» As usual this product category drew boatloads of reader reviews and responses. But that's not surprising. For design engineers, of all stripes, capable and productivity-enhancing test and measurement tools are fundamental requirements for producing leading-edge electronic systems. As in the previous quarter's issue of Ultimate Products, Tektronix outscored all other contenders on the technological significance scale -- this time with its 8-Ghz 'scope....

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TEKTRONIX
8-GHz Tektronix scopes use DSP to maintain fidelity
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Debuting with Microsoft Windows XP the new TDS6000B Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO) series is in lockstep with Moore's Law, thanks to its 32-Msample-deep memory, and ultra-high sample rate. Indeed, these scopes tout timebases that sweep as fast as 25-ps/division, with interpolation yielding an astounding 500-fs/pt. The 20-Gsample/s rate on all four channels touts an equivalent time-sample rate of 2-Tera-samples/s! Note that the new TDS6000B Family also replaces Tek's earlier TDS6000 Series. However, if you own an earlier TDS6000, you can upgrade to the performance of the TDS6000B series. "
Readers say: » "This is a must-have instrument for the company like us working on XAUI and other above-GHz signals." » "This is a very good scope. I am very impressed with the ease of use and technology capabilities." » "I like the added trigger capabilities." » "Great functionality. A bit cost-prohibitive for smaller corporations. I still like our LeCroys for the money." » "Low jitter detection and 1.5ms window with full sampling are unique for high speed digital communication test and verification work." » "Today's networking devices run up to 1G, 4G, 9G...and there is no way that an ATE tester can test at that high speed. The only instrument for an engineer to simulate, verify and probe is such a tool." » "Sweet" » "Great features but the cost is too high." » "Would love to have one! the cost is HIGH!" » "Not more than I need, just more than I'm used to." » "Still not shipping although announced long ago; the 8 GHz bandwidth is DSP boosted and not a real analog bandwitdth" » "Necessary for so many new technologies!" » "As data rates for new serial protocols increase, the need for faster oscilloscopes becomes a must. In fact, until now, there has not been a scope with the features and speed to directly analyze any serial stream much over the 200MHz range." » "Good base model for 4GHz apps. Tektronix quality and ease of use." » "Does not mention the absolute jittering measurement capabilty which is useful in certain application." » "What about a Linux version?" » "I like Tek gear. Alas price and bandwidth not in my range." » "Easy to use. High bandwidth. Good signal fidelity. Sharp and dual triggering feature." » "As a tester of the oscilloscopes, I am impressed with the ease of use, the high bandwidth, Windows XP as OS and that they are network ready." » "Sharp and dual triggering, high bandwidth, good resolution on waveform capture" » "I am unlikely to purchase one only because it does not have a 64 bit Athalon processor in it. The P4 is a poor substitute when a far superior and reliable Windows Certified CPU is available that runs twice as fast at half the cost and substantially cooler! Tektronix really dropped the ball on this one - the P4 is the Achilles heel of this machine." » "A high performance, high quality and feature packed scope." » "A good oscilloscope is the 'workhorse' of every EE, and this is impressive." » "This has a high drool factor!" » "Ouch! $75G's!" » "I used it and found the noise floor at 8GHz is too big and cannot be used for accurate measurement. But the test result is acceptable when you do not use the DSP bandwidth. That is to say,use it up to 7GHz." » "A phenomenal concept in test equipment. Powerful, versatile and upgradeable." » "Good development, especially adopting a "standard" OS for a change."
USABILITY RANK: 1

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BANTAM INSTRUMENTS
Handheld spectrum analyzer goes up to 6-GHz
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Like its predecessor, the Model 401B Personal Spectrum Analyzer, this latest Model 425A Wireless LAN Spectrum Analyzer is a handheld powerhouse. What's more, it weighs only a tad more than a pound, and comes with a battery charger that accommodates 100-V through 240-V 50/60 Hz sources. You can even run one of these spectrum analyzers from a car's cigarette lighter plug. Although I personally abhor using them as power "connectors," Bantam will sell you an adapter for $25 or so. Kudos to Bantam for offering only the instrumentation that you need, offering an upgrade path if more capability is required in the future. That perfectly tracks many of the development plans of OEMs building and testing today's gear, but contemplating newer frequency bands as they emerge. "
Readers say: » "Impressive for a portable." » "It needs a tracking generator" » "Highly desirable instrument" » "Highly desirable and useful. Good bandwidth and portable for field use." » "Good spec's,looks good and reasonable cost." » "Great piece of equipment " » "When using a spectrum analyzer I am at a bench station and handhelds just make more trouble for reading and holding." » "Excellent field tool, not a bad price for what it does, but limiting the bands for specific application, rather than having a full-spectrum analyzer, makes it less useful for our needs." » "It seems pretty narrowly-focused. I tend to prefer more configurable instruments." » "More like an application specific spectrum analyzer. Does not have the flexibilty and perfomance of a bench top version (S box, probes, scaler, etc.)" » "It would have been nice if Bantam had included both USB 2.0 and IEEE1384 as standard computer interfaces instead of the older RS-232." » "I've been waiting years for a small dependable spectrum analyzer! No more back aches from lugging around a monster!" » "Very cool tool for RF analysis."
USABILITY RANK: 4

