In this episode Shahriar repairs a Keysight AXIe Chassis (M9505A) with a broken power button. The power button (with built-in LED) are replaced with a functionality-similar setup. The teardown and architecture of the System Controller and Embedded Controller Module are also presented.
The star of the video is an M8190A Dual-Channel 12GS/s 12-bit (or 8GS/s 14-bit) Arbitrary Waveform Generator module. The instrument provides in excess of 90dBc SFDR, 2G-Samples of memory per-channel, digital up-converter, built-in secondary amplifier path and up to 5GHz of analog output bandwidth. The module is coupled with a Keysight S-Series Oscilloscope for experiments showing multi-tone performance as well as image-rejection and extraordinary EVM performance with modulated signals.
In this episode Shahriar reviews the long-awaited Keysight MXR-Series 8-Channel 6-GHz 16-GS/s Real-Time Oscilloscope. The Infiniium MXR-Series is the first oscilloscope to offer 6-GHz bandwidth and 16-GSa/s sample rate on every single one of its eight channels. It also offers excellent performance (ENOB up to 9.0, noise as low as 43 µVrms, dedicated ASICs) which exceeds that of the previous S-Series scopes.
This review is organized as follows:
00:00 – Introductions
01:02 – Instrument overview, front-panel and rear interfaces
4:09 – Full acquisition board teardown and analysis including analog front-end
19:29 – First power-on and impressions
20:48 – Comparison and experiments with the Digital Sampling FFT, DDC and RTSA modes
34:04 – Time-base accuracy, frequency counter and DVM experiments
38:30 – Real-Time Eye, Jitter analysis and Equalization capabilities 50:00 – Concluding remarks
In this episode Shahriar reviews the top-of-the-line Tektronix 6-Series Oscilloscope. This 4-channel instrument offers 8-GHz of bandwidth at 25GS/s on all channel independently. Tektronix has made great strides in offering low-noise front-end custom ASICs combined with hardware digital down-conversion built into the core of the 6-Series. This enables advanced triggering across in both time and frequency domains as well as multi-domain correlated measurements.
This review is organized as follows:
00:06 – Introductions
01:42 – Instrument design, front and back panels
03:34 – Full acquisition board teardown, analysis and architecture
18:11 – PLL Experiment: Spectrum View, advanced triggering, PLL characterization and debugging
38:33 – Backplane Communication: Jitter analysis, eye diagrams, jitter composition, cross-talk
49:24 – Concluding remarks
In this episode Shahriar reviews the long awaited Signal HoundSM200C/B Real-Time 100kHz – 20GHz Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer:
The SM200C is a high-performance spectrum analyzer and monitoring receiver with a 10 Gigabit Ethernet SFP+ port, enabling the SM200C to communicate with a PC over long distances using a fiber optic cable. Designed for remotely-located accurate RF data analysis at the lowest cost possible, the SM200C features:
160 MHz instantaneous bandwidth I/Q streaming over 10GbE
SFP+ port for fast, long-distance communication with a PC using an optic cable
Device control and data transfer occurs via SFP+ connection, not USB
Tunes from 100 kHz to 20 GHz
Sweeps at 1 THz/sec at 30 kHz RBW
110 dB of dynamic range
Ultra-low phase noise
GPIO port antenna switching
The SM200B offers a USB 3.0 PC interface with 40MHz of instantaneous I/Q streaming. Furthermore, the SM200B includes a full 2-second of internal memory at 160MHz of capture bandwidth which an be accessed through the API.
The review is organized as follows:
00:00 – Introduction
00:49 – Overview, build quality and detailed specifications
05:51 – Full teardown, analysis and system architecture
18:00 – 10GbE PC interface using M.2 Key to PCIe converter
19:22 – Experiment #1: FMCW signal analysis, GUI overview & 160MHz capture capabilities
31:33 – Experiment #2: Interfering hunting, FM-versus-time, frequency hopping & advanced triggering
41:32 – Experiment #3: Digital demodulation, phase-noise & equalization
46:02 – Other GUI capabilities, mask & EM compliance, API
47:20 – Concluding remarks
In this episode Shahriar reviews another SAF Spectrum Contact. This model covers the Ka-Band (24GHz-40GHz), intended for 5G mm-Wave field measurements. The K-Band unit offers additional functionality such as 10MHz minimum span as well as RBW/VBW control down to 100kHz.
The teardown of the instrument reveals a similar architecture to the previously reviewed V-Band unit. Various system components are analyzed and explained. Some of the instrument’s GUI capabilities are also presented.
For experiments, a 900-element 38GHz planer array antenna is used at a distance of 2.5 meters. A slow-FM modulated RF signal centered at 38GHz is generated and measured which allows for the antenna gain characterization as well as exploration of the instrument’s capabilities.
The Signal Path (TSP) is an electrical engineering video blog for industry professionals, students and hobbyists. TSP is a non-for-profit website dedicated to provide free education spanning a wide range of electrical engineering topics. Equipment reviews, tutorials and repair videos are posted regularly.
