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Hi Wdoug,
Let me preface, version v2.15 is a older version of the software. It has been replaced with by our latest spectrum analyzer application called “Spike” which can be downloaded here. http://www.signalhound.com/Spike. It only runs on Win 7/8/10. Are you on one of these systems and would be able to try it?
If you need to stay with our older software, this message usually means that the software was unable to download the calibration file from our server. The first time our older units are ran on a particular PC, the software looks for a cal file on our server and pulls it to your PC. Ensure you have a connection to the internet before trying again. Also ensure the device is plugged in and the LED is green before running the software. If it still continues to fail, email us at support at signalhound dot com referencing this conversation and with your serial number.
If your device is older, there is a possibility the file isn’t currently on the server, which will cause the Spike software to stop on this step as well. Contact us as well if this is the issue.
Regards,
A.J.Of course,
Since you are using the Atom CPUs, it would be good to characterize the behavior on Windows first. Our application uses the API under the hood, so you can get a good idea on how various features work. The API functions similarly on both Windows/Linux, so when I get it recompiled, porting should be easy, if you are able to start development on Windows. Shoot me an email at aj at signalhound dot com and I will email you when I get a new Linux version up. I can’t guarantee any time frame though, maybe in the next couple weeks.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Labbench1,
I apologize, I did not realize you were working on a Linux OS. Yes, there is an issue on Linux, the library was compiled naively on a Haswell CPU and now requires a Haswell CPU or newer i-series model CPU to run properly. It was compiled with the -march=native flag, which inserted architecture specific instructions.
We haven’t set aside time to recompile it again for Linux. I’ll see if this could be done sooner than later. In the meantime, you mentioned you have a Windows OS you can run it on?
I apologize for the inconvenience.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Labbench,
Additionally, I do not know what support is like for USB 3.0 on the Atom CPUs and motherboards, so I would not be surprised if you run into issues with this.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Labbench1,
The current releases should run on Intel Atom right now. I should let you know that we have not tested the BB60C on the Atom architecture. It is unlikely that the available Atoms are able to perform the necessary signal processing needed for the BB60C to operate. I suspect most sweeps will be OK and slow, but it will have issues with modes like zero-span, real-time, or demodulation (audio/digital).
If you are able to try it, we would be interested to hear about your results.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
The BB60A will work with our tracking generators. The BB60A firmware must be updated as you noted. The firmware update is available on the BB60 download page.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
The unit in question was manufactured on Jan 20 2014. We manufactured BB60A’s from Feb 2013 to June 2014, at which time, it was replaced with the BB60C design. All BB60As are compatible with our latest software application, no need to use the legacy BB60A version 1.2.3 application. All of our analyzers use our main application called Spike, seen here, http://www.signalhound.com/Spike. We do offer calibration services, (call in for exact price). We also will repair BB60A devices for a flat fee.
Alternatively, BB60Cs are shipped with a two year warranty.
If you have any further questions, you may contact us by phone at 1-800-260-TEST.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Andrew,
Thank you for the heads up. I will try to look into this. If you find a simple way to reproduce the issue, or a snippet of code that easily reproduces the crash, this would be very helpful to us. It sounds like you managed to work around your issue though. Let us know if you find out anything further.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
The main reason one might buy a BB60A now is due to price. We do not sell the BB60A anymore and have not since the BB60C was released.
The BB60C hardware design is drastically different than the BB60A, as you noted. The BB60C uses a direct RF path for frequencies below 20MHz. The HDSDR application requires an input I/Q data stream to operate on. We have not developed the direct RF to I/Q code necessary for HDSDR. This only affects 20MHz and below. Our API is available to users and we do provide the code for our device to interface HDSDR, so if you have programming experience, it would be possible to fill in the missing pieces to get the direct RF into HDSDR. This would require C++ and signal processing experience.
Regards,
A.J.Hello Eranz,
Unfortunately if the firmware update process fails for any reason, the device becomes unusable. At that point, we will need to receive the unit and re-flash the internal memory. If you are in the US or Canada, you can send the unit to us and we will do this for you, for free. You can set up a repair by calling us at 1-800-260-TEST or emailing me at
aj at signalhound dot com.
If you are outside the US or Canada, you can do this through the distributor, they will send the unit to us.Either way, no charge other than shipping to us.
