Rohde & Schwarz offers a wide range of essential lab equipment, like power supplies, LCR meters and power analyzers. To enhance the versatility of these instruments, a selection of application programs is available. These application programs typically remote-control equipment for more complex tasks like sweeps, logging and battery testing.In a larger lab there may be a larger number of such instruments present, and a selection of available application programs installed on a PC. In such a case it is desirable to have a kind of dashboard providing an overview over both, including version check and links to documentation on the Rohde & Schwarz website. The R&S® application dashboard for power supplies and meters is providing this functionality. The application document contains the description and user manual for the software. Furthermore a package is provided containing installers for all related application programs.

13-Sep-2024 | AN-No. 1GP140

This paper describes the measurement of additive/residual phase noise of power amplifiers or multipliers for example for automotive RADAR sensors at 80 GHz using the interferometric measurement approach in combination with a phase noise and VCO tester R&S FSWP. The setup provides a way to characterize the additive/residual phase noise of amplifiers down to -150 dBc/Hz at 100 kHz offset even in the microwave range at 80 GHz.

11-Sep-2024 | AN-No. 1EF117

A measurement campaign quantifying the impact of intermodulation in 5G TDD networks

Critical infrastructure: With the deployment of TDD networks, the mobile network community recognizes the critical importance of cell synchronization and the use of uniform TDD patterns across different networks for the proper operation of mobile radio networks. Variety of scenarios: Possible scenarios include cross-border situations, interactions between private campus networks and public mobile networks, and accidental synchronization chain breaks or misconfigurations within the mobile network.Measurement techniques: To quantify the effects of non-synchronized cells and using different TDD pattern in neighboring networks, R&S, in collaboration with TU Dresden and Advancing Individual Networks GmbH (AIN), conducted a measurement campaign using movable networks with full control over all network parameters. This campaign measured the effects on uplink and downlink throughput, mapping these to RSSI/RSRP values received at the interfered site.Customer benefits: The available quantification is valuable for predicting and assessing potential interference scenarios before setting up and operating a new cell site.

11-Sep-2024 | AN-No. 8NT18

The R&S®MobileView app lets users operate Rohde & Schwarz instruments remotely and eliminates the need for physical interactions with the instruments.

04-Sep-2024

The MFIA impedance analyzer – a multipurpose instrument for R&D and quality control – can be used to measure the ESR and ESL of DC-link capacitors over a wide frequency range.

04-Sep-2024

Best practices for mobile network testing for business-critical applications

Business-critical infrastructure: Industrial applications require extremely high reliability and availability, as any downtime can result in significant financial losses. Fundamental requirements: Industrial applications often require low latency and even more important a sustainable latency to ensure real-time communication and control. Measurement Techniques: As soon as the radio access network is used, innovative testing methods are needed beforehand to proactively test the network capability and to identify any potential issues. We propose a standard test procedure for the characterization of a network regarding industrial use-cases that covers a representative set of different, common types of network traffic.

13-Aug-2024 | AN-No. 8NT17

With a Rohde & Schwarz oscilloscope

13-Aug-2024

LTE is becoming the predominant wireless technology. Among several new features of this standard, the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology offers various advantages.It improves the throughput, extends the reach, reduces interference and improves the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) with beamforming. LTE supports various modes in order to optimize the transmission settings.An LTE MIMO base station consists of a baseband unit, a remote radio head (RRH) and an array of up to eight antennas. The RRH upconverts the digital signals of the baseband unit into analog signals for each antenna.

08-Aug-2024

Automotive radars are essential to safety systems such as collision avoidance and adaptive cruise control. The radars are a pillar of ADAS/AD systems and an important part of sensor fusion. The effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of automotive radar sensors is the total power emitted from radar antennas and a comprehensive measure of signal strength and coverage capability (essential to assessing automotive radar sensor performance). The AREG800A automotive radar echo generator makes for easy EIRP measurements when validating automotive radar sensors.

