#313

Рет қаралды 195,516

Күн бұрын

Spectrum Analyzers are very useful if you work with radios. Unfortunately, they are very expensive. Until recently, when I saw this small device for around 50$. Unbelievable. But is it any good?
In this video, we will:
- See, what such a spectrum analyzer does and how it works
- Have a close look at this cheap device and compare its readings with a more expensive one
- See the difference between spectrum analyzers (SSA3032X), Vector Network analyzers (N1201SA), and SDR radios
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Пікірлер: 548

@L-36 4 жыл бұрын

I designed spectrum analyzers for Hewlett Packard as my first job out of collage in 1971. The group I worked in is now called Keysight. They were very expensive but I see you can buy one now for a few hundred dollars and get a spectrum analyzer that works to 22GHz. Wow. I worked on the log amplifier that had a dynamic range of 100dB. Loved this video. I think that this cheap analyzer is mixing the input down to DC but the filter is actually a bandpass with a bandwidth of about 250 KHz and a center frequency of about 200 KHz. Thus when you input a signal you see both the + and - image products of the mixer output spaced 400 KHz apart. The display occupies that plus the bandwidth of the filter so they call it 1 MHz. When the LO is tuned to the frequency of the input signal the output is DC and the filter blocks it so you see what looks like a notch in the output.

@szabonandi 4 жыл бұрын

This is when somebody understood the math behind the view... congrat!

@LutzSchafer 4 жыл бұрын

Yeah that's very plausible. Thank you! That both side bands are visible seemed obvious. But how is this avoided in the design of professional instrumentation?

@L-36 4 жыл бұрын

@@LutzSchafer It gets very complicated as there are way more things to worry about than just the issue with this cheap spectrum analyzer. But for the question asked I will give a short reply. If you want to analyze .1 to 2.5 GHz, mix the input up to 3.6 GHz. Then the LO goes from 3.7 to 6.1GHz and the difference signal is 3.6 and the sum is 3.8 to 8.6 and can easily be filtered out. Then use another mixer to get the signal down to 300 MHz and another to get to 21MHz where I built the Log amp. These frequencies need to be carefully selected so that harmonics of the LO do not put spurious signals in band so they are picked more carefully that what I did in the above example. Hope this helps.

@L-36 4 жыл бұрын

By the way, the HP8566 weighed 100 pounds.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I suggest to watch the Signalpath video. There you see exactly what Allen explains: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fNRnqMR2u8uzgJ8.html

@CyclingSteve 4 жыл бұрын

My cat is a 1KHz detector, he came running, meowing every time you whistled. :D

@hopje01 4 жыл бұрын

Mine too! She doesn’t like this video :)

@thebeststooge 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you as my cat whined when he whistled and I did not know why but now do.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Sorry for that, guys!

@CyclingSteve 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess It was kinda funny, he never comes running when I whistle, I must be off tune.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

@Green Steve: My natural authority over small animals? ;-)

@ernstelderenbosch1715 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for yet another very interesting video! The testing, the explanations and the conclusions at the end are all very valuable. Thank you!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@reinholdu9909 4 жыл бұрын

Best "organized" Vid in KZfaq! Please never give up your style of "summarization". -seems yet another piece of equipment where I have to know the result before I can measure it... let me check the improvements ;)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Should improve the dynamic range...

@reinholdu9909 4 жыл бұрын

Andreas tnx... btw:YOU (and QO-100 :) are driving me now to finally go for a HAM licence ...keep up the good work "in style" (=your's :)

@MrPerrey 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess - Yes, definitely on of the best organized tec chanel's over YT. And there are no wrong miss leading or confusing procedures. It's Swiss prescision content!!!

@k19radio13 Жыл бұрын

Awsome work and chanel. Thank you for your dedicated work. For this present moment the great tool is tinySA Ultra.