Failed firmware updates seem to be more common in older devices. If we receive a device and determine the failure is due to other reasons, and not just a failed firmware update, then we would discuss other repair options.
If you have other units which have failed for other reasons, we do offer a flat repair fee. Contact us for the latest information regarding pricing.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
Both the BB60A and BB60C function as a spectrum analyzers down to 9kHz, but software limitations prevent the BB60C from being currently used in HDSDR down to 9kHz. We no longer sell or manufacture the BB60A, but I do know they show up on Ebay occasionally. Specs for the BB60A are at the bottom of this document, https://signalhound.com/sigdownloads/BB60A/BB60A-User-Manual.pdf
The BB60C improved on almost all RF performance metrics compared to the BB60A. Might be worth comparing them to ensure it will fit your task, BB60C specs here
https://signalhound.com/sigdownloads/BB60C/BB60C-User-Manual.pdfRegards,
A.J.Hi John,
The BB60A is capable of being tuned down to 9kHz in the HDSDR application. If you have access to one, great. The SA44B is a good choice for low frequency audio decoding as well, and more affordable as well. If your only goal is low frequency audio, you might look into dedicated SDR hardware, but obviously, this is not possible if you still need a spectrum analyzer.
I would be more than happy to answer any questions you have on the SA44B.
Regards,
A.J.Hi John,
If you need a lot of configuration in decoding and playing audio, you might try using the HDSDR (software radio) application with our hardware. This is a free software application which is compatible with our analyzers. Check out the capabilities of the software here, http://www.hdsdr.de. We provide the necessary documentation and files for interfacing the software, which is found on our download pages. The SA44B will be capable of tuning and decoding audio across its full operating frequency range, 1Hz to 4.4GHz. The BB60C is limited to a lower frequency of around 20MHz.
If you have any further questions, please let me know.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Andrew,
I apologize that the documentation doesn’t cover this in more detail. Here are the minimum bandwidths that can be selected based on decimation.
For decimations
[1 -> 128] : 50kHz
[256] : 20kHz
[512] : 10kHz
[1024] : 5kHz
[2048] : 2kHz
[4096] : 1kHz
[8192] : 0.5kHzThese are absolute minimums and be aware that they are chosen as the practical limit based on the internal sample rate and FIR filter size used. I recommend specifying your own limits that are realistic to your application and using a combination of bandwidth and sample rate to achieve your necessary streaming requirements.
If you have any further questions, please let me know.
Regards,
A.J. December 20, 2015 at 9:31 pm in reply to: Background File Creation for Baselines & Difference Files? Hi Mike,
We don’t have any immediate plans to implement baseline logging or trace math functionality, but we are aware of the need for it, and believe we will address these points in the future. We appreciate you providing feedback. We keep track of all customer requests.
Currently with the functionality we offer today, depending on your needs, you could use additional trace slots in combination with the max hold functionality to create a baseline, and then disable the update of that trace, creating a sort of background trace. Changing settings will clear the trace though, so it will only work for one setup. Once you have a baseline max held signal, you could then export the trace, and any future traces to do some minor trace math in excel or other similar applications. I realize this is not be the exact functionality you are looking for, but might assist your measurements.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Mike,
I was able to address the issue jyaron brought up in version 3.0.15 of Spike. If you can provide any information or steps to help me reproduce the issue you are experiencing, it would be very helpful.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Cristian,
The spurs between 500-800 MHz are from internal clocking mechanisms.
There are no plans to ‘flatten’ the noise floor. This would require new hardware development.
As for your last questions, I didn’t verify the values, but assuming the numbers are correct, the answer is yes. This can be considered the analyzers noise contribution, also referred to as noise figure.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Cristian,
If I understand your question correctly, then yes, this is normal behavior. I will include two images of the setups of my working SA44B so you can compare.
I will sweep from 100k – 4.4Gz with 10k RBW at both reference level of 0 and again at -50.
Your results may not match exactly, but should be close.
Regards,
A.J.Hi Ivan,
Glad to hear this helps your use case. I’ve made a note of your issue. As for the LED, the device is continuously streaming I/Q even if you press ‘single’. When operating the device in an I/Q data acquisition mode, the device either continuously operates or is idle. It is simply the way the device was designed.
Regards,
A.J.