R. A. Wood Associates QuickNews

Software Manuals Updated and Uploaded

We have updated and uploaded all our software manuals. Many thanks to Amelia, who has been working very hard to create and update all our manuals, and keep them current with our latest software revisions.

Manuals for:

• SpurFinder
• TunerHelper
• RF Path Analysis Toolkit
• RFSpecTest
• Painless Extraction
• Painless Extraction NF
• PathLossSolver

can be downloaded from our Software Products page. Thanks! Bob Wood

New SpurFinder Version 3.5 Released!

Hi Everybody!

We just released a new enhanced Version 3.5 of SpurFinder. The new version provides the capability to create/load multi-scenario "script" files. The script files can contain multiple SpurFinder scenarios that can be set up for the purpose of evaluating the best spurious conversion scheme. You can "pre" set up the various spur scenarios using Excel or a text file editor, and then save the file as tab-separated text. With a single click of a line in the table, all the scenario information is transferred to the SpurFinder front panel. This allows the user to quickly evaluate many conversion schemes (without having to type all the parameters in the front panel).

You can also modify the SpurFinder front panel information and save the information back to the multi-scenario script file.

It's simple, just load a Multi Scenario Script File, select a row:

The row information is entered in the SpurFinder Panel:

 

For more information, go to our software page. Download the program, try it out, and let us know what you think. Thanks! Bob Wood

RF and Microwave Course Schedule for 2008 Available

We have published our RF and Microwave course schedule for 2008! We appreciate your patience in waiting for us the set up these courses.

We're offering the following courses:

• Introductory RF and Microwaves
• RF and Microwave Receiver Design
• RF Power Amplifiers, Classes A-S: How the Circuits Operate, How to Design Them, and When to Use Each

The dates and locations are:

• April 2008 in Baltimore, MD
• June 2008 in Boston MA
• September 2008 in Syracuse, NY
• November 2008 in Philadelphia, PA

Please visit our www page for more details

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We've added some new improvements to some of these courses:

Introductory RF and Microwaves New Features

We've extended this course to a third day, providing a day of hands-on test and measurements exercises We've added examples of common RF measurements emphasizing the advantages and disadvantages of working with the following microwave test setups:

1. Spectral Measurement Setup with signal generators and spectrum analyzer
2. Scalar/Network Analyzer Setup
3. Power Meter Setup

Since we've added this new section, people have told us that this really helps solidify the concepts presented in the course notes. People who haven't had a chance to work with microwave devices and test equipment obtain a better understanding of the world of RF and Microwaves.

RF and Microwave Receiver Design New Features

We've added and additional 1/2 day to this course, with more hands-on examples of using software to perform receiver design tasks. This enhances our Receiver Design Problem we follow throughout the course.

We look forward to seeing you at one of these courses! Bob Wood

RF Receiver Simulator Delivered!

Hello Everybody

We just delivered our latest product: a multi-channel RF/Microwave Receiver Simulator. This device simulates the RF front end of an ESM (Electronic Support Measures) system. The simulator matched the noise figure, gain and dynamic range of the RF front end. The simulator contained 9 channels of RF bands covering from 10 MHz all the way up to 40 GHz.

Some pictures of the RF Receiver Simulator are shown below. The RF Receiver Simulator is a 3U rack-mounted assembly mounted in a protective roll-away cart for ease of transportability.

RF Path Analysis Toolkit 1.4 Released!

We just released an update to RF Path Analysis Toolkit (Version 1.4). The release contains some nice time saving features and improvements:

