Spectrum Analyzer

Spectrum Analyzer Control Panel Overview

SCPI, Storage, and Generators Controls

Button	Function	Button	Function
	Open file explorer to load a file with extension .txt with SCPI scripts.		Begins the recording of SCPI commands based on the actions performed by the user on the oscilloscope interface.
	Ends SCPI command recording.		Saves the recorded SCPI script with the user defined name.
	Takes a screenshot and saves it on the internal storage or in external USB flash drive.		It generates a file with a .csv extension with the wave information on the screen, it is saved in the internal storage or in an external USB flash drive.
	Displays the Spectrum Analyzer configuration menu (Figure -).		Changes the control panel to the spectrum analyzer control panel.
	Changes the control panel to the arbitrary waveform generator control panel, the option is only available if the arbitrary waveform generator is selected from the main menu.		Changes the control panel to the radio frequency generator control panel, the option is only available if the radio frequency generator is selected from the main menu.

System Panel

System Panel	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Resets the Spectrum Analyzer to their default values (Table -)		some text here
		some text here

Markers and Display Menu

Markers and Display Menu	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Displays the menu to activate markers .		Displays the marker options menu where the center frequency, start frequency, stop frequency and reference level are configured as the values currently read by the active marker.
		some text here		Deploys the display options menu where the type of representation and the color map can be configured.
		Positions the selected marker at the highest peak of the measured spectrum.		Positions the selected marker on the closest peak to its right.
		Positions the selected marker on the closest peak to its left.		Some text here

Mode Panel

Mode Panel	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Activates the bandwidth value configuration using knobs or arrows.		Some text here
		some text here		Activates the Measurement configuration
		Some text here		Some text here

Frequency and Amplitude Panel

Frequency and Amplitude Panel	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Displays the menu for setting the center frequency , stop frequency and start frequency.		Displays the span options menu , with the options to configure the frequency of span, full span, zero span ans last span.
		Displays the amplitude options menu , with the options to configure the reference level, attenuation, amplitude unit, amplitude scale, and reference offset.

Universal Knob and Arrows

Universal Knob and Arrows	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Increase or decrease any active numeric value on screen.		Both have the same function than the universal knob, Increase or decrease any active numeric value on screen.
		Both have the same function than the universal knob, Increase or decrease any active numeric value on screen.		Change the granularity steps between fine (yellow button) and coarse (gray button).

Numeric Keypad

Enter the numerical value in the active configuration parameter on the screen.

Units Keypad

Units Keypad	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Gives the unit of Gigahertz to the entered numeric value.		Gives a unit of volts to the entered value.
		Gives the unit of megahertz to the entered numeric value. (Only if the parameter is frequency).		Gives a unit of millivolts to the entered value.
		Gives the unit of kilohertz to the entered numeric value. (Only if the parameter is frequency).		Gives a unit of decibels to the entered value.
		Gives the unit of Hertz to the entered numeric value. (Only if the parameter is frequency).		Sets a decibel-microvolt unit to the entered value.
		Gives the unit of millihertz to the entered numeric value. (Only if the parameter is frequency).		Returns the decibel-millivolt unit to the entered numeric value.

Channel Buttons

Channel Buttons	Button	Function	Button	Function
		Turns on, off and / or selects channel 1 output.		Turns on, off and / or selects channel 2 output.
		Turns on, off and / or selects channel 3 output.		Turns on, off and / or selects channel 4 output.

Spectrum Analyzer Functions

To Set Channels

Frequency

To adjust the frequency view of the spectrum, there are three adjustable variables: center frequency, start frequency, and stop frequency. To display the frequency adjustment menu press the button on the Frequency and Amplitude Panel. Then the frequency setting menu will be displayed in the soft menu view. From here, you can select the button corresponding to the variable to be adjusted.

Table 1. Frequency

1 Frequency and amplitude panel. 2 Frequency menu.

Center Frequency

The center frequency corresponds to the frequency located in the center of the frequency range shown in the spectrum analyzer, for that, this value will be the center of the horizontal axis where the measured spectrum is displayed. Normally the center frequency value is set to the same frequency value where the maximum peak of the spectrum is expected to be found. The center frequency value can vary with the start frequency and stop frequency values. When either of these two values is changed, the center frequency will change, to the limits match with the span frequency.

To adjust the center frequency value, press the button in the frequency menu. The current value of the center frequency with its respective label will appear on the left side of the screen where the variable that is currently being edited is displayed. After selecting the value, it can be edited with the numeric keypad, the arrows and the knob. The unit can be entered with the units keypad. The center frequency value can also always be displayed at the bottom of the screen, in the center frequency display field.