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GAGE APPLIED TECHNOLOGIES
PCI plug-ins put wideband storage scope, spectrum analyzer functions on PCs
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "A look at a simplified block diagram reveals a straightforward system architecture (sans software). What the block diagram doesn't reveal is Gage's selection of leading-edge components that impart the sparkling specs these products enjoy. In a multi-board system, the cards can operate either in master/slave modes, or independently. In the former case, you can fit up to eight of these PCI v.2.2 cards. If they're running independently, you're limited only by the size and electrical constraints of the PCIbus backplane in your PC. Speaking of PCs, you'll need at least a Pentium-II machine, clocking at 500-MHz, with a 33-MHz or 66-MHz bus, to support a full-length 14200 CompuScope. "
Readers say: » "Nice idea but I couldn't use it at the sample rate." » "Similar to the National Instruments board sets. Not enough difference in any of my apps to matter." » "Pricing is often the killer for the small operator" » "Too hard to get low-noise measurements in standard PC slots" » "Too expensive" » "Unfortunately, most SA functions I need are above 500MHz..." » "Good TE/PC crossover gear, but for the price, I'd rather have a real scope. Need to support Linux lab environments." » » "Could be improved with more intelligent triggering capabilities to be on par with stand alone oscilloscopes." » "Too high cost/performance ratio for my taste." » "Great technology to help get away from dedicated boxes." » "Finally a plugin with the bandwidth to allow me to remove the standalone DSO in my test systems." » "For the price, I'd either digitize with a cpu and pmc module or spend a bit more and get a real scope"
USABILITY RANK: 3

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EMULATION TECHNOLOGY
Gripper family probes out to 10 GHz
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Sometimes it's the seemingly insignificant aspects of a piece of test gear that will give you a case of the gotchas. Probes often fall into that category. High-speed and differential types are typically very expensive, tend to break, and sometimes have a way of sprouting legs and walking---just when you need them most. Armed with a set of these High Speed Microgripper probes (they're sold in pairs), you can accomplish high frequency signal measurement into the GHz range on an oscilloscope, without degrading signal fidelity or adding noise. Moreover, given the extensive line of probes in ET's Microgripper family, you can buy what you need---and thereby save some money in the bargain."
Readers say: » "This sounds like the best solution I have seen yet for high speed signals (especially differential ones) on small devices, like FPGAs." » "These probes look great for surface mount testing." » "May be able to find a use for them but a lot of our packages are BGAs" » "We are always looking for ways to connect to ICs for test. Looks pretty good." » "How often are GHz signals in leaded packages? When I'm in GHz, I'm also in BGA." » "This thing could get very busy with multiples probes in a small space, better if integrated with clamped down header type connector." » "I think I will buy some!" » "Very interesting"
USABILITY RANK: 2

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HEIM DATA SYSTEMS
Ruggedized data recorder works with laptops
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Heim Data Systems is known for its industrial, airborne, and lab data-acquisition systems. Many of these are ruggedized components suited for portable and standalone operation. As such, lots of folks use them for flight test, range telemetry, and industrial data-acq applications. The 14.5 x 12.9 x 3.2 in. DiSC6 product stems from this heritage. As a well-shielded and ruggedized unit, the DiSC6 is able to handle as many as 72 channels/system. With multiple and diverse sensors, DiSC6 can operate at a 1,280-kHz total system sampling rate, with sampling rate selection on a per module basis. Key to this versatility is the unit's modularity. "
Readers say: » "Too large" » "It very inportant to my research get multichanells data clear with the minimum distortions." » "The versatility looks good." » "Good capabilities but a bit pricey for a laptop interface. Most such data acquisition does not require the portability of this device but if the need is there, this should do the trick." » "Useful since it is fast and portable" » "It is crucial that this recorder performs as the claim states that data can be put out in 'file formats directly compatible with all major proprietary analysis applications.'" » "Power options and power interruption protection are very nice features. If used as a notebook based, will the recorder overheat? Downside, pricing is high." » "Useful alternative to all-in-one loggers like Nicolet or Astro-Med. Need to accomodate Linux as well." » "Seems suitable for field or mobile use. Looks well built but could be heavy." » "It seems a bit large for some uses (I'm thinking of motorcycle in-vehicle DAQ) although the rugged aspect is a strong plus. The modularity is interesting but not if it requires a significant cost premium (which looks to be the case.)"
USABILITY RANK: 5

