The length of your videos are fine because the content is great! Love the teardowns (although in this one missed a bit more close ups on the RF section with more explanation, block diagrams,..) , the explanation of the interfaces, the bug finding and especially love the testing of the limit uses of the devices and explanation of what happens and why. Great great work! Thanks for the channel.
You have never failed to come up with interesting experiments to perform during your instrument reviews. The functionality nuances you discover during these reviews are extremely valuable. They are precisely the kind of information I look for in a product review. Great work!
Reasons why i *follow* the signal path are - Thorough explanations of concepts and descriptions of instruments - The detailed teardowns and explanations of very interesting equipment - The fact that i can look at the core of the tools for the dark arts, those black magic paintings hidden in the signal path.. RF shall remain unknown to me, hence i find it extremely fascinating - Voice, i find it pleasing to listen to. helps to get the end of the video All can't possibly done in a short video, who does either do an approximate job or does an excellent but short snipped, see w2aew
I wish we could go back to a time when one didn’t have to ask how much the licensing key is to enable the power switch. They need to stop obfuscating the bottom line price of instruments. I would love to know what this unit costs, but unfortunately got bored with the process of searching and adding up licensing options... I’m guessing this is a $10,000 to $12,000 class instrument fully optioned up? $400.00 just enable the WiFi hardware already built in, that’s probably using an open source Berkeley based protocol stack is just a tad bit ridiculous. I’m assuming if you contact the sales weasel they throw this in free...
Take whatever time you think is appropriate to describe the topic...quality is what's important and you always deliver. Glad you mentioned at the end that the built-in wifi was not impacting the instrument as the potential was definitely there! Thanks again for all the hard work!
very nice video, thank you ! When do you catch your breath when you are talking :-) For someone, like me, who's native language is not English that was really fast. But nevertheless this is a very very good video !
Hi Dr Shahriar - Thought I'd mention that I really like your long-format videos, recently I've been going through your oldest videos and working my way backwards. Loving the content. I have BEng (Hons) 2.II in EEE and a Distinction in Mechatronics MSc -- but my exposure to RF has been quite limited as I specialised on Embedded systems / Microcontrollers etc. I have built up my home lab and am now looking to working on RF projects, purely out of interest.
Many thanks for sharing your deep experience and knowledge to review, as this has helped me assess the device as part of my buying decision. Love your channel!
True or false- you can only use an RS OSL calibrator because the device firmware de-embeds a short transmission line in RS calibrator. Other OSL calibrators from other manufactures do not have this excess line.
The video is superbly educational about various techniques of measurements and love how you turn a product review to a smooth and fantastic learning experience. I recommend the video to everyone who is in EE field. Thank you man. I wish I could support you through Patreon, but unfortunately I live in Iran an have no access to any type of international payment platform. If you have any account in Iran, I'll support you with pleasure.
Hi Shahriar, I would like to buy this spectrum analyzer for my startup. my budget is tight but I would like to buy quality equipment. Do you choose this device or Rigol? frequency up tp 3Ghz and VNA is a must for me. Thanks for your advice.
Is the S21 measurement really "vector"? I find the datasheet a little confusing. It looks like only S11 is a real VNA measurement (amplitude AND phase). S21 seems to be amplitude only.
That was really good - although not something I'm going to buy as it doesn't cover the frequency range I require. But I'm not holding my breath for a budget 12GHz Spec-A or VNA from *anyone*...... I have a couple of questions about the PCB used for the main board. I assume its not a 2 layer 1.6mm FR4 as losses (at 3GHz considering the size pf the pcb) and 50 ohm track width would be annoying. And 4+ layer would make layout easier with the Zync and double sided component use (while maintaining isolation). Can you take a guess at what R&S have used - I'm curious as to what the professionals think is acceptable? Thanks. Matt
Hi. I'm wondering why some spectrum analyzers have no problem showing a pulsed microwave signal, while others make it significantly difficult. Are there some defining specs to look for? Thanks
Hi Shahriar, after seeing your video on the FPC1500 I decided to buy one for my hobbyist lab. After connecting it to my network, I have not yet been able to find the mobile app that you are using to control the instrument through the network. Could you tell me where I can get it?
