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RF Interference Analysis
Keysight Technologies and
X-COM Systems
Identify and eliminate RF interference with
PXIe data streaming and analysis
There are many potential sources of RF interference that can affect the operation
of RF systems used in electronic warfare, surveillance, radar and wireless data
communications. These can include multipath or adjacent channel interference,
Rayleigh channel fading or scintillation or rogue carriers transmitting in the band
either intentionally or erroneously. RF interference can be transitory and challenging
to observe in the operational environment, however, by capturing the RF spectrum
over an extended period of time you can identify and analyze potential sources of RF
interference.
A PXIe data streaming and analysis solution from X-COM and Keysight Technologies
can be used to record and analyze the operational spectral environment of an RF
system in order to identify events causing RF interference. The solution utilizes the
Keysight M9392A PXIe vector signal analyzer and M9202A PXIe IF digitizer as the RF
front end to capture the RF spectrum. This is streamed to a directly attached RAID
storage array for subsequent analysis using X-COM’s Spectro-X multi-channel signal
analysis toolkit.
The Keysight M9392A vector signal analyzer and
M9202A IF digitizer provide a compact cost effective
solution for the streaming of RF spectrum with bandwidths up to 100 MHz and center frequencies up to 26.5
GHz. This economical, high performance capability,
when combined with JMR Electronics’ BluStor PCIe
RAID0 storage arrays can provide more than 13 hours of
spectrum memory allowing long sequences of RF data
to be captured under operational conditions.
– Capture and analyze the operational
RF spectrum
– Signal analysis software identies
potential causes of RF interference
– PXIe data streaming and storage
captures operational RF spectrum
– Large RAID0 storage array for data
capture
– Uses Agilent PXIe instrumentation
with X-COM analysis software
– Accelerates the identication and
elimination of RF interference
An RF bandwidth of 100 MHz requires 600 MB/s to be
streamed to the disk array and the resulting les can
be teraby tes in length. The X-COM Spectro-X multi-channel
signal analysis toolkit provides a
comprehensive set of tools that
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RF Interference Analysis
allows the user to search through up to four capture les simultaneously in order to
tag and compare the location of all carriers present, in time, frequency, duration and
power. Using this data, an engineer can quickly parse the recording into time segments containing unknown carriers that may warrant further investigation.
There are four specic tools available in Spectro-X that facilitates this process. The
rst eliminates found carriers by applying user selected criteria such as power levels,
center frequencies or time durations in combination with Boolean operators. This process can swiftly reduce the carrier list by discarding those far from the desired carrier
in frequency or too low in power to cause interference.
Some of the remaining carriers can be identied by comparing their training sequences to those of known wireless standards or by correlating them to arbitrary waveforms that the user has either created in, for example MATLAB, or that the engineer
has “clipped” and saved from the RF spectrum capture.
Finally, pulsed waveforms can be characterized in terms of pulse repetition rate and
interval, rise time, fall time, pulse width and power levels. The remaining time segments containing unknown carriers of interest can then be further investigated, and
their effects quantied, using the Keysight 89600B VSA software.
The combination of extended RF spectrum capture with the ability to search for,
parse and demodulate carriers of interest provides a very power ful tool kit to diagnose communication system anomalies and identify potential sources of RF inter ference. The complementary features of the Keysight PXIe data streaming solution and
VSA sof tware together with X-COM’s Spectro-X multichannel signal analysis toolkit
accelerates the identication and elimination of RF interference problems allowing
you to determine rapidly the best path to a reliable, deployable system.
To learn how this solution
can address your specific needs
please contact
Keysight’s solutions partner,
X-COM
www.keysight.com/find/xcom
Keysight & Solutions Partners
Extending our solutions to meet your needs
Keysight and its Solutions Partners work
together to help customers meet their
unique challenges, in design, manufacturing, installation or support. To learn more
about the program, our partners and
solutions go to
www.keysight.com/nd/solutionspartner
X-COM Systems designs RF signal
recording, analysis and playback solutions
for system design, signal simulation and
test applications.
www.xcomsystems.com
System Components
Keysight Technologies
M9392A PXIe vector signal analyzer
M9202A PXIe IF digitizer
89600B VSA software
X-COM Systems
Spectro-X Signal analysis toolkit
JMR Electronics
BluStor PCIe direct attached RAIDO storage array
For information on Keysight Technologies’ products, applications and
services, go to
www.keysight.com
© Keysight Technologies, 2013-2014
Published in USA, August 3, 2014
5990-9243EN
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