Tektronix Inc., a provider of test, measurement and monitoring instrumentation, announced the new SA2600 handheld Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer that includes DPX™ waveform image processor technology that provides a live RF view of the spectrum. DPX is now also available on the H600 “RF Hawk” handheld unit originally introduced in February. With these additions, Tektronix offers a full portfolio of Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers with DPX for use in the field and the design bench.

The rapid expansion of digital RF applications has driven the measurement needs of many applications including mobile communications and spectrum management beyond the capabilities of swept spectrum and vector signal analysis. Digital RF signals carry complex modulation and change from one instant to the next, hopping frequencies, spiking briefly and then disappearing. These transient and time varying transmission techniques help RF devices avoid interference, maximize peak power and, oftentimes, evade detection. Finding and physically locating RF emitters that are misusing the radio spectrum can be a challenging process, especially when risk mitigation and time to response are critical.

“The new Tektronix Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers are designed to offer benchtop performance on a portable handheld platform, specifically to solve problems created by digital RF technologies from WiFi to WiMAX to UWB and UMTS,” said Bob Hiebert, general manager, Wireless Field Test Product Line, Tektronix. “The new SA2600 and H600 handheld spectrum analyzers extend the application of DPX to serve a broad range of fielded wireless technologies. These units uniquely assist customers with the discovery of interference and the mapping of wireless technologies in a variety of environments, both indoors and outside.”

The explosion of digital RF has created a highly complex technology environment that is moving from the design bench to the field, requiring the need for next generation test and measurement instruments. DPX waveform image processing provides a unique live RF view of the spectrum, enabling an unprecedented RF signal discovery capability for a broad range of applications including radio communications and spectrum management. DPX transforms volumes of real-time data and produces a live RF spectrum display that reveals previously unseen RF signals and signal anomalies.