Washington — The Association of Old Crows (AOC) held its 60th annual convention in Washington during the week of December 11, 2023. EE World was there on December 12. Here is some of what we saw in the exhibit hall.
AOC is a defense-oriented conference that focuses on military wireless communications. In addition to product exhibits, attendees had a chance to see vehicles equipped with extensive wireless communications capabilities.
Analog Devices showed its Apollo MxFE software-defined signal processing SoC. Introduced in June 2023, the Apollo MxFE AD9084 holds four 20 Gsample/sec, 16-bit ADCs and four 28 Gsample/sec DACs, while the AD9088 contains eight 12-Bit, 8 Gsample/sec RF ADCs and eight 16-Bit, 16 Gsample/sec RF DACs.
In the Anritsu booth, attendees saw bench and portable RF test equipment including the Field Master Pro MS2090A real-time spectrum analyzer. The instrument is available with frequency ranging from 9 kHz to 9 GHz with the top variant going up to 54 GHz. The MG362x1A RF/microwave signal generator produces signals from 9 kHz to 70 GHz. Alongside the MG362x1A is the “MS2760A PC-based mmWave spectrum analyzer, which captures signals to 170 GHz.
Berkeley Nucleonics exhibited its Model 845 Microwave/RF Signal generator and PC software. Variants of the Model 645 cover 100 kHz to 12 GHz, 20 GHz, and 26.5 GHz with 0.001 Hz resolution.
Nico Garcia of Cheshir Industries explained how the company’s GRIN lens antennas work.
Keysight Technologies demonstrated hardware and software, including its X-Series signal analyzers (shown), FieldFox handheld spectrum analyzers, and PathWave System Design (SystemVue) network-emulation software.
In the Maury Microwave booth, Mike Cagney demonstrated how the company’s equipment emulates a satellite link. Matt Diessner then demonstrated measurements on that link.
Menlo Micro demonstrated what the company calls its ideal switch. At AOC 2023, the company gave a preview of the MM5800 RF switch.
Omnetics manufactures Micro-D (right and center) and Nano-D (left) connectors. The photo compares the two connectors against a standard D-sub connector.
The PCTel booth included its Gflex scanning receiver and antennas. Designed for mobile network RF testing from 2G to 5G, the receiver covers 10 MHz to 8 GHz, 24.26 GHz to 44 GHz (continuous), and 47.2 GHz to 48.2 GHz.
The Rohde & Schwarz booth contained bench, production, and handheld spectrum analyzers. The IRAPS Integrated, Record, Analysis, Playback System (shown) lets engineers capture, record, and play back RF signals up to 1 GHz.
Connector manufacturer Samtec exhibited a wide range of military RF connectors. The photo shows a backplane connector with its host board inside a cylinder that’s a typical size used in military aircraft.
Signal Hound gave a preview of its upcoming PCR4200 Phase Coherent Receiver. Covering 100 kHz to 20 GHz, the instrument includes a built-in vector-signal generator.
Tektronix showed its latest oscilloscope, the 4 Series B. In the video, Daniel Schneider explained how to use the oscilloscope’s two ways of looking at a signal in the frequency domain. See our hands-on tryout of the oscilloscope.
Teledyne LeCroy displayed its Frontline protocol analyzers. The X240 Wireless Broadband Analyzer lets you “sniff” wireless protocols such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 5, and 802.15.4. The X500 adds Bluetooth BR, EDR, and LE as well as Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.
The AOC 2023 exhibit hall contained more than just components and test equipment, for it contained complete vehicles. Pacific Defense brought a Jeep while Rohde & Schwarz rolled in an entire truck. We even looked inside.
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