@andychow5509 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I was looking at such a very device just the other day to analyse my antenna design. It's really cool that you showed another device @9m30s that is probably more what I was looking for. Thank you for your good quality videos.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@GeorgeWMays 4 жыл бұрын

Lab cat. Very important. More valuable than the cheapie spectrum analayzer. Thank you for an informative video.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

And also more expensive ;-)

@SkyhawkSteve 4 жыл бұрын

and sometimes cats can be used as an ESD generator.... although usually when you weren't planning on it. :-)

@tonysfun 4 жыл бұрын

Very nice video again! You make my day, because I learn several new things and that is a must for me. Thank you Andreas!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I try to add some value to my test videos. Like that I hope it is easier for the viewer to decide if someting is good or bad for his application.

@larrynelson8385 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent presentation and explanations Mr. Andreas. Keep sharing your knowledge and we will enhance our world one step at a time!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your nice words!

@sebrura 3 жыл бұрын

You are incredibly talenful in teaching and explaining things in a way that makes it easy to understand.

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@philliptoone 4 жыл бұрын

Perfect timing. I just ordered two BF-F8HP radios last week and started studying for my technician license. This week I learned about antennas, SWR meters, and the NanoVNA. So much new information introduced to me in such a short time I feel like I am in college again. Thanks for making this video to supplement what I am already trying to learn.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Seems you are on the right track!

@funtimess2995 3 жыл бұрын

Great videos :) Love the artificial hand...lol You have a great sense of humor along with great tech knowledge... Thanks for making it so much fun to watch.

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your nice words!

@marcos.1767 4 жыл бұрын

Wow. I understood how a Spectrum Analyzer is working and what it's for. In some 20 minutes. Thanks!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@lohikarhu734 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess BTW, Andreas (du ?), is the hat simply part of your personal style, or is it a kind of "Tracht"?

@reinholdu9909 4 жыл бұрын

Let's wait for Andreas' answer ... (but) If you go back you'll find re. "🤠" that he is/used to be a steampunk afficionado... (zurich maker faire 2017) 73 de 🚲

@PhG1961 4 жыл бұрын

@@lohikarhu734 It's an 'ensemble' together with the 'lederhose'. Very common in alpine countries... ;-)

@lohikarhu734 4 жыл бұрын

@@reinholdu9909 Steampunk :-)

@skylabby 4 жыл бұрын

Let me say thank you for this video Andreas. I had this same device from banggood sitting on my desk and couldn't get it to work, i will be going back to it now that i have a better understanding of it..thank again.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I hope it will work for you.

@winterheng2359 Жыл бұрын

I appreciates how you do the comparison in a very in-depth details. I works as a RF engineer and always find myself lacking in many area. This information is very useful to me on how normal practices are done based on different people and their background. Thanks man!

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@Moonbase59 4 жыл бұрын

Always looking forward to hearing from you! I’m not into RF much myself (except when having to filter harmonics, hee hee), but your videos are always didactically well prepared so it’s pure joy watching them and there’s always something to learn. And of course I dig cat-lovers, having had my own lab cat for ever so many years. :-) Anyways, thanks for being there, doing all this and even teaching an old fart new tricks from time to time!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I am an old fart, too. And Dishka, too. So we are already three. She, however, seems not to be too interested in learning new tricks...

@AaronJackson1 4 жыл бұрын

This was a great video. You explained everything so well. Thanks!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@manuelcornejo7405 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, yes Andreas is a good communicator

@thetastefultoastie6077 4 жыл бұрын

5:48 _natural sine wave generator_ 😄

@jankomuzykant1844 4 жыл бұрын

1570 Hz (by Android apk) ;o)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

So it was a bit over the 1k signal...

@mrdouble 3 жыл бұрын

Freaked my dog out

@JAKOB1977 3 жыл бұрын

Thx for the walkthru, well done and I love how you link and make due diligence on these products and link to the relevant parts, that a possible owner can benefit from.(golden) many other channels can learn from the "viewer perspective-awareness" you seem to suit your videos with. well done Andreas. +1 Don't have this Spectrum analyzer but were looking into it as an entry tool to just get familiar with this kind of class apparatus. at around 30 bucks delivered for this unit (no shell), alternatives are not hanging on the threes in this sub 100 bucks environment.

