Signal Hound Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual

Spike Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual

SpikeTM Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual

Published 12/2/2020

1502 SE Commerce Ave, Suite 101

Battle Ground, WA

Phone 360-217-0112

This information is being released into the public domain in accordance with the Export Administration

Regulations 15 CFR 734

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Contents

1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................................................. 7

2 Preparation ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8

3 Getting Started ................................................................................................................................................................ 11

4 Analysis Modes ............................................................................................................................................................... 18

5 Taking Measurements ................................................................................................................................................... 78

6 Additional Features ......................................................................................................................................................... 97

7 Plotting ........................................................................................................................................................................... 109

8 Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................................................................ 116

vii

9 Calibration and Adjustment ......................................................................................................................................... 121

10 Warranty and Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................................... 121

11 Appendix ...................................................................................................................................................................... 121

12 References ................................................................................................................................................................... 125

1 Overview

This document outlines the operation and functionality of the Signal Hound SpikeTM spectrum analyzer software. SpikeTM is compatible with Signal Hound’s line of spectrum analyzers and tracking generators which include,

• SM series – SM200A / SM200B / SM200C / SM435B

• BB series - BB60A / BB60C

• SA series - SA44 / SA44B / SA124A / SA124B

• TG series - TG44 / TG124

o A TG series device can only be interfaced when a compatible spectrum analyzer is

connected in the Spike software.

This document will guide users through the setup and operation of the software. Users can use this document to learn what types of measurements the software is capable of, how to perform these measurements, and how to configure the software.

1.1 WHAT’S NEW

With Version 3.0, the software has been rebranded Spike. The software now supports all Signal Hound spectrum analyzers and tracking generators. Some older version of the SA44 and SA124 require a firmware update to work with Spike.

Preparation | Software Updates

1.2 SOFTWARE UPDATES

The latest version of the Spike software is always available at www.signalhound.com/Spike. As of Spike Version 3.0.10, the software will also alert a user when a newer version of the software is available. This alert will appear in the status bar as well as on the Help->About Spike dialog. The software will provide a link to where the latest version can be downloaded.

2 Preparation

2.1 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

The software can be found on the CD included with your purchase or on our website at

www.SignalHound.com/Spike. The most current version of the software is always on the website.

Once you have located the software, on Windows systems run the Spike Installer(x64).msi or the Spike Installer(x86).msi and follow the on-screen instructions. You must have administrator privileges to install the software. The installer will install the device drivers for the BB and SM series devices. The SA and TG series drivers must be installed separately and can be found at www.signalhound.com/Spike.

It is recommended to install the application folder in the default location.

Note: It is becoming more common for customers to need to enable the “High Performance” power plan

in the Control Panel -> Power Options menu. If you are using a low power/ultra-portable PC or laptop, consider this step to ensure optimal performance. See power management settings for more information.

On Linux systems, follow the installation instructions in the README included with the download.

2.1.1 System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems:

• Windows 7/8/10 (32 and 64-bit) *

• Ubuntu 18.04 64-bit (SM and BB devices only)

Minimum System Requirements

• Processor requirements o SM435B, SM200A/B, BB60A/C

▪ Intel Desktop quad-core i5/i7 processors, 4th generator or later***.

o SM200C

▪ Windows 10 or Ubuntu 18.04 is recommended. ▪ For 200MS/s I/Q streaming, 8

generation i7 or newer is recommended.

o SA44/SA124

Preparation | Driver Installation

▪ Dual-core Intel processors.

• RAM requirements, the software will on average require less than 1GB of memory, certain

configurations for the BB and SM products can consume several GB of memory.

o Recommended - 8 GB o Minimum - 4 GB

• Peripheral support

o SM435B, SM200A/B, BB60A/C

▪ Native USB 3.0 support (Intel USB 3.0 extensible host controller) ▪ We have experienced difficulties using our products with Renesas and

ASMedia USB 3.0 hardware. Native USB 3.0 support is a term used to refer to the USB hardware provided by Intel CPUs and chipsets typical on 4thgeneration and later Intel i-series processors.

o SM200C

▪ 10GbE network connectivity through NIC via SFP+ connectors or through

Thunderbolt 3 to SFP+ adapter. See SM200C network setup guide for more information.

o SA44/SA124

▪ USB 2.0

• Graphics drivers

o Minimum: OpenGL 2.0 support o Recommended: OpenGL 3.0 support**

(* We do not recommend running the Signal Hound products in a virtual machine, i.e. Parallels/VMWare/etc.) (** Certain display features are accelerated with this functionality, but it is not required.) (*** Our software is highly optimized for Intel CPUs. We recommend them exclusively. Certain Xeon processors are not recommended due to their lack of USB 3.0 support.)

2.2 DRIVER INSTALLATION

On Windows systems, follow the instructions below. On Linux systems, follow the instructions in the README included in the download.

The drivers for the SA series devices must be downloaded and installed separately. Visit the

www.signalhound.com/Spike page to download the USB drivers. The installer must be run as

administrator.

The drivers for the BB and SM series devices are placed in the application folder during installation. The \drivers\x86\ folder are for 32-bit systems and the \drivers\x64\ folder for 64-bit systems. The drivers should install automatically during setup. If for some reason the drivers did not install correctly, you can manually install them in two ways by following the instructions below.

