The RSA603A Gives You the Bandwidth and Analysis Tools You Need to Succeed

The RSA603A brings real-time spectrum analysis and wide analysis bandwidth to solving the problems of engineers who need to characterize, validate and manufacture their designs. The heart of the system is the USB-based RF spectrum analyzer that captures 40 MHz bandwidths with great fidelity. With 70 dB dynamic range and frequency coverage to 7.5 GHz, you can fully characterize wideband signals up to 40 MHz bandwidths. The USB form factor moves the processing power to the PC of your choice, so you decide when you need more processing power or memory.

The optional tracking generator enables gain/loss measurements for quick tests of filters, amplifiers, duplexers and other components, and you can add cable and antenna measurements of VSWR, return loss, distance to fault, and cable loss as needed.

SignalVu-PC Software Offers Rich Analysis Capability for Your Lab

The RSA603A operates with SignalVu-PC, a powerful program used as the basis of Tek's traditional spectrum analyzers, offering a deep analysis capability previously unavailable in low-cost laboratory solutions. Real-time processing of the DPX spectrum/spectrogram is enabled in your PC, further reducing the cost of hardware. Customers who need programmatic access to the instrument can choose either the SignalVu-PC programmatic interface or use the included application programming interface (API) that provides a rich set of commands and measurements directly. Basic functionality of the free SignalVu-PC program is far from basic.

The RSA603A Combined with SignalVu-PC Offers Advanced Measurements

With 40 MHz of real-time bandwidth, the unique DPX spectrum/spectrogram shows you every instance of an interfering or unknown signal, even down to 100 μs in duration. The following image shows a WLAN transmission (green and orange), and the narrow signals that repeat across the screen are a Bluetooth access probe. The spectrogram (upper part of the screen) clearly separates these signals in time to show any signal collisions.

Finding unexpected signals is easy with unattended mask monitoring. A mask can be created on the DPX spectrum display, and actions taken upon every violation, including stop, save a picture, save acquisition, or send an audible alert. In the illustration below, a mask violation has occurred in red on the mask, and a picture of the screen was saved as a result. Mask testing can be used for unattended monitoring and when playing back recorded signals, enabling testing for different violations on the same signals.

The tracking generator is controlled via SignalVu-PC. Here you can enter start-stop frequencies, set number of steps in the span, adjust reference level, and normalize the tracking generator with a calibrate function.

SignalVu-PC Application-Specific Licenses

SignalVu-PC offers a wealth of application-oriented options including:

General Purpose Modulation Analysis

SignalVu-PC application SV21 bundles 27 different modulation types into a single analysis package and offers constellation displays, eye diagrams, symbol tables, trellis diagrams, modulation quality summaries and more. Symbol rates and filter types are adjustable and an internal equalizer is included for signal optimization. The illustration below is of a TETRAstandard signal modulated with pi/4DQPSK modulation at 18.0 ksymbols/sec.

Bluetooth

With application SV27 you can perform Bluetooth SIG standard-based transmitter RF measurements in the time, frequency, and modulation domains. This application supports Basic Rate and Low Energy Transmitter measurements defined by Bluetooth SIG Test Specification RF.TS.4.1.1 for Basic Rate and RF-PHY.TS.4.1.1 for Bluetooth Low Energy. Application SV27 also automatically detects Enhanced Data Rate packets, demodulates them and provides symbol information. Data packet fields are color encoded in the Symbol table for clear identification. Pass/Fail results are provided with customizable limits and the Bluetooth presets make the different test set-ups push-button. The measurement below shows deviation vs. time, frequency offset and drift, and a measurement summary with pass/fail results.

APCO 25

SignalVu-PC application SV26 enables analysis of APCO P25 signals. The following image shows a Phase II HCPM signal being monitored for anomalies with the spectrogram while performing transmitter power, modulation, and frequency measurements to the TIA-102 standards specification.

LTE

Application SV28 enables the following LTE base station transmitter measurements:

The measurements follow the definition in 3GPP TS Version 12.5 and support all base station categories, including picocells and femtocells. Pass/Fail information is reported and all channel bandwidths are supported.

The Cell ID preset displays the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) in a Constellation diagram. It also provides Frequency Error.

WLAN 802.11a/b/g/j/p/n/ac

With options SV23, 24 and 25, sophisticated WLAN measurements are easy. On the 802.11ac (20 MHz) signal shown, the spectrogram shows the initial pilot sequence followed by the main signal burst. The modulation is automatically detected as 64 QAM for the packet and displayed as a constellation. The data summary indicates an EVM of -37.02 dB RMS, and burst power is measured at -17.32 dBm. SignalVu-PC applications are available for 802.11a/b/j/g/p, 802.11n, and 802.11ac to 40 MHz bandwidth.

Playback

Application SV56, Playback of recorded signals, can reduce hours of watching and waiting for a spectral violation to minutes at your desk reviewing recorded data.

Recording length is limited only by storage media size, and recording is a basic feature included in SignalVu-PC. SignalVu-PC application SV56 (Playback) allows for complete analysis by all SignalVu-PC measurements, including DPX Spectrogram. Minimum signal duration specifications are maintained during playback. AM/FM audio demodulation can be performed. Variable span, resolution bandwidth, analysis length, and bandwidth are all available.