Vendors unleash flurry of new products

Oct 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Mary Rose Roberts

Engineers have more options to test and measure wireless communications systems and devices, as vendors recently released several new devices.

For example, Aeroflex introduced the 3500, a portable radio test-set that tests the radio, cable and antenna in vehicle-based radio systems. The device has a built-in generator and receiver, operates from 2 MHz to 1 GHz and is capable of measuring up to 200 W with an external attenuator. In addition, it performs AM/FM transmitter and receiver tests, including radio frequency (RF) power, RF error, AM modulation, FM deviation, receive signal strength indicator (RSSI), distortion and SINAD/sensitivity. The base configuration costs $14,995.

Another test and measurement product to hit the market is Agilent Technologies' E6601A, a wireless communication test-set platform the company developed for calibrating mobile handsets in high-volume manufacturing. It has a built-in Windows XP PC architecture so users can develop, download and execute test programs directly into the system. It also offers a new calibration for GSM, GPRS, enhanced GPRS, W-CDMA and HSDPA — available through a software upgrade. The platform without upgrades costs $27,100.

Anritsu also launched a new product, the BTS Master MT8222A battery-operated hand-held analyzer. It is equipped with a spectrum analyzer and cable- and antenna-analysis function so users can evaluate the performance of wideband-CDMA/HSDPA mobile-phone base stations with a single unit. The platform costs $19,000.

Finally, National Instruments introduced the PXI-5661. It is a 2.7 GHz, RF-vector signal analyzer that features 20 MHz of real-time signal or modulation bandwidth. It uses frequency-selective, burst triggering and onboard signal processing to stream data to a PC. The new module also includes a built-in burst trigger that engineers can use to trigger RF acquisitions based on user-programmable power level and bandwidth. It costs $17,999.

Test and measurement vendors

AEA Technology ▪ Access Communications ▪ Advanced Communications & Electronics ▪ Advanced Wireless Telecom ▪ Aeroflex ▪ Agilent Technologies ▪ Amerizon Wireless ▪ Anritsu Company ▪ Bird Electronic ▪ Bro-Comm ▪ Brunelle Instruments ▪ Comprod Communications ▪ Doppler Systems ▪ DuraComm ▪ EMR ▪ Fiplex ▪ Fluke ▪ General Dynamics ▪ JFW Industries ▪ Megger ▪ Narda ▪ Microwave-East ▪ Optaphone ▪ Ramsey Electronics ▪ Samlex America ▪ Spantek Radio ▪ Survey Technologies ▪ Tektronix ▪ TelePath ▪ Telewave ▪ Wayne Kerr Electronics ▪ Willtek Communications ▪ Z Technology ▪ For a listing of additional vendors, visit the MRT 2006 Resource guide at www.mrtmag.com/.