• Drag and Drop RF Components: In the RF Path Builder display, you can now drag and drop RF components in the path table rows. This makes it easy to move RF components around in the RF path. Previously if you wanted to move an RF component, you had to delete the RF component, and then look it up again in the library to insert it into a new location.
• Sub paths: You can now define an RF Path as a series of sub paths, which are individual RF path files. This saves potential errors and time in updating many RF paths containing the same path information. Previously, you could only manually load sub paths into an RF path file. Now they can be defined within the RF path file itself.
• Export to Excel options: Now you can select the option to leave the detailed RF path analysis spreadsheet open after "Export to Excel" is selected. Previously the detailed RF path analysis spreadsheet was closed after "Export to Excel". This is convenient for viewing the detailed results quickly as you are building RF paths.
• More information in the RF Path Builder display: As you are building an RF path in the RF Path Builder, you can now see the following parameters:
• Device Nominal Gain
• Cumulative Gain to Device Output
• Device Noise Figure
• Cumulative Noise Figure to Device Output
• Signal 1 Power at Device Output
• Signal 2 Power at Device Output
• Device Third Order Output Intercept Point
• Cumulative Third Order Input Intercept Point
• Device 1 dB Output Compression Point
• Signal 2 Delta from Device 1 dB Compression Point
• Third Order Spurs at Device Output (new!)
• Cumulative 1 dB Input Compression Point (new!)
These new parameters are helpful when designing RF paths with difficult dynamic range requirements, and provide more insight into dynamic range contributors as you are building the RF path.
• Path File Save and Load folders: You can now specify the default directory for saving and loading RF path files. Previously this was fixed to the "Level 1" directory.
• Revised template spreadsheets: We've updated and improved the template detailed analysis spreadsheets. There are now two template spreadsheets:
• RFPATTemplate4-2.xls is a simplified (but still very useful) RF path analysis spreadsheets for receivers and transmitters. Antenna gains can not be accurately incorporated into the model. Sensitivity calculations are based on the receiver RF components only.
• RFPATTemplate6-2.xls is a more advanced RF path analysis spreadsheet. This template allows for separate RF component "signal gain" and "noise gain" parameters. This allows the spreadsheet to show radiated sensitivity, because antenna gains can be taken into account (antennas have "signal gain" but no "noise gain"). Basic RF components have the same "signal gain" and "noise gain".
• File Path dialog boxes should be more descriptive and helpful.
• Other changes to the user interface/display to help clarify the operation of the program.

Upgrades are free to previously registered users. Download the new version (http://www.rawood.com/software_products/), give it a try, and let us know what you think!
Thanks! -Bob Wood

EW Receiver Simulator designed, built, tested, and delivered

'We just delivered an EW Receiver Simulator to one of our customers. The simulator provided the simulated RF and microwave front end performance of an EW (Early Warning) Receiver subsystem. Our simulator allows the EW Receiver/Processor to be evaluated without requiring the actual front end system. The simulator was designed to match the system front end noise figure, gain, and dynamic range. This also represents a new modular and mechanical design for us.

A block diagram of one channel of the EW Receiver Simulator is shown below:

Some pictures of the EW Receiver Simulator are shown below. The box is built to be used as bench-top equipment or as a 3U rack-mount installation. This is the first design of our standard rack-mount chassis, capable of supporting up to 16 plug-in modules (1 inch standard width). Cooling air is pulled from front to back, and the modules are thermally clamped (with Calmark Clamps) to the top and bottom of the chassis.

New Software Support/Documenation Wiki

Hello Everybody
We just wanted to let you know we have set up a Wiki to document all our software products: SpurFinder, TunerHelper, PathLossSolver, RF Path Analysis Toolkit, Painless Extraction, Painless Extraction NF, and RFSpecTest. The WWW address of the software documentation Wiki is http://helprawoodsoftware.rawood.com/.

This site will be a live, real-time documentation effort. As our software products get updated, the Wiki site gets updated very quickly. No more waiting for manuals to get updated before you know what the new features are. We can quickly add new features in our software, and the software documentation Wiki will let you know what the new features are. Since the site is continuously updated, stopping by again should provide more and better documentation than the previous time.

As always, if you have questions, just let us know, and if you have any suggestions for making the Wiki better, we'd like to hear about that as well.

Thanks for visiting! -Bob Wood

Painless Extraction NF (Noise Figure) just Released!

Do you have one of the classic HP/Agilent HP8970A or HP8970B noise figure meters, but have no way to extract data electronically from the test equipment? Are you tired of outputting data to plotters, or scrolling through the frequencies to determine what the measured noise figures are?

