SoundField uses the dScope III audio analyser with the latest software release as part of its test and manufacturing procedures

Prism Sound’s Version 1.21 software for its dScope Series III audio analyser is proving popular with innovative British microphone manufacturer SoundField, which is using many of the new features as part of its test and manufacturing procedures. Prism Sound’s dScope Series III is a comprehensive and powerful measurement system for analogue and digital audio generation and analysis, including digital audio carrier testing and testing of Windows sound devices.

This industrial strength audio test and measurement system comprises a Windows PC (XP and Vista compatible) software application coupled with an external high-precision audio I/O processor for equipment-under-test (EUT) connections.

SoundField acquired a dScope Series III audio analyser three years ago to test a new range of digital microphones.

Thanks to its portability, the unit is also used on location to test long coaxial cable runs to ensure they are coming up to AES3 specifications.

Peter Schillebeeckx, Head of R and D at SoundField, says: ‘We have always appreciated Prism Sound technology because it is so versatile and flexible’.

‘The ability to connect the unit to a laptop by a simple USB cable makes it very useful in our R and D department where it can be shared between a number of test benches’.

‘We also use it as part of our manufacturing process, and to test our microphone installations at many of the UK’s top football stadiums and concert venues’.

SoundField recently installed the new Version 1.21 software, which is available as a free download to all existing dScope Series III users.

As well as offering new tools for acoustic measurements, PC audio and 192kHz sampling on digital audio interfaces, the software can also perform a rapid multitone-based ‘quick check’ giving frequency response, distortion and noise and amplitude accuracy in a few seconds.

‘We are particularly impressed by the new Impulse Response feature, which has made this type of testing much quicker and easier’, Schillebeeckx adds.

‘Before Prism Sound introduced Version 1.21, I was testing impulse response frequencies in a convoluted way using a number of different software and various algorithms I had written myself’.

‘Having this feature readily available in a piece of test equipment, especially one that is as flexible as dScope, is a huge bonus’.

Soundfield, based Wakefield, West Yorkshire, manufactures a range of microphones each capable of generating mono, stereo and full surround.

In addition to the hardware, SoundField has developed software for both surround and stereo applications that enables all microphone parameters to be adjusted or changed after the event in post production.

With HD broadcasting becoming a mainstream delivery standard, SoundField systems are meeting a growing need for a simple means of recording 5.1 audio.

Already, broadcasts from the 2006 World Cup and UK Premiership League Soccer games have used single SoundField mics to generate simultaneous stereo and 5.1 audio for SD and HD transmission, and SoundField systems have been permanently installed at many large football stadiums in the UK.

The MSD100C Loudness is designed to tackle the issue of the perceived loudness of audio signals

In response to requests from key broadcasters and production houses, including Sky, ITV, the BBC and RAI in Italy, DK-Technologies is launching the MSD100C Loudness, which is designed to tackle the issue of the perceived loudness of audio signals. There is no doubt that loudness is a hot topic for the broadcast and post production industries.

As anyone who has ever reached for the TV volume control during a commercial break will know, today’s sound processing can lead to remarkably high perceived sound levels without sound exceeding the maximum permitted signal peak levels.

DK-Technologies’ new MSD100C Loudness is a stand-alone unit that incorporates ITU Recommendations BS.1770 and BS.1771, which specify the algorithms that should be used to measure audio programme loudness.

It is able to display the loudness of the individual audio channels, as well as the sum of the left and right signals, and can be used in any broadcast or post production facility as a health check during production or prior to transmission.

Thomas Hansen, DK’s Technical Director, says: ‘There are many applications where it is necessary to measure and control the perceived loudness of audio signals’.

‘Examples of this include television and radio broadcast applications, where the nature and content of the programme material changes frequently’.

Briton EMS’s decision to invest in a Prism Sound dScope Series III audio analyser was heavily influenced by Link Research

Bedfordshire-based contract electronics manufacturer Briton EMS has invested in a Prism Sound dScope Series III audio analyser, which is being used for production line testing on a key new product from Link Research. Established in 1979, Briton EMS offers a broad range of services, from printed circuit assembly through to complete product build.

This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 31 December 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Earlier this year, the company was awarded the contract to build and test the L1500 SD/HD system - a new wireless camera system from Link Research.

Based in Hertfordshire, Link Research specialises in SD and HD wireless camera systems that are at the cutting edge of wireless camera technology.

Since their introduction in 2002, these systems have been taken up by major broadcasters throughout the world and are in constant use in the day to day gathering of top news stories and sports events.

Briton EMS’s decision to invest in a Prism Sound dScope Series III audio analyser was heavily influenced by Link Research, which already uses the instrument in its own R and D facility.

Conor Hogan, Test Solutions Engineer at Briton EMS, says: ‘We were looking to add to our audio test facilities and were in the process of comparing products from various manufacturers’.

