Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
On 29/09/2024 19:02, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 9/29/24 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton.
Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Aren't we getting a teensy bit lazy?
Jeroen Belleman
I have seen transmission (S21) losses of around 1dB at about 1.2GHz
just from failing to tighten an N connector sufficiently.
We do need to know the magnitude and frequency of the problem in
order to give helpful comments!
John
On 29/09/2024 19:02, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 9/29/24 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,
[...] Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Aren't we getting a teensy bit lazy?
Jeroen Belleman
I have seen transmission (S21) losses of around 1dB at about 1.2GHz
just from failing to tighten an N connector sufficiently.
We do need to know the magnitude and frequency of the problem in
order to give helpful comments!
John
On Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:57:34 +0100, John R Walliker
<jrwalliker@gmail.com> wrote:
On 29/09/2024 19:02, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 9/29/24 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>>> price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>>> Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to >>>> SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Aren't we getting a teensy bit lazy?
Jeroen Belleman
I have seen transmission (S21) losses of around 1dB at about 1.2GHz
just from failing to tighten an N connector sufficiently.
We do need to know the magnitude and frequency of the problem in
order to give helpful comments!
John
Not really. If you just think of it as a slight impedance mismatch in
the cable between the SA and the signal generator. However, this model
has the facility to be able to save files of the screen display
(although I very much doubt it'll save a real-time video of the
sweep).
And John - it's the 'Ultra' version. I already had the base model and
this is a worthwhile upgrade.
Jeroen - it's more a problem of available time!
On 9/29/24 20:57, John R Walliker wrote:
On 29/09/2024 19:02, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 9/29/24 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,
[...] Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Aren't we getting a teensy bit lazy?
Jeroen Belleman
I have seen transmission (S21) losses of around 1dB at about 1.2GHz
just from failing to tighten an N connector sufficiently.
We do need to know the magnitude and frequency of the problem in
order to give helpful comments!
John
I collected some TDR traces of various connectors, adapters and
terminators a few years ago: <https://cern.ch/jeroen/connectorTDR>.
There were a few surprises. I was taken aback by the poor results
for H+S BNC and LEMO-00. For BNCs, Radiall is better than H+S, but
for N-connectors, it's the reverse.
After having seen what LEMO-00 hardware did to my signals, I was
pleasantly surprised by the performance of SMC.
SMA was the best I had around, hands down, no surprises there.
Jeroen Belleman
On Sun, 29 Sep 2024 20:47:39 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com>
wrote:
On Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:57:34 +0100, John R Walliker
<jrwalliker@gmail.com> wrote:
On 29/09/2024 19:02, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 9/29/24 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time >>>>> testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>>>> price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade >>>>> RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>>>> Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the >>>>> TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before >>>>> which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to >>>>> this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear >>>>> you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator >>>>> and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the >>>>> range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to >>>>> SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is >>>>> showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Aren't we getting a teensy bit lazy?
Jeroen Belleman
I have seen transmission (S21) losses of around 1dB at about 1.2GHz
just from failing to tighten an N connector sufficiently.
We do need to know the magnitude and frequency of the problem in
order to give helpful comments!
John
Not really. If you just think of it as a slight impedance mismatch in
the cable between the SA and the signal generator. However, this model
has the facility to be able to save files of the screen display
(although I very much doubt it'll save a real-time video of the
sweep).
And John - it's the 'Ultra' version. I already had the base model and
this is a worthwhile upgrade.
Ultra what? Got a link?
Jeroen - it's more a problem of available time!
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
On Sun, 29 Sep 2024 14:06:23 -0700, john larkin <JL@gct.com> wrote:
On Sun, 29 Sep 2024 20:47:39 +0100, Cursitor Doom <cd@notformail.com> >>wrote:
On Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:57:34 +0100, John R Walliker >>><jrwalliker@gmail.com> wrote:
On 29/09/2024 19:02, Jeroen Belleman wrote:
On 9/29/24 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time >>>>>> testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>>>>> price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade >>>>>> RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the >>>>>> TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>>>>> Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the >>>>>> TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are >>>>>> out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's >>>>>> model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before >>>>>> which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to >>>>>> this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear >>>>>> you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep >>>>>> from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator >>>>>> and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the >>>>>> range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to >>>>>> SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could >>>>>> cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is >>>>>> showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is >>>>>> that a feasible hypothesis?
Your pal,
CD.
Aren't we getting a teensy bit lazy?
Jeroen Belleman
I have seen transmission (S21) losses of around 1dB at about 1.2GHz >>>>just from failing to tighten an N connector sufficiently.
We do need to know the magnitude and frequency of the problem in
order to give helpful comments!
John
Not really. If you just think of it as a slight impedance mismatch in
the cable between the SA and the signal generator. However, this model >>>has the facility to be able to save files of the screen display
(although I very much doubt it'll save a real-time video of the
sweep).
And John - it's the 'Ultra' version. I already had the base model and >>>this is a worthwhile upgrade.
Ultra what? Got a link?
On a sunny day (Sun, 29 Sep 2024 18:14:53 +0100) it happened Cursitor Doom ><cd@notformail.com> wrote in <mu1jfjtd6521pp9nb0kubcorkkkdh20gu3@4ax.com>:
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time >>testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is >>showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
I duuno, do not have that thing,
but reflections in cable + connector could create dips and mountains?