We've just released a new program, Painless Extraction NF, which was developed to retrieve measured gain and noise figure data from the HP8970 series Noise Figure Meter. All you need is a PC GPIB card, or a USB to GPIB connection, and you can connect your laptop or PC up to the noise figure meter, retrieve the measurements, and analyze the results.

Some of the features of this new program are:

• You can enter an ENR table into the program, and send the ENR table to the noise figure meter. You can also save and load ENR table files
• One button to "Get Data" from the noise figure meter
• Once the measurements are retrieved, statistical analysis can be performed over any frequency range of measurements. Statisitics include Average, Min, Max, P-P Variation, Best Fit Line Slope, RMS, Standard Deviation, and others.
• The measured noise figure and gain data can be saved to a data file, which can then be loaded and analyzed using the program. Data is also stored in S2P format for importing noise figure readings into S2P data files for the measured devices
• A test script can be easily defined with frequency ranges and limits. The PASS/FAIL results of the test script can be saved to data files. This is very useful for high volume or "production" testing. An example script might include several tests, such as:
• Is the minimum gain over 300-900 MHz > 20 dB? (Pass/Fail)
• Is the maximum gain over 300-900 MHz < 25 dB? (Pass/Fail)
• Is the maximum noise figure over 500-900 MHz < 5 dB? (Pass/Fail)

For more information, visit our Software Products page. A demo version can be downloaded and you can try out the features of this program. Give it a try, and let us know what you think! Bob Wood

Demo Version of RFSpecTest Released

Hello Fellow Test Engineers and Managers:

• Are you frustrated with the time and effort required to test your RF and microwave components?
• Are you upset with the errors and mistakes associated with manual testing?
• Is developing your own computer automated test software beyond your budget?

• Do you already have test equipment capable of GPIB control?
• 1, 2, or 3 RF Signal Generators?
• A Spectrum Analyzer?
• An RF Power Meter?
• Wouldn't it be great if there was a software program already developed that could be used right away to start making automated RF measurements?

We have a software program, called RFSpecTest, which has many built-in computer automated RF/microwave tests already developed. We've just created a demonstration version that can be downloaded and evaluated. More information is available from our software information page. Download the demo, and try out the tests and interfaces available. We also have some sample measurement files you can load into the program. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Thanks! Bob Wood

Painless Extraction 2.0 has been released!

Apple TV, iPhone... How many more technological marvels can we take this week?

We decided to add our own surprise to a big technology week with the release of Painless Extraction 2.0!

Painless Extraction 2.0 adds some great new features to the previous version:

• Capability to extract 1-4 channels of measurements from HP (Agilent) 8757 Series Scalar Analyzers,
• A new script creation page that allows the user to set up test scripts, which compare the measurements against user-defined test limits, and a test summary report is created.

8757 Series Scalar Analyzers:

Painless Extraction 2.0 has been designed to extract up to 4 channel measurements from HP 8757 series scalar analyzers. The extracted data is stored into the magnitude arrays of the S2P files (Phase arrays are zeroed out). Up to 4 channels can be extracted from the scalar analyzers. The 4 channels could be S-parameters (S11, S21), or they could be any channel setup from the scalar analyzer (A/R, B/R, C/R, A/B, etc.) Whatever the user sets up on the scalar analyzer channels, Painless Extraction retrieves the data from the analyzer, analyzes it, and stores it in "S2P format" files for future retrieval and data analysis.

Now the same capability we've provided for network analyzers (HP 8720 Series, HP 8510 Series, HP 8753 Series) is available for HP 8757 Series scalar analyzers. (Please note that we have verified the program specifically with a 4-Channel HP 8757C scalar analyzer.)

Statistical Analysis and Test Scripts:

We've added a new "tab" which can be used to perform statistical analysis on the various measurement channels. For example, let's say you have the network or scalar analyzer set up to take S11 (return loss) and S21 (gain) measurements over the frequency band of 1.0 to 3.0 GHz. You can very quickly set up a test script which sets the Pass/Fail limits for the S21/gain measurements, and sets up the Pass/Fail limits for the S11/return loss measurements. Now when you connect the amplifier, and the measurements on the analyzer are set up, you can retrieve the measurements from the analyzer and compare the measurements with the test limits and make Pass/Fail determinations. You can then save the test summary report in a tab-separated text format, which can be imported into spreadsheet programs (Excel and others).

