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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2024
- In this episode Shahriar reviews the Rohde & Schwarz ZNLE 1MHz - 6GHz Vector Network Analyzer. The ZNLE is the economy model of the ZNL 3-in-1 instrument. The R&S ZNLE is a two-port vector network analyzer that can be used for bidirectional measurements of S-parameters S11, S21, S12 and S22 on passive components. Ordering the RR&S ZNLE requires only two decisions: the frequency range and whether or not you need a GPIB interface. The analyzer is available with a frequency range of 1 MHz to 3 GHz (R&S ZNLE3) or 1 MHz to 6 GHz (R&S ZNLE6). The optional GPIB interface lets you connect a controller to remotely control the R&S ZNLE. As a standalone instrument, the R&S ZNLE does not require an external PC to configure the setup. You can start measuring immediately after you switch on the instrument.
The review is organized as follows:
01:12 - Model comparison and overview.
02:24 - Instrument overview and design.
06:29 - Brief teardown and internal construction.
09:31 - Electronic Calibration Unit and auto-cal procedure.
17:39 - Measurement and characterization of a tunable microwave filter.
30:47 - Measurement of a tunable phase shifter.
33:16 - Analysis and measurement of a trice coupled quad-patch antenna module.
39:10 - Performance and characterization of an ZNLE internal synthesizer.
46:31 - Mixed-mode S-Parameter measurements using the ZNLE.
49:15 - Extreme dynamic range measurements using a 0.1dB step electromechanical attenuator.
1:02:48 - Overview of additional functions.
1:04:26 - Concluding remarks.
The Signal Path
www.TheSignalPath.com
/ thesignalpath
www.Patreon.com/TheSignalPath - Наука та технологія
This is one of the only channels I set notifications for. Thanks for all of the hard work you do to produce these videos! I want to make videos like you someday too, but I am just about to finish my bachelors degree in electrical engineering (less than 2 months left!), so I want to wait until I have more industry experience.
The experiment section of those reviews is awesome. I have no use for it and no intention in buying this instrument but that still is very interesting and fun to watch!
Very creative instrument review, I enjoyed both the content and style of the presentation. Keep up the good work!
Always worth the wait, every time. Thanks a ton for this content Shahriar!
Glad to see a new video. Great review of this. I really appreciate your time and knowledge that you share with all of us. I would love to add a piece like this to my bench and get into repairing radio controlled transmitters and receivers since most of the new stuff is in the 5 GHz range. One day.... Thanks Shahriar
Awesome vid - thanks again Shahriar!
Because of your review of the ZNLE I'm taking delivery of a ZNLE-3 tomorrow (and a ZN-Z150, also because of your review here).
Thanks for all your GREAT videos Shahriar !
(PS: I hope you will do more "VNA type" videos, I think the world need more videos of VNA usage, tuning of matching networks for antennas etc ;) )
Looking forward to buying this "economy" instrument 15 years later on ebay
$17k on newark, for those wondering. Accessorize with the $470 FPL1-Z2 bag.
The previous generations of vector network analyzers are still in the thousands of $ second hand on eBay.
You can find HP E4411A vector analyzers 7 MHz - 4 GHz for under $600.00 all the time.
@gary they go for >2k€ here
That is sad, I have been pondering getting one, but I need lower bandwidth.
Thanks for the video Shahriar!!
I really enjoyed watching this video. Thank you!
Thank you for the video. Very interesting, as always
It's a long time since the last video!
After buying an RS RTE I really got to enjoy their stuff. Very nice products.
I am owner of teh ZNLE 14 (bought this year after watching the videos...) -- really great instrument, now I just also got the TDR Option which was not available some time ago, also a great feature now also for the ZNLE series. --- @sharia would be great to see some experiments with TDR (maybe also on another instrument ...)
Thank you very much, that was super interesting!
Happy New Years! ;D
Shahriar, thank you for the interesting review! Regarding the issue you mention at 40:27 : at 1GHz somehow you don't have a calibration (notice the trace label 'Cal Off'). In this case S11 is measured as a simple ratio using only one driving port; at 5GHz your calibration is active (trace label 'Cal') and the S11 is calculated from the full 2x2 S matrix resulting in two driving ports. For using the VNA as signal generator setup a ratio or wave quantity using only a single driving port.
He changed the number of Points, which means that some have to be interpolated from the already calibrated ones. That's why the "Cal off" label
I know it's old, but it's very cool and I just got one, could you do a bit on the micro-channel plate CRT on the old Tek2467B please?
I spot microprobes!! It would be awesome with a video about probing wafers!
The fact that the patch antenna appears to have a resonance at higher frequency without any stack is normal. You have to design it this way so that when the other stack couple, the center frequency and the two resonance shift. This article explains it : "Design of Probe-Fed Stacked Patches Rod B. Waterhouse"
So it's a win10 machine.. did you get Creators update on it?