That is quite a sweep width!
Ultra what? Got a link?
Greetings, gentlemen,
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
On 29-09-2024 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,Measurement of good vs bad cables:
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton.
Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqFDxQjJAdA&t=50s
On 29-09-2024 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,Measurement of good vs bad cables:
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton.
Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqFDxQjJAdA&t=50s
On Sun, 6 Oct 2024 17:46:02 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund <klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 29-09-2024 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,Measurement of good vs bad cables:
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the
price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton.
Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to
SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor
with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqFDxQjJAdA&t=50s
I solved a billion-dollar showstopper last year. Some country started demanding that some expensive semi fab gear be EMI tested, and our
units failed. After great hassle we traced it to bad ground crimps on shielded CAT5 cables that our customer bought cheap.
On 10/6/24 19:26, john larkin wrote:
On Sun, 6 Oct 2024 17:46:02 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 29-09-2024 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,Measurement of good vs bad cables:
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>>> price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>>> Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to >>>> SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqFDxQjJAdA&t=50s
I solved a billion-dollar showstopper last year. Some country started
demanding that some expensive semi fab gear be EMI tested, and our
units failed. After great hassle we traced it to bad ground crimps on
shielded CAT5 cables that our customer bought cheap.
I bought a set of phase-matched cables from Taiwanese company
JYEBAO because my usual supplier Huber & Suhner failed to
answer a quote request. I was pleased to find that JYEBAO's
cables were *better* than H+S, and cheaper too.
Jeroen Belleman
On 10/6/24 19:26, john larkin wrote:
On Sun, 6 Oct 2024 17:46:02 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 29-09-2024 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,Measurement of good vs bad cables:
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time
testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>>> price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade
RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>>> Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the
TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before
which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to
this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear
you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator
and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the
range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to >>>> SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is
showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqFDxQjJAdA&t=50s
I solved a billion-dollar showstopper last year. Some country started
demanding that some expensive semi fab gear be EMI tested, and our
units failed. After great hassle we traced it to bad ground crimps on
shielded CAT5 cables that our customer bought cheap.
I bought a set of phase-matched cables from Taiwanese company
JYEBAO because my usual supplier Huber & Suhner failed to
answer a quote request. I was pleased to find that JYEBAO's
cables were *better* than H+S, and cheaper too.
Jeroen Belleman
On Sun, 6 Oct 2024 19:44:23 +0200, Jeroen Belleman
<jeroen@nospam.please> wrote:
On 10/6/24 19:26, john larkin wrote:
On Sun, 6 Oct 2024 17:46:02 +0200, Klaus Vestergaard Kragelund
<klauskvik@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 29-09-2024 19:14, Cursitor Doom wrote:
Greetings, gentlemen,Measurement of good vs bad cables:
I bought one of those TinySA Ultras recently and have spent some time >>>>> testing it today. I have to say it's amazing what they've done for the >>>>> price. I mean, truly amazing. I do have two other 'proper' lab-grade >>>>> RF spectrum analyzers, but I think I'm going to be mostly using the
TinySA in future as it's just *so* convenient and doesn't weigh a ton. >>>>> Anyway, to get back to the point of this post, having checked out the >>>>> TSA and establishing I didn't buy one of the fake versions that are
out there, I turned my attention to my mid-level RF SA, an HP who's
model number escapes me (not the 8566B I've posted here about before >>>>> which is now fully working, but a newer model that's about 1/3 as
heavy. I say I can't recall the model number but it's not relevant to >>>>> this question anyway. "So what is the fucking question, CD??" I hear >>>>> you not unreasonably cry. Well, it's this:
When I'm feeding an RF signal into the SA, I'm seeing differing
amplitudes at different frequencies. So I've programmed in a sweep
from 10Mhz to 5.4Ghz at -49dBm using my Aeroflex RF signal generator >>>>> and I'm seeing the displayed amplitude vary as it sweeps through the >>>>> range. But this only happens when I'm using a cheap, Chinese N-type to >>>>> SMA adaptor at the signal generator output. Would I be right to
suspect some imperfection in the manufacturing of the adaptor could
cause such an effect? I do have a VNA I could characterize the adaptor >>>>> with but it's a bit of an effort to do. It would seem like the SA is >>>>> showing the adaptor's shortcomings in the frequency domain. But is
that a feasible hypothesis?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqFDxQjJAdA&t=50s
I solved a billion-dollar showstopper last year. Some country started
demanding that some expensive semi fab gear be EMI tested, and our
units failed. After great hassle we traced it to bad ground crimps on
shielded CAT5 cables that our customer bought cheap.
I bought a set of phase-matched cables from Taiwanese company
JYEBAO because my usual supplier Huber & Suhner failed to
answer a quote request. I was pleased to find that JYEBAO's
cables were *better* than H+S, and cheaper too.
Jeroen Belleman
Probably made next door to each other, or in the same
sweat shop on different days.
RL
Sysop: | Keyop |
---|---|
Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
Users: | 415 |
Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
Uptime: | 92:05:21 |
Calls: | 8,690 |
Calls today: | 5 |
Files: | 13,250 |
Messages: | 5,946,884 |