Spectrum Instrumentation has extended the M5i flagship series of high-speed PCIe digitizers, adding two new models with ultrawide bandwidths that go up to 4.7 GHz for -3 dB attenuation or even 5 GHz for -5 dB attenuation. The models M5i.3360-x16 and M5i.3367-x16 provide one and two channels respectively with prices starting from $27,990. Each card […]
Test and Measurement Tips
IEEE EMC Symposium 2023: Exhibits
The IEEE Symposium on EMC and SI/PI is growing back to normal size, which is quite a relief after the COVID experience. Part 1 of this series described highlights from the various presentations. One of the highlights during the Symposium on EMC and SI/PI this year in Grand Rapids is always catching up on new […]
12-bit oscilloscope reaches 65 GHz, tests high-speed links
The WaveMaster 8000HD series from Teledyne LeCroy goes where no 12-bit oscilloscope has gone before. Serial digital data streams never stop reaching for higher data rates. Buses such as PCIe Gen 6 (64 Gtransfers/sec) and USB4 V2 (80 Gb/sec) have gone to PAM4 and PAM3 modulation, respectively, to reach their current data rates. Two-level modulation […]
What is PCIe gen 6 and how do I test it? (Part 2)
PAM4 modulation boosts throughput but adds test challenges. Part 1 of this two-part series described the evolution of the PCI Express (PCIe) standard, including the move from non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signaling in PCIe 5 to four-level pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM4) signaling in PCIe 6. What unique test challenges does PCIe 6 present? As mentioned in Part 1, […]
What is PCIe gen 6 and how do I test it? (Part 1)
PAM4 modulation boosts throughput but adds test challenges. The Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) emerged in the 1990s as a parallel bus for connecting computer mainboards and peripheral devices. In 2003, a serial version called PCI Express (PCIe) debuted, with generation 1 offering a transfer rate of 2.5 GT/s. Over the past 20 years, successive generations […]
IEEE EMC Symposium 2023: Presentations
Long known for its academic papers and presentations, the EMC+SIPI Symposium in 2023 featured more practical tutorials and workshops than ever before. See photos from the technical sessions and workshops.
EMC chamber fits into small spaces
ETS-Lindgren’s SpaceSaver 26H reduces the footprint needed for 3-m emissions testing. EMC test chambers take up space. It’s what they do. Physics has something to do with that. Even so, ETS-Lindgren has developed the SpaceSaver 26H EMC chamber, which the company installed at the E3 Compliance test lab facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The chamber […]
That Maxwell book that was returned to a library 115 years late: what’s it about? Part 2
Work on resistance measurement, described in An Elementary Treatise on Electricity, helped pave the way to successful trans-Atlantic telegraphy. In Part 1, I discussed An Elementary Treatise on Electricity by James Clerk Maxwell. One volume made national news earlier this summer when it was returned to New Bedford, Mass. Free Public Library 115 years overdue. […]
How does a thermocouple work, and do I really need an ice bath (part 2 of 2)?
Modern thermocouple instruments automate the cold-junction-compensation process. Part 1 of this two-part series introduced thermocouple cold-junction compensation (CJC). This part will elaborate on the concept. Table 1, presented in part 1 and repeated here, lists a subset of the NIST voltage and temperature data for the type T thermocouple. Table 1. Type T thermocouple temperatures […]
That Maxwell book that was returned to a library 115 years late: what’s it about? (Part 1)
Published in 1881, An Elementary Treatise on Electricity evolved from notes Maxwell had written in preparation for lectures on electricity at the Cavendish Laboratory. In June 2023, the national media carried a story about a book 115 years overdue that was returned to the Free Public Library in New Bedford, Mass. The book turned out […]
