On Fri, Feb 5, 2021 at 10:49 AM, Roger Need wrote:
The one that Steve posted, that is made by Infineon, is one example and they are only a few cents in volume.? I suspect that if these were installed on the TinySa input mixing products would not be seen and therefore? no effect on performance when operating in Spectrum Analyzer and Signal Generator output mode.
There needs to be some sort of ESD protection on the connectors of the TinySA.? Walking around with the supplied antenna attached is just looking for ESD failure.? Years ago I owned a MFJ-259B antenna analyzer and attached a small whip for some measurements.? It was a dry winter day and ESD destroyed the front end.
? ?The transient suppressors purchased from Agilent were $400 devices rated from dc -10GHz, yet their documentation still warned (big black letters) that they were subject to generating signals in the presence of complex modulated signals.?
? ?I agree that if all you are measuring is unmodulated carriers or simple AM/FM carriers that mixing components will not likely be an issue.? For those situations, if you want accurate measurements, you just need to characterize the back to back diodes across the range you intend to use them at.? If you only need relative measurements then this is not important.
? The other consideration is that if either diode fails because of an ESD event, you have no indication? and are not protected from future ESD events of a similar nature.? Commercial transient suppressors also have a 3dB series network that fails open if the diode fails.? Your front end is protected and the series open devices gives a visual indication (no signals passed) that a catastrophic event has occurred.
? Grabbing an antenna attached to a receiver without first grounding yourself was a big no-no in our shop and quickly got you put on the remedial training list.
- Herb??
