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Hi PGA,
Thank you for providing this. Based on the image, we suggest ensuring your connectors are tight and cables are verified good. If you can verify them, then I would suggest sending in the unit for repair. There could be a potential issue with the RF front end. If you can rule out your setup, then call us up at 1-800-260-TEST or email us at support@signalhound.com and we can help you in the next step.
Regards,
A.J.Hello Fabrice,
The trace averaging, (aka setting the trace ‘type’ to average) is simply an average of the log traces, (average of the log).
Let me know if you have any other questions. Thank you for the kind words.
Regards,
A.J.Hello Fabrice,
Unfortunately at this moment, the sweep times are limited in selection. You could try to simulate this in a few ways.
If you are looking for the peak occupancy of this signal, you could setup the peak detector with a max hold trace.
If you are using the average detector, you could lower your VBW which would increase sweep time and use trace averaging.
You could use the average detector setup to get your channel power to create your mask, and then the peak detector setup to ensure no violations occur, if this is in fact your task.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Andy,
So, currently, I have been unable to duplicate this with my SA44B, but I may be using a setup where it doesn’t appear. If you could provide me with a specific setup, I could try to duplicate this.
Also, if you think it is version specific, here is a link to the 3.0.21 software.
signalhound.com/sigdownloads/Spike/Spike(x64)_3021.zip
I would interested to know if this resolves your issue.If this doesn’t work, email support at signalhound dot com with your serial number and we can send you the cal files for your device, in the event the current ones on your system got corrupted.
I look forward to your response.
Regards,
A.J.Hello Eduk,
Yes there is a way to do this. There is an ‘Export’ button on the trace controls, which will allow you to export a CSV of the form
MHz, min(dBm), max(dBm)
MHz, min(dBm), max(dBm)
…This will export the current trace selected in the trace combo box. You can export any configured trace this way.
Let me know if you have further questions.
Regards,
A.J.Hello bbowar,
I have no experience using the Borland C++ compiler. I would guess that there is some conflict of calling convention or that there is some configuration issue. Googling something like “Calling Visual C++ DLL from Borland C++” brings up a number of results. I’m sure you could try some things mentioned in these results.
Regards,
A.J.Hey Everyone,
We released version 3.0.22 of Spike today. It adds a number of features and bug fixes. The major additions are CISPR defined resolution bandwidths and the ability to load multiple path loss tables and an antenna factor correction table. There are a few new sections in the manual that detail the use of these features.
http://www.signalhound.com/Spike
Regards,
A.J.Hi Ivan,
Yes, that is generally true (do not exceed +20 dBm input) for any combination of preamp/atten settings. It is recommended to stay under the reference level though if you can.
Also, a strong signal within the IF band but not within your visible span can produce IF overload.
The biggest concern is the input into the preamp.
This morning we made an additional note in our product manual that is related to this, for a different customer. See section 3.6
https://signalhound.com/sigdownloads/BB60C/BB60C-User-Manual.pdf
Let me know if you have additional questions or need further clarification.
Regards,
A.J.Hello Noeldi,
Currently we have no immediate plans to implement the Smith chart in Spike. This is something we have been considering to add to Spike but have not set aside the time to do it yet.
Regards,
A.J. February 25, 2016 at 4:08 pm in reply to: Noise figure measurement using an SA44B with Spike software Hi Richard,
I apologize, I misread your original question. The MRU functions differently in Spike than it does in 2.18. In Spike the Measuring Receiver utility in the file menu is used for measuring generators/attenuators/etc. and as you guessed, requires a CW signal and measures at a very narrow bandwidth. The audio modulation analysis portion of the 2.18 MRU was moved to zero-span in the Spike software. I’m not familiar with the noise figure measurements you are making. Email support at signalhound dot com with your question and Justin will be able to answer your question early next week.
Regards,
A.J. February 25, 2016 at 9:16 am in reply to: Noise figure measurement using an SA44B with Spike software Hi Richard,
This sounds like it could be related to the image rejection algorithm for the SA44B. Do you get expected results when you disable ‘Spur Reject’ in the ‘Settings’ file menu?
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
It was nice talking to you on the phone. Let me know if you need anything else.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
This is something we have discussed and may implement in a future release. If you need Hz or sub Hz resolution on a CW, something like zero-span will give you precise results.
Steps:
– Enter Zero-Span mode
– Change to center freq of interest
– Enable AM/FM Modulation analysis, check box near bottom of control panel
– View RF Center (very fine resolution)Regards,
A.J.Hello John,
It sounds like a timebase error of ~0.7ppm, which is still within the spec we publish. Most of this is due to drift of the timebase. A new unit will have a much lower error.
It sounds like you have contacted us for a calibration. We can adjust this unit to correct for this error.
Regards,
A.J.Hello John,
Until I test your setup explicitly, I cannot say for sure, but it is very likely a software issue. Probably some combination of settings and actions caused the audio to stop working for you. I suggested HDSDR so you could continue to make your necessary measurements. Also, if you are doing lots of audio work, the HDSDR application offers much more functionality than our audio player.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
If you are looking for more configurable audio playing, you might try out HDSDR (free software defined radio interface). On the downloads page,
https://signalhound.com/support/downloads/bb60c-bb60a-downloads/
look for the HDSDR compatibility files which will include a manual for setting up the software and the necessary files. HDSDR can interface our device and provide much more configurable audio outputs with real-time visualizations which might be useful for your task.Regards,
A.J.Hi Eric,
Thanks for mentioning this suggestion again. I did see your other post as well. It’s a good suggestion and is still on the request list. If we find time to add this, it will definitely be mentioned in the change log. Unfortunately I can’t guarantee anything more than this. Thank you for taking an active interest in our software and making these requests.
Regards,
A.J.Hello Asteraled,
My guess is that the calibration file didn’t get pulled from the device properly on the PC for some reason, potentially due to the low voltage problem you saw before switching to the hub, lets try replacing the cal files. Go to this folder on the ‘good’ PC,
C:/ProgramData/SignalHound/cal_files and copy these files to your ‘bad’ PC to the same exact folder, overwriting what is there. ProgramData is a hidden folder in case you don’t see it.Ensure the Spike software is closed when making this copy. Let me know if this resolves your issue.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
The only in-field adjustments we have are for the BB60C 10MHz timebase. For the BB60A, the unit must be shipped back to Signal Hound for adjustments. We can re-calibrate the device and ensure it is within operating specs. I believe it is a flat fee. You can email lori at signalhound dot com and ask for that information.
I apologize for the inconvenience. Glad everything else is working out okay.
Regards,
A.J.