This is a great feature if you are using a network analyzer or scalar analyzer for high volume production testing!

More information is available from our software products page, and the associated links for downloading a demo version of this program.

Thanks to Amelia for her great support in updating this program.
Bob Wood

RF and Microwave Courses established for 2007

Happy New Year Everybody!

We finally have set up the schedule for our RF and Microwave/Wireless courses for 2007. We appreciate the patience people have shown while we were setting up this schedule. A quick summary of the courses and locations:

• Introductory RF and Microwaves, presented by Bob Wood
• RF Power Amplifiers, Classes A-S, presented by Nathan Sokal
• RF and Microwave Receiver Design, presented by Bob Wood

The courses will be presented in:

• Baltimore, MD in March 2007
• El Segundo, CA in April 2007
• Boston, MA in June 2007
• Syracuse, NY in September 2007
• Philadelphia PA in November 2007

More information can be found at http://www.rawood.com/seminars. We hope to meet you at one of these courses! Thanks again for your patience.
Bob Wood

Happy Holidays to All!

Hello Everybody

As the end of the year draws near, and the Holiday Season approaches, now is a good time to take a moment and wish all our vendors, customers, and clients a wonderful Holiday Season and a healthy and prosperous New Year. We have really appreciated all the hard work our vendors have gone through to help us make our deliveries on schedule, and we appreciate the opportunity our customers have given us to serve their needs. Thanks to all!

Bob Wood and the Employees at R. A. Wood Associates

Painless Extraction 2.0 Coming Soon

Hello Everybody

We just wanted to give you a quick "heads up" about the upcoming version 2.0 of Painless Extraction. We have added some pretty significant features, such as:

• The capability to retrieve S-Parameters or other Channels 1-4 measurements from HP8757C Scalar Analyzers. We believe this will open up a whole new market for this program.
• The capability to create a quick test script that will allow the user to set various test parameters for the retrieved data, such as average gain, minimum gain, maximum gain, P-P flatness, RMS, standard deviation, best fit line slope, and many others. The measured data from the network or scalar analyzer is then compared against these test parameters, and Pass/Fail results are reported. This is a great feature for production testing, or testing multiple parts with the same test parameters.

We expect to have this version released within the next 2 weeks. Please stop by again, try it out, and let us know what you think about the new version.

Thanks!

Bob Wood

New Integrated RF Test Rack Designed and Delivered

On September 15 2006, R. A. Wood Associates delivered the first two of 15 complete Integrated RF Test Racks. The Integrated RF Test Rack provided a complete solution for complete automated testing of 7 RF/Digital modules. All equipment was controlled through GPIB interfaces. All automated test software was written in National Instruments LabVIEW by R. A. Wood Associates. RFSpecTest was used in "script" mode to perform most of the RF measurements. The rack consisted of:

• 2 Signal Generators (one for RF signals, one for LO signals)
• 1 Spectrum Analyzer (for measuring RF signal amplitudes and frequencies)
• 1 Multimeter (for monitoring resistances and voltages at various points on the modules)
• 3 Power Supplies (for providing DC power to the modules under test)
• A rack mount PC with GPIB and Digital I/O cards, loaded with software for controlling test equipment and reporting test results
• A rack mount interruptible power supply (UPS)
• R. A. Wood Associates Automated RF Test Fixture
• Laser Bar Code Reader (for reading and automatic entry of module serial numbers)
• A 19" Flat Panel Display (mounted on movable monitor arm)
• Keyboard and Mouse in a slide-out ergonomic tray

The full rack was designed to be a comfortable testing environment, as well as easy to maintain. Equipment is easy to remove if needed with minimal interference to other equipment.

More information about the Integrated RF Test Rack is available from this link.

New Website Design - What do you think?

Hello Everybody!