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

You are right: For sure it is good as an education device. And knowing this technology is important for many projects

@mwwhited 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. Very helpful… and your lab assistant napping at the end is great.

@AndreasSpiess 3 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

@Aemilindore 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Andreas!! Lovely video. Thanks for your time.

@meteor8076 4 жыл бұрын

yes, he has very cool videos

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@hernanirodrigues5261 4 жыл бұрын

Very good job Andreas, nice presentation and very useful, tanks you...!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@TurkishLoserInc 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you again for the high quality video! I was thinking about getting one of these, I'm glad to know exactly what the limitations are.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome! This was exactly the reason for that video...

@stevec5000 4 жыл бұрын

The limitations are not what you see in the video.

@mkatsube 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for wonderful explanation! I got exact image of this spectrum analyzer (LTDZ_35-4400M). I had interest in notch characteristics for CW (Continuous Wave) that 145.55MHz in your video. I checked the circuit diagram and I understood the mechanism of that. Following 2 things are the points of the notch: - The same idea of DCR (Direct Conversion Receiver) - The characteristics of RBW (Resolution Band-Width) filter About the DCR, when we apply the same frequency signal for RF (measurement signal) and LO (Local Oscillator) of the mixer (IAM81008), the mixer output become DC signal. And amplitude of the DC signal depend on the phase difference between RF and LO. However, RBW filter has DC block capacitors, so DC voltage doesn't reach to Logamp (AD8307) input pin. These DC block capacitors are the major reason of the notch characteristics. About the RBW filter, I simulated RBW filter (including DC block capacitors) that using LTspice. It had f0= 200kHz +/- 100kHz of bandpass filter characteristics. When we apply CW to the RF input, Logamp input will appear twin peaks of signal because RBW filter has bandpass characteristics. I think your demonstration of 145.55MHz CW agree to my estimation. Because I seen the frequency difference between peak to peak is 400kHz (=200kHz*2) in your video. I got additional idea from these consideration. It is TG (Tracking Generator) offset frequency. In DCR idea, if LO and TG sweep with the same frequency, mixer output will be DC voltage. In this spectrum analyzer, we cannot see frequency spectrum because DC block capacitor blocks DC voltage. So in this spectrum analyzer, TG (become RF signal) and LO frequency should have offset value such as 200kHz.

@retrociencia 3 жыл бұрын

Amazing explanation! I was trying to figure out what was causing the notch. This design was used to simplify the mixing stage, using just one, in contrast to "conventional", or "real" spectrum analyzers that uses two or more mixing stages, right?

@springwoodcottage4248 4 жыл бұрын

Super interesting & my dog jumped from her bed & started barking at your whistle, so we both got something from your video. Thanks for sharing!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-)) You are welcome!

@ThomasDwyer187 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent educational presentation, bromigo!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@AjinkyaMahajan 4 жыл бұрын

wonderful explanation on a Spectrum analyzer. Thanks ✨✌😊

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@TheHellfiremissile 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video Andreas. My radio club bought a Rigol Spectrum analyser a few months ago and I wanted something similar for my little work bench and having found this on ebay thought it was a good little project ( I bought the naked board). I've only yesterday finished putting it into a case with N connectors and will be keen to try the new software. Love the cat on keyboard :-) Keep up the vid's, It's good to see a ham doing such a diverse range of topics.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

For HAMs a nanoVNA maybe is a better choice to measure antennas and filters. I hope your SA will do the job.

@cbc7599 4 жыл бұрын

Tnx for nice explenation! Got it: the FIXED Resolution Band Width!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-)

@MILENEO3 4 жыл бұрын

I was about to buy one of these 50 dollars spectrum analyzer, but after seeing this video I changed my mine. Thanks Andreas Spiess

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@pulesjet 4 жыл бұрын

Before Spectrum Analyzers we had Frequency Selective Voltage meters. Aka the most expensive AM Radio's in the world. Cool Video yet again Sir.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

This was probably many years ago... But they did the job. And many awesome projects were done in this time.