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NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
PXI data-acq board is wide dynamic-range low-frequency instrument
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "National Instruments (NI) is one of those companies it pays to watch, as its product developers typically come up with innovative---and cost-effective---products for PC-based engineering. This PXI plug-in is a case in point. NI's less-than-$4000 data-acq module packs lots of functions for low-frequency monitoring and analysis. Thanks to its dual input and dual output architecture, you can use it for simultaneous generation and acquisition of signals such as noise, vibration, and sound. The PXI-4461's clock can also be synced to other instruments to do mixed-signal stimulation and analysis. "
Readers say: » "Faster sampling would help" » "The wide 120 dB dynamic range is great." » "Since mixed-signal devices are so often used in today's market the instrument is a useful tool to analyze, sync signals in real time" » "These features are more and more in demand." » "Looks great but then again I've always had great results with National Instruments boards." » "A data-acq system that gives scope-like functionality saves money and can simplify the design of our test panels and engineering test rigs." » "For audio application the limitations are the available equalization curves (as signal preconditioning before acquisition) and post signal processing (digital filtering with adjustable variables) plus the ability to accept serial digital inputs (optical or coaxial)" » "Looks like good technology, and has some relevance to my area."
USABILITY RANK: 7

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CORELIS
PC-operated JTAG controller relies on fast LAN or USB connections
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "Kudos to Corelis for its new NetUSB-1149.1/E intelligent boundary-scan controller. The ability to universally connect this small (5.2 x 7 x 1.5-in.) box to a PC using either 480-Mbit/s USB or a high-speed Ethernet connection is a masterful stroke. That connectivity means you can use this intelligent tester either on your bench or remotely---even across the Internet. You can even link the factory floor with the lab, or with your QC/QA department. In use, the controller can apply test vectors and/or ISP patterns to your boards using various JTAG chain topologies, letting you do a hardware comparison of expected patterns against observed results. "
Readers say: » "» "Would make (parts of) my life easier." » "This is fantastic since we (a small semiconductor startup) can do boundary scan in-house instead of renting lab space elsewhere.." » "Speed and portability are a distinct asset" » "All the JTAG controller production companies, such as JTAG Inc, Acculogic, Asset, Gopel and so on, have great hardware, but they all have problems with the software: ease of use, graphical view of signals, link with the schematics, pattern generation for memories, coverage report and many many other problems. What about the length of the cable between the controller and the target board (a most important issue)? Overall the hardware looks like it has all the features required by a test engineer, specially the programable TCK freq." » "Corelis and JTAG should open up their hardware and make their tool sets compatible with multiple boundry scan hardware pods." » "Nice, but I think JTAG Tech's box looks like a bigger technology breakthrough. They also support USB 2.0 and LAN (i.e. Ethernet)."
USABILITY RANK: 6

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VERIWAVE
Physically distributed WLAN verification/test system validates 802.11-based devices
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "VeriWave is a Portland, Oregon start-up company. Although initially staffed by only six employees, it's gearing up rapidly to develop test equipment for testing and verifying wireless LAN (WLAN) products. Proof of the pudding is that the company's start-up team includes people formerly employed at prestigious LAN and test companies such as PMC Sierra, nearby T&M giant Tektronix, and Synopsys. These protocol, validation, and test folks have a world of expertise under their collective belts, as well as extensive involvement in IEEE-802 standards development. As such, this is a promising company with an exciting new product. . "
Readers say: » "Interesting product...pricy, but interesting" » "We stick to copper or fibre optics." » "Cost is too high." » "A promising product."
USABILITY RANK: 9

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JTAG TECHNOLOGIES
Boundary-scan controllers support three communications interfaces
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "JTAG Technologies's products perform circuit board testing as well as in-system programming, and both of these functions comply with the IEEE-1149.1 Standard Test Access Port and Boundary-Scan Architecture. The standard defines a 4-wire or 5-wire electrical interface and a control protocol to communicate with a target board. In this case, JTAG Tech's DataBlaster family is a scalable boundary-scan controller that works as a hardware interface between a test and/or programming system and your target assembly. Most salient about this product line is that the new JT 37x7/TSI DataBlasters tout no less than three different serial interfaces. "
Readers say: » "Previous JTAG experience breeds anticipation for a trial with the product. New box sounds cool." » "We own and operate the Corelis toolset" » "Not much new and still expensive." » "Our design engineers like this." » "Good, The length of cable is increased, this helps in field side boundary scan" » "Very good product range, with excellent capabilities and upgradability."
USABILITY RANK: 8

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FURAXA
Programmable PCI-bus synthesizer boards pack fast DDS chips
eeProductCenter's Alex Mendelsohn says: "This is a useful board-level product and one that seems reasonably priced, too. Moreover, these half-size PCI bus boards can operate in either 64-bit or 32-bit 33-MHz or 66-MHz PCI slots, in either a 5-V or 3.3-V signaling environment. These boards are based on Lattice Semiconductor iM4A3-256 PLDs and Analog Devices AD9858 DDS chips. ADI's chips pack internal 10-bit DACs that can run as fast as a Gsample/s to generate high-res frequency-agile sinewaves as high as 400 MHz. you can opt for either single-channel or dual-channel implementations of these boards. Regardless of which you choose, the onboard DDSs are programmable for frequencies between 1-MHz and 300-MHz, but what's neat is that you can alter frequency in increments of less than a single cycle, and expect an output that's accurate to within ±0.01% of the specified frequency."
Readers say: » "Impressive specs but too costly." » "What about the sync capability with external instruments (digitizer, scope) for dynamic performance tests?" » "It seems like a good product that would be made even better by a wide band amplifier on the output stage to get a little better signal swing."
USABILITY RANK: 10