Table 2. Center Frequency

1 Center frequency button. 2 Current variable indicator. 3 Center frequency indicator.

Start Frequency

The start frequency corresponds to the first visible frequency in the frequency range displayed by the Spectrum Analyzer. This variable is set to the frequency value from which you want to start viewing the measured spectrum. The value of start frequency can vary depending of the span frequency and center frequency. Changing the value of any of these two variables, the value of start frequency will be recalculated based on the new value of the center or span frequency.

To adjust the value of start frequency, press the button in the frequency menu. The current value of the start frequency with its respective label will appear on the left side of the screen, where the variables are displayed. After selecting, the value can be edited with the numeric keypad, the arrows and the knob. The unit can be entered with the units keypad. The value of start frequency can also always be displayed at the bottom of the screen, in the display field of start frequency.

Table 3. Start Frequency

1 Start frequency button. 2 Current variable indicator. 3 Start frequency indicator.

Stop Frequency

Span Frequency

Amplitude

To adjust the amplitude scale of the spectrum analyzer, there are 5 variables: Reference level, Attenuation, Amplitude unit, Amplitude scale and Reference offset. To display the amplitude adjustment menu, press the button on the frequency and amplitude panel. Next, the amplitude setting menu will be displayed in the menu view. From there you can select the option corresponding to the amplitude variable to be adjusted.

Table 4. Amplitude

1 Frequency and amplitude panel. 2 Amplitude menu. 3 Amplitude variable indicator.

Reference Level

Corresponds to the reference value in amplitude for the spectrum analyzer, that is, the maximum value of amplitude that will be shown on the vertical axis, this value is partially adjusted to be able to see the maximum power peak in the spectrum. This variable is adjusted by pressing the button in the amplitude menu, then the amplitude variable indicator will change to the name of the selected variable and the value can be edited using the numeric keypad and the units keypad, as the value changes the amplitude variable indicator is updated.

Attenuation

Amplitude Unit

Amplitude Scale

It corresponds to the separation between each of the values shown in each division of the vertical amplitude grid, that is, it defines the amplitude steps shown on the vertical axis. To adjust the amplitude scale value, press the button in the amplitude menu, then the amplitude variable indicator will change to the name of the selected variable and the value can be edited using the numeric keypad and the units keypad, as the value changes the amplitude variable indicator is updated.

Reference Offset

Span

To make changes to the span frequency, press the button . Next, in the menu view, four options will be displayed: Span, Full span, Zero span and Last span, each of which will serve to configure the value of the span frequency as explained below.

Table 5. Span

1 Frequency and amplitude panel. 2 Span menu. 3 Span variable indicator.

Span: Allows the user to enter a new span frequency value using the numeric keypad and the units keypad. To do this, press the button in the span menu. Full Span: Adjusts the span frequency value to its maximum value (100MHz). To do this, press the button in the span menu. Zero span: Last span:

Bandwidth

To adjust the bandwidth of the measured spectrum, press the button on the mode panel. Next, in the menu view three options will be displayed: Res BW, VID BW, VBW / RBW. from there you can select the corresponding option for the variable to be adjusted.

Table 6. Bandwidth

1 Bandwidth variable indicator. 2 Bandwidth menu. 3 Mode panel.

• Resolution Bandwidth:

  To adjust the Resolution Bandwidth of the spectrum displayed on the screen, press the button in the bandwidth menu. Then, the Resolution Bandwidth value can be adjusted using the numeric keypad and the units keypad or through the knob and arrows.

• Video Bandwidth:
• Video Bandwidth / Resolution Bandwidth Ratio:

Measurement

Press the Measure Button on the mode panel will open the Measure Softmenu on the right side of the screen with different measurement options.

• Spectrum Mask Template For creating a Spectrum Mask template select the Spectrum Mask submenu

• Spectrum Mask Softmenu After pressing the Measure Spectrum mask options the Spectrum Mask Softmenu will appear on the right side of the screen. For creating a template, press the option Create template.

• Create Template After pressing the Create Template option, you will be able to click on the screen and automatically a point will appear and each point you create touching on the screen will be interpolated to crate a template. The Frequency and Power value of each point will appear in the table on the right side of the screen. After finishing of creating the template press done to detect if there is a violation on the Spectrum or not, or you can press clear template to clear the template and create a new one.