06-Aug-2024

Rogue cells pose a significant threat to cellular networks. They need to be addressed as quickly as possible to avoid damage to network integrity, especially for critical infrastructure. R&S®NESTOR cellular network analysis (CNA) software lets users efficiently detect and locate harmful cells in the network environment through base station analysis (BSA) in order to protect sensitive areas.

02-Aug-2024

Verifying 5G transmitted signals in the field with the R&S®Spectrum Rider FPH handheld spectrum analyzer

30-Jul-2024

With the wideband extension R&S®ESW-B1000, the R&S®ESW EMI test receiver allows never seen testing speed with up to 970 MHz of FFT bandwidth. External applications can now take advantage of the wide bandwidth. ESW firmware 3.20 adds a new method for exporting trace data from the instrument, regardless if the instrument is equipped with the wideband extension or not. SCPI commands allow live trace export of multiple traces simultaneously. This application note describes the use and applications of SCPI commands to request trace data of up to 4 traces simultaneously from the R&S®ESW receiver, even allowing CISPR detectors. The commands enable trace export while the instrument measures continuously and therefore theoretically enable infinite measurements.

25-Jul-2024 | AN-No. 1EE27

Focus RF Signal analysis

24-Jul-2024

Fokus EMI debugging

24-Jul-2024

Steger Susanne Spectrum Rider, FPH, FPH handheld spectrum analyzer, satellite ground station Satellite ground station testing up to 44 GHz with the R&S®Spectrum Rider FPH handheld spectrum analyzer Satellite ground station testing up to 44 GHz with the R&S®Spectrum Rider FPH handheld spectrum analyzer Steger Susanne Spectrum Rider, FPH, FPH handheld spectrum analyzer, satellite ground station Satellite

24-Jul-2024

Smart factories rely heavily on wireless communications technology to automate production processes and increase productivity. Any source of RF interference can disrupt the production process or delay the output.

23-Jul-2024

Analyzing high speed datacom interfaces is an important task and ensures signal integrity. One major challenge of this analysis is the connection between the physical interface and the oscilloscope, as most of the datacom interfaces do not provide test connections suitable for RF. A test fixture is required as a bridge between the high speed datacom IF and the RF connector of the oscilloscope, but this will affect the signal integrity measurement. The R&S®RTP and R&S®RTO oscilloscopes with the advanced jitter option can analyze and separate jitter contributions. Additionally, the option can evaluate the impact of test fixtures and traces inherently and give the user a good understanding of the impact of their test setup.

15-Jul-2024

Selecting Your Next Oscilloscope:

If you are selecting your next oscilloscope and want more insight on how to understand ENOB values measured and published by oscilloscope manufacturers, this document is for you. The effective number of bits (ENOB) is a way of quantifying the quality of analog to digital conversion. A higher ENOB means that voltage levels recorded in analog to digital conversion are more accurate. Understanding oscilloscope vendor-supplied ENOB values can be complex. This document focuses on interpretation of measured ENOB results made on oscilloscopes rather than the math behind ENOB calculations.

21-Jun-2024 | AN-No. 1TD12

Crucial for proper operation of mobile networks - Part 2 of the series on Cable and Antenna verification

Key points: Critical Infrastructure: Learn why the antenna system, as part of mobile base stations, is irreplaceable and demands meticulous attention due to its impact on network quality and availability.Vulnerability to Environmental Factors: Understand the challenges posed by weather conditions and environmental stresses on antenna systems, highlighting the importance of robust design and maintenance.Fundamental Properties: Delve into the core concepts of antenna systems, gaining insights into fundamental properties of antennas and the antenna cables.Measurement Techniques: Explore discontinuity or distance to fault measurements to identify reflections of forward RF energy due to impedance changes (connector, compression or kink of a cable, etc.).

18-Jun-2024 | AN-No. 8NT16

Automated test equipment (ATE) is a cornerstone in production facilities. Devices under test (DUT) have to be measured according to various limits to ensure safe and reliable operation for the user. A production facility must ensure that these tests are performed properly and cover all the necessary test cases. However, the tests must also be executed with sufficient speed. Oscilloscopes (e.g. the MXO series from Rohde & Schwarz) are often a typical part of ATE and can improve the workflow with a dedicated “waiting for trigger” signal.

