Signalhound USB spectrum analyzer

[Nico Coesel]

FYI, the Signalhound has a free API that you could use to write an
application to do a EMC sweep from 10hz to 4.4Ghz.
But you need someone to write the application ;(

Thats peanuts for me if the API is somewhere near usefull The
biggest challenge is not ending up writing a complete GUI application
but just stick to a few buttons that take very specific measurements.

 

[MrTallyman]

Thats peanuts for me if the API is somewhere near usefull The
biggest challenge is not ending up writing a complete GUI application
but just stick to a few buttons that take very specific measurements.

You can do that with an (old) HP meter and GPIB and LabView.

 

[Hammy]

Of course, some of us actually need good performance. My HP 8568B
has -110 dBc phase noise at 1 kHz offset--good luck getting that
with a USB gizmo.

But do keep thinking that way...that's what keeps boat anchors so
delightfully cheap!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I see where he's coming from. They have a couple of HP 8568B cheapest
one is $1,278.03 which includes nothing no leads. Then its $541.00
shipping then you have two days to test it and if its fucked then you
get to pay $541 to ship it back. So really it's only a good deal if you
live close to the seller where you can see and test it and don't have
to pay the exorbitant shipping cost.

Ebay link

http://tinyurl.com/62cug73

I don't mind gambling with a couple hundred maybe $500 but by the time
all is said and done you're looking at 2k for what could be nothing
more then a paperweight requiring parts that cost a fortune to repair
and difficult to find if you can even detect the problem. Though you
could send it back and you're out $1100 shipping cost and own nothing.
No thanks.

 

[Hammy]

[email protected] (Nico Coesel) wrote in

I'm looking for a spectrum analyzer for EMC analyses. I've come
across this spectrum analyzer:
http://www.signalhound.eu/

Would this be a good buy or not?

Have you gone through some of the cheaper ones at
www.tequipment.net. They have a few in the 2k range with free UPS
ground shipping.

Heres two

http://www.tequipment.net/BK2630.html

http://www.tequipment.net/InstekGSP810.html

I know we all would like the latest and greatest but unless you're
Trump you are going to be operating within a budget.

I haven't used a spectrum Analyzer since school so I couldn't really
comment on either but maybe someone here who has and uses one
regularly can tell you if one is good for what you want it for.

Good luck

 

[Hammy]

I didn't pay anything like that for shipping. As I said, by all
means let everybody think that the new crappy ones are best!

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I didn't say that. I said it's a gamble and its more money then I
would care to gamble with. I'm not a peasant but I'm not Rockefeller
either.

I said in my other post that I haven't used one in a while but does
he really need a high-end one for EMC pre-compliance testing or
could he get by on a $2k one I linked to in my other post? I know
the Instek one has been around for at least five years so it must be
good for something.

 

[Nico Coesel]

I'm looking for a spectrum analyzer for EMC analyses. I've come across
this spectrum analyzer:
http://www.signalhound.eu/

Would this be a good buy or not?

I ended up buying an old Advantest R3261A (9kHz to 2.6GHz with the
serial port option) from Ebay. It needs a bath and probably a new
picture tube. Relative to other spectrum analyzers I think I got a
good deal but I still feel I paid too much for approx. 20 year old
equipment. I also had my eye on a much older Tek 496P but someone else
just paid the asking price.