As you may have noticed, we've recently revamped our web site. Some of the original pages were created about 11 years ago, and were in serious need of evolving the same way the World Wide Web has evolved. You should find it to be better organized and more consistent across the site. If you have any comments, or find any links that don't work, please let us know (contact link). Thanks to Sean for working so hard on this! -Bob Wood

New Version 1.3f of RFPathAnalysisToolkit Available

Hello Everybody!

We've just uploaded a new version 1.3f of RF Path Analysis Toolkit. This new version contains several minor fixes and several new features:

• Excel messages (save file before closing. etc.) are now displayed after RF Path Analysis Toolkit is closed. Excel messages are suppressed while RF Path Analysis Toolkit is running. Previously when RF Path Analysis Toolkit was closed, Excel messages were still being suppressed causing updated Excel files to possibly not be saved (no warning to save file before closing).
• You can now include a custom description to the Simple Transmission Line component. This allows the user to create quick RF parts (cables, pads, equalizers, etc) and label them without having to take time to add components to the RF Component Library. The custom description information is saved in the RF Path file.
• The registration process has been modified. Hopefully it is simpler and more robust.
• The Template Analysis Spreadsheet and the RF Component Library have been modified slightly to make custom changes to these files easier to implement:
• Custom changes to the library (such as more parameters) are more robust. The database grows as more columns are added.
• Custom changes to the Template Analysis Spreadsheet are simpler. A new button on the Settings panel will create an unprotected Template Analysis Spreadsheet for customizing (for registered users).
• The "About" screen now shows the RF Path Analysis Toolkit logo and software version number

The software can be downloaded for our Software Products Page. Give it a try and let us know what you think! Bob Wood

New dates for RF and Microwave Courses in 2006 have been posted

Hello Everybody. Please accept our apologies for being slow in getting this set up, but we finally have posted our course dates for our 2006 RF and Microwave courses. Here is a quick summary:

• Introductory RF and Microwaves, presented by Bob Wood
• RF Power Amplifiers, Classes A-S, presented by Nathan Sokal
• RF and Microwave Receiver Design, presented by Bob Wood

The courses will be presented in:

• March 2006 in Baltimore, MD
• July 2006 in Boston, MA
• November 2006 in Philadelphia, PA

We can also provide courses at your company location. For more information about these courses, please go to www.rawood.com/seminars. We hope to help you become more productive in your new or current job this year! Bob Wood

New Computer Automated RF Test Station developed and delivered

We designed and developed a Computer Automated RF Test Station for one of our customers. The Computer Automated RF Test Station is capable of testing 7 different RF and RF/digital modules, but is flexible enough to test many possible RF modules. The Test Stations were built and tested at R. A. Wood Associates. Computer automated test software was also developed to test the 7 different modules using LabVIEW. RFSpecTest was used in a "scripted" mode to perform all RF tests. More information about the Computer Automated RF Test Station is available at this link.

New scripting features built into RFSpecTest!

This year we added some major enhancements to our "off the shelf" computer automated RF test software suite. RFSpecTest, which was originally designed to work in a laboratory environment through a user interface, has now successfully been made "script-able". This means that all tests you can perform through the user interface in a lab environment can now be performed in an automated test environment. RFSpecTest can be called as a dll to perform all tests (gain, intermodulation products, gain compression, relative isolation, leakage and spurious, etc) from LabVIEW or other programming environments. All test setup parameters can be created and validated in the RFSpecTest user interface. Let us know if you would like additional information (315-735-4217). Thanks! Bob Wood

New Leakage/Spurious Test added to RFSpecTest

Hello Everybody. We've added a new RF test to RFSpecTest. Now you can perform Leakage/Spurious measurements in addition to Gain, Gain Compression, Intermodulation Products, Relative Attenuation and Isolation, and Amplitude/Frequency Tests. The Leakage test allows the capability to search frequency bands, with options to skip around the carrier and harmonics, and find the highest spurious or leakage product in the search band. Applications include mixer spurious tests, receiver or transmitter spurious tests, receiver or local oscillator leakage tests. Please call us (315-735-4217) if you would like more information. Thanks! Bob Wood

Thanks for coming to our AOC class (RF and Microwave Receiver Design)