Hello Shahrir, I love these videos of new equipment. I would like to make a request that you try and pick up one of the HP 86XX model signal generators and do a repair video of some of these HP sig generators. Many of these are on ebay right now for parts and not working for very reasonable prices. Many of us I am sure, would love to get our hands on one for our own test bench but may be intimidated by the sheer complexity of such devices and the example you give may be very helpful to just see inside of one of these. You have done many other types of TE but not so much an older HP signal generator like an 8657B they are available from 150-399 right now. Please consider this sometime soon. Thank you for all you do, I am a dedicated fan and look forward to all of your videos.
Sincerely,
Gary Bevis
05:52 - "K" = Kensington security slot (a.k.a. Kensington lock), for those that are curious. That's about as far as my RF equipment knowledge stretches!
yay happy 2018 Shah
OMG NEW VIDEO
Seeing this kind of videos is like seeing a Ferrari review. So cool stuff but unaffordable for small businesses and freelances... Pretty astonishing all the features and its performance at low signal levels
12:45 - "and it's showing a picture of a much higher end network analyzer just to make us jealous..." - hahahha love the dry humour!
Shariar
I am planning to build a klystron do you think a R&S ZNB40 will be usable to test. Tune and characterize the end product. And maybe you can help with a fear that crossed my mind?
Does a reflex klystron as i plan to build generate X-rays when the electrons stop and even change direction at the repeller? I am a embedded system engineer and hope you can help me with
the “RF VooDoo”
best regards Jos van Hertrooij
The Nethedrlands
Could you do a review of cheap USB 4.4 GHz signal generator from ebay ?
for some reason the CW mode is blacked out on my VNA. is it an extra option for the ZNLE18?
Thanks, we missed you. Screen video bit washed due to overexposure, maybe next time you can do EV correction -0.3 or -0.7 on camera to better see text on white background.
Thanks for the video, nice review! ;) It looks like something went wrong with calibration - it shows impedance outside the smith chart @ 18:13 and positive return loss @ 26:52 which is not possible for passive DUT. Also 'issue' with usage of both ports even if one parameter is displayed @ 29:13 is normal in two-port mode, because in in order to calibrate one of four S-parameters, all four S-parameters of DUT must be known. See theory of SOLT/12-term procedure, for example ;).
I believe that: 1) this is just something that has to do with the scale (200mU instead of 1U). 2) those ripples are caused by a coarse calibration, or low number of Points. 3) you are right
Hi Shahriar!
happy new year!
please dont change the name of your videos after uploading.
thank you
Thank You
Long time no hear from signal path, the professionals videos Maker :(
Nice review Shahriar, thanks. A couple of points: 28:01 Almost all of the increase in speed is due to the IF bandwidth increase - surely if it's applying the correction it still has to excite the DUT from both ports? It needs both sweeps to apply the cal: the displayed (calibrated/corrected) S11 depends on all four of the measured S-parameters (S11, S12, S21, S22) and the error terms determined during calibration process. [If anyone is interested there's a lot of detail on the error correction in the old HP/Agilent app note AN1287-3]. It boils down to semantics, but I would say that the antenna at 34:00 *IS* a phased array - just a fixed phased array :)
PS. Can you get a new B series UXA/PXA to review? The RF performance is stunning, but I'd be interested to know what you think about the touchscreen user interface.
Robert Watson Thanks Robert. The speed increase is definitely largely a function of IF BW. But when I do a one port calibration I would not expect or need stimulus on the other port. For two port calibration when only measuring S11 do I really need excitation from the second port?
Also, I did review the MXA-B on my channel! Check it out.
If you want to measure a 1 port device a 1-port cal gives lowest uncertainty. But if you measure only 1 port of a two port you still need both sweeps and all the error terms in the signal flow graph - the VNA doesn't know what the DUT is, only that you have only chosen to display say S11. The VNA load match is still a factor in this depending on how big/small S21/S12 are.
Dang, I must have missed the other review - I'll go back and check it out. Thanks again!
Agree
25:45 Bug in a Rohde & Schwartz, no matter big or small, never thought I would see that in my life..
Thanks again , John
I do not need the high capacity , but a basket of cookies on the other hand ;)
Who is John?
I wish there was more 'budget' equipment that went up to 12GHz. Everything stops at 6GHz (or 3GHz.....) - and a really big price hike for anything higher.
👍👍
Calibration is wrong. If the trace follows the smith chart boundaries means everything is reflected then the trace outside the Smith chart means more than everything is reflected so an imposibility in a pasive device. That could happen with amplifiers that offer negative differential resistances.
There's Gore...then there's Megaphase (but they only make custom cables)
At times I feel the audio has been sped up by 150% or so.. ^^
Sorry about that. There is just too much to say!
I believe you had a problem with the instrument calibration while you were measuring microwave filter. Look at S11 parameter at low frequencies - it is above 0dB on magnitude scale and outside of the Smith chart. Another moment where you can see the problem is when you have left port 1 open at 17:07 - S11 is outside of Smith chart. You were using automatic cal kit and a wizard, so one would expect that it would be unlikely to get something wrong there.
Anyway another great video and review Shahriar! Thank you.
Thanks Adam, I don't think S11 was outside of the Smith chart. I believe that is the little triangle which follows the trace and the graphics of that arrow makes it look like the trace is outside of the smith chart.
