90 results found for TechView: Test, displaying items 1 - 20
August 14, 2008 Updated Signal-Generation Software Uses Click-And-Drag GUI
Keithley Instruments has launched the 2.0 version of its SignalMeister Waveform Creation Software. Introduced last year, the original version of the software tool lets engineers create highly complex signals needed to test modern RF and wireless products. With SignalMeister, designers can create waveforms for multiple signal standards and add signal impairments and channel modeling. The created waveforms are downloaded to Keithley’s 2900 series RF...
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Louis E. Frenzel
July 25, 2008
Handheld Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers Nail Interfering Wireless Signals Fast
Complex wireless technologies make measurement a real challenge with their short bursts and non-deterministic timing. Furthermore, identifying and locating interfering RF emitters that are misusing the radio spectrum has become more of a challenge. Yet Tektronix’s SA2600 and H600 Hawk Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers can meet both of these measurement challenges.
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Louis E. Frenzel
July 25, 2008
Software Options Make Good Spectrum Analyzers Even Better
New options are available for Anritsu’s popular MS271xB economy microwave spectrum analyzers. The three available models have upper frequency limits of 7.1, 13, and 20 GHz. They also have a 10-MHz demodulation bandwidth and support the most common 3G cell-phone and WiMAX standards.
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Louis E. Frenzel
June 6, 2008
MELs Make Power-Source Testing Faster And Easier
How do you test a very high-current and/or high-voltage power source? You measure the voltage, current, and power, but you need to test the source under typical and maximum load conditions. So what do you use for a load, especially if it must dissipate up to tens of kilowatts? The MEL series of modular electronic loads from PPM Inc. can handle up to 60 kW in one 8-ft rack.
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Louis E. Frenzel
June 6, 2008
GPS Satellite Signal Generation Simplifies Nav Receiver Testing
The GPS Toolkit from National Instruments is a software accessory for the company’s popular LabVIEW program. In conjunction with NI’s PXIe-5672 or PXI-5671 RF vector signal generators, it can simulate up to 12 simultaneous GPS satellite signals with varying conditions.
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Louis E. Frenzel
June 6, 2008
Solar-Array Simulator Imitates Satellite Environmental Conditions
Some things are really tough to test. For example, how do you simulate the solar panels on a satellite under varying light and orientation conditions? Well, Agilent’s E4360 Solar Array Simulator accurately simulates the I-V curve of a solar panel’s array under various environmental conditions.
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Louis E. Frenzel
June 6, 2008
Handbook Provides The Fundamentals Of Switching In Test Systems
Most test systems today require switching to reconfigure the test setup to make multiple different tests and measurements. This isn’t something you learn in school. Fortunately, Keithley Instruments’ Switching Handbook: A Guide to Signal Switching in Automated Test Systems consists of up to 180 pages of practical tutorial information on how to set up and optimize switching test systems.
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Louis E. Frenzel
March 17, 2008
Embedded Waveform Viewing Improves Signal Integrity Testing Without An Oscilloscope
Buses and backplanes keep getting faster. Ethernet now runs at 10 Gbits/s, and the XAUI interfaces are at 3.125 and 6.25 Gbits/s. Blade server serial buses like PCI Express are moving from 2.5 to 5 Gbits/s. The SAS and SATA interfaces are increasing from 1.5 to 3.0 to 6.0 Gbits/s. Fibre Channel is now at 8 Gbits/s. And, digital video is increasing from 1.5 to 3.0 Gbits/s as 1080p HDTV becomes more popular.
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Louis E. Frenzel
March 17, 2008
SATA Gen-2 PHY Compliance Test Framework And Software Shortens Test Time By 70%
The latest generation of Serial ATA (SATA), the serial interface for disk drives (Gen-2), now runs at 3 Gbits/s. To meet the compliance requirements known as the Methods of Implementation (MOI) of the SATA-IO working group, a new product has to pass 153 specific tests. These tests are complex and time consuming, and they add extra cost to every new product manufactured. Tektronix is addressing this challenge with its TekExpress SATA Gen-2 test package.
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Louis E. Frenzel
February 14, 2008 Oscilloscope Software Automatically Detects Hidden Waveform Anomalies
All digital oscilloscopes come with their own measurement and analysis software to perform basic and advanced tests and measurements. You can also get a great thirdparty scope analysis software package from Amherst Systems Associates (ASA Corp.). Known as the M1 Oscilloscope Tools, it runs on virtually any modern digital sampling scope from Agilent, LeCroy, Tektronix, or Yokogawa. The software offers measurement workflow automation and built-in...
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Louis E. Frenzel
February 14, 2008 Agilent Releases App Notes On Using Linux In Test Systems
Agilent Technologies has released a free multipart series of application notes that explain how to control your test instruments using Linux. Topics include Linux basics, control of LXI instruments and USB instruments, Linux in real-time applications, and Ethernet and USB interfaces. If you’re building a test system with USB or LXI (Ethernet) interfaces and are looking for an operating system to run it, this series will give you some ideas and solutions....
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Louis E. Frenzel
November 15, 2007 Oscilloscope Combines Logic Analyzer With Ease Of Use For Better Debugging
Nowadays, designers have to perform more and more embedded testing and digital debugging in addition to their other typical work. So, Tektronix designed its affordable MSO 4000 series of oscilloscopes to address the ever-increasing complexity in the products that engineers design—as well as their need to do things faster. This small but fully featured mixed-signal oscilloscope (MSO) targets engineers who design, test, and debug embedded controller...
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Louis E. Frenzel
November 15, 2007 Handheld DMM Gets Better With Larger Screen And Logging
The ubiquitous handheld digital multimeter (DMM) keeps getting better. You probably have one on your bench and more around the lab, and it’s still one of the test instruments you use the most. If you’re looking to replace that meter with a better one, though, Fluke’s 287 may be the answer (see the figure). The 287 has all the usual features, plus a few new ones, like its larger and better screen—a 50,000-count quarter...
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Louis E. Frenzel
October 11, 2007 SAS And SATA Protocol Analyzer Targets Portable And Field Testing
The increased adoption of the fast Serial ATA (SATA) and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interfaces has brought about a need for improved and faster testing. Catalyst Semiconductor's portable STX-131 is ideal for field engineers and service technicians who need to test and troubleshoot these interfaces on the go. The STX-131 interfaces with laptops and PCs via a standard USB port (see the figure). Cables connect it to the SAS or SATA bus for data...
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Louis E. Frenzel
October 11, 2007 Wireless LAN Analyzer Identifies And Classifies All 802.11n Traffic
Wi-Fi hotspots and access points are everywhere, and their number is still increasing. Most new and replacement hotspots will incorporate the IEEE's new 802.11n wireless local-area network (WLAN) standard, which incorporates multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas and other new technologies to boost the wireless data rate to more than 100 Mbits/s. The new equipment is based on the pre-n draft 2.0 version of the standard, which isn't expected to be ratified...
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Louis E. Frenzel
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