As wireless system standards proliferate, test equipment must become more flexible. The MG3700A vector network generator fills the bill by incorporating a fast baseband arbitrary waveform generator (AWG) with a large signal memory, as well as a 20-Mbit/s bit-error-rate (BER) analyzer. The unit supports 3.5G signals, including high-speed data packet access (HSDPA), in addition to emerging 4G technologies.
The generator features a 250-kHz to 3-GHz (6-GHz optional) range with a 120-MHz internal (150-MHz external) modulation bandwidth. The standard 1-Gbyte (256 Msamples/channel) memory can be doubled, so waveforms can be stored in memory rather than on a hard drive.
Standard signal pattern files include W-CDMA, GSM, EDGE, 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, and additive white gaussian noise (AWGN). Other standards, such as TD-SCDMA, are available as options. The optional software package, IQproducer, allows users to create custom signal patterns for analysis. IQproducer also can accept a text file of IQ data from other software, such as Matlab, for waveform generation.
Resolution is 0.01 dB in all output level ranges. An internal automatic calibration routine delivers an output accuracy of ±0.5 dB. The generator includes a removable 40-Gbyte hard-disk drive. Designed for use in automated test equipment systems, it's compatible with National Instruments' IVI and LabVIEW drivers.
The MG3700A starts at $30,565 with four- to six-week availability.
See associated figure
Anritsu Co.www.us.anritsu.com