• After pressing the done button, if there is a violation, the spectrum color will change to red, If not the spectrum color will keep at the same after creating the Spectrum Mask template.

• Edit Template At the Spectrum Mask softmenu you can choose the Edit Template options to edit the points of the created template, you can edit the power and the frequency for each points in the table on the right side and the template will change the shape automatically.

• In the Spectrum Mask edition mode, it is possible to click under a point of the template and its corresponding point of the table will be selected in the edition table as the Figure 6 shows. When finishing the edition of the frequency or Power Value, remember to click on a different point edit box for applying the change in the template.

• Load and Save Template In addition, on the Spectrum Mask Soft menu, you can Save and Load templates. When you press the save options, 4 slots to save the current template will be available. The template will be saved in the selected slot and pressing the load button, you can load the template saved from any of these slots.

To Set Markers

Spectrum analyzer markers enable more detailed analysis of specific frequency and amplitude points in the measured spectrum. To activate the markers within the spectrum, press the button on the markers and display menu, then the markers menu will be displayed in the sofmenu view, where the five available markers and the option to activate the marker table will appear at the bottom of the graph. To activate any of the markers, press the button corresponding to the marker to be activated in the markers menu, the marker will automatically appear on the graph and its position in frequency and amplitude will be shown in the table of active markers.

When a marker is activated, it can be repositioned throughout the measured spectrum, using the arrows to move it to the desired position.

Multiple markers can be activated on the graph; all available markers can be activated simultaneously. In case of having more than one marker lit, the button corresponding to the selected marker will be marked in green, the buttons of the other lighted markers will appear in yellow and the buttons of the unlit markers will be blue (image -).

Table 7. To Set Markers

1 Markers and display menu. 2 Markers menu. 3 Activate markers table. 4 Marker 1.

Marker To

Among the functions available for markers is the Marker To function, which adjusts the value of the Center Frequency, Start Frequency, Stop Frequency, or Amplitude Reference, based on the current value of frequency or amplitude of the active marker. For example, if marker 2 is the active marker and is in 5MHz frequency position and 20dBuV amplitude, pressing the Marker to - Marker CF option will automatically switch the center frequency to the marker 2 frequency position (5MHz), which is the currently active marker.

To activate the Marker To functions, press the button on the markers and display menu, then, the options menu will be displayed in the menu view, where you can select the variable to configure. Each of the options and how to activate them are listed below.

Table 8. Marker To

1 Markers and display menu. 2 Marker to menu.

• Marker To Center:

  Changes the center frequency to the frequency value of the active marker. To perform this action, press the button in the Marker To menu.

• Marker To Start:

  Changes the start frequency value for the frequency value of the active marker. To perform this action, press the button in the Marker To menu.

• Marker To Stop:

  Changes the stop frequency value for the frequency value of the active marker. To perform this action, press the button in the Marker To menu.

• Marker To Amplitude Reference:

  Change the amplitude reference value to the amplitude value where the active marker is located. To perform this action, press the button in the Marker To menu.

Marker Table

Pressing the button in the markers soft menu, a table will be displayed at the bottom of the screen, where the types of markers are listed, with their respective frequency and amplitude values.

Table 9. Marker To

1 Markers menu. 2 Marker table.

Peak

To place the selected marker over the highest peak of the measured spectrum, press the button which is located on the marker and display panel. The marker will then reposition itself, displaying the frequency and amplitude values corresponding to the highest peak.

Right Peak

To position the selected marker on the peak closest to the right, press the button which is located on the marker and display panel. The marker will then reposition itself, displaying the frequency and amplitude values corresponding to the closest peak to the right.

Left Peak

To position the selected marker on the peak closest to the left, press the button which is located on the marker and display panel. The marker will then reposition itself, displaying the frequency and amplitude values corresponding to the closest peak to the left.

Display

To modify the display properties of the measured spectrum, press the button in the marker and display panel, which will activate the display submenu, where you can change the representation, color map and memory depth.

Table 10. Display

1 Marker and display panel. 2 Display menu.

To Set Representation

The representation property allows changing the way the spectrum is displayed, to access it, press the button which is located in the display submenu. Next, a menu will be displayed in which you can choose between four display options: 2D, 3D, analog, and waterfall spectrogram.

• 2D: To select the two-dimensional display option, press the button at represent menu. An example of the 2D display of the measured spectrum is shown in the following image.

• 3D: To select the three-dimensional display option, press the button at represent menu. An example of the 3D display of the measured spectrum is shown in the following image.

