USB Provides Quick Measurement Solutions

July 1, 2009

All throughout the show floor at the 2009 Microwave Theory & Techniques Society (MTT-S's) Symposium & Exhibition in Boston, test and measurement companies large and small were touting instruments based on a Universal Serial Port (USB, version 2.0) connection to a personal computer running graphical user interface (GUI) software. The beauty of a USB RF/microwave instrument is that the PC and software serve as the "intelligence" and control for the instrument, saving the cost of developing a front panel, display screen, and controls.

The first set of USB RF/microwave instruments focused largely on power measurements, with GUIs controlling combinations of RF/microwave power sensors/meters. But as the idea has grown, instrument makers and even some component suppliers (such as Mini-Circuits) are offering measurement equipment based on the popular USB 2.0 interface. Instruments include frequency counters, signal generators, and even a 9-GHz spectrum analyzer (see story below). As many equipment developers are coming to realize, with just a laptop computer and a handful of USB measurement instruments, an engineer could assemble a multifunction measurement system that could be quickly transported anywhere in the workplace.

About the Author

Jack Browne

Technical Contributor

Jack Browne, Technical Contributor, has worked in technical publishing for over 30 years. He managed the content and production of three technical journals while at the American Institute of Physics, including Medical Physics and the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology. He has been a Publisher and Editor for Penton Media, started the firm’s Wireless Symposium & Exhibition trade show in 1993, and currently serves as Technical Contributor for that company's Microwaves & RF magazine. Browne, who holds a BS in Mathematics from City College of New York and BA degrees in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, is a member of the IEEE.