The R&S®SMA100A signal generator offers a remote emulation feature that makes it possible to control the instrument by commands other than the built-in native SCPI commands. This feature allows the user to replace signal generators, e.g. from other manufacturers, with the R&S®SMA100A without having to change the remote control code. This application note describes how to use the remote emulation feature in general. Furthermore, it describes in detail the remote emulation for each supported instrument, limitations of the individual emulations and the remaining differences between the emulated and the original commands.

17-Aug-2015 | AN-No. 1GP93

In this application note the fundamental working principles of active antennas are asserted and it is described what makes them different compared to passive antennas. Furthermore the important parameters relating to active antennas are explained and typical system applications are discussed - including a comparison with passive antenna solutions and a chapter explicitly dealing with radio monitoring in the HF frequency range.

03-Feb-2016 | AN-No. 8GE02

R&S®NESTOR cellular network analysis software supports law enforcement agencies (LEA) in forensics activities and crime scene investigations (CSI) by gathering information through analysis of surrounding mobile networks. R&S®NESTOR increases public safety by reducing crime scene investigation time by up to 50 %.

14-Mar-2024

Many serial interfaces use Manchester or non-return-to-zero (NRZ) coding. Oscilloscopes typically offer dedicated software options for debugging and testing the communications interfaces for common standards such as I2C, UART or CAN. The R&S®RTx-K50 option expands the addressable range of interface standards by adding decoding capability for standardized and proprietary Manchester or NRZ coded buses. It allows customizable configuration of the protocol structure that has to be decoded.

19-Oct-2020

3GPP TS36.141 defines conformance tests for EUTRA base stations (eNodeB). Release 14 (LTEAdvanced Pro) added several tests, such as those for enhanced Licensed Assisted Access (eLAA).This application note describes how all required performance tests (TS36.141 Chapter 8) can be performed quickly and easily by using vector signal generators from Rohde & Schwarz.Examples illustrate the manual operation. A free software program enables and demonstrates remote operation.The LTE base station transmitter (Tx) tests (TS36.141 Chapter 6) are described in Application Note 1MA154.The LTE base station receiver (Rx) tests (TS36.141 Chapter 7) are described in Application Note 1MA195.

11-May-2016 | AN-No. 1MA162

Trace minimum hold function with the R&S®MNT100, R&S®PR200, R&S®PR100 and R&S®DDF007

15-Jul-2019

Polychrome display method with the R&S®PR100, R&S®PR200, R&S®DDF007 and R&S®MNT100

09-Sep-2020

Current Radar development is focusing the area of signal processing. This is taken into account by this educational note, where the R&S®SMW / SMBV instruments on the transmitter side and R&S®FSW / FSV instruments on the receiver side are combined to a closed loop Radar system, performing radar detection by means of pulse compression and digital signal processing. Appropriate Rohde & Schwarz sofware tools for such applications are described as well as the interface between the tools and the test instruments. Target reader group are engineering students who want to perform tests using pulsed or chirped signals.

20-Nov-2014 | AN-No. 1MA234

With the start and spread of 5G communications services and new form factors such as wearables and foldable phones, an increasing number of flexible printed circuit boards (PCB) that support high frequency signals are being produced. These boards must exhibit excellent frequency characteristics. In the past, a PCB’s frequency characteristics were subjected to sampling inspection using a test coupon. For flexible PCBs, a new method is needed to provide repeatable and proper verification. The Yamaha® MP Series combined with the R&S®ZNBT vector network analyzer measure the high frequency characteristics of a production lot at high speed and high accuracy, enabling 100 % measurement of mass produced rigid and flexible PCBs.

27-Jan-2020

This application note describes how to test and perform a WLAN power measurement using the R&S CMU200 by means of remote-control or manual operation.

18-Oct-2005 | AN-No. 1CM55

Modern automotive radar systems occupy very wide bandwidth in order to have a good location resolution. In most cases the bandwidth is a result of frequency modulation or fast frequency hopping techniques, in some cases also pulse modulation is used. Besides the measurement of the frequency variation over time like deviation and linearity, the verification of emissions according to EN or FCC standards is mandatory. ETSI regulations for measuring peak transmission power from radar operating at 77-81 GHz require 50 MHz resolution bandwidth for the measurements. Publications are available that describe the measurements on pulsed UWB or MB-OFDM signals in detail, for frequency-modulated signals the information is limited.This application note provides information how to perform spectral emission measurements on frequency modulated CW signals with spectrum analyzers using RBW filters with very wide bandwidth, and explains the capabilities and the limiting factors of the Rohde & Schwarz FSW signal and spectrum analyzer to perform this measurement.