Thanks to all who came to our RF and Microwave Receiver Design class last week, hosted by the Association of Old Crows (AOC). The students were really great to work with. There was lots of good questions and great interchange with the students during the class. Good luck in your design experiences going forward! Special thanks goes out to AOC for providing a first class teaching environment. -Bob Wood

New RF Receiver Simulator Delivered

We delivered a wideband RF/microwave Receiver Simulator to one of our clients on March 1. The simulator was designed to simulate the front end of an RF/Microwave system. Frequency coverage went from HF to SHF Ka Band. The simulator was required to have very low noise figures and very high intercept points/compression points. The unit was delivered in 6 months after order. More information is available at this link location.

TunerHelper Update Released 2/1/2005

Hello Everybody,
We uploaded a small maintenance update to TunerHelper. If you downloaded TunerHelper between Jan 27, 2005 and Feb 1, 2005, you should download and re-install Tunerhelper. This short interim version was missing the menus on the "Define Preselection Filter" panel. This was corrected in the version uploaded on Feb 1st. The upgrade is free. The current SpurFinder/TunerHelper installation file is RAWood_Installer3_7e.exe, and can be downloaded by following the links from our Software products page.

We are still having problems with our domain server :-(

Hello Everybody
We have been having more problems with our domain server from our Internet Service Provider. Yesterday (2-1-2005) and today we had outages, which affected our WWW site as well as our e-mail accounts. To resolve this problem, we are going to switch over to a new server this weekend after Friday PM. Our site will be "resolving" over the weekend, and hopefully will be back up during the weekend. We really apologize for the inconvenience this has caused everybody, and thank you for your patience and understanding.
Bob Wood

Flash Demo Added for TunerHelper

We are continuing to add Flash tutorials for our software products. This should help reduce the learning curve for our products. We have created another quick tutorial for TunerHelper. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

Our domain server was down from ~6:00 PM 1-25-2005 to ~2:30 PM 1-26-2005

Hello,
Our domain server was down from about 6:00 PM on 1-25-2005 to about 2:30 PM on 1-26-2005. This problem occurred with our Internet service provider. All our email accounts were out and our WWW sight was down over this period. Everything is up now. If you tried to email us during that time, please email us again. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks Bob Wood

TunerHelper 2.2 Released

Hello Everybody

We've released an upgrade to TunerHelper Version 2.2. This upgrade adds some minor interface improvements. The front panel buttons now work smoother, and the pre-selection and post-selection filter panels and controls now work better. Any registered users can download and upgrade to Version 2.2 for free.

The software can be downloaded from our software products page: www.rawood.com/software_products.

Special note: if you downloaded this program (RAWood_Installer3_6.exe) between Dec 08, 2004 and today (Jan 25, 2005), you may find interface problems when the pre-selection and post-selection filter panels are selected. We strongly recommend downloading this new version, which fixes this problem.

Please let us know what you think about this upgrade. Thanks again! Bob Wood

2005 Wireless Courses have been set up!

Hello Everybody!
We have finally established our RF and microwave course schedule for 2005. We would like to thank everybody for their patience in waiting for this year's schedule. Here is a quick summary:

Introductory RF and Microwaves, presented by Bob Wood
RF Power Amplifiers, Classes A-S, presented by Nathan Sokal
RF and Microwave Receiver Design, presented by Bob Wood

The courses will be presented in May 2005, September 2005, and November 2005. We can also provide courses at your company location. For more information about these courses, please go to www.rawood.com/seminars.

We hope to help you become more productive this year! Bob Wood

2005 Course Dates coming soon!

Hello Everybody, Welcome to 2005! We hope everyone had a nice holiday season. We are working on getting our RF and microwave course schedule ready for 2005. We should have this up very soon. Please stop by again to check out 2005 schedule. Thanks for your patience! Bob Wood

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season, and a prosperous New Year. To those we've had the pleasure of working with this past year, whether it was in one of our courses, or someone who has made use of our software products, or someone we've supported with our engineering consulting services: we would like to thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work with you. We hope we were able to make your life easier in some way, and improve your productivity. Thank you for letting us help you!
Sincerely, Bob Wood