I don't think so Shahriar. Please take a look at low frequency S11 magnitude for example shown at 27:00. Or S11 displayed on top left Smith chart shown at 18:07. The microwave filter you are measuring is a passive device, so there is no way S11 magnitude could be above 0dB/outside Smith chart with correct calibration.
Yeah, I agree with Adam, something looks strange there. And the little triangle is constantly jumping to the bottom of the screen. Maybe this IS normal operation, I would love to hear something from a R&S rep.
Aurelius R the arrow jumping down is normal. It does that when it is applying stimulus on the other port.
Adam Turowski You are right. Something happened it seems like. I think I may have had the setup running for too long while I went to eat and didn’t re-calibrate. And I also bent the cables a lot and moved them around while trying to film things. Thanks for pointing that out.
I'm a die-hard RF guy too, but it seems that your brain's clock speed is much faster ...
20,000 Euro price?
This would have been better if the exposure was set for the screen and not the face of the instrument. Or perhaps turn the brightness down on the instrument. The display is completely blown out.
I'm just wondering if it was translated to Greek, I might understand what's going on. And I don't speak Greek.
Can I have a basket of cookies? :)
it appears that genius grow big hair.
Shah -- love your videos, however, you're still making the same mistake when filming the screen. I know capturing the screen can be a pain, but you can buy video capture devices that work extremely well. If you don't want to do that then simply switch to manual exposure and lower the exposure setting, OR turn the brightness of the screen down. I can hardly see anything on the screen which is greatly diminishing the value of this video, which is disappointing. It really would only take maybe 5 minutes of your time to get familiar with camera settings and that particular camera, and the benefits would be large. I think it's a pretty decent cost/benefit calculation, but I suppose I'm not the one making the video...
Aurelius R I thought that I had mostly solved the issue. The exposure was fixed. I think I had to step back the exposure a little more even to get the bright numbers to show up better. Looking at the video it is only a few places where the critical numbers don’t show up well.
They really need to add larger screens to normal scopes (i know they exist). The small non-touchscreens on the scopes at school drive me crazy
5:30 Virenscan OK...well its running Windows10
It's probably already sent pictures of The Cat (tm) back to Microsoft HQ and the FBI.
There will be a bang on the lab door soon...
:)
Oh good, Windows 10 on an instrument - *pukes*. Looking forward to maximum productivity by having to wait for 20 minutes while it reboots during probing... I guess it runs a business version that is configured to not be updated but still, urgh...
I am scepitc about "German engineers" and "made in Germany". Possibly made to big parts in Czechoslovakia/Slovenia or other eastern country and potentially partly engineered there, too.
Sure, the brand is German, but the engineers are more international, like any big German brand these days has a international workforce and engineers.
Funny that the "Made in Germany" seems to die out slower than the "original Germans" do.
The quality of construction, the high price tag (starting at USD $17,000), and did I mention the quality of construction?
I am sure its made in Germany with ICs made all over the world.
I wouldn't be able to buy one, even if I had the money. I would drool all over it, and short things out!
I'm pretty sure the neywork analyzers are designed and built in Germany.
I am an employee of R&S and can confirm that these products are designed and developed in Germany at our headquarters in Munich and manufactured in our own factories around the Munich area.
360p club
Please make the sound louder. I almost can not understand you.
Elektronik I had the volume up at around 20% on this stupid ipad and it worked fine
alles klar klaus My volume is at 100%. I do not have this problem with other videos on other channels... Ok du bist wohl auch aus Deutschland: Echt, ich schaue viel YT und das Problem hab ich nur hier. Ich finde seine Videos sehr interessant und würde gerne alles verstehen. Wenn du dein ipad so eingestellt lässt dann sind andere Videos doch auch bei dir zu laut - oder nicht?
Elektronik Also ich habs grad mal schnell getestet. Hab ein anderes Video auf angenehmer Lautstärke gehört (ruhiges Zimmer, keine Nebengeräusche) und ich musste dann hier einmal auf lauter klicken um alles gut zu verstehen. Also von 2 auf 3 von 10 oder so. Könnte hier sicherlich auch noch lauter stellen ohne dass es stört. Ist also tatsächlich etwas leiser aber für mich bei weitem nicht zu leise.
alles klar klaus Die Lautstärke meines Tablets steht praktisch immer auf 100%. Das ist schon einige Jahre alt aber ich glaube das war schon immer so leise. Ich hoffe er liest unsere Kommentare - die englischen Teile reichen ja... Du kannst ja auch mal in meinen Kanal rein schauen...
The sound was fine on my rig.
No way. A fu*ing arduino there O_o
What's your problem with it?
He doesn't have a problem with it; he's observing the irony of an experiment composed of very expensive microwave attenuators and test equipment that's being driven by a $20 Arduino.
So? It's perfectly suited for that experiment.
i·ro·ny / īrənē / noun / a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.
I like the Arduino, ESP8266, ESP32, RPi. They are wonderful tools for fast prototyping and easy to understand. Not to mention the huge community that is willing to bend over backwards to help you solve a problem.
Your hate for Arduinos is unjust.