@peterlaidlaw8655 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for doing this - useful!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@MalagasOnFire 4 жыл бұрын

Very usefull tutorial about Spectrum Analyzer .. the natural sinewave generator is a must and cat is paying atention even "sleeping".

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Yes, she usually does not sleep. She just "rests"...

@zennsystems9433 Жыл бұрын

Excellent explanations. Thank you

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@terence79chan 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this excellent review! I have a spare Agilent 6ghz directional coupler and plan to get this for a friend who needs to measure SWR for his home-built 3.5ghz 5G-antenna. It lacks speed and resolution as a spectrum analyzer, but I hope it works fine for plotting S11 curve.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I like the VNA to measure S11. But a SA should also work.

@terence79chan 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks a lot Andreas, I will give it a go :)

@soumitradey8208 4 жыл бұрын

Great Sir! I guess it will be a good instrument to design antenna

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

As I mentioned. For antenna tuning, a VNA is a much better tool

@mszivatz 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the great video! After this video I bought this analyzer! I am a developer for electronic devices and I think this device helps me. Lg Szivatz.at from Austria

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you like it!

@tusharg21tube 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful video! Useful & neat!

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@goofypettiger 3 жыл бұрын

Great video, dude. Love the cat.

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

@souta95 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the video! I found it really informative. I probably would have wanted one of these had I seen them for sale, but as I mostly would use it to measure harmonics from transceivers they are kinda useless. I think for cheap harmonics measurements an SDR dongle and attenuator is the way to go. I already have a Nano VNA for checking filters and antennas.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are right.

@antondahr6792 8 ай бұрын

Fantastic video! Thank you!

@AndreasSpiess 8 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

@deniscloud2474 4 жыл бұрын

YOU ARE AMAZING ! thanks for good content

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@sq2jul 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for another great video. I wish to see more episodes related to RF signals and ham radio. Vy 73!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

This is not ham channel. It focusses on the ISM usage of RF because only a very few of my viewers are HAMs. Maybe I can motivate a few ISM guys go get licensed...

@DocMicha 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, That was one of my questions I posted some videos ago!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-)

@giololucas 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you for quality information. I'm using sdr + white noise Zener + spektrum software to align homemade vhf filters. Regarding my application my setup performs similar to NWT. At the end nothing can replace a good sigilent anritsu Hp spectrum analizer. Thanks again !!!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

The new cheap VNAs are a handy replacement for antenna design in my opinion. And affordable for most.

@riesmoos 4 жыл бұрын

Good video. I had a look at this cheap device a few weeks back, my mouse cursor hovered over the 'buy now' button. After watching this review i decided NOT to buy it, save up more money for a proper one. This video saved me $55 and disapointement. Thank you Andreas !!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome. Decisions like that are the purpose of this video...

@TwoDogsFighting 4 жыл бұрын

I love that tiny helping hand

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-)

@minazulkhan8287 Жыл бұрын

I like the way you reply to each comment. Keep going

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@qzorn4440 Жыл бұрын

wow this is so cool. I am starting to check out how to build a SDR radio telescope and one video used a cheap spectrum analyzer test the 21cm astronomy hydrogen line. This is a all new learning curve on making a homemade radio telescope using SDR software. 😎 thanks a lot.

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

Check the newest link in the description before you buy a TinySA. There is a new version available.

@qzorn4440 Жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess I checked it out and ordered a: tinySA ULTRA 100k-5.3GHz Hand held tiny Spectrum Analyzer + 4" TFT LCD +Battery. Thank you very much.

@iwan6841 3 жыл бұрын

I love the little 🖐, pointing out things 😂

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

:-)

@manuelcornejo7405 3 жыл бұрын

Me too. Where did you buy it?

@LawpickingLocksmith 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thanks Andreas!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@PhG1961 4 жыл бұрын

I defenately liked this one ! Excellent and well described !