To manually install the BB-series drivers (e.g. BB60C), navigate to the application folder (where you installed the Spike software) and find the Drivers64bit.exe file. (If on a 32-bit system, find the Drivers32bit.exe file) Right click it and Run as administrator. The console output will tell you if the installation was successful.

Preparation | Connecting Your Signal Hound

If manually running the driver installers did not work, make sure the driver files are in their respective folders and follow the instructions below.

You may manually install the drivers through the Windows device manager. On Windows 7 systems with the device plugged in, click the Start Menu and Device and Printers. Find the FX3 unknown USB 3.0 device and right click the icon and select Properties. From there select the Hardware tab and then Properties. Select the Change Settings button. Hit the Update Drivers button and then Browse My Computer for drivers. From there navigate to the BB60 application folder and select the folder name drivers/x64. Hit OK and wait for the drivers to install.

On Windows 10 systems, you can right click on the .inf file in the respective driver folder and select “Install”.

If for some reason the drivers still did not install properly, contact Signal Hound.

2.3 CONNECTING YOUR SIGNAL HOUND

With the software and device drivers installed, you are ready to connect your device. The supplied device USB cable should first be connected into the PC first, then connected to the device. If your device supplies a Y-cable, ensure both USB ends are connected into the PC before connecting the device.

The first time a device is connected to a PC, the PC may take a few seconds recognizing the device and installing any last drivers. Wait for this process to complete before launching the software.

When the device is ready, the front panel LED should show a solid green color for the SA and BB devices and a solid orange for the SM devices.

2.4 RUNNING THE SOFTWARE FOR THE FIRST

TIME

The files and directories below apply to Windows systems. For Linux systems, see the README included in the download for the equivalent procedures.

Once the software and drivers have been installed and the device is connected to the PC, you can launch the software. This can be done through the desktop shortcut or the Spike.exe file found in the installation directory. The default installation directory for Spike on Windows is C:\Program Files\Signal Hound\Spike. If a USB device is connected to the PC or an Ethernet device’s network address has been saved when the software is launched, the software will attempt to open the device immediately.

If no USB device is connected to the PC and no Ethernet device’s network address has been saved, or if multiple devices are found, the software will notify you. At this point, connect the device and use the File > Connect Device menu option to open the device.

If your Signal Hound device is connected to the PC and the Spike software still reports no devices found, see the Troubleshooting section for more information.

Getting Started | The Menu

Note: If you see the IF overload message on program startup, please see this troubleshooting tip.

3 Getting Started

Launching the Spike software brings up the user interface (UI). This section describes the UI in detail and how the UI can be used to control the Signal Hound spectrum analyzer.

Below is an image of the software on startup. If a device is connected when the application is launched, the software begins sweeping the full span of the device:

Figure 1 : SpikeTM UI after launch with the BB60C

3.1 THE MENU

3.1.1 File Menu

• Load User Preset – Load a user selected preset. See Presets for more information.

• Save User Preset – Save a user selected preset. See Presets for more information.

• Print – Print the current graticule view. The resulting print will not include the control panel

or the menu/toolbars.

• Save as Image – Save the current graticule view as a PNG, JPG, or BMP image.

• Quick Save Image – Capture the current graticule view as a PNG image without specifying

the file name or save location. The image files are named in increasing order and prefixed with SpikeImage. The save directory is the last directory used to save an image file. If an image file has never been saved, this defaults to MyDocuments/SignalHound.

• Manage Correction Data – Bring up dialog to view and clear correction data files for your

Signal Hound devices. See Correction Data for more information.

Getting Started | The Menu

• Connect Device – If no device is connected, this will attempt to discover all Signal Hound

devices connected to the PC via USB and list the devices and their serial numbers. It will also list saved network devices by name. From this list, a single device can be selected.

• Manage Ethernet Devices - Bring up dialog to add, edit, and remove name and addressing

information for Signal Hound devices that connect via Ethernet, such as the SM200C. See

Ethernet Devices for more information.

• Disconnect Device – This option disconnects the currently connected device. This option

combined with “Connect Device” is useful for cycling a devices power or swapping devices

without closing the Signal Hound software.

• Exit – Disconnect the device and close the software.

3.1.2 Edit Menu

• Restore Default Layout – After selecting this option, the software will restore its original

layout following the next time the application is launched.

• Title – Enable or disable a custom title. The title appears above the graticule and is included

in the screen captures via printing as well as session recordings.

• Clear Title – Remove the current title.

• Hide Control Panels – Temporarily hides all visible control panels. Useful for presentations

or for viewing on small resolution displays.

• Show Control Panels – Shows any control panels that were previously hidden. If the mode

changes or a preset is loaded, the software will automatically show any hidden control panels.

• Colors – Load various default graticule and trace color schemes.

• Program Style – Select a color theme for the main windows of the application.

• Preferences – Opens a configuration dialog allowing further configuration of the software.

3.1.3 Presets

Presets are an easy way to store and load measurement configurations. Each preset stores the full software configuration making it easy to switch between measurement configurations and pick back up where you left off.

Presets have the file extension ‘ini’ which is a Windows initialization file. The Spike software can store and

load presets in three ways. In the file menu, the user can save and load explicit preset files by selecting the ini files directly. Alternatively, in the Presets menu, up to 9 presets are available for quick use. These presets are always available and can be quickly loaded with keyboard shortcuts. Finally, a power on preset can be saved from the Presets menu, which will automatically load when a device is connected.

