The new SP145 14.5 GHz spectrum analyzer is available now!→

The growing use of wireless technologies is increasing the need for spectrum monitoring application, as is the need to drive down the cost per monitoring station.

Affordable monitoring solutions on display

At the 2018 Association of Old Crows (AOC) symposium in Washington DC this year, Signal Hound and 3dB Labs demonstrated a combined spectrum monitoring solution in each of our booths. 

Signal Hound's AOC 2018 booth with SCEPTRE from 3dB Labs
3dB Labs’ SCEPTRE software running in our booth at AOC 2018, connected to the SM200A

Pairing the SM200A with the SCEPTRE software creates a powerful yet affordable solution for SIGINT (signals intelligence), TSCM (technical surveillance countermeasures),and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) applications. AOC attendees were excited to see such an affordable solution and have the chance to speak with us and technical experts 3dB Labs.

3dB Labs’ booth at the Association of Old Crows Symposium 2018

As we’ve touted in the past, the SM200A’s architectural approach provides a level of overall system affordability that breaks through the cost barriers of conventional one-box systems. For remotely deployed scenarios, the lower cost is an enabling factor that makes it possible to put more systems in the field where the cost of standalone analyzers was simply too prohibitive.

A quick intro to SCEPTRE

3db Lab’s SCEPTRE is an ISR collection software suite that can act alone or as a network of receivers to perform rapid signal ID, tip and cue, c-uas, and geolocation. It can also integrate with multiple simultaneous Signal Hound spectrum analyzers on stationary or mobile collection platforms, and provide real-time analysis of COMINT, FISINT, and ELINT signals. SCEPTRE performs real-time bit breakout, data streaming out, antenna position control, and pulse descriptor word creation. The versatile nature of SCEPTRE allows a user to leave it unattended for days with its built-in circular pre-d buffer, an ideal solution for remote access, RF surveys, or post-event analysis.

SCEPTRE SIGINT software by 3dB Labs
3dB Labs’ SCEPTRE software

Combining SCEPTRE with the fast sweep speed and powerful internal hardware of the SM200A produces an RF spectrum monitoring receiver perfect for a deployable remote solution that can run unattended for days, acting alone or as a network of receivers. The $11,900 price point of the SM200A and the similarly-priced SCEPTRE software lowers the total cost of a high-performance signals intelligence system.