliable, with robust frontends designed for heavy use. "

Applications
Portable scopes and analyzers find use in a
variety of applications. " Because FieldFox
performs a variety of measurements in one
portable, cost-effective formfactor, it has
a place in almost any RF and microwave

test environment, " said Gross at Keysight.
" We primarily see it used in aerospace and
defense applications and telecommunications, but it has its places in many other
industries as well. In current COVID-19
times, we see engineers working from
home and using FieldFox in lieu of their
normal benchtop test equipment found in
their lab at work, " she added.
Gross also explained that FieldFox's
measurement precision is comparable to
that of Keysight's benchtops. " Unlike our
benchtop analyzers, FieldFox was designed
for portability and contains ergonomic features not found on benchtop instruments,
like a carrying strap and total weight of
less than 8 pounds, " she said.
Reese at Keysight said the company's
portable scopes support field analysis and
troubleshooting in avionics, aerospace,
power-supply, and industrial-equipment
installation and maintenance applications. She added that several benchtop
models are also lightweight but not
battery-operated. The most recent of
these, introduced in March, include the

Rohde & Schwarz ZPH handheld analyzer.
Courtesy of Rohde & Schwarz

EVALUATION ENGINEERING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020

EDUX1052A, EDUX1052G, DSOX1202A,
and DSOX1202G, which primarily target
education, small businesses, and hobbyists.
According to Markley at Rohde &
Schwarz, the company offers handheld
devices across many different product categories, including oscilloscopes, spectrum
analyzers, vector network analyzers, and
combination instruments, serving a broad
industry and application set. " Industries
like mobile network testing and electric
vehicles are hot areas, " he said. " And when
it comes to handheld oscilloscopes, the
RTH is unique in that it not only has the
benefits of common handheld instruments
like isolated inputs and CAT IV ratings,
but it also includes many features typically
only found in benchtop oscilloscopes, like
an MSO, serial decoding, and fast update
rate. " The RTH serves as just one example
of a handheld offering capabilities that are
typically only found in benchtop units, he
said. In addition, he added, " Our ZPH cable
and antenna analyzer has a measurement
speed of 0.3 ms per point-extremely fast
for a handheld instrument. "
The Anritsu spokesperson elaborated
on the IQ Fiber Master, explaining that
it leverages patented PIM-over-CPRI and
RF-over-CPRI measurement capabilities
that allow tests to be conducted on the
ground, reducing tower climbs. " Field
engineers and technicians can use the
MT2780A to scan the uplink RF signals
of a remote radio head (RRH) for in-band
interference while simultaneously conducting PIM over CPRI measurements, "
he said. " Supporting all tier 1 LTE basestation radio manufacturers, the single
instrument solution can determine if
KPIs are being affected by interference
or PIM. " He added that analyzing CPRI IQ
data allows users to view a radio's uplink
spectrum to troubleshoot interference issues. " The IQ Fiber Master measures PIM
over CPRI with four SFP inputs, providing
the ability to compare multiple bands and
sectors as well, " he said.
Smith at Pico Technology agreed with
Gross at Keysight that many engineers
are working at home because of COVID
restrictions. " But they still need access to
general-purpose high-performance test
equipment that was previously available
in their workplace laboratories, " he said,

Evaluation Engineering

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