Presets can only be loaded by the same type of device which was used when the preset was saved.

Presets accessed through the Preset menu are stored in C:\Users\YourUserName\AppData\Roaming\SignalHound\. AppData\ is a hidden folder by default on Windows systems. Each quick preset is stored in its own folder labeled “Preset [1-9]”. The main file has the .ini extension and is named “Preset [1-9].ini”. The power on preset is named “PowerOnPreset.ini”. To

Getting Started | The Menu

use a preset on a different computer, simply copy the preset folder to the new computer in the correct path.

The power on preset can be deleted from the Presets menu, or it can be manually deleted from the file system.

3.1.4 Settings

• Reference – Change the source of the reference oscillator. Internal or external reference

can be chosen. If external reference is chosen, ensure a 10MHz reference is connected to the appropriate BNC port.

o Internal – Use the internal 10MHz clock o External Sin Wave – Use an external AC 10MHz reference clock o External CMOS-TTL – Use an external 10MHz CMOS input clock.

• Reference Level Offset - Adjust the measurement amplitude to compensate for an

attenuator, probe, or preamplifier. The offset is specified as a flat dB offset. This offset is then applied to the measurement. See Using the Reference Level Offset for more information.

• Spur Reject – See Spur Rejection for more information.

• Enable Manual Gain/Atten – Enable the ability to change gain and attenuation.

3.1.5 Analysis Mode

• Idle – Suspend operation.

• Sweep – Enter standard swept analysis. See Swept Analysis for more information.

• Real-Time– Enter real-time analysis mode. See Real Time Spectrum Analysis for more

information.

• Zero-Span – Enter zero-span mode. See Zero Span Analysis for more information.

• Harmonics – Measure the harmonic of a specified carrier frequency. See Harmonic

Analysis for more information.

• Scalar Network Analyzer – If a SA or BB series spectrum analyzer device is currently active

and a Signal Hound tracking generator is connected to the PC, the software will set up the system as a scalar network analyzer. See Scalar Network Analysis for more information.

• Phase Noise– Enter the phase noise measurement mode. See Phase Noise for more

information.

• Digital Modulation Analysis – Start the digital modulation analysis portion of the

software. See Digital Demodulation for more information.

• EMC Precompliance – Using the BB or SM series device, access several EMC related

measurements. See EMC Precompliance for more information.

• Analog Demod – Use this mode to measure and view the modulation characteristics of AM

and FM signals. See Analog Demod for more information.

• Interference Hunting – Several helpful tools for interference hunting and spectrum

monitoring. See Interference Hunting for more information.

• Spectrum Emission Mask – See Spectrum Emission Mask for more information.

• WLAN 802.11b/a/n/ac – See WLAN Modulation Analysis for more information.

Getting Started | The Menu

3.1.6 Utilities

• Path Loss Tables – Bring up dialog to add and remove path loss tables and antenna

corrections. See Managing Loss Tables for more information.

• Limit Lines – Bring up dialog for configuring the limit lines. See Managing Limit Lines for

more information.

• Audio Player – Bring up the dialog box to use and customize the software for audio

playback. See Audio Player for more information.

• Measuring Receiver – Enables the measuring receiver utility. See Using the Measuring

Receiver Utility for more information.

• Frequency Difference Meter – See the Frequency Difference Meter for more information.

• Timebase Adjustment – See Adjusting Your Timebase for more information.

• Tracking Generator Controls – If a SA or BB series spectrum analyzer is the current active

device in the software and a Signal Hound tracking generator is connected to the PC, selecting this utility introduces an additional control panel for controlling the tracking generator output manually. The tracking generator will only respond if the scalar network analysis mode is not active.

• SA124 IF Output – Brings up a dialog box to control the IF downconverter for the SA124

spectrum analyzers. While the SA124 IF downconverter is active, the device cannot perform other tasks.

• Self-Test – Brings up a dialog box to manually self-test SA44B and SA124B devices. The

dialog will explain the process of setting up the device for self-test and will display the results immediately after the test is performed.

• SM Diagnostics – Brings up a dialog with calibration information and live temperature

sensor readings for an SM device. This dialog also contains a user adjustable fan threshold for option 1 SM devices. This value determines when the fan of the active cooling module turns on. The FPGA temperature is the temperature the threshold is tested against.

• Networked Speed Test – Brings up a dialog that performs a network speed test for

SM200C devices. See Networked Speed Test for more information.

• GPS Control Panel – Configure an external GPS device. See GPS for more information.

• SM200C Network Configuration – Modify an SM200Cs network address. See SM200C

Network Address Configuration for more information.

3.1.7 Help

• User Manual – Open the Spike user manual in the system default PDF reader.

• Signal Hound Website – Open www.signalhound.com in the system default web browser.

• Support Forums – Open the signal hound support forum web page in the system default

web browser.

• About Spike – Display version and product information for Spike and the device APIs.

Getting Started | The Control Panels

3.2 THE CONTROL PANELS

The control panels are a collection of interface elements for configuring the device and configuring the measurement utilities of the software. Each control panel can be moved to accommodate a user’s preference. The panels may be stacked vertically, dropped on top of each other (tabbed), or placed side by side. This can be accomplished this by dragging the panels via the control panel’s title bar.

Different measurement modes will show different control panels. These controls are described in more detail in Analysis Modes.

