Siglent SVA1032X 3.2GHz Spectrum & Vector Network Analyzer Review & Teardown

[Hugoneus]

You can watch the video here: [50 Minutes]

youtu.be/ToVJTKCyIU8

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[Hugoneus]

I am also working with the Siglent engineers to iron out some of the minor bugs.

[0culus]

Thanks for the teardown. I started the video last night and finished it after I got home from work.

I've been contemplating a VNA purchase for a while now, and while I can't afford a really high end unit, I have the 8753ES on my list. How does that type of unit compare, in your opinion, to this Siglent (other than obviously having more bandwidth with the 6 GHz model)?

[tautech]

I am also working with the Siglent engineers to iron out some of the minor bugs.

Can I ask if they're NA or factory engineers ?

[Hugoneus]

I am also working with the Siglent engineers to iron out some of the minor bugs.

Can I ask if they're NA or factory engineers ?

Both.

[OwO]

Do you know what the part number of the surface mount directional coupler used in these is? I haven't been able to find one with similar specs.

[borjam]

Excellent review, thanks

Now I'm wondering, does the SVA1015X have an attenuator for the tracking generator? Being able to control the output level would be awesome. 0 dBm is a bit too high for some VNA usage cases. For example I've used a miniVNA Tiny to check the front end filters of a receiver and maybe 0 dBm would be too much.

[hendorog]

Great review as always.

I've been contemplating a VNA purchase for a while now, and while I can't afford a really high end unit, I have the 8753ES on my list. How does that type of unit compare, in your opinion, to this Siglent (other than obviously having more bandwidth with the 6 GHz model)?

A couple of comments which might help.
The 8753ES is a full 2 port device, i.e. both ports can measure in both directions.
The SVA 1000's are T/R devices, which has one bidirectional port, and one input only port. In practice this means you need to reverse the device manually to measure all S-params, and it also limits the accuracy of S21 measurements a bit, but that can be mitigated somewhat.

The source assembly on any 8753 is prone to failure, is not repairable without a wire-bonder, and can be very expensive to replace.

A table of comparisons between the various 8753 units is here:
https://www.kirkbymicrowave.co.uk/Everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-HP-8753-VNA/

Do you know what the part number of the surface mount directional coupler used in these is? I haven't been able to find one with similar specs.

The SVA's use an internal calibration, which means the raw performance of the coupler isn't what you see - unlike an HP VNA. Also, the spec mentions 'calibrated directivity' which is the effective directivity after a calibration, not the raw directivity of the uncorrected hardware.

This was suggested as a possible match to the part used in the SVA1015X.
https://www.mouser.de/datasheet/2/400/tdk_02022018_HHM22152A2_ver4_1(Oct.2017)-1284660.pdf

While I don't know, it could be used in the 1032 as well. I do know that the 1015X coupler starts to affect performance noticeably about 2-3 MHz.
In the 1032X review at about 34:50 the device is showing full span. The very first data point at 100kHz is clearly bad on the Smith chart, and also on the RL chart. Perhaps that is caused by the coupler. The step size is 4MHz so the second point is back into its happy place.

[tautech]

I am also working with the Siglent engineers to iron out some of the minor bugs.

Can I ask if they're NA or factory engineers ?

Both.

Got the beta FW yet ? 

[thinkfat]

Excellent review, thanks

Now I'm wondering, does the SVA1015X have an attenuator for the tracking generator? Being able to control the output level would be awesome. 0 dBm is a bit too high for some VNA usage cases. For example I've used a miniVNA Tiny to check the front end filters of a receiver and maybe 0 dBm would be too much.

If you look at the top right corner of the T/G board, there's the attenuator. It's mentioned in the teardown.

[borjam]

Excellent review, thanks

Now I'm wondering, does the SVA1015X have an attenuator for the tracking generator? Being able to control the output level would be awesome. 0 dBm is a bit too high for some VNA usage cases. For example I've used a miniVNA Tiny to check the front end filters of a receiver and maybe 0 dBm would be too much.

If you look at the top right corner of the T/G board, there's the attenuator. It's mentioned in the teardown.

But when in VNA mode the output level of the generator is fixed to 0 dBm. Now I recall that in spectrum analyzer mode the tracking generator level can be adjusted. But not in VNA mode.

[thinkfat]

Excellent review, thanks

Now I'm wondering, does the SVA1015X have an attenuator for the tracking generator? Being able to control the output level would be awesome. 0 dBm is a bit too high for some VNA usage cases. For example I've used a miniVNA Tiny to check the front end filters of a receiver and maybe 0 dBm would be too much.

If you look at the top right corner of the T/G board, there's the attenuator. It's mentioned in the teardown.

But when in VNA mode the output level of the generator is fixed to 0 dBm. Now I recall that in spectrum analyzer mode the tracking generator level can be adjusted. But not in VNA mode.

That should then go into the firmware fixes, I think...