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@SteveWrightNZ 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Andreas

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are welcome!

@olivierlourme9521 4 жыл бұрын

Probably my favorite video among all your great quality tutorials! But what does the VBW indication on your Siglent screen correspond to?

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

The explanation is here: www.siglenteu.com/application-note/spectrum-analyzer-basics-bandwidth/

@umutk5614 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Andreas, I learned at least basics by your nice video. By the way I loved your cat :-D

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you! And I will tell her...

@umutk5614 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess Purrfekt 😃

@Turboy65 2 жыл бұрын

I used my R&S FSEA20 analyzers almost every day for a seven year period. I got pretty used to these high performance machines that had a noise floor of about -160 dBM at zero span. Made my job easy. These days those analyzers can be had for about 1500 bucks in good working order.

@AndreasSpiess 2 жыл бұрын

You are right. I see a lot of people buying these old instruments. They are a very good choice if you have enough space and maybe also some knowledge to use/repair them. For you, as a long-time user, this is a perfect fit and not comparable with such a cheap device...

@marsa74 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent video, as usual, thanks very much, Andreas. That German "Tiefpaßfilter" should be at least 24 years old as it is written "Tiefpassfilter" since 1996. Now I know what a spelling reform is good for.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Interesting. Frequencies still are the same today...

@DarrellBoger 3 жыл бұрын

I LOVE the pointer.

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

:-)

@magnetiseur77 4 жыл бұрын

I made a receiver with tracking ADF synth and nextion display some years ago. To have a flat power signal, I had to add an amplifier and a step attenuator (controlled by µC). It has to be calibrated ! Now I have +/- 1dB precision. (compared to my keysight at work)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like a nice project! All possible with today's cheap ICs. And a good instrument for calibration ;-)

@bloguetronica 4 жыл бұрын

The solution of removing the display and just add an USB control makes instruments cheaper and, more importantly, smaller. I've made several USB instruments under the same principle. Actually, the video caught my attention because of this. Anyway, loved the video and also subscribed. Thanks for sharing!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Welcome aboard the channel!

@robertsmiczsmiczamplificat593 4 жыл бұрын

Very good info..I subscribed and plan to watch more vids. I have added some external filters and a 30db wide band LNA on the input of mine. It has made the spectrum analyzer more useable. It’s still not great, but much better. I also did clean up the Power supply and did the mods going around on the net. I added a variable attenuator on the in and TG out along with the ext Amps. I packed it a nice shielded cabinet its not as good as a real network analyzer, but it is actually useful now. I actually made a selectable multi filter selection for different band widths. The stock internal filtering was pretty bad. I may try to do some more improvements? We will see? Too many pokers in the fire. Great channel. I enjoyed watching.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Welcome aboard the channel! You invested quite some effort¨. Maybe you document it for others to follow?

@robertsmiczsmiczamplificat593 4 жыл бұрын

Andreas Spiess . Thank you sir. I will try to put together all my info on the mods i made. Its pretty much chicken scratch now, but i will try to compile it i to something intelligible. I will be watching and i will let the channel know when i have good information to share. Thank you for the warm welcome.

@epiendless1128 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks. Useful pointers here of what to look for in a cheap analyser. As I like to say, I would RTFM, but there was no FM to R.

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Documentation and software is not a strength of Chinese manufacturers, you are right.

@mbak7801 3 жыл бұрын

In my small lab I have an anti static workstation. Earthing, wrist strap points etc. Grounding for me, my equipment and soldering station. The sight of the purring cat is cute. Except all I could think of was "THE STATIC!".

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

She is for sure not helpful to prevent static charges, you are right!

@VK3CSJ Жыл бұрын

Thanks Andreas a good informative video. I just purchased a unit off AliExpress not the same one you have here but its labled 35-4400MHz with a IN and OUT port and USB port. I hope it will work well for monitoring a wideband Digital DVB-S2/T ATV transmission at 1255 MHz...love your puscat I have a long hair pus too...Cheers Clint - VK3CSJ...