3.3 THE TOOL BARS

The tool bar is located under the application menu. The toolbar is populated with commonly used functionality and view related controls for the current software configuration. All measurement modes share a set of controls while some measurements provide additional controls.

The shared functionality is described below.

• Single – Request the software perform one more measurement before pausing.

• Continuous – Request that the software continuously perform measurements.

• Recal – Recalibrate the device for any potential temperature drift. This button should be

pressed any time the software presents the Perform Cal annunciator or when the user believes a recent change in temperature is affecting the measurement accuracy. Most measurement modes will auto recalibrate the device when a 2C temperature drift has been measured.

• Preset – Restores the software and hardware to its initial power-on state by performing a

device master reset.

3.3.1 Sweep Toolbar

The sweep controls are visible when the device is operating in the normal sweep and real-time measurement modes.

• Spectrogram – Enables the spectrogram display. See Spectrogram.

• Persistence – Enables/disables the persistence display. See Persistence.

• Intensity – Controls the intensity of the persistence display.

3.3.2 Zero Span Toolbar

These controls are available in zero-span measurement mode.

• Add Measurement – Add a new measurement plot to the view area.

Getting Started | Preferences

• Auto Fit – When Auto Fit is selected the visible views will be auto scaled to fit the available

application space. Disabling Auto Fit allows a user to scale and move the views into a custom configuration without the software interfering.

• Reset View – Resets the view area to the default configuration.

3.3.3 Digital Demodulation Toolbar

The digital demodulation toolbar is visible when the software has entered the modulation analysis mode. This toolbar provides several controls to help the user customize the view layout.

• Add Measurement – This control allows a user to add to the view area one of many

default data views.

• Auto Fit – When Auto Fit is selected the visible views will be auto scaled to fit the available

application space. Disabling Auto Fit allows a user to scale and move the views into a custom configuration without the software interfering.

• Choose Setup – Select from several default configurations.

3.3.4 Interference Hunting Toolbar

• Spectrogram – Enables the spectrogram display. See Spectrogram.

3.4 PREFERENCES

The preferences menu can be found under Edit Menu→Preferences. The preferences menu contains a collection of settings to further configure the Spike software.

• Trace Width – Determines to overall width of the trace being drawn on the graticule.

• Graticule Width – Determines the width of the lines that make up the graticule.

• Graticule Dotted – Set whether the non-border graticule lines are dotted or solid.

• Export Sweep Minimums – When this control is selected, the Export trace button will

export a CSV of the form (frequency (Hz), min amplitude, max amplitude) instead of the normal form (frequency (Hz, max amplitude).

• Export Scale – Select the frequency units to be used when exporting a trace.

• Real Time Frame Rate – Set the update rate of the device and software when operating in

real-time mode. Higher frame rates improve the resolution of events but also require higher PC performance. Can set values between 4 and 30 fps. This setting affects the SA and BB devices only.

• Max Save File Size – Control the maximum size of a sweep recording. The software will

stop recording when the max file size has been reached. For 32-bit machines, 1GB is the maximum possible file size. On 64-bit machines, the max file size can be set to 128GB.

• Colors – Control the color of various software features.

• SCPI Enabled – When enabled, the Spike software will listen on the chosen IP port for an

incoming connection. If this selection is changed, the software must be restarted to take effect.

Getting Started | The Status Bar

• IP Port – The port on which the Spike software listens for an incoming connection for SCPI

control over TCP/IP.

3.4.1 Language Selection

The Spike software offers multiple language choices for most user facing text and strings. The first time the software is launched on a PC, Spike will attempt to determine the best translation based on locale. Once loaded Spike will remember the last language used.

In the preference menu, a user can change the translation Spike uses. Simply select the language of choice and press “Apply”. Once applied, the software will need to be restarted to take effect. On the next program launch, the selected language will be loaded.

3.5 THE STATUS BAR

The status bar runs across the bottom of the application. When the mouse enters the graticule the status bar displays the frequency/time value for the x-axis and the amplitude/frequency value for the yaxis. The status bar readings should not be used for precise measurements but is great for quick estimations.

The status bar also displays information about the current device connected if there is one. The type of device, temperature of the device, power supplied to the device, the device serial number and firmware version are displayed.

3.6 ANNUNCIATOR LIST

Annunciators are warnings and indicators providing useful information to the operator. Annunciators are typically displayed in the upper left-hand corner of the graticule. Below is a list of all annunciators and their meanings.

• IF overload – This indicator appears when hard compression is present on the displayed

measurement. This annunciator will appear in the top center of the graticule and will trigger the UNCAL indicator. This occurs when the input RF signal reaches the maximum possible digital level. To fix this, decrease input signal amplitude, increase the reference level, increase attenuation, or lower gain.

• USB/UDP – This indicator appears when data loss occurred over USB (for USB devices) or

the network (for 10GbE devices). The data loss results in an incomplete or failed measurement. The software will continue to attempt to perform measurements in this scenario until a successful measurement can be performed. If you see this message regularly, this is an indication of potential PC problems, such as out of date drivers, faulty USB hardware, or over-taxed system.

• Perform Cal – This indicator appears when the device has deviated more than 2 °C since its

last temperature calibration. The software will automatically recalibrate the device in most measurement modes. For some measurement modes such as IQ streaming, the user can

Analysis Modes | Swept Analysis

determine when to recalibrate the device by pressing the Recal button on the user interface.