28-Jun-2019 | AN-No. 1EF107

The general characterization of complex DUTs such as amplifiers requires the measurement of several parameters. Some may require more than one test device or expensive equipment. Thanks to its versatility, the R&S®ZNL is an economic solution that can characterize a variety of DUTs both via network analysis and spectrum analysis.

17-Dec-2021

An automated test solution based on the R&S®CMW wideband radio communication tester fully supports the new test cases for real-time submeter positioning.

10-Jun-2022

Propagation measurements are indispensable in the planning of digital, cellular mobile radio net-works. To find the optimum sites for the base stations, a mobile test transmitter system simulating the base station is operated from a number of possible locations. The test receiver system is accommodated in a vehicle, which is driven along a test route to perform measurements. The parameters measured, such as level, bit error rate or channel impulse response, provide information on the coverage within the cell. The main problem is to minimize interference caused by multipath propagation in the reception area. The SME offered by Rohde & Schwarz is a universal test generator that can be used as the core of a test transmitter system. The SME generates the GMSK-modulated signals required for GSM propagation measurements in line with the rele-vant standards. Thanks to its low weight of 17 kg it can be carried even to remote sites. Fitted with the new optional DM Memory Extension (SME-B12, in the following referred to as XMEM), the SME is able to store data sequences of up to 8 Mbit which are long enough for receiver measurements with test mobile stations. A suitable test receiver system is for instance a test mobile station for measuring level and bit error rate and the Impulse Response Analyzer PCS from Rohde & Schwarz for measuring the channel impulse response. The present Application Note describes how the XMEM can be loaded with suitable data (test sequence) by the GSM Radiocommunication Test Set CRTP from Rohde & Schwarz and how the SME has to be adjusted for GMSK modulation of these data. First, however, an overview is given of all functions of the XMEM and their operation supplementary to the Operating Manual. Finally, it is explained how the XMEM data can be transferred between PC and SME via the IEEE-488 or RS-232 interface.

01-Jul-1999 | AN-No. 1GPAN14

For measurements of non-connectorized devices, test fixtures, probes or other structures are used to adapt from the coaxial interface of the test setup to the device under test (DUT). For accurate measurements of the DUT, these lead-ins and lead-outs need to be characterized, so that their effects can be mathematically removed, i.e. de-embedded from the measurement results.This application note provides practical hints to accurately characterize and de-embed these lead-in and lead-out structures with R&S Vector Network Analyzers ZNA, ZNB, ZNBT and ZND. As de-embedding is also essential in other test equipment like oscilloscopes, etc., this guide also describes, how lead-ins and lead-outs can be accurately characterized with a VNA and then exported as an S-Parameter file to be used by other test instruments.

19-Sep-2022 | AN-No. 1SL367

The R&S®FSW offers a variety of different bandwidth options and makes it possible to combine these with external harmonic mixers to enlarge the analyzer’s frequency range up to 325 GHz. This application card will give some guidance as to the possible combinations of bandwidth options and mixers in conjunction with the needed IF frequencies.

16-Jun-2020

Selecting Your Next Oscilloscope:

If you are selecting your next oscilloscope and want more insight on how to understand ENOB values measured and published by oscilloscope manufacturers, this document is for you. The effective number of bits (ENOB) is a way of quantifying the quality of analog to digital conversion. A higher ENOB means that voltage levels recorded in analog to digital conversion are more accurate. Understanding oscilloscope vendor-supplied ENOB values can be complex. This document focuses on interpretation of measured ENOB results made on oscilloscopes rather than the math behind ENOB calculations.

21-Jun-2024 | AN-No. 1TD12

Testing the tolerance to phase and impulsive noise is an integral part of quality tests for DVB-T/H and ATSC (8VSB) receivers, and several national and international standards specify guidelines and minimum requirements in this context. This Application Note introduces the R&S SFU-K42 impulsive noise option, the R&S SFU-K41 phase noise option, as well as the R&S SFU-K43 multinoise use option and describes how these can be used for testing the tolerance to phase and impulsive noise on commercial receivers.

26-Jan-2007 | AN-No. 7BM64

This paper describes the measurement of additive/residual phase noise of power amplifiers or multipliers for example for automotive RADAR sensors at 80 GHz using the interferometric measurement approach in combination with a phase noise and VCO tester R&S FSWP. The setup provides a way to characterize the additive/residual phase noise of amplifiers down to -150 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset even in the microwave range at 80 GHz.

11-Sep-2024 | AN-No. 1EF117

The R&S®TSStream multi-TS streaming software streams a number of MPEG transport stream files simultaneously over a single IP interface. The individual transport streams result in a high overall bit rate. To make the streams available on a standard PC, the R&S®TSStream software does not play the transport stream files directly from the hard disk but first loads them into the RAM. The maximum number and length of the transport streams depends solely on the PC's available RAM.

