On Fri, Jan 17, 2025 at 01:15 PM, W0LEV wrote:
A good flat output noise generator makes an excellent substitute for a tracking generator.
Be careful of how much broadband power your noise generator puts out lest it overload the SA front end.? You definitely won't be able to use the LNA!
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I just measured and my 3-MMIC "NOISE SOURCE BG7TBL 2016-03-06" puts almost exactly +7dBm of broadband noise into my 8GHz power sensor.? ?That's a big signal.
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It might not damage the SA, but during normalization it could compress the front end, distorting amplitude of your measurements when lower power levels are present and the gain is less compressed. ?30dB more or less of attenuation after the noise source should keep the SA happy. ?
Definitely don't try to measure an amplifier using a noise source unless you really know what you are doing.
73, Don N2VGU
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Donald S Brant Jr