• Low voltage – This indicator appears when the device is not receiving enough voltage from

the USB 3.0 connection. The voltage value appears when this annunciator is present. The device requires 4.4V. If this annunciator appears, it may indicate other problems. Contact Signal Hound if you are unable to determine the source of this problem.

• High temp – Specific to the SM series. When the FPGA internal temperature reaches 95C,

this warning is shown. The software should be closed, and the device allowed to cool off.

• Span limited by preselector – Specific to the SM series. When the preselector is enabled

and the user configured span is limited by the bandwidth of the preselector filter, this warning is displayed.

• PLT – Indicates the path loss table is active.

• CPU Resources Exceeded – Indicates that the current measurement was unable to

properly finish due to either inadequate CPU resources or due to an interruption of the system during the measurement. Many measurements for Signal Hound devices require minimum processing requirements to complete real-time tasks. If the processor is unable to keep up with the required processing, you will see this warning. The measurement data should be ignored.

• Uncal – This indicator appears whenever any warning indicator is active to notify the user

that the device may not be meeting published specifications. This is also indicated in scalar network analysis mode to denote that the store through calibration has not been performed.

• Swept Real Time – Active when an SM series device is configured in real-time mode with a

span greater than 160MHz.

4 Analysis Modes

The Spike software provides several analysis modes for your spectrum analyzer. Each mode and its measurement capabilities are described below. Note that not all modes are available for all Signal Hound spectrum analyzers.

4.1 SWEPT ANALYSIS

This mode of operation is the mode which is commonly associated with spectrum analyzers. Through the software you will configure the device and request the device perform a single sweep across your desired span. Spans larger than the devices instantaneous bandwidth is the result of acquiring multiple IF patches and concatenating the results of the FFT processing on each of these IFs.

The processing performed on each IF patch is determined by the settings provided. Each time a trace is returned, the device waits until the next trace request. For you, the software user, you can choose to continuously retrieve traces or manually request them one at a time with the Single and Continuous buttons found on the Sweep Toolbar.

Analysis Modes | Swept Analysis

4.1.1 Sweep Settings Control Panel

The Sweep Settings control panel controls the sweep acquisition parameters for the device in standard swept-analysis and real-time modes.

4.1.1.1 Frequency Controls

• Center – Specify the center frequency of the sweep. If a change in center frequency causes

the start or stop frequencies to fall outside the range of operation, the span will be reduced. Using the arrows changes the center frequency by step amount.

• Span – Specify the frequency difference between the start and stop frequencies centered

on the center frequency. A reduced span will be chosen if the new span causes the start or stop frequencies to fall outside the range of operation. Use the arrows to change the span using a 1/2/5/10 sequence.

• Start/Stop – Specify the start and stop frequency of the device. Frequencies cannot be

chosen that are outside the range of operation of the active device.

• Step – Specify the step size of the arrows on the center frequency control.

• Full Span – This will change the start, stop, center, and span frequencies to select the

largest span possible.

• Zero Span – Enter Zero-Span mode, using the current center frequency as the starting

center frequency for zero-span captures.

4.1.1.2 Amplitude Controls

• Ref Level – Changing the reference level sets the power level of the top graticule line. The

units selected will change which units are displayed throughout the entire system. When automatic gain and attenuation are set (default), measurements can be made up to the reference level. Use the arrows to change the reference level by the amount specified by the Div setting.

• Div – Specify the scale for the y-axis. It may be set to any positive value. The chosen value

represents the vertical height of one square on the graticule.

o In linear mode, the Div control is ignored, and the height of one square on the

graticule is 1/10th of the reference level.

• Atten – Sets the internal electronic attenuator. By default, the attenuation is set to

automatic. It is recommended to set the attenuation to automatic so that the device can best optimize for dynamic range and compression when making measurements.

• Gain – Gain is used to control the input RF level. Higher gains increase RF levels. When gain

is set to automatic, the best gain is chosen based on reference level, optimizing for dynamic range. Selecting a gain other than Auto may cause the signal to clip well below the reference level, and should be done by experienced Signal Hound users only.

• Preamp – If the device connected has an internal preamplifier, this setting can be used to

control its state.

See the appendix for information relating to the BB60C and configuring a manual gain and

attenuation.

Analysis Modes | Swept Analysis

4.1.1.3 Bandwidth Controls

• RBW Shape – Select the RBW filter shape. See RBW Filter Shape for more information.

• RBW – This controls the resolution bandwidth (RBW). For each span a range of RBWs may

be used. The RBW controls the FFT size and signal processing, similar to selecting the IF band pass filters on an analog spectrum analyzer. The selectable bandwidths displayed change depending on the RBW Shape selected.

o RBWs are available in a 1-3-10 sequence. (e.g. 1 kHz, 3 kHz, 10 kHz, 30 kHz, 100 kHz,

…) when using the arrow keys.

• VBW – This controls the Video Bandwidth (VBW). After the signal has been passed through

the RBW filter, it is converted to an amplitude. This amplitude is then filtered by the Video Bandwidth filter. When VBW is set equal to RBW, no VBW filtering is performed.

o All RBW choices are available as Video Bandwidths, with the constraint that VBW

must be less than or equal to RBW.

o In Real-Time mode VBW is not selectable.

• Auto RBW – Having auto selected will choose reasonable and fast RBWs relative to the

span. When changing span, it is recommended to have this enabled along with Auto VBW.

• Auto VBW – When enabled, VBW will equal RBW.

