Berkeley Nucleonics Corporation has releases a new Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer (RTSA) that has all of the capabilities of the big brand units but at a much lower cost. The issue with most commercial spectrum analyzers is that when it comes to signals of shorter pulse durations or fast frequency hopping signals, the analyzers are blind. The data from this is unclear and unusable so cannot be easily interpreted.
One option, originally the only option, is to spend $100k or more on a heavy, bulky, and benchtop RTSA that consume large amounts of power and bench space. The RSTA7500 from BNC is priced at under $6K and weighs in at only 6 lbs. (2.7 kg), has a smaller footprint than a standard sheet of paper, making it the perfect solution for both benchtop and the field (portability) with available rechargeable battery options.
Becoming a universal solution for the signal analysis market was no simple task. This required an extremely broad frequency range as well as a large instantaneous bandwidth. With the frequency range of 100 kHz to 27 GHz and a real-time bandwidth of up to 100 MHz and a 100% POI of only 1 µs, the RTSA7500 is the best solution for wider dynamic signals.
Not everyone desires a real-time bandwidth, but would rather utilize a scanning function and set the appropriate resolution bandwidth. For such applications the RTSA7500 soars, with a sweep speed of 200 GHz/s, a spurious free dynamic range that reaches 100 dBc, and a resolution bandwidth as fine as .62 Hz the low cost spectrum analyzer from BNC is the solution.
The industry is moving towards PC-Controlled instruments that lower the cost and increase the accessibility of updates to users. The interface of Model 7500 Series is designed and operated on as an easy to use and intuitive GUI; other APIs are available for the more integrated user including LabVIEW, MATLAB®, SCPI commands, C/C++ based, and Python based platforms. With this users can utilize real –time graphs and plots of the spectrum, spectrogram, persistence spectrum, as well as I and Q plots interpreted through the display of their choice.
The Model 7500 Series is available at just under $4k for the spectrum analyzer with a 10 MHz Real Time Bandwidth and at about $6k for the one with 100 MHz Real Time Bandwidth.
