ThinkRF R5550 User Manual
ThinkRF R5550
Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer
User Guide
Version 1.0
April 2019
Document no. 75-0038-190401
Copyright © 2019 ThinkRF Corporation, All rights reserved.
All product names are trademarks of their respective companies.
Important notice
The information in this
guide is furnished for
informational use only
and is subject to change
without notice. ThinkRF
Corporation assumes no
responsibility or liability
for any errors or
inaccuracies that may
appear in this document.
No part of this
publication may be
reproduced, published,
stored in an electronic
database, or transmitted,
in any form or by any
means, electronic,
mechanical, recording,
or otherwise, for any
purpose, without the
prior written permission
of ThinkRF Corporation.
Trademarks
ThinkRF, the ThinkRF
logo and R5550 are
trademarks of ThinkRF
Corporation.
All other brand or
product names are
trademarks or registered
trademarks of their
respective companies or
owners.
ThinkRF Corp
390 March Road
Kanata, ON K2K 0G7
(613) 369-5104
HARDWARE WARRANTY AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
Read this warranty carefully before you use the product.
R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers are warranted for workmanship and materials
for a period of one (1) year from the date of shipment as identified by the Customer’s
packing slip or carrier waybill. ThinkRF reserves the right to void the warranty on any
equipment that has been altered or damaged due to Customer negligence,
unauthorized repair, misuse of equipment, evidence of physical or environmental
damage, transportation abuse or removal of any ThinkRF identification labels or
serial numbers.
It will remain the responsibility of the Customer, having obtained a Return Material
Authorization (RMA) and shipping instructions from ThinkRF, to return, at the
Customer's expense, the defective unit to ThinkRF’s repair facilities. ThinkRF will
incur shipping charges for the return of warranty repaired equipment. The RMA
number can be secured by calling ThinkRF Customer Service and Support (1-613369-5104). If the product does not fall within ThinkRF’s warranty period or the
product is found to be functioning as designed, then under the terms of ThinkRF’s
warranty policy, all costs of repairs and shipping will be charged directly to the
Customer. ThinkRF will warrant repaired units for a period of 90 days from date of
shipment from ThinkRF to the Customer. If the remaining period on the original
hardware warranty is greater than 30 days, then ThinkRF will honor this remaining
warranty period.
THINKRF EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES AND
CONDITIONS, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION, WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS OR REPRESENTATIONS OF
WORKMANSHIP, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE, DURABILITY, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE HARDWARE OR
LICENSED SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR FREE. IN NO EVENT WILL THINKRF
BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES.
USE OF PRODUCTS IN HIGH RISK ACTIVITIES
THINKRF PRODUCTS ARE INTENDED FOR STANDARD INDOOR COMMERCIAL
USE. WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE NETWORK DESIGN ENGINEERING, THEY
MUST NOT BE USED FOR ANY “HIGH RISK ACTIVITY”, as described in this
paragraph. Customer acknowledges and agrees that the products supplied
hereunder are not fault-tolerant and are not designed, manufactured or intended for
use or resale as on-line control equipment in hazardous environments requiring fail
safe performance including but not limited to the operation of nuclear facilities,
aircraft navigation or communication systems, air traffic control, direct life support
machines, or weapons systems, in which the failure of products could lead directly to
death, personal injury, or severe physical or environmental damage, all of which are
examples of “High Risk Activity”. THINKRF AND ITS SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY
DISCLAIM ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR HIGH
RISK ACTIVITIES.
