Siglent SSA3000X and SSA3000X-Plus Spectrum Analyzers

[Skashkash]

Another brand new SSA 3021X Plus owner here. Received with FW 3.2.2.4.0.
  Any updates on the "update process" ?  Is there an HW issue with the USB drivers?

  Thanks.

[Bicurico]

No issue with USB drivers and all relevant posts of mine became obsolete and have now been removed, after OP deleted his posts asking for help.

My posts were suggestions to recover his device, which had files with wrong permissions due to his own wrong actions.

[mojorizing]

My upgrade was finally successful but not without issues.  I started out using a Linux machine via telnet and was able to go thru all the steps in post # 1624.  Or so I thought.  The Siglent was renamed SVA1032X but without the options added, so I went thru step V multiple times without success. A recommendation from a forum member recommended I use Putty on a windows machine and cut-and-paste as needed from post #1624.  With Putty I restarted the upgrade process from step V and all was well!

1) I used Putty version 0.76 Settings are Host Name is IP of Spectrum Analyzer, Port = 10101 , click on “Other” and you should be able to connect.
2) Position the cursor in PuTTY where you want to paste the copied text from Windows, then right-click to paste it
3) When done editing in VI, esc then shift zz (ZZ) saves and exits VI editor .  Refer to the howtogeek link in prerequisites in post #1624

I think the linux route didn't work was due to my poor command-line typing skills.

[Skashkash]

Thanks Bicurico for that info, and thanks to mojorizing for posting your experiences.
   It's all very encouraging.   
 
   

[DaveL]

Waiting for the arrival of a brand new SSA3021X-Plus I've been reading through this very long thread. Thanks to all those who have put so much effort into this and made the info available for the rest of us.

It seems that after a successful "upgrade" one is left with no serial number i.e. the SN is reported as all X's. That makes sense as the instrument is now, for all intents, not what it was built to be at the factory. The old SN doesn't apply and it was never given one in the correct sequence at the factory.

OK so fair enough but my question is: if it is reverted back to an SSA is the serial number restored? Or is it lost in the conversion-reversion process?

This info may be somewhere in the thread but I didn't see it. It is after all a rather looonngg thread.

Thanks

[Bicurico]

The serial number is not lost and you can actually program any serial number you want with an SCPI command (I think somewhere in the thread the relevant command is explained).

The reason why the serial number is no longer present after the hack is because the hack consists in removing the serial number in order to have the device in a factory mode where all options are enabled. For this the file containing the serial number and licensed options is removed or renamed.

Regards,
Vitor

[DaveL]

I see, so the reason for the serial number being removed is not what I thought.

I do recall seeing something about setting the SN with SCPI. It just seemed a bit useless since whatever you set would not be a "real" SN.

Thanks for the prompt reply and succinct explanation.

[czorgormez]

Another SSA3021X Plus successfully converted to SVA via post#1624

[luudee]

Another question:
is it possible only on SSA3021X Plus or also on SSA3015X Plus?

Once a SSAX+ reaches V3.2.2.4.0, they all start using the same FW.

So, you can do a conversion to SVA1015X but you can't upgrade beyond that. Here.

Does that mean the "new" SVA will always stay at firmware V3.2.2.4.0 ? No future updates ?

I have a SSA3032X Plus, and would like to convert it to a SVA ... The instructions seem clear,
but I want to make sure I'll be able to install future upgrades of the SVA firmware.
Can somebody please confirm ?


Thank you !

rudi

[tubularnut]

Does that mean the "new" SVA will always stay at firmware V3.2.2.4.0 ? No future updates ?

I believe the reference to 'upgrade' was that you can't go from a 3015 to a 3021/32

[luudee]

I opend the machine and guess what? It is realy a hardware fault.

So, I have been reading this thread about the upgrade, of a SSA to a SVA. And I came across this "cabel fix".

BUT, if you look at this video from the repair thread, this guys SSA does not have those extra connectors
or that second short cable.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/fixing-the-rf-front-end-of-a-spectrum-analyzer/

Does that mean that this can not be converted to a fully functioning SVA ??