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

Usually these devices are not used as receivers. They are more used to measure emissions... 73 de Andreas, HB9BLA

@meteor8076 4 жыл бұрын

very interesting !

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-)

@cmuller1441 4 жыл бұрын

You could say that the Mixer is a Multiplier. If you remember your trigonometry: sin(a)* sin(b) = (cos(a − b) − cos(a + b))/2 This is why the sum and difference of frequencies appear. In practice the Mixer is not perfect and there are nonlinearities that generates also harmonics so you get N*a + M*b (with N and M integers). But the other frequencies and usually much attenuated with a good Mixer.

@cmuller1441 4 жыл бұрын

And if you want to know how to multiply signals: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bdSdoMVh1de4hWQ.html

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You are, of course, right. For my videos I usually need more time to "leave things out" than to "put things in"...

@cmuller1441 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess I understand that just putting a trigonometry formula in a video can scare people 😆 I'm not a RF guy at all but I find that part of electronics quite stimulating. I just wanted to add some extra for the curious ones that asked themselves "how does a mixer work?"...

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

BTW: Your link points to a very good channel...

@meteor8076 4 жыл бұрын

Cat found the best spot for a snap :D

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

This is why I need three monitors. One is no more usable...

@bulldogbrower6732 4 жыл бұрын

I hope that they continue to improve the device.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Let's hope...

@phiber9 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you Guy with a swiss accent. I visited Luzerne for 1 day. At night. It was okay. :) I want a spectrum analyzer. I don't have a use for it right off the top of my head but I would find a reason. Not swiss mentality but hey... this is internet.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I also have bought a few things like that ;-)

@ovalwingnut 4 жыл бұрын

I ❤ the Mini Me FINGER. Just saying. Good show (you can take my word for it) 🇺🇸

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@BorisDessimond 4 жыл бұрын

As usual, very useful video, that will once again hit my student's bank account, that will take me hours to play with that took I don't really need 😭 ❤️.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

If you learn something, it is probably worth the money ;-) Mixers and signal generators are also quite cheap. So you have everything for experimentation...

@BorisDessimond 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess 100% agree. That's why I have a salary worth of electronics stacked in boxes in the medicine laboratory I'm doing my PhD in. Waiting for Prusa mini to put those fire hazard in more fancy boxes.

@geirthorud6581 4 жыл бұрын

You saved me $50. I might have bought this for fun. Also from the comments I learned that the Germans have abandoned the old version of "ss" which I learned back in the 1970-s. The "sharp s" which it was called here. (Where is it on my keybord?)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

AFAIK it is still on their keaboard. We Swiss never needed it ;-)

@ddjazz 4 жыл бұрын

TLDR It works but you get what you paid for. Thorough video again by Andreas!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I still think, we get quite a lot for 50 dollars. Those new AD chips really make it easy to build interesting things...

@zakrent2000 4 жыл бұрын

If I understand everything correctly then this spectrum analyzer uses an low IF frequency of ~few hundred kHz, most spectrum analyzers use high IF that is higher than maximum frequency they can measure. Because of that it is going to see signals that are centered at LO +/- few hundred kHz and that's why there are 2 peaks when you measure signal of that handheld. That's very bad because some signals, like signal from that handheld will appear to occupy twice the bandwidth and have a weird notch in the middle as seen on the video.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Exactly! But for 50 dollars an IF above 4GHz including filters is probably still not possible.

@yangYang-df2zy 4 жыл бұрын

I like that sweet hand! That helps a lot!!!!!!!!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-)

@HappyQuailsLC 4 жыл бұрын

I also would have enjoyed seeing the cat's purring on an audio spectrum analyzer's display output!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Maybe stuff for another video...

