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Rigol DSA815 for NRSC

C

cyleland

My 5kw AM can't manage cost of TEK or Anritsu Spec An. Has anyone used a Rigol DSA815 ? I see both a good review and a bad one, but not many.
Will it do the job - it looks like it?
Thanks
Cy
 
cyleland said:
My 5kw AM can't manage cost of TEK or Anritsu Spec An. Has anyone used a Rigol DSA815 ? I see both a good review and a bad one, but not many.
Will it do the job - it looks like it?
Thanks
Cy
Click to expand...
I have the same Rigol, and love the function and portability. Problem is; it won't provide the proper scanning/peak period required for NRSC measurements. Back when I used to make those measurements, I used my older, much heavier, HP spectrum analyzer and HP plotter. You could probably find a good used HP at one of the used test equipment dealers on line. That's where I bought mine and included a certified calibration.
 
I bought a used Rohde & Swartz FSH-3 years ago that I use for NRSC measurements. The Rigol is a nice unit but won't do the 300 Hz RBW and 10 minute peak hold duration as mentioned already.
 
Old thread but I don’t get to look at this board as often as I like. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon and I saw this. I have been using a Rigol DSA815 for a number of years to do NRSC measurements. It does have 300 Hz. RBW and peak hold. What is not so good is the phase noise to get to -80 dBc for measurements beyond +/- 75 kHz., especially since no video filtering can be used. The spec sheet shows RWB from 10 Hz to 1 MHz in a 1-3-10 sequence:


The solution for the phase noise issue is a Chris Scott AM notch filter to notch the fundamental for the measurements beyond +/- 75 kHz.


While I agree that the Rigol DSA815 might not be the as capable as other SAs, it is capable enough for NRSC with some additional equipment. BTW, before the Rigol, I was using a Tek 2712 which had the same issue with phase noise.
 
Dr. Bob said:
Old thread but I don’t get to look at this board as often as I like. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon and I saw this. I have been using a Rigol DSA815 for a number of years to do NRSC measurements. It does have 300 Hz. RBW and peak hold. What is not so good is the phase noise to get to -80 dBc for measurements beyond +/- 75 kHz., especially since no video filtering can be used. The spec sheet shows RWB from 10 Hz to 1 MHz in a 1-3-10 sequence:


The solution for the phase noise issue is a Chris Scott AM notch filter to notch the fundamental for the measurements beyond +/- 75 kHz.


While I agree that the Rigol DSA815 might not be the as capable as other SAs, it is capable enough for NRSC with some additional equipment. BTW, before the Rigol, I was using a Tek 2712 which had the same issue with phase noise.
Click to expand...
Thanks for posting. I looked again and the DSA815 does do 300 Hz RBW. I must have confused it with another model.

I have the Chris Scott & Associates AM loop antenna and notch filter that I use with my SA - makes a noticeable difference when taking NRSC measurements.
 
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