4.1.1.4 Acquisition Controls

• Video Units – In the system, unprocessed amplitude data may be represented as voltage,

linear power, or logarithmic power. Select linear power for RMS power measurements. Logarithmic power is closest to a traditional spectrum analyzer in log scale.

• Detector – The detector specifies how amplitudes in each bin are calculated. Each

frequency bin in a sweep is the result of several FFTs depending on RBW/VBW/SwpTime. The results of the FFTs are then either averaged or min/maxed based on the choice of detector. Choose min/max to show the range between the min and max value. When min/max is selected, markers are placed on the max values. To place markers on the min values, select min detector.

• Sweep Time

o For SA series devices, the sweep time value is ignored. o For BB and SM series devices, sweep time is used to suggest how long the spectrum

analyzer should acquire data for the configured sweep. The actual sweep time may be significantly different from the time requested, depending on RBW, VBW, and span settings, as well as hardware limitations.

• Sweep Interval – For all devices, the device will sweep at intervals of no more than the

configured sweep interval. For example, a sweep interval will cause the device to sweep at most once per second.

4.1.2 Measurements Control Panel

The Measurements control panel allows the user to configure the spectrum related measurements. This control panel is visible while the software is in standard swept analysis and real-time operating modes.

Analysis Modes | Swept Analysis

4.1.2.1 Trace Controls

The software offers up to six configurable traces. All six traces can be customized and controlled through the measurements control panel. When the software first launches only trace one is visible with a type of

Clear & Write.

• Trace – Select a trace. The trace controls will populate with the new selected trace. All

future actions will affect this trace.

• Type – The type control determines the behavior of the trace over a series of acquisitions.

o Off – Disables the current trace. o Clear & Write – Continuously displays successive sweeps updating the trace fully

for each sweep.

o Max Hold – For each sweep collected only the maximum trace points are retained

and displayed.

o Min Hold – For each sweep collected only the minimum trace points are retained

and displayed.

o Min/Max Hold – For each sweep collected, the minimum and maximum points are

retained and displayed.

o Average – Averages successive sweeps. The number of sweeps to average together

is determined by the Avg Count setting.

• Avg Count – Change how many sweeps are averaged together when a trace type of

average is selected.

• Color – Change the color of the selected trace. The trace colors selected are saved when

the software is closed and restored the next time the software is launched.

• Copy To – Copies the contents of the currently selected trace to a different trace. The

contents of the destination trace of overwritten. If the destination trace type is off the trace type is set to clear and write. The destination trace is set to, update=off, and display=on.

• Update – If update is not checked, the selected trace remains visible but no longer updates

itself for each device sweep.

• Hidden – If checked, the selected trace will

• Clear – Reset the contents of the selected trace.

• Export – Save the contents of the selected trace to a CSV file. A file name must be chosen

before the file is saved. The CSV file stores (Frequency, Max Amplitude) pairs. Frequency is in Hz, Min/Max are in dBm/mV depending on whether logarithmic or linear units are selected.

4.1.2.2 Marker Controls

The software allows for six configurable markers. All six markers are configurable through the measurements control panel.

• Marker – Select a marker. All marker actions taken will affect the current selected marker.

• Type – Specify the marker measurement type. For normal and delta marker readings,

select Normal, for noise measurements, select Noise marker.

• Place On – Select which trace the selected marker will be placed on. If the trace selected

here is not active when a marker is placed, the next active trace will be used.

Analysis Modes | Swept Analysis

• Update – When Update is ON, the markers amplitude updates each sweep. When OFF, the

markers amplitude does not update unless moved.

• Active – Active determines whether the selected marker is visible. This is the main control

for disabling a marker.

• Pk Tracking – When enabled, the selected marker will be placed on the peak signal

amplitude at each trace update.

• Pk Threshold – Specify the minimum amplitude required for a signal to be considered as a

peak for the peak left/right buttons.

• Pk Excurs. – Specify how far the amplitude needs to fall around a peak to be considered a

peak for the peak left/right buttons.

• Set Freq – Manually place the marker on the selected trace at the selected frequency.

Enable the marker if it is currently disabled. The marker frequency will be rounded to the closest available frequency bin.

• Peak Search – This will place the selected marker on the highest amplitude signal on the

trace specified by Place On. If the selected trace is Off, then the first enabled trace is used.

• Delta – places a reference marker where the marker currently resides. Once placed,

measurements are made relative to the position of the reference point.

• To Center Freq – changes the center frequency to the frequency location of the selected

marker.

• To Ref Level – changes the reference level to the amplitude of the active marker.

• Peak Left – If the selected marker is active, move the marker to the next peak on the left.

• Peak Right – If the selected marker is active, move the marker to the next peak on the

right.

For peak left/right, peaks are defined by a group of frequency bins 1 standard deviation above the mean amplitude of the sweep.

4.1.2.3 Occupied Bandwidth

• Enabled – When enabled, occupied bandwidth measurements will become active on the

screen.

• Target – Select which trace the occupied power measurement is performed on.

• % Power – Percent power allows the percentage of the integrated power of the occupied

bandwidth measurement to be adjusted.

4.1.2.4 Trace Math Controls

All controls related to the trace math capability in Spike. For more information see Trace Math.

• Enabled – Turns on/off trace math.

• Op1 – Set the first trace math operand.

• Op2 – Set the second trace math operand.

