To analyse the quality of tuners, lots of measurements have to be done. This application note presents a program, which combines these measurements to an automatically running sequence and gives a printout of the results. In addition, it explains the measurements and informs about the different standards.

16-Feb-1998 | AN-No. 1GA24

Radar test systems are essential in research, development, production and maintenance of radar systems. Most radar tests are expensive to carry out in the field and have a complicated setup and operation. One of the main advantages of the Radar Echo Generator presented in this application note is its ability to generate arbitrary virtual radar echo signals in real time in the laboratory using only commercial measuring equipment. The Radar Echo Generator not only allows to reproduce the results and automate the tests, but also it significantly reduces the measurement effort and costs while providing greater utility for the existing common test equipment. This application note presents a solution for testing the complete radar system by generating any kind of radar echo signals with arbitrary range, Doppler frequency and Radar Cross Section. The Radar Echo Generator makes it possible to perform real time tests on many applications including aerospace & defense and commercial radar systems.

01-Aug-2016 | AN-No. 1MA283

This Application Note gives an introduction to measurements of WiMAX signals according to standards 80216-2004 and 802.16e-2005. It describes all kind of signal generation from simple signals to multiple-zone signals, also under multipath environment (fading), and covers all signal measurements from power and spectrum analysis, crest factor and CCDF measurement down to bit pattern analysis and modulation measurements.Please see also 1MA96 for General information about the WiMAX standard and 1EF57 for an introduction to the WiMAX standard.

10-Jul-2006 | AN-No. 1MA97

Calibration and Verification Solution

The UWB (Ultra-Wideband) technology is a short range wide-band radio technology specified for device to device communication operating in unlicensed spectrum. It is an RF positioning technology that enables accurate and secure peer-to-peer ranging between mobile devices with robust resistance to interference while consuming very low energy and coexisting well with other radio communication systems. UWB is used for a variety of different applications, such as asset tracking, secure payment, personal tracker, real time location services and keyless access and start of a vehicle etc. According to ABI Research forecasts, there will be well over 1 billion UWB annual device shipments by 2026. Almost every smart phone shipped in 2026 will support UWB services.Talking about testing aspect of a UWB device, in general two test methodologies can be adopted as other wireless products, either the traditional testing mode (so-called conducted test mode) with wired RF connection between the test measurement equipment and device under test (DUT) or over the air (OTA) test mode in an OTA anechoic chamber. Sometimes, it is not always possible or necessary to perform the tests under conducted mode due to the limiting factors, e.g. cost, space, complexity and direct access to the RF connectors of the product. In this case, OTA testing is then becoming a non-evitable approach. Moreover, OTA testing reflects the usage of DUT in a real condition.In this application note, R&S® OTA test solution covering transmitter (Tx), receiver (Rx) and Time of Flight (ToF) testing in Wireless Automated Testing (WMT) environment is described. The measurement results throughout the whole document are based on NXP Trimension™ NCJ29D5 UWB automotive IC.

12-Apr-2023 | AN-No. 1SL394

Stable operation in all circumstances is essential for power converters. Different working conditions, such as load steps, startup/shutdown sequences and input voltage variation, apply to most converter types. In addition to the standard feedback control loop, integrated pulse width modulation (PWM) controllers provide extended functions, such as line feed-forward loop control and soft-start control. These extended control functions improve regulation for specific conditions. Such complex regulation systems require smart methods to ensure proper operation of the converter in all modes. For this task, extensive expertise and the right measurement tools are essential for identifying and locating unexpected events in the system.

11-Oct-2023

This application note helps to understand the measurement uncertainty calculation for a modern spectrum analyzer and provides a tool to calculate the total measurement uncertainty for different measurements.

21-Apr-2010 | AN-No. 1EF63

TDMA communications systems like GSM, DCS 1800 or PCS 1900 make effective use of the frequency spectrum by assigning several subscribers to the same frequency channel. Each subscriber has access to one predefined time slot for transmitting information. With GSM eight subscribers share one frequency channel with a bandwidth of 200 kHz. In order not to disturb the other users of the 200-kHz channel it has to be ensured that, for instance, a mobile sends in the assigned time slot only and that no power is emitted by the transmitter at other times. For this reason the transmitter power is practically switched off in the transmission intervals.

16-Jan-2002 | AN-No. 1EF18

In accelerator physics, pulsed signals frequently need to be measured. The digital trigger and low noise frontend of the R&S®RTO/RTP digital oscilloscope make it possible to perform the high precision measurements needed to characterize the experimental setup. Several measurement functions specially developed for accelerator physics labs support detailed signal analysis.