GNU General Public License
This device contains free firmware: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This
program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
for more details. GNU General Public License is available at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
Table of Contents
Preface ............................................................................................................................ 5
Audience ............................................................................................................................................ 5
Conventions ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Obtaining the Latest Documentation and Software ............................................................................ 5
Document Feedback .......................................................................................................................... 5
Obtaining Technical Assistance ......................................................................................................... 6
Overview of the ThinkRF R5550 ................................................................................... 7
Getting Familiar with the ThinkRF R5550 .......................................................................................... 8
The Front Panel .......................................................................................................................... 8
The Rear Panel .......................................................................................................................... 8
The Underside ............................................................................................................................ 9
Installing the ThinkRF R5550 ...................................................................................... 10
Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage .................................................................................... 10
Unpacking the Box ........................................................................................................................... 10
Connecting the Antenna, Ethernet and Power Cables ..................................................................... 11
Selecting Where to Mount the R5550 .............................................................................................. 12
Connecting to the R5550 ............................................................................................. 13
Deciding on Your Network Topology and IP Address Allocation ...................................................... 13
Changing the Method of IP Address Allocation for the R5550 analyzer .......................................... 14
Connecting the R5550 Analyzer Directly to a Computer .................................................................. 14
Connecting to the R5550 Analyzer Across a Network ..................................................................... 16
Administration Console .............................................................................................. 18
Connecting via Your Web Browser .................................................................................................. 18
Configuring the R5550 Time ............................................................................................................ 18
Configuring the R5550 IP Address .................................................................................................. 20
Updating the R5550's Firmware ...................................................................................................... 20
Customizing the R5550 Calibration ................................................................................................. 22
Uploading a Custom Calibration File ........................................................................................ 23
Calibration File Source Selection .............................................................................................. 24
Restoring the Default Calibration Settings ................................................................................ 24
Restarting the R5550 ....................................................................................................................... 25
Reset to Factory Settings ........................................................................................... 26
Using the USB Console ............................................................................................... 27
Installing the USB Drivers on Your PC ............................................................................................ 27
Connecting to the USB Console ...................................................................................................... 27
To Configure the R5550 Analyzer's IP Address ............................................................................... 28
Status Indicator LEDs ................................................................................................. 30
Power-up Sequence ........................................................................................................................ 30
Power (PWR) Indicator LED ............................................................................................................ 30
Status (STS) Indicator LED .............................................................................................................. 30
10 MHz Reference (REF) Clock Source and Lock Indicator LED .................................................... 31
RF Chain PLLs LOCK Indicator LED ............................................................................................... 31
Ethernet LINK Status and ACT Indicator LEDs ................................................................................ 31
Hardware Reference .................................................................................................... 33
System Specifications ...................................................................................................................... 33
SMA Connectors .............................................................................................................................. 33
Ethernet RJ-45 Port Pinout .............................................................................................................. 34
GPIO Port Pinout ............................................................................................................................. 34
USB Console Port Pinout ................................................................................................................. 35
RJ-45 Straight-Through Ethernet Cable .......................................................................................... 36
RJ-45 Crossover Ethernet Cable ..................................................................................................... 36
Document Revision History ........................................................................................ 37
Preface
This preface describes the audience for, the organization of, and conventions used in this
document. It also identifies related documentation and explains how to access electronic
documentation.
Audience
This document is written for technical people who have basic understanding, familiarity
and experience with network test and measurement equipment.
Conventions
This section describes the conventions used in this document.
Note: This symbol means take note. Notes contain helpful suggestions or references to
additional information and material.
Caution: This symbol means be careful. In this situation, you might do something that
could result in equipment damage or loss of data.
Warning: This symbol means danger. You are in a situation that could cause bodily
injury. Before you work on any equipment, be aware of the hazards involved with
electrical circuitry and be familiar with the standard practices for preventing accidents.
Obtaining the Latest Documentation and Software
Please regularly visit our website's resource page at http://www.thinkrf.com/resources
to obtain the latest documentation and the latest releases of new firmware and software.
Document Feedback
Please send your comments about this document or our other documentation to
support@thinkrf.com.
Thank you, we appreciate your comments.
Obtaining Technical Assistance
The ThinkRF Support website provides online documents for resolving technical issues
with ThinkRF products at http://thinkrf.com/documentation/.
For all customers who hold a valid end-user license, ThinkRF provides technical
assistance 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time, Monday to Friday. Contact us at
support@thinkrf.com or by calling +1.613.369.5104.
Before contacting Support, please have the following information available:
R5550 serial number which is located on the identification label on the R5550's
underside.
The product version.
The firmware version running on the R5550.
Versions of ThinkRF software you are using, potentially including the API
libraries to third-party applications.
The operating system and version you are using.
Overview of the ThinkRF R5550
Overview of the ThinkRF R5550
The R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer (RTSA) is a high-performance softwaredefined RF receiver, digitizer and analyzer. It is designed for stand-alone, remote,
distributed, and/or embedded real-time spectrum analysis, monitoring and intelligence
applications.
ThinkRF has patented software-defined RF receiver technology that provides industry
leading combined sensitivity, tuning range, instantaneous bandwidth and scan rate.
Additionally, the R5550 provides real-time sophisticated triggering, search and loss-less
capture of signals of interest using an integrated patented digital signal processing
engine.
The R5550 is ideal for monitoring, management and surveillance of transmitters, whether
they are in-building or spread across a geographic area. Applications include but are not
limited to spectrum analysis, 5G wireless technology, research, test and measurement,
spectrum monitoring and OEM integration.
