How to record series of spectrums

In ordrer to do some calculation, we need to record series of spectrums. Such as with the 1ms averraging time, we need to record spectrums for 1s. Is it possible to do this with the software? Recording 1000 spectrums manually is too difficult.

Hello Kefei,

If you need to record a series of spectrums, you have a few options. You can used the sweep recording toolbar in Spike (in the sweep measurement mode). You will find the toolbar along the lower part of the Spike application in sweep mode. The file saved is a custom binary file which can either be played back through Spike, or could be parsed programatically. An example C++ parser is in our SDK.

You could also use the SM_API to programatically sweep the SM device and store sweep in whatever format you wish. The SM_API is a C++ DLL for Windows or Linux you can use to control the SM200. You can find this in our SDK. (Software menu on our website).

Regards,
Andrew

Kefei,
There are a few ways to do this. You could record the sweeps in Spike (you may need an SM200 in real-time mode, span >160 MHz, for 1 ms sweeps).
For more control, you could simply record 1 second of I/Q and do your own windowed FFTs. With the SM200B, this would give you up to 2 seconds at 160 MHz span.
A third option is the waterfall spectrum plot in zero span mode. In this mode, the biggest limitation is probably the 1 second requirement. This would set a pretty low I/Q sample rate, since you are limited to a few million I/Q data points.

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