T&MZONE Products for the week of October 24, 2005
Agilent Technologies Says . . .
Agilent Technologies Introduces High-Performance Spectrum
Analyzer Under $10,000
Low-Cost, Portable Platform, Designed for Broad Range of Applications
Agilent Technologies Inc. introduced a compact, high-performance spectrum analyzer under $10,000. The Agilent CSA, available in 3- and 6-GHz models and designed for use in a wide array of industries, enables R&D and manufacturing engineers and technicians to make precision RF measurements with speed, ease and confidence.
"Innovative measurement science enables industry-leading performance, features and usability in a low-cost, portable package," said Ron Nersesian, vice president of Agilent's wireless business unit. "The new Agilent CSA platform solidifies our position as the world's spectrum analysis leader. Our ESA Series already provides the market's broadest measurement flexibility and our PSA Series offers the industry's highest performance."
"The Agilent CSA brings an unprecedented level of performance to our cost- conscious customers, with the best amplitude accuracy and achievable dynamic range in this price class," said Tom Burrell, general manager for Agilent's signal analysis division. "For example, high performance at this price point allows consumer electronics manufacturers to increase repeatability, reducing manufacturing and support costs."
Flexibility
The Agilent CSA incorporates a full-featured, general-purpose spectrum analyzer
with an internal VSWR bridge and tracking generator. This allows customers
to easily and accurately characterize single- and dual-port devices such
as filters, cables and amplifiers. Its convenient form factor, low weight
and battery operation makes the analyzer an excellent choice for installation
and maintenance of communications systems. Its card-slot architecture enables
future performance and capability enhancements.
Ease of Use
The Agilent CSA provides ease of measurement, enabling faster insight into
engineering challenges. The built-in measurement help leads users through
each measurement task step by step. Minimal training and setup is required
to achieve sophisticated, accurate measurements -- even for non-expert users.
The auto-tune, auto-scale and auto-couple functions speed the measurement
process by automatically optimizing setup parameters. With the highest-resolution
display in its price class, engineers and technicians can easily read and
interpret measurement results.
Modern Connectivity
Modern connectivity simplifies tasks such as remote control, data transfer
and firmware upgrade. For instance, installing new firmware with the Agilent
CSA is as simple as transferring files from a USB memory stick. Measurement
automation is simplified by using Standard Commands for Programmable Instruments
(SCPI) syntax over a 100Base-T LAN. These standard commands ensure the analyzer
can also be easily integrated into existing systems for expansion or upgrade.
The Agilent CSA is part of the Agilent Open program, which provides system-ready
convenience and flexible connectivity.
analogZONE Says...
There are other competitors in this field like Anritsu and Advantest, but the closest competitor is the Rohde & Schwarz FSL spectrum analyzer which has similar performance specifications. Both the CSA and the FSL are available in 3-GHz and 6-GHz bandwidth models.
The important performance parameters of displayed average noise level (DANL), resolution bandwidth (RBW), third-order intercept point, distortion, and adjacent-channel power (ACP), the CSA and FSL are roughly equivalent. The one edge in bandwidth goes to the FSL at the bandwidth's lower end at 9 kHz (versus 100 kHz for the CSA). It is also said to weigh less than 7 kg while the CSA is said to weigh 7.5 kg (not including options). Dimension wise, the FSL is narrower at 34.2 cm wide (versus 48 cm for the CSA) and shorter at 15.8 cm (versus 20 cm), but it is also deeper than the CSA at 36.7 cm (versus 25 cm).
The CSA has a 1-GHz DANL of -128 dBm (10-Hz RBW), and -146 dBm with the use of an optional preamplifier (the FSL's DANL figures are -112 dBm and -152 dBm, respectively). The CSA's RBW is rated at10 Hz to 1 MHz (300 Hz to 3 MHz for the FSL), and its third-order intercept (TOI) point is rated at +18 dBm (+10 dBm for the FSL). Phase noise for the CSA is - 85dBc at a 10-kHz offset (-103 dBc for the FSL), spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is 60 dBc, and overall amplitude accuracy is within ±1.5 dB.
The one area where the CSA clearly has the edge is the price. The $8,950 price for the 3-GHz N1996A-503 CSA analyzer ($12,250 for the N1996A-506 6-GHz version) compares very favorably with $12,960 price for Rohde & Schwarz 3-GHz FSL303($15,010 for the FSL306 6-GHz version). In fact, this price was obtained from a major equipment supplier's website. Incredibly, Rohde & Schwarz did not have a price for its FSL instrument on the company's web site, which leads one to ask "how can a company have a website full of advanced products without an idea of pricing?" As of this date, Rohde & Schwarz has yet to provide me with a price, although they did acknowledge my e-mail request for one.
How did Agilent do it? For one thing, the CSA line has been priced based on a plan to eventually have it manufactured in Malaysia where labor costs are lower than in the US although presently it is being manufactured in the US. Another factor was a design based on a minimal component count. Remember, this instrument is aimed at general-purpose uses in manufacturing, education, installation and maintenance, and R&D applications, not state-of-the-art development work.
The CSA is available as of November 1, 2005 with prices:
N1996A-503 100 kHz to 3 GHz: $8,950
N1996A-506 100 kHz to 6 GHz: $12,250
N1996A-TG3 3 GHz tracking generator: $3,000
N1996A-TG6 6 GHz tracking generator: $4,000
N1996A-P03 3 GHz preamplifier: $1,500
N1996A-P06 6 GHz preamplifier: $2,000
N8995A Stimulus/response measurement: $1,000
N1996A-271 Spectrogram measurement: $500