Many Thanks !
rudi

[tautech]

I opend the machine and guess what? It is realy a hardware fault.

So, I have been reading this thread about the upgrade, of a SSA to a SVA. And I came across this "cabel fix".

BUT, if you look at this video from the repair thread, this guys SSA does not have those extra connectors
or that second short cable.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/fixing-the-rf-front-end-of-a-spectrum-analyzer/

Does that mean that this can not be converted to a fully functioning SVA ??

Many Thanks !
rudi

There are 2 main series of SSA3000, X and X+ with has the enhancements of the earlier X series.
Only SSA3000X+ and SVA1000X spectrum analyzer performance is identical. 

[tubularnut]

BUT, if you look at this video from the repair thread, this guys SSA does not have those extra connectors
or that second short cable.

The one in the video is an X not an X Plus.

[luudee]

Does that mean the "new" SVA will always stay at firmware V3.2.2.4.0 ? No future updates ?

I believe the reference to 'upgrade' was that you can't go from a 3015 to a 3021/32

So I will be able to flash future SVA firmware upgrades in to my unit, correct ?

Thank you !

rudi

[tv84]

So I will be able to flash future SVA firmware upgrades in to my unit, correct ?

Sure.

[luudee]

Thanks to all the wonderful people who made the SSA->SVA conversion possible!

I have a question regarding calibration kits.

What kits do you use ?

So far I have been using the cheap SMA kit from AliExpress: open, short and load.

But I see so many really expensive kits. What is your take for up to 3.2 GHz calibrations ?

Do the expensive kits really make a difference ?

Many Thanks,
rudi

[RoV]

I have a question regarding calibration kits.

What kits do you use ?

hp85033C

So far I have been using the cheap SMA kit from AliExpress: open, short and load.
But I see so many really expensive kits. What is your take for up to 3.2 GHz calibrations ?
Do the expensive kits really make a difference ?

Generally speaking, yes.
A good VNA is only as good as the calibration kit is. And you must calibrate selecting the right calkit parameters, something that generally is not given with cheap kits.
Theoretically, if the kit had good and repeatable connectors, you could measure short and open standards with a reference VNA (calibrated with good standards) and estimate their parameters. Load, instead, must give 50 ohm accurately in all the frequency range, no parameter set is defined for it.

However, it depends on the frequency range you are going to use and the accuracy you expect. I have calibrated a NanoVNA v1 with the calkit supplied and the results seemed acceptable up to a few hundred MHz.
But, unless you check the standards, you can't know if they are good or not.

You can do some performance tests. For example, you can test a short circuit stub made with a recycled piece of rigid coax with SMA connector, cut at e.g. 20 mm and soldered in short circuit (stay as flat as you can on the end of the coax). Based on the measurement at say 500 MHz you can estimate the stub lenght from the S11 phase, then verify that at higher frequencies the phase increases linearly with frequency as it should and that the path remains on the external circle of the Smith chart or very very close to it.

[luudee]

Help !

So, last night I updated my SSA3032XS Plus to a SVA1032X.
And at first glance, everything looked great.

But today, I realized that none of the VNA functions work. All I get is garbage.

Attached is a smith chart with a 50 ohm load attached. This should give me (almost) a dot at the center of the chart.

No matter what I do, calibrate, change to other measurements, everything in the VNA Mode is garbage.
The SSA mode appears to still work, as well as the TG.

I opened my unit to check for the missing cable, and it was there. While at it I also attached a cable for
the UART and can see the thing boot  now, etc.

The worst of it all, I can not longer telnet in to the unit. Even the telnet ADS that used to work, have
stopped working. I tried static IP and DHCP, same result.

I am completely puzzled.

Any ideas/suggestions ?

Many Thanks,
rudi

[tubularnut]

You’re doing a S21 measurement.

S21 sends out the signal from port 2 and measures on port 1.

So where (how) have you attached the 50ohm load??

Did you re-enable telnet in the startup script after the upgrade? If you are using the telnet ADS script, are you using the right model number, as it changes in later firmware and after a cross flash.