30-May-2024

Automotive radar sensors concealed in bumpers must transmit in the correct frequency domain. To effectively hide sensors, radar-transparent areas usually have the exact same paint as the rest of the vehicle. When selecting paint and coatings for bumpers, you need to know their material properties. In the past, either quasi-optical or waveguide based setups with vector network analyzers (VNA) were used. The following application card describes a simplified material characterization method in the automotive radar frequency domain (76 GHz to 81 GHz) with the R&S®QAR50 automotive radome tester.

22-May-2024

End-to-end conformance testing of 4G and 5G next generation eCall (NG eCall) modules under controlled network conditions

13-May-2024

O-RAN makes radio access networks more open, disaggregated and flexible. O-RUs need to comply with 3GPP and O-RAN standards. Automation is crucial for extensive O-RAN conformance testing since O-RAN network elements are asynchronously released.

08-May-2024

Filter tuning has never been easier and faster. SynMatrix advanced computer-aided tuning enables real time filter optimization in an easy guided process using the R&S®ZNB, R&S®ZND and R&S®ZNL vector network analyzer from Rohde & Schwarz. The SynMatrix solution provides a feature-rich GUI for R&D and lab use, as well as a simplified version for production applications.

02-May-2024

5G NR Reduced Capabilities (RedCap) network scanning

Purpose of RedCap: RedCap is designed for use cases requiring reasonable data throughput, cost-efficient devices, reduced power consumption and smaller device footprint to support applications like wireless industrial sensors, video surveillance and smart wearables in which ultralow latency isn’t essential.Technology basics: Understanding the technology basics helps facing configuration complexities and avoiding potential coexistence issues with regular 5G.RedCap field verification: New mobile network technology introductions like 5G RedCap benefit from field measurements during their typical life-cycle phases (engineering, network roll-out, and operation).Measurement Techniques: In early phases of new technologies, passive network measurements using network scanners are reliable and effective in detecting actual network and cell configurations.

23-Apr-2024 | AN-No. 8NT13

Today’s complex circuits must integrate several components that feed on different power levels. A robust circuit that ensures interoperability of these components needs carefully designed, clean and stable power distribution networks for power timing. At lower voltage levels, tolerance is defined in percentages and can make precise measurements challenging.

22-Apr-2024

Spectrum clearance in mobile networks is becoming ever more important as operators use new bands that previously contained other services. This is particularly important for the 5G NR rollout. 5G NR has already initiated a worldwide deployment of TDD networks in an unknown radio environment where unwanted transmitters can create uplink interference masked by downlink signals, making interference hunting particularly demanding. Automated detection of interference signals before a network switches on can be a big help in addition to traditional manual techniques.

19-Apr-2024

This application card examines the best practices for testing video service quality over mobile networks and discusses the different types of video services and recent changes in video streaming.

18-Apr-2024

Best practices for national regulatory authorities

Key points:Importance of field measurements: Traditional network planning tools and models only offer an estimated view of mobile coverage. Field measurements are conducted under real geographical and load conditions, and therefore provide a more accurate picture and can discover interferences more effectively. Coverage investigations: When deploying a mobile network, operators must adhere to regulatory standards and licensing conditions. As a result, regulatory authorities carry out field measurements on a regular or ad hoc basis to validate compliance or investigate customer complaints. This process identifies coverage gaps and areas of poor network quality, enabling regulatory authorities to take actions to enhance service quality for consumers and guide network expansion.Foster competition: If the field measurements of the coverage and performance are performed on a scale representative of a given country, the transparency of these results can promote healthy competition between operators and better service for consumers, which is essential for economic growth and social development.Measurement Techniques: The harmonized methodology for measuring and evaluating data throughput and QoE based on popular services is described in ETSI TR 103 559.

15-Apr-2024 | AN-No. 8NT14

Gated mode measurements in private 5G networks

11-Apr-2024