The R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer provides Gigabit Ethernet for stand-alone,
remote and distributed applications. ThinkRF supports a rich set of industry-leading
standard protocols and APIs, enabling the R5550 to easily integrate into your new or
existing applications. Standard protocols include the Standard Commands for
Programmable Instruments (SCPI) protocol for controlling and obtaining status from the
R5550 and the VITA 49 Radio Transport (VRT) protocol for digitized data and its
associated context information. APIs are provided for interfacing and performing data
acquisition and spectral analysis with Python™, C/C++, MATLAB® and LabVIEW®
Applications can also be built within the PyRF development framework. PyRF is built on
the Python programming language and is open-source under BSD licensing. PyRF
handles the low-level details of real-time acquisition, signal processing and visualization,
and provides feature rich libraries, example applications and source code, all specific to
the requirements of signal analysis.
ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer User Guide 7
Overview of the ThinkRF R5550
Getting Familiar with the ThinkRF R5550
This section provides information about the front and rear panels, connection ports and
identification label of the R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer.
Note: The type and placement of connectors and components on the panels and the
case may vary depending upon the product variant and version.
The Front Panel
The front panel of the R5550 (the left side of the picture above) contains the power
switch, status indicator LEDs and input connector for the RF antenna port.
The Rear Panel
The rear panel of the R5550 (the right side of the picture above) contains the power
input, 10 MHz reference clock I/O, hardware reset push-button, HIF output, analog I/Q
outputs, USB console (CNSL), Ethernet, and GPIO port.
8 ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer User Guide
Overview of the ThinkRF R5550
The Underside
The underside of the ThinkRF R5550 provides an identification label, as illustrated in the
following page. The label on your product may vary depending on your product variant
and version. This product “Version” number is important for identifying which firmware
can be used to update your product.
ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer User Guide 9
Installing the ThinkRF R5550
Installing the ThinkRF R5550
Ensure that you read and understand the following information about safety and
electrostatic discharge before you unpack and install the R5550.
Warning: Only trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to install or replace this
equipment. Read the installation instructions before you connect the system to its power
source.
Preventing Electrostatic Discharge Damage
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) is a single-event, rapid transfer of electrostatic charge
between two objects, such as an operator and a piece of electrical equipment. ESD can
occur when a high electrostatic field develops between two objects in close proximity.
ESD occurs when electronic components are improperly handled and is one of the major
causes of device failures in the semiconductor industry.
Electrostatic discharge is more likely to occur with the combination of synthetic fibers and
dry atmosphere. Always follow these steps to prevent ESD.
Warning: Never open the front or rear panels of the R5550 as personal injury may result
and opening the chassis will void the warranty. There are no user-serviceable parts
inside. Always contact ThinkRF support for service through the online support form at
http://www.thinkrf.com/support/.
Caution: To prevent ESD, wear an ESD-preventive wrist strap that you provide, ensuring
that it makes good skin contact.
Caution: Do not touch any exposed contact pins or connector shells of interface ports
that do not have a cable attached. If cables are connected at one end only, do not touch
the exposed pins at the unconnected end of the cable.
Unpacking the Box
The following table lists the items that come with your R5550 analyzer. If any of the items
are missing or damaged, please contact your ThinkRF customer service representative.
10 ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer User Guide
Installing the ThinkRF R5550
ThinkRF R5550 Shipping Box Contents:
• R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer
• Power adapter and cable
• Straight-through Ethernet cable
• USB console cable
• Antenna
• Precautions & Quickstart Guide
Note: The antenna is included for your convenience and only intended to perform
adequately across a limited frequency range.
Connecting the Antenna, Ethernet and Power Cables
Caution: Never connect a transmitter directly to the receiver with a cable.
Caution: Do not over-tighten the antenna connector on the jack. Using a wrench, pliers
or even your hand to over-tighten the antenna can cause permanent damage to the
receiver. See SMA Connectors section for the torque recommendation.
1. Screw the antenna on to the R5550 "RF IN" antenna input SMA jack. Carefully
turn the antenna screw by hand until it encounters resistance. See System
Specifications for the maximum allowable input and cautions.
2. Connect one end of the Ethernet cable to the R5550's Ethernet port and the
other end to an Ethernet port on your router or PC.
3. Connect the R5550 analyzer to its power adapter.
Warning: Use only the power adapter provided with the unit.
4. Plug the power adapter into a power outlet.
5. Push the power switch towards the power symbol to power the unit on.
Note: See Administration Console section for description of the R5550 status.
ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer User Guide 11
Installing the ThinkRF R5550
Selecting Where to Mount the R5550
Caution: To prevent damage to the R5550 radio receiver, do not install or operate the
R5550 within 2 feet (60 cm) of devices such as Wi-Fi access points that transmit more
than +15 dBm power.
12 ThinkRF R5550 Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer User Guide
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