17-Dec-2013

Test Solutions Based on R&S®CMX500 Platform

The evolution of mobile communication enters 5G New Radio (NR) era with pivotal features. Voice call service is however still considered as an indispensable element for mobile devices and worldwide network operators continue to maintain the voice service for their subscribers. In comparison to other Over-the-Top (OTT) voice services, such as WhatsApp©, Teams© etc., Voice over NR (VoNR) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) maintain QoS, support well established handover mechanism and emergency call, and do not require to pre-install OTT app on the phone.In order to provide premium voice service and enhance the superb user experience, audio tests on mobile devices are essential before the product launch. Different audio test aspects among which acoustic, functional, performance and field tests need to be considered.This application note describes the performance test with focus on VoNR audio quality measurement via electrical interface of the mobile device. The test solution is based on R&S®CMX500 with its integrated POLQA algorithm.

26-Jul-2023 | AN-No. 1SL401

The following application note describes the function and operation of user menus for FSE Spectrum Analyzers including option Vector Signal Analysis (FSE-B7). For measurements according to the PCS 1900 standard user menus are provided, which perform settings on FSE for Base Station testing required in the standard. The menu and the accompanying setups are stored on a floppy disk. For operation of the menus firmware version 1.40 or higher is required. Option Vector Signal Analysis FSE-B7 has to be installed for the use of the application menu.

17-Jan-2002 | AN-No. 1EF24

Rogue cells pose a significant threat to cellular networks. They need to be addressed as quickly as possible to avoid damage to network integrity, especially for critical infrastructure. R&S®NESTOR cellular network analysis (CNA) software lets users efficiently detect and locate harmful cells in the network environment through base station analysis (BSA) in order to protect sensitive areas.

02-Aug-2024

A special requirement for testing GSM components is to measure the electrical characteristics, such as the gain of a power amplifier, of the DUT under pulsed conditions. The test should be similar to real operating conditions for a mobile telephone.

28-Jul-1998 | AN-No. 1EZ42

Need: easy exchange of multiple versions of content as one package in a digital formatSolution: interoperable master format (IMF) and R&S®CLIPSTER

26-Sep-2018

As phase noise becomes an increasingly important system-level specification for electronic test equipment, communications systems, and radar systems. It is not only important to quantify the noise produced by oscillators, but also the noise added by each component in the signal processing chain. This application note reviews the fundamentals of residual or additive noise and addresses measurement techniques for determining the amplitude (AM) and phase noise added by two-port devices such as: amplifiers, mixers, block frequency converters, multipliers, dividers, and frequency synthesizers.Additionally, the Rohde & Schwarz FSWP phase noise analyzer will be introduced and a discussion of residual noise measurement techniques for the above-mentioned devices will be provided.

09-Oct-2017 | AN-No. 1EF100

Measuring the spurious emissions of transmitters used in GSM, DCS 1800 and PCS 1900 networks requires highly complex test setups since con-ventional spectrum analyzers do not have the necessary dynamic range. To obtain this range, notch filters are used to suppress the useful sig-nal. The spectrum analyzers of the FSE family make it possible for the first time to verify com-pliance with stipulated limit values for spurious emissions within the transmission band and out-side the reception band without the use of notch filters. The measurement problem and its solution by means of FSE are described in the following by way of the example of a GSM base station.

16-Jan-2002 | AN-No. 1EF17

This application note describes the different memory types and locations that user information can be stored in a spectrum analyzer R&S® FSEA, R&S® FSEB, R&S® FSEM, R&S® FSEK or R&S® FSIQ, as well as the different ways in which it can be erased/cleared for security reasons.

20-Sep-2004 | AN-No. 1EF54

The R&S®ZNB vector network analyzer simplifies instrument configuration and calibration using the mixer measurement wizard and SMARTerCal.

01-Oct-2013

This application note describes how to measure balanced reflection mixed mode S-Parameters with a 2-port Network Analyzer like R&S® ZVL. The application note directly transfers S-Parameter Trace Data from R&S® Network Analyzers to Microsoft™ Excel™ using a direct connection like GPIB or LAN and does the mode conversion to Mixed Mode inside Excel™ with a VBA Macro.

14-Feb-2008 | AN-No. RSI05

Its excellent realtime baseband performance in combination with its ability to easily import the scattering parameters of an active/passive twoport interconnection network via s2p-files make the R&S®SMW200A vector signal generator ideal for high-precision RF and microwave tests requiring deembedding of the device under test (DUT).

11-Oct-2017

Arbitrary waveform generator – this term encapsulates the wide-ranging capabilities and applications that can be provided by user-definable I/Q baseband signals and a vector signalgenerator. Rohde & Schwarz has developed the R&S WinIQSIM™ software package specifically with this in mind. The first questions a user might ask are: “How do the R&S SFU and R&S WinIQSIM™ interwork and what features are available? This Application Note has been produced to answer these questions.