[luudee]

You’re doing a S21 measurement.

S21 sends out the signal from port 2 and measures on port 1.

So where (how) have you attached the 50ohm load??

Did you re-enable telnet in the startup script after the upgrade? If you are using the telnet ADS script, are you using the right model number, as it changes in later firmware and after a cross flash.

There is no change in the image when I set it to S11. Sorry about the mixup, I do
understand the difference between S11 and S21, etc

The Load is on the "RF Input" I assumed that would be "Port 1", but I have tried
to add the load on the TG port, and nothing changes.

Thanks,
rudi


PS: I found the password for the UART login, it is "ding1234" ....

[luudee]

....

The worst of it all, I can not longer telnet in to the unit. Even the telnet ADS that used to work, have
stopped working. I tried static IP and DHCP, same result.

...

Telnet works again ... no idea why ...


But all the VNA stuff does not work. Could it be a different FPGA configuration is needed for the FPGA and it was not part of t his firmware change ?


Thanks,
rudi

[tautech]

You’re doing a S21 measurement.

S21 sends out the signal from port 2 and measures on port 1.

So where (how) have you attached the 50ohm load??

Did you re-enable telnet in the startup script after the upgrade? If you are using the telnet ADS script, are you using the right model number, as it changes in later firmware and after a cross flash.

There is no change in the image when I set it to S11. Sorry about the mixup, I do
understand the difference between S11 and S21, etc

The Load is on the "RF Input" I assumed that would be "Port 1", but I have tried
to add the load on the TG port, and nothing changes.

Thanks,
rudi

Port 1 is TG, Port 2 is RF In.
S11 measurements are reflection measurements on Port 1 whereas Port 2 measurements (S21) come from RF In.

The garbage you see is a product of interpolation from too few points (201) and a wide frequency sweep.
In the VNA menu you can set the points to the max of 751 and a totally different result will be produced and likewise with a narrow sweep.

Jump over into the SVA thread for more info and stuff on Cal kits:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sva1015x-1-5ghz-spectrum-vector-network-analyzer-(coming)/

[luudee]

Port 1 is TG, Port 2 is RF In.
S11 measurements are reflection measurements on Port 1 whereas Port 2 measurements (S21) come from RF In.

The garbage you see is a product of interpolation from too few points (201) and a wide frequency sweep.
In the VNA menu you can set the points to the max of 751 and a totally different result will be produced and likewise with a narrow sweep.

Jump over into the SVA thread for more info and stuff on Cal kits:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-sva1015x-1-5ghz-spectrum-vector-network-analyzer-(coming)/

Ohh man, I'm such a moron! I can't believe it I confused Port 1 & Port 2! I feel so stupid !

OK, Thank you very much tautech, all working now, after proper calibration, VNA is working as well, phew ...

Thank you also for correct link for SVA Q&A !!!

rudi

[luudee]

So, as I was struggling yesterday with my SSA (now SVA), I took my unit apart.

I have watched a couple of SSA teardowns now, but have never seen anybody mentioning it (or maybe I just missed it).

All of the PCB inside my unit, which was purchased as a SSA3032, are labeled SVA3000X !!!

Also, on the main board, are two soft touch buttons. Anyone knows what their purpose is ?

Please see attached pics !

Cheers,
rudi

[tautech]

Before SSA3000X Plus there was only 3000X (2 models only) and then a little later SVA1015X which was the first with touch display and a few other new features however its analyzer was almost identical to the earlier SSA3kX models.
SSA3kX Plus evolved later which we now know is a SVA1000X without VNA functionality.
Early SVA1015X had VNA as an option but later the price was increased and VNA became part of the package albeit at additional cost. Later SVA1032X was developed offering better LF VNA performance and later still models of 5 GHz (SSA3050X-R) and 7.5 GHz (all model series).

The spare pad are the Power button pads which are duplicated on both sides of the PCB (don't know why  ) and you can see one of the silicone pad retaining legs poking through the PCB next to the system buzzer.