Hi Shahriar, I really like the look of the R&S equipment, it looks very well laid out and the GUI seems unmatched in user friendliness. I only wish I had the budget to get one of these fine instruments, Alas, as a hobbyist, it is hard to justify the expense. I guess I'll wait a few years and look for them on ebay, or maybe for Christmas I'll go nuts and max out my credit card for myself, we'll see. Great video as always because your unhesitating style and calm demeanor reveals the deep understanding you have of the subject under scrutiny. BTW I agree with many here who mention that there is no such thing as a "too long" video of The Signal Path. The cat, pooch (sp?), is a great mascot for your channel, cats seem wise and his "inspections" of your work are well timed and very entertaining. I am glad to see that you have gained a few thousand new subscribers since I joined last fall. Thanks for the marvelous videos and sharing your vast knowledge of RF electronics. A lifelong fan, Gary
I like long videos. Your 2 hour long walk through and repair of a HP SA is a classic. It's kind of interesting that they would put a wifi module into a device meant for measuring RF. I wonder whether you can detect its presence ... I'm 8 minutes in but suspecting that you will give that detective work a go :-)
I can't get my FPC1500 to connect on WiFi-- it sees my access point, but won't connect when I enter the passphrase. The AP is 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac capable, and the encryption protocol is WPA2-PSK. There is a '!' as part of the passphrase. Do you have any idea what might be wrong?
With the broad use of 5.8 GHz I would have thought that would be the maximum frequency point manufacturers should be aiming for with a cheap price point.
It gets expensive quickly in terms of components and design once you cross 3.6Ghz. What you can get today was unheard of 15 years ago. So maybe 15 years we can get 10Ghz
My take is that a machined block will not distort and thus seal well with the RF gasket everywhere - a stamped metal piece would need loads and loads of screws to ensure a good RF seal. And of course a block of aluminium helps with thermal stability.
29:00 - Regarding assymetric phase noise, I think that's correct as well. Seems like the internal synth would have to either switch VCO tanks for a different band or the synth would have been reconfigured to for a different freq band 31:42 - It should be 3.6-(-35.3) = 38.9 dBc instead
thakur, I work for R&S. All our distribution partners carry the FPC1500. Please see the R&S authorized distributors here: www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/buy_from_an_authorized_distributor/buy-from-an-authorized-distributor_230179.html
More R&S "entry level" stuff that costs a small fortune. $3000 for the base 1GHz unit, and $5000 if you want 3GHz. And the other "options" have some pretty eye-watering prices too. Maybe get the base Siglent for one third of the price and just hack it for free to get 3.2GHz..
@Colin Alston: Yes, it's not "affordable" at all. When you add in all the options that were enabled on this review unit you are hitting roughly $8000-$8500. Clearly this "entry level" and "economy" stuff - as Shahriar put it several times at the beginning of the video - is aimed at Bitcoin Billionaires. :) It's a very, very nice unit with some quite advanced features, but still has a few "rough edges" that may or may not be fixable in firmware. Too early to tell. Even if I had that kind of money, I'd be waiting a few months to see what other owners discovered and if those issues were addressed by R&S. The "entry level" R&S Oscilloscope that Shahriar - and other RU-vidrs - reviewed a few months ago (again, fully-loaded units like they were given cost $5000+) still hasn't had all the issues addressed. R&S seem to be quite slow with firmware updates from what I can tell. I guess it's the old rule of "Never buy version 1 of anything!" :)
I think compared to the Keysight's and LeCroy and other options maybe it's "entry level" at the 3Ghz range? Even the Siglent when you add a tracking generator and license (bleh!) the VNA software and reflection bridge option etc comes out to $5000+. The Rigol's too when you want a TG and VSWR capability suddenly skyrockets to the $3000 mark.
Tricky Rat R&S releases firmware updates at the end of every quarter for their flagship products. The entry and mid level don't get as much attention because there aren't as many high paying customers demanding updates in order to meet business needs.
