Evaluation Engineering - 12

PORTABLE INSTRUMENTATION

display. However, as mentioned earlier,
the advancements go far beyond superficial ergonomics and lead to integrating
full-fledged benchtop capabilities into a
portable form factor."
Dunn, Keysight: "Device and component
test-cable and antenna tester, time domain reflectometer, full two-port VNA,
noise figure analyzer, vector voltmeter,
extended range transmission analysis,
and tracking generator; Signal analysis-spectrum analyzer, real-time spectrum analyzer, time gating, interference
analysis, CW source, channel scanner,
analog demodulation (AM/FM), overthe-air measurements in 4G and 5G, I/Q
analyzer, pulse measurements with peak
power sensor, frequency counter, modulation analysis, and 100 MHz bandwidth;
Utilities-GNSS/GPS receiver, DC bias
variable voltage source, remote control
capability, and security features."
Chonko, SIGLENT: "One of the cornerstones of SIGLENT's design philosophy is
to provide tools that deliver solutions for
the engineer. The base measurements are
critical, but what you do with the data
is just as important. For example, our
SSA and SVA spectrum analyzer lines are
very portable at just over 10 lbs., but they
have excellent performance and usability, making them ideal for the lab bench
or the field. They feature a large bright 10"
LCD, user-defined limit lines for masking, multiple marker modes and trace
options, as well as broadcast specific
measurements like occupied bandwidth,
adjacent channel power, and TOI. These
measurements are made on-screen and
provide the user with instant information that can help them solve the issue."
Smith, Pico Technology: "The emerging
need for automotive Ethernet debug and
analysis tools is a significant challenge
for traditional portable oscilloscopes.
BroadR-Reach employs PAM-3 full duplex signaling on a single twisted pair
line. Separating master-slave & slavemaster traffic on the same line has
previously required use of a hardware
directional coupler, which is intrusive,
can cause working systems to fail, and

12

EVALUATION ENGINEERING OCTOBER 2019

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doesn't deliver a signal to the oscilloscope with best integrity."
Lipps, Newark: "Additional features have
been added to portable DMMs, including
environmental tests such as temperature,
relative humidity, and most recently, thermal imaging. USB communications are
now standard on most DMMs, however,
Bluetooth communication has been added recently for remote testing and data
logging features. Most portable oscilloscopes now come with DMM features.
Recently, with modular technology and
software upgrades, features such as automotive, aerospace, medical, and wireless technologies are growing for portable
oscilloscopes. Greater power capacity and
battery life for portable instruments will
continue to grow."

Now on the market
What are vendors' recent introductions
in portable instruments, and their key
features?
Markley, Rohde & Schwarz: "Rohde &
Schwarz has recently expanded its R&S
Cable Rider ZPH cable and antenna analyzer portfolio with a two-port model,
which combines all of previous instruments and combines additional features

into one powerful handheld unit, ideal for
use in the field. This adds further support
for network infrastructure manufacturers
and operators in installing and maintaining the growing number of mobile communications antenna systems. For our
R&S Spectrum Rider FPH family, we now
offer new base models up to 6 GHz, 13.6
GHz and 26.5 GHz, plus corresponding
frequency extensions via software upgrades that now take spectrum analysis
capability up to 31 GHz."
Dunn, Keysight: "Keysight's FieldFox-
the industry's most versatile portable
analyzer-has a new line of futureready analyzers designed to address the
ever-increasing demands of 5G, satellite
communications, signal monitoring, and
electronic warfare applications. Complex
beam sweeping technologies used with
radar and EW systems, as well as with 5G
control channels, will require wider bandwidths and real-time spectrum analysis
tools to capture these intermittent and
elusive signals. FieldFox can connect to
89600 VSA software to demodulate 5G
NR and LTE-A signals up to 100 MHz; or
easily switch to over-the-air (OTA) measurements for 5G and 4G LTE to verify
gNB performance."
Walker, Copper Mountain Technologies:
"We recently introduced our M Series
VNAs, which are lower cost than the
equivalent compact series. Some advanced measurement features were
omitted, and the lowest measurement
frequency was increased to reduce hardware cost."

Rohde & Schwarz' R&S Scope Rider handheld
oscilloscope in use.

Chonko, SIGLENT: "The SIGLENT
SVA1015X was released in 2018, but has
just recently had a significant firmware
update that has extended its capabilities
significantly. The SVA is an instrument
that is a spectrum analyzer with tracking generator and VNA in one package.
RF and broadcast engineers can use the
SVA to monitor transmitters but also test
RF components using the VNA, demodulate digital communications including
IQ/QAM transmissions, and find faults
in cables using the optional distance-tofault option."
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Evaluation Engineering

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