@ghlscitel6714 4 жыл бұрын

Grüezi! I enjoyed the video from beginning to end. I still use my Tektronix 2711 and I will not buy the one from Banggood.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Probably not a bad decision ;-)

@Lion_McLionhead 4 жыл бұрын

Relearned the term "tracking generator" from school, but these days you might as well get an SDR in that price range.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

As I mentioned, the SDRs are not exactly the same. If you want one with transmit you are in a higher proce range.

@nbsneakersbln 4 жыл бұрын

😘👍 I love your cat and your videos 😍🙏

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you. I will tell her ;-)

@IanWilkinson-SgtWilko 4 жыл бұрын

Excellent video as always! Two quick things... The link to the VNA video in the description is pointing to Amazon, not KZfaq. Did you do a video comparing the nanoVNA to the other VNA? I thought you had, but I can't find it.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I changed the link now. Thanks. And I did not do a comparison of the nanoVNA. There are quite a few videos out already and I still think, the N1201SA is the better deal for ISM band guys. I wait for the successor which will also cover more than 900 MHz with a decent resolution.

@mohalothman99 4 жыл бұрын

Great channel and great content! But every time I see this hand pointer I feel terrible may it is kind of phobia I don't know what this feeling!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Maybe you ask your doctor? It is harmless ;-)

@mohalothman99 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess may could I ask you to do not use this hand pointer please? Only for next video I will really appreciate it. Thanks 😊

@tartanpion8643 3 жыл бұрын

thanks

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Welcome!

@electronic7979 4 жыл бұрын

Nice item

@isidoromaich7226 4 жыл бұрын

🙂

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Yes!

@McTroyd 4 жыл бұрын

Amazing how cheap things can be when the core functionality can be implemented in software.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

And excellent chips can be bought from Analog Devices for nothing...

@user-ue8ik3cm6e 4 жыл бұрын

Маленькая рука-указатель - супер! :)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@aballos1 4 жыл бұрын

Very nice and explorative video. Did you try the snasharp software???

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I did not know it. But now I tried. Unfortunately I also was not successful. I tried to calibrate the SA and then measure the very same configuration. I would have expected to see 0 dBm across the spectrum. Unfortunately II did not see anything like that. :-(

@MickeyD2012 4 жыл бұрын

That whistling bounced off my walls and really creeped me out.

@noweare1 4 жыл бұрын

Even though I' have a degree in EE I have never worked in rf or high frequency areas. I find these videos interesting but intimidating.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

RF is not the simplest topic ;-)

@pentachronic 3 жыл бұрын

I think there's a reason a lot of RF Engineers are older. Because it takes quite a long time to learn RF !! 😉

@DrTune 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I was considering buying one but my LimeSDR is much better, I'll stick with that

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

You a re for sure not bad witrh a LimeSDR ;-)

@robingilham 4 жыл бұрын

Very Interesting and useful. I was wondering if it would be possible to use one of these to perform Prequalification EMC / EMI RF tests in a DIY TEK cell. Or perhaps there might be some other way to get an idea before spending $$

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

They are not very sensitive. And for sure not precise. If your application can live with that you are good to go.. I doubt it.

@jms019 4 жыл бұрын

The cat was really impressed

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

:-))

@dl8cy 4 жыл бұрын

I am sorry watching this video so late - have to be on a HAM-Fest at 9:30 here in Berlin today and bought 2 things to play with .... may be you should mention the cat-content at the end by your overview in the beginning - so viewers stay till the end.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I hope you liked the HAM fest! And maybe found a few interesting things. Concerning the cat: I think it should remain a "surprise" for the guys who stick to the end...

@michalbuza8826 3 жыл бұрын

YOU SAVED ME 50€ FOR THIS BOX, THANK YOU VERY MUCH :-)

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

Glad I could help!

@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE Жыл бұрын

Another very useful video thank-you. 2 years on I was hoping perhaps you had covered the Tiny SA spectrum analyser but could not find it on your page. I would be very interested to know how you find it.

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

It seems to be a good device. There are a few very instructional videos on KZfaq. I think they are from the programmer of the firmware.

@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE Жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess Thanks for the reply. I have seen some videos. I was interested in how you personally found them. I think they are worth a try at the price.