19-Dec-2006 | AN-No. 7BM57

The combination of an SMIQ Signal Generator and an FSE / FSIQ Analyzer enables the most important transmitter and receiver tests on ICO user terminals in quality management and development. This application note presents a series of quick tests in unsynchronized, non-signalling mode. To facilitate integration of SMIQ and FSE / FSIQ into existing test systems, complex instrument settings are supplied as sets of IEC/IEEE-bus commands. Sample files with burst data for uplink and downlink signals allow the configuration, execution and optimization of the tests described, even without a DUT.

08-May-2000 | AN-No. 1MA23

Unattended observation of spectrum occupancy for finding spurious emissions or seldom-occuring interferers is a common task for spectrum analyzers. Sometimes spectrum data has to be monitored over quite a long period of time. TraceRecorder, a small, free-of-charge software tool for storing measurement data from Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analyzers helps you to perform this measurement task. Running on a PC, it connects to the spectrum analyzer via a LAN interface. For stand alone operation, it is possible to run it directly on a spectrum analyzer, eliminating the need for an additonal computer during data acquisition.

08-Dec-2010 | AN-No. 1MA105

The R&S®CMX500 radio communication tester is ideal for testing the maximum possible IP throughput for mobile device transmitters and receivers.

13-Jun-2022

Verification of the spectrum allocation and in depth analysis of the transmitted signals is very important in many domains. For example, the IEEE 802.11ad standard makes use of approximately 2 GHz bandwidth in the 60 GHz frequency domain. Researchers and developers of Automotive radar discuss the 79 GHz frequency band with an available bandwidth of up to 4 GHz. Finally the upcoming 5G technology for cellular networks discusses the use of up to 2GHz signals in the cm and mm-wave frequency bands.This technical evolution already indicates the need of signal measurement and analysis in the mm-wave domain with high bandwidth.Therefore, this application note presents a method to measure and analyze signals with an instantaneous bandwidth of up to 2 GHz using new tools on the R&S®FSW Signal and Spectrum Analyzer platform in collaboration with an R&S®RTO Digital Oscilloscope.

16-Jun-2015 | AN-No. 1EF92

Testing global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers can be done easily, reliably and cost-efficiently by using the R&S®SMBV100A vector signal generator. This GNSS simulator can generate GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and BeiDou signals for up to 24 satellites in real time.This application note explains how to perform automated receiver tests using the R&S®SMBV100A. The presented tests include TTFF, sensitivity, and location accuracy measurements, moving receiver and interference tests, and many more. Basic remote control examples are provided for the individual tests to ease programming. This application note further includes a short guide for parsing NMEA data.

29-Jul-2014 | AN-No. 1GP86

The amendment 802.11ad to the WLAN standard defines the MAC and PHY layers for very high throughput (VHT) in the 60 GHz range. This application note provides a brief examination of key 802.11ad parameters, describes the required measurements and test setups and contains several important recommendations for over-the-air (OTA) measurements.

17-May-2017 | AN-No. 1MA260

This document describes the direct test mode mechanisms for testing Bluetooth Low Energy devices and explains how the direct test mode connection is established. The R&S CMW uses a USB port for the direct test mode connection while the Equipment under Test (EUT) may provide a USB port, a serial port or even a 2-wire UART interface for this purpose. Installing or assigning the right driver for the EUT is the main configuration task on the R&S CMW. For EUTs with USB port, the R&S CMW provides a Bluetooth Low Energy USB driver which has to be assigned to the connected EUT.

14-Dec-2016 | AN-No. 1C105

The need to properly represent the ever changing complexities of the RF environment across communications, surveillance, electronic support measures (ESM) and signal intelligence system (SIGINT) with the advances of signal complexity and bandwidth, requires an enormous test and measurement effort.Extensive field tests are often applied to verify the performance and capabilities under preferably natural but controlled conditions. This is both costly and requires a great deal of time.RF signal environment generation using Test & Measurement equipment brings field tests into the laboratory, where a controlled, cost-effective and reproducible environment exists. The R&S®Pulse Sequencer software is a versatile tool to generate arbitrary and realistic RF signal scenarios ensuringsystem readiness for the real operational world.This application note introduces the R&S®Pulse Sequencer software, explains several examples that are applicable for research, development, before operational and during life-time test in detail, and guides you through the necessary steps, to generate a self-defined, arbitrary real life RF signal environment.

17-Jan-2017 | AN-No. 1MA288

The R&S®FSW signal and spectrum analyzer with the R&S®FSW-K160R realtime option enables wideband signal analysis and high probability of intercept.

04-Jun-2013

Voice over IP for air traffic control

19-Nov-2012