August 13, 2007 Measurement Solutions Series Newsletter

Aug. 13, 2007
Microwaves & RF UPDATE | August 13, 2007 Jack Browne, Technical Director Free Agilent White Paper: "Perfecting Pulsed RF Radar Measurements" ...
Microwaves & RF UPDATE | August 13, 2007

Jack Browne, Technical Director



Free Agilent White Paper: "Perfecting Pulsed RF Radar Measurements"

This white paper discusses the measurements and test tools available to make fast, accurate pulsed RF radar signal measurements, such as spectrum analyzers, vector signal analyzers (VSAs), and peak power meters.

Click here to read the white paper and learn how to order a copy of Agilent Technologies' Radar Fundamentals poster.

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Viewpoint

Relying On Those Measurement Tools
By Jack Browne, MWRF Technical Director

Losing a hard disk can be devastating, especially when all those files are gone without a trace or a backup system. As with many electronic tools, we come to rely on laptop computers, cellular telephones, and PDAs so much that they are often taken for granted. In the world of RF and microwave engineering, the same can be said of test equipment. In the laboratory, it provides invaluable insights into a new design or prototype. On the production floor, it decides what can ship and what needs rework. RF/microwave test equipment is a critical part of any company hoping to succeed in this industry.

Radar measurements can be among the most challenging of RF/microwave measurements because they involve pulsed signals. Unlike standard CW signals, radar signals must be gated to be appreciated, since they rely on timing as well as frequency and modulation. The test tools are not standard, but must have the capability of gating these pulsed signals while capturing phase and modulation information, and displaying information in the time domain. Many of the challenges of performing accurate pulsed RF radar measurements are detailed in a new White Paper from Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com) called "Perfecting Pulsed RF Radar Measurements," included in the August 2007 issue of Microwaves & RF and also available from the Microwaves & RF website at www.mwrf.com/Article/ArticleID/16402/16402.html.

The Agilent-sponsored white paper describes the differences between pulsed RF radar signals and other RF/microwave signals, and explains why some test equipment falls short when trying to characterize pulsed RF radar signals. The white paper also details two types of test instruments, notably the P-Series peak power meters (and its associated power sensors) and the PSA Series spectrum analyzers, with digital intermediate-frequency (IF) filters, built-in Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and software-aided vector-signal-analysis (VSA) capabilities, and how these two types of instruments can speed and simply measurements on pulsed RF radar waveforms. The white paper is free, either in the magazine or on the web site. Don't pass up the chance for a free education.

News

Agilent Meets WiMAX Forum's Wave 2 System Profiles

Agilent Technologies has enhanced its Vector Signal Analyzer (VSA) Signal Studio and Mobile WiMAX Test Set measurement solutions to facilitate testing of the WiMAX Forum's Wave 2 system profiles. These profiles specify options such as multiple input multiple output (MIMO) operation, which uses multiple antennas to enhance the performance of WiMAX systems. The capability of testing Wave 2 system profiles is critical to the successful deployment of Mobile WiMAX products. Agilent's solution is based on Agilent's 89601A VSA and N7615B Signal Studio measurement hardware and software, respectively.

Agilent Technologies

WiMAX Forum



Free Brochure Provides Overview of 3GPP LTE

A full-color, 20-page technical brochure offers an overview of the Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communications format and how measurement solutions from Agilent Technologies can meet the needs of LTE device and components testing. The literature includes coverage of LTE technology, a discussion of the physical layer, and detailed information on designing LTE systems and circuits. It also explains how to generate the test signals needed to evaluate these designs, and how to perform LTE signal analysis and the types of test equipment needed. The brochure (download number 5989-6331EN) is available for free download from the link at: http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5989-6331EN.pdf

Agilent Technologies



More News

Module Supports Fibre Channel Tests To 8 Gb/s
Report Projects Place For SDRs in BWA Market
FreeWave Adds Tiny Spread-Spectrum Radio
Bliley Builds Low-Jitter OCXO


Happenings - Conferences

70th ARFTG Microwave Measurement Symposium
November 27-30, 2007
Tempe Mission Palms Hotel
Tempe, AZ
http://www.arftg.org

2007 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference
December 11-14, 2007
Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel
Bangkok, Thailand
http://www.apmc2007.org

2008 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (with WAMICON)
January 22-24, 2008
Orlando, FL
http://www.radiowireless.org

2008 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC)
February 3-7, 2008
San Francisco Marriot Hotel
San Francisco, CA
http://www.isscc.org


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.

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