• Analog: To select the analog display option, press the button at represent menu. An example of the analog display of the measured spectrum is shown in the following image.

• Waterfall Spectrogram: To select the waterfall spectrogram display option, press the button at represent menu. An example of the waterfall spectrogram display of the measured spectrum is shown in the following image.

To Set Memory Depth

The memory depth option allows you to choose the number of layers to represent the measured spectrum, allowing it to be viewed with more or less definition. To access this option, press the button on the display menu, it will display the memory depth menu, which consists of four representation options: 8k, 16k, 32k, 64k.

Table 11. To Set Memory Depth

1 Memory depth menu.

To Set Color Map

The color map option allows you to change the color of the measured spectrum representation. To access this option, press the button on the display menu, it will display the color map menu, which consists of four representation options: JET, HSV, HOT, COOL, BONE, GRAY, and YELLOW.

Table 12. To Set Color Map

1 Color map menu.

To Set Granularity

To change the granularity steps in the value scale press the button located between the arrows. When the button has the yellow stripe indicates that it is in fine mode, so the steps between each value changed with the knob or arrows will be smaller. When the button has the gray stripe indicates that it is in coarse mode, so the steps will be larger.

Table 13. To Set Granularity

1 Fine and coarse button.

To Set Arbitrary Waveform Generator Panel

When the arbitrary waveform generator is selected from the main menu, upon entering the spectrum analyzer a tab will appear at the top of the control panel . If the arbitrary waveform generator is not selected in the main menu, the tab will not appear on the spectrum analyzer.

By pressing the button the spectrum analyzer control panel will be replaced for the AWG panel. From here you can manage the functions of the wave generator, such as changing the output wave. If the spectrum analyzer is configured to display the output of the AWG, the changes that are executed from the AWG panel inside the spectrum analyzer will be visible on the screen. For example, in the image -, the AWG control panel is displayed inside the spectrum analyzer, the wave output is activated on channel 1, and a 50MHz square waveform is activated. As the spectrum analyzer input is connected to the AWG output, the changes can be seen directly on the screen.

Table 14. To Set Arbitrary Waveform Generator Panel

1 AWG panel. 2 AWG panel tab. 3 AWG menu view. 4 AWG variable ID. 5 AWG variable value.

To Set RF Generator Panel

When the RF generator is selected from the main menu, upon entering the spectrum analyzer a tab will appear at the top of the control panel . If the RF generator is not selected in the main menu, the tab will not appear on the spectrum analyzer.

By pressing the button the spectrum analyzer control panel will be replaced for the RFG panel. From here you can manage the functions of the RF generator, such as changing the output wave. If the spectrum analyzer is configured to display the output of the RFG, the changes that are executed from the RFG panel inside the spectrum analyzer will be visible on the screen. For example, in the image -, the RFG control panel is displayed inside the spectrum analyzer, the wave output is activated on channel 2 with a frequency of 700 MHz.

Table 15. To Set RF Generator Panel

1 RFG panel. 2 RFG panel tab. 3 RFG menu view. 4 RFG variable ID. 5 RFG variable value.

Preset the Spectrum Analyzer

The preset returns all the Spectrum Analyzer variables to their default values. Which are listed in the next table. To make the preset on the Spectrum Analyzer, press the button in the system panel. All the Spectrum Analyzer variables will automatically change to their default value.

Save and Load States

Implemented, but pending restructuring.

Taking and Saving a Screenshot

To take a screenshot of the instrument, press the camera image in the top panel of SCPI, storage and generator controls. Next, the screenshot format menu will be displayed, where you can choose the format in which you want to save the screenshot (.JPG or .PNG). When you press one of these two options, the screen capture of the instrument will automatically be saved in the internal storage of eLABin1 with the name corresponding to the date and time the screenshot was generated. The name of the file can be changed later by what the user requires.

Table 17. Taking and Saving a Screenshot

1 SCPI, storage and generator controls. 2 Screenshot button. 3 Screenshot format menu.

Save a .csv File

The .csv file option allows you to generate and save a file with a .csv extension where each of the time samples and their corresponding power and frequency value are stored for each of the channels that are turned on at the time of generating the file. This file can be opened and graphed in programs like Excel and Matlab.

To generate a .csv file on the oscilloscope click the button in the top panel of SCPI, storage and generator controls. A window will be displayed automatically where you can enter the name with which you want to save the file. The name must be entered without any extension, just the filename, as shown in the following figure. The .csv extension will be added automatically.

1	.csv save file window.