The object of signal compression is to facilitate transmission, reception, processing, and the use of great amounts of data while conserving valuable storage space and transmission resources. Data compression is obviously a good approach provided that it doesn’t incur an unacceptable amount of information loss. It was once widely assumed that detail or information, once […]
Test and Measurement Tips
Meaning and measurement of negative resistance
It is a fact, verified in theory and by experiment, that no material can conduct electric current with greater efficiency than an ideal conductor having zero resistance. How, then, can the term “negative resistance” have meaning in the real world? First, it is possible to get negative resistance readings on a DVM. If this happens, they […]
Optical probe, analysis software excels at dissecting PAM4 modulation
The DPO7OE1 is a calibrated optical probe and analysis software package for use with real-time oscilloscopes. Developed by Tektronix, it is optical reference receiver-(ORR) compliant for 28-GBaud PAM4 applications and supports IEEE/OIF-CEI standard specific measurements. It complements Tektronix optical PAM4 analysis tools for sampling oscilloscopes, giving design teams efficient test solutions for all stages of […]
Measuring with spectrum analyzers
Modern bench-type and even hand-held oscilloscopes have spectrum analysis capability, providing great added versatility. They can view in rapid succession (or even simultaneously in split-screen format in a mixed-domain instrument) time domain and frequency domain displays of the same signal. Fourier theory tells us that any signal or function in the time domain can be […]
Measuring antenna properties
An antenna is simply a conductor or conductor array, usually metal. But how it is situated and terminated that determines its behavior in transmitting and/or receiving electromagnetic radiation. Let’s start with an antenna that is configured to transmit. An oscillating voltage applied at a terminal will cause current to flow through the antenna. A transmitting […]
Real-Time 27-GHz spectrum analyzers are PC controlled
Saelig Company, Inc. announces the availability of the compact RTSA7550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer – a powerful, full-featured spectrum analyzer designed to analyze wireless signals in real-time (not progressively scanned). This is essential for seeing intermittent and frequency-varying signals. The Model RTSA7550 has all the standard features of a conventional spectrum analyzer such as frequency controls, […]
Pulse generator optimized high impedance capacitive loads
IXYS Corporation announced today the introduction of the PVX-4000-2kV-EX +/- 2000 V Pulse Generator by its IXYS Colorado division. The PVX-4000-2kV-EX is an air-cooled, high voltage pulse generator optimized for high impedance capacitive loads. It is well-suited for driving extraction grids and deflection plates for electrostatic modulation of particle beams in time-of-flight mass spectrometers and accelerators. Its […]
Comprehensive PCI Express 4.0 test system conducts automated transmit/receive compliance tests, link equalization verification
Anritsu Co. U.S. and Teledyne LeCroy have partnered to provide a PCI Express 4.0 (PCIe Gen4) test solution, integrating the Anritsu Signal Quality Analyzer (SQA) MP1900A BERT with the LabMaster 10Zi-A oscilloscope and QPHY-PCIe4-Tx-Rx software from Teledyne LeCroy. This system provides high-speed IC, device, and network engineers with one complete solution to conduct automated transmitter […]
Testing of cathode ray tubes in oscilloscopes
The cathode ray tube (CRT) is what made possible TVs, computer monitors, and oscilloscopes as we know them. CRTs have largely been replaced by flat-screen technologies but CRTs still serve in niche applications. For example, some kinds of military needs still require a CRT display. General-purpose CRTs are no longer manufactured in the U.S., but […]
Thermal imaging sensor aids in characterizing critical production equipment
Fluke Corp. has expanded the capabilities of its Condition Monitoring system to include thermal monitoring with the addition of the new Fluke® 3550 FC Thermal Imaging Sensor. Maintenance managers can now collect a more comprehensive variety of key-indicator data — thermal imaging, voltage, current, temperature, and power — on critical equipment to build a real-time […]