Rohde & Schwarz recently announced the MXO3, a 1 GHz, 12-bit oscilloscope. The company sent a review unit. In this part, I found that it has some nice features for making EMC measurements, though it could use another. R&S sent me a model MXO38, the eight-channel version with built-in 50 MHz single-channel AWG and two […]
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Noise generator substitutes for tracking generator
When your spectrum analyzer lacks a tracking generator, you can use a low-cost noise generator to characterize RF components. Here’s how. Low-cost spectrum analyzers often lack tracking generators, preventing you from having a signal source that tracks the analyzer’s frequency sweep. Not having a tracking generator can make some measurements difficult. You can, however, use […]
R&S digital multimeters feature 5.5 and 6.5 digits with triple displays
The UDS series from Rohde & Schwarz provides the company with a significant upgrade and place it against top competitors. Digital multimeters (DMMs) are a measurement staple, sitting alongside oscilloscopes, power supplies, and waveform generators on just about every engineer’s bench. You may not think of Rohde & Schwarz as a major competitor in the […]
APEC 2025 test equipment: oscilloscopes and probes
Oscilloscopes and probes play a vital role for engineers designing and testing power electronics. Delivering electrical power to analog and digital circuits and systems is more than just DC measurements. That’s because nearly all power-converter circuits use switching techniques to maximize efficiency. Silicon carbide (SiC and gallium nitride (GaN) transistors, with their higher voltage and […]
Review: PCBite circuit board holder and probe kit
The PCBite kit holds your circuit board in place while you probe it, reducing the risk of short circuits. Recently, I’ve had to test and characterize many small PC boards, including embedded processors, DC-DC converters, and other wireless-related products, for EMC issues. I’ve never really had an easy way to keep these boards from moving […]
Review: Tekbox TBCG4 harmonic comb generator
The Tekbox TBCG4 harmonic comb generator produces a wide range of known frequencies for EMC immunity testing and routine checking of EMC chambers. I’ve used harmonic comb generators for decades in various applications, including antenna measurements, cable resonance measurements, and shielding-effectiveness testing. I also find them useful for checking the daily consistency of test chambers […]
Free and low-cost online EE tools aid in design
Downloadable and online free and low-cost EE tools help engineers design and analyze circuits.
How to determine noise figure: part 4
Two incompatible definitions of noise factor can lead to confusion, which you can alleviate by understanding where the differences lie.
Should I use a spectrum analyzer, signal analyzer, or vector network analyzer? Part 4
A vector network analyzer can fully characterize components by deriving their scattering parameters. In earlier parts of this series, we looked at analog spectrum analyzers (part 1 and part 2) and vector signal analyzers (part 3), both of which monitor unknown signals, whether emanating from a system, device under test (DUT), or an enemy’s transmitter […]
Screenless oscilloscope fits 2U rack space
The MXO 5C screenless oscilloscope from Rohde & Schwarz comes in four or eight channels with 2 GHz bandwidth.