• Result – Set the trace math result trace (destination).

• Operation – Select the trace math operation.

• Offset – Set the trace math offset. Only applies to certain operations.

Analysis Modes | Swept Analysis

4.1.2.5 Display Line Controls

The display line is a configurable visual only reference line shown on the graticule for sweep and realtime modes. The line is always drawn at a single y-amplitude across the entire graticule regardless of plot scale.

• Enabled – Turns on/off the display line.

• Level – Set the y position of the display line.

4.1.3 Channel Power Control Panel

See Channel Power for more information about taking channel power measurements.

4.1.4 Intermodulation Distortion Control Panel

See Intermodulation Distortion for more information about taking intermodulation distortion measurements.

4.1.5 Sweep Recording Control Panel

See Sweep Record and Playback for more information about sweep recording.

4.1.6 Sweep Plot

The plot displayed in both sweep and real-time measurement mode has several of the same zoom capabilities of the plots throughout the application. See Zoom and Axis Manipulation for more information.

The sweep plot is returned to auto scale when the measurement configuration changes. This can be due to the user changing a measurement parameter or loading a preset.

4.1.7 Peak Table

The peak table is a feature, in addition to markers, which allow the user to measure the absolute and relative amplitudes and frequencies of several signals present in spectrum at once. The peak table is available in sweep and real-time measurement modes. The peak table displays up to 16 peaks sorted by frequency or amplitude, which exceed the user’s peak threshold settings. The peak threshold and excursion settings are similar to the ones available for markers (see Measurements Control Panel).

Analysis Modes | Real-Time Spectrum Analysis

Figure 2: Peak table measuring the harmonics of a 10MHz input CW signal.

4.2 REAL-TIME SPECTRUM ANALYSIS

All Signal Hound spectrum analyzers can function as real-time spectrum analyzers. The Spike software exposes this functionality for each spectrum analyzer. Real-time spectrum analysis can be performed by selecting Analysis Mode -> Real Time in the main file menu. When the device is in real-time analysis mode, the bandwidth is limited to the real-time bandwidth, which is different for each Signal Hound device.

Analyzing signals in real-time mode is critical for characterizing short duration spectral events, such as spurious emissions or for interference hunting. Real-time analysis is also great for monitoring spread spectrum signals and observing frequency hopping communications channels.

These types of applications are possible because real-time spectrum analysis guarantees 100% probability of intercept for signals of a specific duration. That duration is dependent on the Signal Hound

Device

Maximum Real-Time Bandwidth

SA44/SA124

250kHz

BB60A

20MHz

BB60C

27MHz

SM200/435

160MHz

Analysis Modes | Zero-Span Analysis

spectrum analyzer and the resolution bandwidth. Any signal that exceeds that duration is guaranteed to captured and displayed by the Spike software.

When in real-time mode, a special persistence display is shown. A screen shot of the software in realtime mode is shown below.

Figure 3: SA44B analyzing an FM radio station in real-time spectrum analysis mode. The persistence display is shown on the bottom half of the application and a 2-dimensional waterfall plot is shown on top.

The persistence display shows a three-dimensional view of the signal density in the given span, where the X and Y axis still show amplitude over frequency, while the color of the plot is the density of the spectrum at any given point. As the spectrum density increases at a given point, the color of the plot will change from blue to green to red. The Signal Hound spectrum analyzers can create these plots from thousands to over a million traces worth of data per second to create these complex displays (depends on RBW). The persistence display is the accumulation of roughly 2/3rd of a second of real-time data acquisition.

4.2.1 Control Panels

Real-time spectrum analysis shares controls panels with standard spectrum analysis. See Swept Analysis

Mode for more information.

4.3 ZERO-SPAN ANALYSIS

Zero span analysis allows a user to view and analyze complex signals in the time domain. The application can demodulate AM, FM, and PM modulation schemes, and display the results through multiple configurable plots. A user can enter zero span mode by using the Analysis Mode drop down file menu, or

Analysis Modes | Zero-Span Analysis

by pressing the zero-span button on the Sweep Settings control panel. Below is an image of the software operating in Zero-Span mode.

Figure 4: Triggering and measuring a pulsed waveform in zero-span mode.

The control panel contains inputs for controlling the capture settings of the device as well as specifying trigger conditions for the zero span sweeps. Available triggers are video and external. Video triggers begin the sweep only after a signal exceeds the amplitude specified in the Video Trigger input. This is useful for analyzing a periodic transmission. When external triggering is selected, acquisition occurs when a trigger is detected on the spectrum analyzer trigger input port.

The control panel also contains a section to define the measurement interval, a subset of the zero-span capture that will be visible for measurement in the various plots. The Time Overview plot shows the interval in relation to the whole capture and provides an interface to control the same parameters graphically.

Zero-Span mode has the capability to record and playback IQ waveforms using the record and playback control panels. For an in-depth discussion of IQ record and playback see IQ Captures.

The application window is split into multiple views and provides a control panel for controlling zero span acquisitions. Zero span mode currently offers ten unique plots.

4.3.1 Zero-Span Settings Control Panel

The Zero-Span Settings control panels allows configuration of zero-span captures. It is only visible when in Zero-Span mode.

Analysis Modes | Zero-Span Analysis

4.3.1.1 Capture Settings

• Input Pwr – Expected input power of the signal. Input power controls the reference level

and the gain and attenuation. It is suggested to keep gain and attenuation set to Auto so the software can best choose them based on the Input Pwr.

