Labs to share or rent access to RF equipment?

[Fauxton]

I am looking for suggestions if anyone knows of US (preferably East Coast) maker spaces, hacker spaces, or commercial labs that have RF test equipment and offer memberships or otherwise accept payment for access.

I've been looking at purchasing my own lab set-up, but getting just the core pieces (for work up to 6 GHz) of name-brand equipment off eBay seems hard to do for less than $10k and some luck. That would buy a lot of flights/hotels...

When I say core equipment, I mean a 2-port VNA, a vector signal generator, and a signal analyzer. And then, necessary accessories like a cal kit, attenuators, and a noise source. A power meter would be nice too.

I hope this doesn't sound completely cuckoo. The main maker space near me is well-funded by commercial sponsors, but doesn't have much more for electronics than an oscilloscope and a soldering iron. I have to think that somewhere in the US, there must be a shop with at least a FieldFox available for qualified people to share. Am I not looking in the right places? Is the answer just enrolling in a Master's program at some university that has a decent lab?

[asmi]

I'm not sure about pre-setup lab rentals, but I know there are companies which rent out high-end TM equipment. So if you only need TME for a specific amount of time, that might be a viable option for you. Though you'd better know what you are doing when working with that TME, as some of it can be easily destroyed when used incorrectly (this is especially so for RF stuff) and you will likely end up in a deep financial hole - but that also applies to a rent-a-lab arrangement.

[tggzzz]

A key question that needs to be answered is whether the equipment needs to have a valid calibration. I would be surprised if hack/maker spaces' equipment is calibrated.

Don't forget you will also need cables; look at the list price, and weep.

Long long ago the rule of thumb for rented equipment was that the monthly rental was 10% of the list price. I do not know whether that is true now nor for easily-damaged RF equipment. Their connectors, front ends, cables can all be destroyed in an instant.

Whether you can use the equipment at a local university will, of course, depend on the relevant department's policy.

TL;DR is that RF ain't cheap

[joeqsmith]

I am not aware of such a place and it just seems like a recipe for disaster. 

If you are just wanting to do some basic measurements and only need a 2-port 1-path VNA,  the LiteVNA will run a bit over 6GHz and is still under $200.   IMO,  a good place to get started. 

[edavid]

See if you can befriend an EE professor and get access to a university lab.

You can also check out your local ham club - there are a number of hams who are EEs with very high end home labs.

[colorado.rob]

I was a member at a makerspace for a number of years. The number of yahoos who went through the certification process but then did not bother to follow the instructions or safety procedures when unsupervised was astounding. I can just imagine someone testing some RF gear, pumping 50W into a port designed to handle 1W max, effectively killing a mutli-thousand dollar piece of test equipment and then putting it back on the shelf as if nothing happened. This sort of thing occurred multiple times while I was a member.

It only takes bad apple.

I quit shortly after I went into the shop and saw someone who went through the certification process, which stressed safety, operating the knee mill alone, with a long sleeve shirt on, untucked, loose sleeves dangling around his hands. I did not want to be the one to come in and find a mangled body in the machine shop.

[tggzzz]

I was a member at a makerspace for a number of years. The number of yahoos who went through the certification process but then did not bother to follow the instructions or safety procedures when unsupervised was astounding. I can just imagine someone testing some RF gear, pumping 50W into a port designed to handle 1W max, effectively killing a mutli-thousand dollar piece of test equipment and then putting it back on the shelf as if nothing happened. This sort of thing occurred multiple times while I was a member.

It only takes bad apple.

I quit shortly after I went into the shop and saw someone who went through the certification process, which stressed safety, operating the knee mill alone, with a long sleeve shirt on, untucked, loose sleeves dangling around his hands. I did not want to be the one to come in and find a mangled body in the machine shop.

Similar to my experience. I even started using a scope only to notice it had been deliberately floated and then put back on the shelf Not amused.

Cables and probes are just bits of wire, and treated accordingly. Etc.

A basic problem is, as the military put it, "what is everybody's responsibility is nobody's responsibility".

[joeqsmith]

See if you can befriend an EE professor and get access to a university lab.

You can also check out your local ham club - there are a number of hams who are EEs with very high end home labs.

I wonder how many of us would be willing to loan someone we don't know anything about even our home equipment.  Let alone working for the education system or other professional capacity and putting your name on the line.  I wouldn't. 

I've mentioned that I have borrowed equipment before where I make it clear that I will cover any damages I cause.   Normally I don't get too excited as I take ESD and other precautions serious.   I've borrowed some 3.5mm standards which gets a bit unsettling.  I handle them with great care.   One slip, $1000 for a short.      I can't imagine loaning even my home standards out. 

[tggzzz]

   I can't imagine loaning even my home standards out.

It is similar to chefs keeping their knives for their personal use, and taking them home after work.

Quite right too.

[edavid]

See if you can befriend an EE professor and get access to a university lab.

You can also check out your local ham club - there are a number of hams who are EEs with very high end home labs.

I wonder how many of us would be willing to loan someone we don't know anything about even our home equipment.  Let alone working for the education system or other professional capacity and putting your name on the line.  I wouldn't. 

Yeah, it really varies.  At some schools they are very by the book and will only let enrolled students anywhere near the labs.  At others, they are flexible and even eager to see their equipment get some use.  It never hurts to ask.  If you find a professor whose research interests align with your project, of course that helps.

If they are letting students use the labs, it doesn't make sense to be too paranoid about damage.

And of course hams are famous for being helpful to anyone who shows the slightest interest in radio.