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VNAs are fundamentally narrow-band instruments. This: > The RFsoC 4x2 board has 4x RF ADCs (5 GSPS) and 2x RF DACs (9.85 GSPS) is like chasing after a fly wit

VNAs are fundamentally narrow-band instruments. This: > The RFsoC 4x2 board has 4x RF ADCs (5 GSPS) and 2x RF DACs (9.85 GSPS) is like chasing after a fly with a sledgehammer. It wildly over-specs something that is almost completely useless for the task at hand (real time bandwidth, mass of hammer) while it wildly under-specs the important parts (frequency range, directivity, agility of hammer).

teleforce 3y ago
If you have the RFSoC the VNA is the low hanging fruit. If you're doing modern wireless systems measurement and testing (4G/5G) most likely you will need spectrum analyzer (SA), vector signal analyzer (VSA) and vector signal generator (VSG). The cost of all the disparate systems namely VNA + SA + VSA + VSG will easily cost north of USD100K for the used ones and multiple times more for the new ones. With the low cost RFSoC platform together with the standard RF test kit (attenuater, pre-amp, multiplexer, switch, etc) you are pretty good to go. It's really perplexing that no one including the Chinese are trying to disrupt this industry, Keysight and R&S are currently charging arms and legs for their equipments even the basic one like VNA.
- bsder 3y ago
  > It's really perplexing that no one including the Chinese are trying to disrupt this industry No point. 1) Low volumes These things never really go obsolete and the replacement rates are abysmal. 2) Race to the bottom Once you disrupt it, everybody sees that you disrupted it, and everybody clones you and piles in. Customer support is the only differentiator. To fund that, you have to charge north of $10K per unit--generally north of $25K. Tektronix found this out the hard way with their real time spectrum analyzers. It was a nice disruption at the $5K point. Lots of people bought them. Then demand dropped like a rock because everybody who needed one bought one. And because the revenue crashed Tektronix laid off the development group--who are also the same people you need for advanced customer support.
- sitzkrieg 3y ago
  siglent is moving in on VNAs a bit but i absolutely agree. as a ham i could do with all of above :-)

teleforce 3y ago

If you have the RFSoC the VNA is the low hanging fruit. If you're doing modern wireless systems measurement and testing (4G/5G) most likely you will need spectrum analyzer (SA), vector signal analyzer (VSA) and vector signal generator (VSG). The cost of all the disparate systems namely VNA + SA + VSA + VSG will easily cost north of USD100K for the used ones and multiple times more for the new ones. With the low cost RFSoC platform together with the standard RF test kit (attenuater, pre-amp, multiplexer, switch, etc) you are pretty good to go. It's really perplexing that no one including the Chinese are trying to disrupt this industry, Keysight and R&S are currently charging arms and legs for their equipments even the basic one like VNA.

bsder 3y ago
> It's really perplexing that no one including the Chinese are trying to disrupt this industry No point. 1) Low volumes These things never really go obsolete and the replacement rates are abysmal. 2) Race to the bottom Once you disrupt it, everybody sees that you disrupted it, and everybody clones you and piles in. Customer support is the only differentiator. To fund that, you have to charge north of $10K per unit--generally north of $25K. Tektronix found this out the hard way with their real time spectrum analyzers. It was a nice disruption at the $5K point. Lots of people bought them. Then demand dropped like a rock because everybody who needed one bought one. And because the revenue crashed Tektronix laid off the development group--who are also the same people you need for advanced customer support.
sitzkrieg 3y ago
siglent is moving in on VNAs a bit but i absolutely agree. as a ham i could do with all of above :-)