EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Products => Test Equipment => Topic started by: josephny on October 04, 2015, 11:43:42 am
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Hello,
I'm considering getting a Rigol DS815 for repeater maintenance.
I know it will allow me to tune filters/cavities, but I'm wondering if anyone knows how to use it to test receiver sensitivity?
Will I be cussing about not being able to check for xyz to get the repeater working as well as possible?
Thank you,
Joseph
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Currently the DSA815 has some frequency accuracy issues when using the tracking generator - a few kHz typically - just FIY. Depending on how narrow your filters are you might need to offset-tune them a bit.
A spectrum analyzer with tracking isn't very useful for testing sensitivity, I've tried. The tracking generator is potentially useful as a signal generator but it can't be modulated in any meaningful way and the output level can only go down to -20 dBm.
If you had a few high quality step attenuators it could sort of work, but with no modulation it's hard to judge real life sensitivity. There's no substitute for an old school RF signal generator.
The HP 8656B can be had fairly cheaply compared to the DSA815, and many sellers offer warranties on them. I just got a Fluke 6060B a few days ago and it's pretty good too.
They're not hugely portable though, so if you wanted to do field work then my best suggestion is a HT with a pile of attenuators (130 dB or so).