• Center – Specifies the tuned center frequency of the capture, or in another way, the 0Hz

frequency of the I/Q data capture.

• Step – Controls how much the center frequency shifts when pressing the center frequency

arrow keys or using the up/down arrow keys on your keyboard when the center frequency text is highlighted.

• Decimation – Controls the overall decimation of the I/Q data capture. For example, a

decimation of 2 divides the receiver sample rate by 2. Increasing decimation rate increase the possible capture time of the software but decreases the time resolution of each capture.

• Sample Rate – Displays the sample rate of the current visible I/Q data capture. This

number is equal to the device sample rate divided by the decimation value.

• IF BW – (Intermediate Frequency Bandwidth) Controls the bandwidth of the passband filter

applied to the IQ data stream. The bandwidth cannot exceed the Nyquist frequency of the I/Q data stream.

• Auto IFBW – When set to Auto, the IF Bandwidth passes the entire bandwidth of the I/Q

data capture.

• Swp Time – (Sweep Time) Controls the length of the zero-span data capture. The length is

relative to the sample rate selected by decimation. Sweep times are clamped when the resulting capture contains less than 20 samples, and at the upper end, when the resulting capture contains more than 65536 samples.

4.3.1.2 Trigger Settings

• Trigger Type – Select a trigger type for the data capture. Possible trigger types are

immediate, video, external, and frequency mask trigger.

o Immediate trigger causes an acquisition immediately. o Video trigger triggers an acquisition once the sample amplitude crosses the user

specified trigger level.

o External trigger triggers an acquisition when a signal event is detected on the

external trigger input port on the spectrum analyzers. Not all Signal Hound spectrum analyzers have access to this trigger type.

o Frequency mask trigger, see Frequency Mask Triggering for more information.

• Trigger Edge – Select whether to trigger on a rising or falling edge. Applies to both external

and video triggers.

• Video Trigger – Select the amplitude for the video trigger to trigger on. This value is

ignored if video triggering is not selected.

• Trigger Position – When a video or external trigger is selected, trigger position determines

what percentage of samples of the sweep are displayed before the trigger. For example, in a 100-point sweep with a 10% trigger position, the sweep will display the 10 points before the trigger occurrence, and the first 90 points after the trigger.

Analysis Modes | Zero-Span Analysis

• Edit FMT – Open the frequency mask trigger editor dialog. See Frequency Mask Triggering

for more information.

4.3.1.3 Measurement Interval Settings

The measurement interval settings menu in zero-span controls the measurement interval, or subset of the full capture, displayed by all the plots except Time Overview and Waterfall.

• Auto Interval – When auto interval is enabled, the measurement interval is the entire

capture.

• Interval Offset – The time into the capture for the measurement interval to start.

• Interval Length – The length of the measurement interval.

4.3.1.4 FFT Settings

The FFT settings menu in zero-span controls the FFT parameters for the spectrum and waterfall plots, and the waterfall’s spectrum view.

• RBW – The desired RBW for the spectrum plot. Lower RBWs increase the required FFT

window length. If the FFT window length is not long enough to achieve the desired RBW, the spectrum window will show a warning and the user will need to either increase RBW or increase the FFT Window length or overall capture size to display the spectrum plot.

• Auto Overlap – When auto overlap is enabled, an overlap percentage is chosen to produce

the maximum number of FFTs up to Max FFTs.

• Overlap % - The percentage of overlap between FFTs.

• Max FFTs – The maximum number of FFTs. Computation will stop when this number is

reached, even if only a portion of the capture has been covered.

• Step Length – The length of time from the start of one FFT to the start of the next.

4.3.2 Record / Playback IQ Control Panels

See IQ Captures.

4.3.3 Frequency Mask Triggering

Frequency mask triggering (FMT) is available in zero-span measurement mode. FMT works by taking overlapping FFTs on the input I/Q data and checking each FFT result against a user defined frequency mask. When the FFT results exceed the user defined mask, the software triggers the acquisition starting at the beginning of the FFT that exceeded the mask. The FFT size is based on the current RBW with an overlap rate of 50%. The flat-top window is used for all spectrum processing in zero-span mode. The frequency mask can be configured using the FMT editor.

Analysis Modes | Zero-Span Analysis

Figure 5: FMT editor

The editor mirrors the standard zero-span spectrum plot as a guide for mask building. Using the editor buttons, you can add or remove mask points, create a mask using the spectrum plot as a baseline, apply frequency and amplitude offsets, and import/export existing masks for future use. Additionally, each point in the mask can be dragged on the spectrum plot using the left mouse button for quick mask building. When finished editing, select OK on the dialog and the mask is updated. Note: The frequency mask is not updated with the new values until you have selected OK on the dialog.

4.3.4 Zero-Span Plots

All plots in zero-span follow the basic plot interface in Spike.

Analysis Modes | Zero-Span Analysis

Figure 6: Time Overview plot with the measurement interval set to encompass the triggered pulse.

Shows and allows adjustment of the measurement interval in relation to the whole capture. The measurement interval is the portion of the capture that is displayed by every other plot, with the exception of the Waterfall plot, which shows all computed FFTs across the capture.

The measurement interval is represented by the unshaded region. Adjust the interval by dragging it, or dragging its start and end points.

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Signal Hound Spectrum Analyzer Software User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual