Anritsu Introduces First Single-box RF Test Capability for LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation with MT8820C RF Tester

Anritsu Company recently announced the availability of LTE Advanced Carrier Aggregation (CA) Measurement Software for its MT8820C RF Tester, enabling analysis of leading-edge mobile devices incorporating the new ultra-fast technology evolution. The new option leverages the ParallelPhone Mode (PPMTM) dual-RF capability of the MT8820C to simulate inter-band and intra-band downlink Frequency Domain Duplex (FDD) CA with call processing. With the software installed, the MT8820C becomes the first single-box tester with the capability to conduct three critical CA receiver measurements, providing LTE device designers and manufacturers with a cost- and space-efficient solution.

“Anritsu is pleased to support LTE Advanced CA with our flexible MT8820C RF Tester. We understand that consumers continue to demand ever-faster data rates, and are pleased to support the wireless device supply chain with new test capability to meet these demands,” said Michael Barrick, Senior Business Development Manager, Anritsu Company. “We look forward to supporting the industry with additional LTE Advanced capabilities as carriers continue to deploy new features.”

Agilent Technologies Introduces One-Box Connectivity Solution for Easy GPIB, USB, and RS-232 Electronic Test Instrument Control over LAN

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) recently announced the Agilent E5810B LAN/GPIB/USB gateway, the next-generation replacement for the E5810A with added USB capability. The new gateway allows users to connect and control, over a standard local-area network, up to 14 GPIB instruments, up to four USB instruments via a self-powered hub, and an RS-232 instrument.

With the gateway's improved GPIB transfer rate of 1.2 MB/s, engineers can reduce test time and improve production. The E5810B supports 1000BASE-T (1 Gigabit) LAN/Ethernet as well as 100BASE-TX and 10BASE-T to meet the demands of higher network bandwidth.

National Instruments Technology Partnership With FIRST Puts Real-World Engineering Tools in Student Hands

FIRST^® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) recently announced they are extending their technology partnership through 2019 with the shared goal of creating more scientists and engineers. FIRST engages young people in exciting mentor-based robotics programs that celebrate science and technology, inspire innovation, and foster self-confidence and communication skills. NI provides the real-world engineering tools that power these programs.  

This phase of the technology partnership centers around the creation of a next-generation embedded robotics control platform code-named “Athena.” Athena is a super-rugged, reconfigurable controller that, when paired with NI LabVIEW system design software, makes it possible for FIRST teams to design real systems faster than ever. Students will use Athena starting in the 2015 season of the FIRST^® Robotics Competition (FRC^®).

Agilent Technologies Introduces Industry-First Solution for Testing SD UHS-II Receivers

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) recently announced the industry's first receiver testing solution for secure digital ultra-high-speed (SD UHS-II) host products and memory card devices.

Unveiled at the SDA event in Osaka, Japan, N5990A test automation software Option 120 accelerates accurate characterization and compliance verification of receiver ports in host products and memory card devices that support the SD Association's emerging UHS-II memory card standard. The automated receiver testing solution for the physical layer is based on Agilent's J-BERT N4903B high-performance serial BERT with supplementary instruments and accessories.

Rohde & Schwarz Adds Analog Baseband Inputs To Its R&S FSW Signal and Spectrum Analyzer

Rohde & Schwarz has upgraded its R&S FSW signal and spectrum analyzer with a new option to include analog baseband inputs covering a bandwidth of 80 MHz for I and Q signals. This makes it the only signal and spectrum analyzer on the market that can analyze signals with up to 160 MHz bandwidth in the baseband.

The new feature will be beneficial especially to developers of transmitter modules for complex signals such as WLAN IEEE 802.11ac and LTE if different chipsets are used to generate the baseband signal and convert it to the RF. With the new option, the R&S FSW now makes it possible to test the signal in the baseband prior to its conversion to the RF, allowing developers to characterize the entire signal chain using a single device.

The R&S FSW-B71 option for analog baseband inputs is now available from Rohde & Schwarz.

Agilent Technologies Receives Global Company of the Year Award for Radio-Frequency Test Equipment

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) recently announced that it received Frost & Sullivan's Global Company of the Year Award for radio-frequency test equipment.

Engineers in RF design, R&D and manufacturing face continuously emerging test challenges driven by increasingly complex modulation schemes, an ever-growing number of industry standards, wider information bandwidths, and new frequency bands and applications. They use Agilent's spectrum, signal and network analyzers to design, test, and maintain RF and microwave electrical components, circuitry and equipment, particularly in wireless communications.

The R&S AVHE100 Headend Solution from Rohde & Schwarz Adds DVB-S /DVB-S2 to Its Growing List of Supported Standards

The R&S AVHE100 headend solution for encoding and multiplexing from Rohde & Schwarz now provides broader functionality and more value to broadcasters by supporting an additional digital broadcast standard. Following the market launch in the fall of 2012, where the focus was on DVB-T/DVB-T2, the R&S AVHE100 has now been enhanced for operation with DVB-S/DVB-S2. What sets this headend apart from conventional systems is its revolutionary architecture and innovative technologies, such as R&S CrossFlowIP, which greatly improve reliability. 

Unlike conventional headends, the R&S AVHE100 integrates all essential functions for encoding and multiplexing in just a few hardware components. This makes the R&S AVHE100 one of the most compact systems on the market. Its core components are the R&S AVS100 processing platform and the R&S AVG100 audio/video gateway. In just two height units, these two components can, for example, be set up as a DVB-S2 headend that includes multiple HD-SDI or satellite inputs, decoders and encoders for up to 6 HD or 10 SD programs, multiplexers and a workflow-oriented headend management system.

Tektronix Delivers New Precision Multi-Phase Power Analyzer

Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, recently announced its new precision multi-phase Power Analyzer. Featuring the industry's first Spiral Shunt™ design (patent application submitted), the Tektronix PA4000 Power Analyzer gives power electronics engineers stable, precise current measurements even on highly distorted power waveforms common in many applications.

With energy efficiency and new power sources often taking center stage in the world of electronics design, engineers need newer and more advanced tools to keep up with consumer demand, changing technologies, government regulations and added workload. The PA4000 rounds out the Tektronix portfolio of oscilloscope-based power test offerings enabling an end-to-end solution that provides the performance to measure for conformance to regulatory standards today and in the future. Combined with ease-of-use, application-specific test modes and a full set of standard features including communication interfaces and PC-based software, the PA4000 will prove to be the industry's power analyzer of choice.