16-Mar-2017 | AN-No. 1GP113

Sequencer Software Tool

20-Feb-2015

Particle acceleration requires cavity resonators that are driven with high RF powers at defined frequencies. Rohde & Schwarz offers RF solid-state amplifiers for frequencies ranging from 9 kHz to 6 GHz, delivering CW power up to 80 kW.

27-Apr-2016

This application note describes the basic frequency filter measurements that are often required during service repairs, during development of simple circuits and for training purposes. These measurements do not always require high-end T&M equipment. Instruments in this class typically offer a very wide range of measurement functions coupled with the best-possible RF performance. However, these features are not necessary for simple applications. This application note therefore describes measurements using instruments from the cost-effective Rohde & Schwarz Value Instruments series. The instruments in this series offer the measurement accuracy demanded by quality-conscious users plus easy operation and all of the functionality needed for everyday measurement tasks.

27-Mar-2015 | AN-No. 1MA243

This application note describes ho to test and perform measurements on AMPS phones both using the remote-control program CMUgo and manually at the CMU200.

07-Sep-2004 | AN-No. 1CM53

3GPP TS36.141 defines conformance tests for EUTRA base stations (eNodeB). Release 14 added several tests, especially for enhanced License Assisted Access (eLAA).This application note describes how all required receiver (Rx) tests (TS36.141 Chapter 7) can be performed quickly and easily by using vector signal generators from Rohde & Schwarz. A few tests additionally require spectrum analyzers from Rohde & Schwarz.Examples illustrate the manual operation. A free software program enables and demonstrates remote operation.The LTE base station transmitter (Tx) tests (TS36.141 Chapter 6) are described in Application Note 1MA154.The LTE base station performance (Px) tests (TS36.141 Chapter 8) are described in Application Note 1MA162.

11-May-2016 | AN-No. 1MA195

This document is divided in two parts and starts with an introduction in AC-DC conversion principles in general. It will present the most common circuits used for different power levels. The switching mode power supply (SMPS) converter will be the main focus as they are used everywhere in the electronics. Especially the flyback converter design in different flavors are highlighted. Nevertheless, all measurements are also applicable for other SMPS converter designs operating at higher power levels.In the second part of this document, most relevant testing methods and procedures of an AC-DC converter are highlighted. For each testing section, a fundamental part will be upfront discussed and it is followed by a presentation of a suitable measurement method. In this second part, the device under test (DUT) is considered as black box device and thus the structure is similar. Therefore, the testing parts consists of methods related to input tests, output tests and a combination of both like efficiency. Of course, some test performed at the output of the converter are also relevant for DC-DC converter, e.g. the validation of the output ripple.

14-Nov-2022 | AN-No. 1SL387

This Application Note describes measurements compliant with the cdma2000 base station standard described in 3GPP2 C.S0010 / TIA/EIA-97 / ARIB STD-T64-C.S0010.The primary focus is on solutions for generating and analyzing cdma2000 signals. The special characteristics that make the selected signal generators and signal analyzers eminently suitable for this purpose are detailed, and remote control programming is demonstrated by a free of charge program.

05-Sep-2003 | AN-No. 1MA61

The need for higher data rates and flexibility for IP and Cable TV (CATV) has led to the introduction of DOCSIS®3.1. With channel bandwidths up to 192 MHz and 96 MHz on the downstream and upstream respectively as well as the cable network frequency extension up to 1.2 GHz (1.8 GHz as a future extension) the technical requirements of cable components have increased significantly. This application note describes a test scenario tor testing cable components with an R&S®CLGD Cable Load Generator for DOCSIS 3.1 or R&S®SFD DOCSIS 3.1 Generator and an R&S®FSW Signal & Spectrum Analyzer.

24-Jan-2017 | AN-No. 1MA285

IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee™) uses OQPSK with a half-sine pulse shaping filter as modulation. This application note describes how to generate and analyze ZigBee™ signals. Simple test signals can be setup with the free-of-charge simulation software R&S WinIQSIM™ and transferred to the vector signal generator R&S SMU200A. It describes how to setup the vector signal analyzer R&S FSQ with option R&S FSQ-K70 for ZigBee™ signal demodulation and how to analyze modulation quality such as error vector magnitude (EVM).

21-Jun-2007 | AN-No. RSI03

This Application Note introduces the new interferer management option, R&S SFU-K37 and describes how this can be used to generate various types of interfering signals for testing the performance of a receiver.

09-Jan-2007 | AN-No. 7BM50