US : Anritsu Company introduces the MG3700A, a vector network generator that delivers the wide vector modulation bandwidth, high level accuracy, fast switching, and reliability necessary for analyzing 3.5G signals, including high-speed data packet access (HSDPA), as well as emerging 4G technologies. The MG3700A achieves a high price/performance ratio and measurement flexibility due to its unique design, which includes a flexible high-speed arbitrary waveform baseband generator (AWG), large capacity ARB memory, and 20 Mbps BER analyzer.

With its 250 kHz to 3 GHz (6 GHz optional) frequency range and wideband modulation bandwidth of 120 MHz internal (150 MHz external), the MG3700A has unique flexibility for testing and evaluating all current wireless devices, as well as for researching 4G mobile communication modulation schemes such as VSF-OFCDM. A large 1 GB (256 M/samples per channel) ARB memory, which can be doubled via an option, allows waveform patterns to be stored in memory rather than on the hard disk drive. The result is that the MG3700A has far higher measurement speed, bandwidth, and flexibility than other vector signal generators in the same price range.

The built-in AWG makes it easy for users to select an arbitrary waveform pattern to output a modulation signal that meets the requirements of most communications systems. Standard signal pattern files include W-CDMA, GSM, EDGE, 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, and AWGN (Additive White Gaussian Noise). Additional standards are available as options, including TD-SCDMA. An optional software package, IQproducer, allows custom signal patterns such as HSDPA, TDMA, WiMax, WPAN (802.15 Wide Personal Area Networking), and OFDM to be generated for analysis. IQproducer can also take a text file of IQ data generated by MATLABR of The MathWorks, Inc., or any other software and convert that to a waveform file that can be downloaded to the MG3700A to be generated.

A dual ARB memory option allows generating two separate signals at the same time, as well as combining memories to generate more complex signals. This option allows simultaneous Rx testing using different signals, as well as simulating Tx diversity or signal fading with two different complex signals, such as cdma2000 1x plus 1xEV-DO for CDMA handset testing.

The MG3700A can be used as a signal reference to characterize devices such as amplifiers, mixers, modulators, and demodulators. Featuring 0.01 dB resolution in all output level ranges, the MG3700A can also serve as a signal source to perform Rx sensitivity tests and as an interference signal source to test Rx response and selectivity. The built-in 20 Mbps BER analyzer tests reception characteristics, avoiding the need for a separate instrument.