@AndreasSpiess Жыл бұрын

@@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE I have a Siglent Spectrum Analyzer on my desk. So I did not use the tinySSA a lot.

@zolatanaffa87 4 жыл бұрын

in summary: the price difference has its weight, then it depends on the use you want to make of it. $ 3,000 is a great investment for a hobby, so the $ 50 device might be enough, once you compare it to some more advanced device ( hoping you can do it) you have a "touchstone" for your purposes. If, on the other hand, you have to study the behavior of various equipment rigorously, perhaps for work, then you must think of a quality product such as Siglent or of equal quality. Tnx for yours intersting videos Andreas and i'll see you next time!

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I most probably will not do a SA comparison on this channel. There are other channels focused on this topic. I just wanted to give some advice to people hoping they can save 2850$ to go to this cheap device ;-) And they should know a little on what they have to look if they buy another one.

@zolatanaffa87 4 жыл бұрын

@ Andreas Spiess: I completely agree with you: I was also a radio amateur, and I never had a spectrum analyzer .. in reality I was more of a CB than a real radio amateur (even if I had acquired a license and license: my name was Ik4DZF but some time has passed ... 20-25 years !!) and when I built the jpole for 144 MHz I went by attempts trying to respect the project's measurements ... it worked , at least to get on 144MHz repeaters :-)

@combin8or 4 жыл бұрын

Please do a video on SDRs and clever configurable (elegant design and possibly cheap using HEMTs/GaN) front ends. I was hoping for a bit more of a deep dive into that sort of thing when I was notified of this video.

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

For 50$? GaN? Maybe in a few years...

@combin8or 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess $50? I'm confused as to the number you came up with as well as the significance-- I just would like to see an exploration of HEMTs before they're commonplace. Also, GaN transistors aren't very expensive now and they are underrepresented in enthusiasts' communities, so I thought you'd have an opportunity to deep dive where no man had before. It's ripe for clever approaches.

@combin8or 4 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess GaN transistors are cheap and extremely capable (maybe you were thinking of SiC?)-- for instance: www.digikey.com/products/en?WT.z_cid=sp_917_buynow&keywords=917-1153-1-ND

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

I thought your comment was about a device using this new technology ;-) I am no specialist in this and I also think it would be too special for this channel. Maybe others will cover it.

@StigBSivertsen 4 жыл бұрын

You have the knowledge to fix these shortcomings if this is open source.... it would have been an awesome video to you create a new one without these issues :-)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Maybe you watch the video about the Siglent. Then you know what it would take...

@MaltWhiskey 4 жыл бұрын

I understood the first and the last couple of minutes. Most important component is a furry oscillator.

@Moonbase59 4 жыл бұрын

"Furry oscillator"! Man, I almost spit my coffee against the screen laughing … have to remember that one! :-) :D

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

@Malt :-)) You got all you need, I think ;-)

@bourasabdennour8369 4 жыл бұрын

Please a video about using SDR as Spectrum analyser :)

@AndreasSpiess 4 жыл бұрын

Maybe later...

@manuelcornejo7405 3 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess Yes please

@karlkaefer2569 3 жыл бұрын

Buyer beware. If you only need a *cheap* spectrum analyzer, get yourself a used RSP1 or RSP2 for about 100 € or even less and the spectrum analyzer software from sdrplay. Pretty accurate and much more sensitive than this crap here, although it is not as fast as a real spectrum analyzer. Andreas, well done this video!

@AndreasSpiess 3 жыл бұрын

I agree.

@slimygreen1967 2 жыл бұрын

Natural signal generator =whistle... love it

@AndreasSpiess 2 жыл бұрын

Simple and cheap ;-)

@slimygreen1967 2 жыл бұрын

@@AndreasSpiess i love your videos. Thank you so much for producing these. You are an absolute legend. Im looking to build a tinygs soon when my parts arrive. You have inspired me to look into other lora systems as well. Keep up the great work.