‘Link Research expressed a preference for the dScope Series III because they were already familiar with the unit’.

‘We tested it and were equally impressed because it had an extensive range of audio analysis features and offered these as standard within its software’.

‘The unit is now in use on a daily basis and is proving to be very flexible and accurate’.

‘In effect, our customer made the decision for us and we are very happy with the choice’.

Prism Sound has been supplying successful high quality analogue and digital audio test solutions for over 18 years.

The company’s solutions provide state-of-the-art testing capabilities, backed up by consultancy and support services recognised as the best in the industry.

Briton EMS is using its dScope Series III to measure audio levels in a sweep from 0 to 20kHz, with measurements taken at various frequencies along the way.

It is also analysing noise measurement, crosstalk and phase data using a script that was custom designed for its own application by Prism Sound’s software engineering team.

‘One of the most useful features of the dScope Series III is its ability to present data as text files’, says Hogan.

‘Every one of the new Link Research L1500 SD/HD wireless camera systems is undergoing two stages of audio tests: first, a basic functional check at PCB level, then a full performance check on both stereo channels once the unit is fully assembled’.

‘The dScope Series III allows us to easily collate all the test data and, because it is so clearly presented, we can literally print it out and use it as a final test report’.

Hogan adds that the Prism Sound dScope Series III audio analyser has succeeded in allaying his initial worries about using a piece of test equipment that connected to a PC via a USB port.

The MSD600M++ stereo and surround sound meter is proving to be the solution for many of the world’s top music recording and audio postproduction facilities

As part of the re-equipping its main 5.1 television mix room, audio post production facility Videosonics has installed a DK-Technologies MSD600M++ audio meter, which is specifically designed for monitoring stereo and surround sound audio. The latest purchase means that Videosonics is now 100% equipped with DK-Technologies audio meters, with a Master Stereo Display (MSD) unit in every one of its studios.

Opened in December 1984 in Camden Town, London, Videosonics is one of the most advanced audio post companies in the UK.

During the past 20 years, the facility has grown from an original three rooms to a total of six mixing studios (including three THX film dubbing theatres), nine all-digital prep rooms (all with AMS AudioFile), a dedicated Foley studio and nine editorial/production rooms.

The facility specialises in sound for film and television.

It covers all aspects of the audio post production process from the simplest voiceover to complete sound design and dubbing for motion pictures.

Dennis Weinreich, Videosonics Managing Director, says: ‘Our main television mix room has been completely overhauled to bring it up to the latest technical standards’.

‘As part of this process we recognised that the metering needed to be upgraded so that we could monitor 5.1 surround sound audio’.

‘The MSD600M++ was the obvious choice because it has a very intuitive display, making it easy for engineers to see at a glance exactly what is happening to their stereo and surround sound signals’.

‘We now have DK meters in every room because we believe they are quality products that are ultimately very effective and reliable’.

With surround sound now increasingly the standard in today’s studios, accurate audio monitoring has become even more vital.

DK-Technologies MSD600M++ stereo and surround sound meter is proving to be the solution for many of the world’s top music recording and audio postproduction facilities.

This modular, multi-channel audio analyser accepts up to 32 input channels and has four configurable input slots and four output slots.

Its primary tools include a phase meter, audio vector oscilloscope and PPM/VU level meter.

The company’s proprietary JellyFish and StarFish display technologies are now recognised as industry standards thanks to their ability to present stereo and surround sound images in a logical and intuitive way.

Offshore PCB assembler adopts the dScope Series III audio analyser following recommendation from UK client

Prism Sound has supplied a dScope Series III audio analyser to Gem UK, a Gloucestershire-based company that specialises in the offshore manufacture and assembly of printed circuit boards. The unit was ordered at the behest of one of Gem UK’s clients and is now in China where it is being used for production testing.

Clive Meadows, Sales Manager for Gem UK, says: ‘Our client specified two audio test products that would be suitable for this project and we chose the Prism Sound unit on the basis of cost and the breadth of features offered’.

‘It is being used in testing and calibration of top end audio equipment and is performing very well’.

The dScope Series III audio analyser is a comprehensive and powerful measurement system for analogue and digital audio generation and analysis, including digital audio carrier testing and testing of Windows sound devices.

This industrial-strength audio test and measurement system comprises a Windows PC (XP and Vista compatible) software application coupled with an external high-precision audio I/O processor for equipment-under-test (EUT) connections.

Gem UK is a privately-owned company that supplies a comprehensive range of fully assembled printed circuit boards.

A strong manufacturing background and extensive contacts with offshore suppliers allows Gem UK to deliver lower product costs and superb build quality to its wide range of customers.

Front-end production engineering is carried out at its UK office, where Gerber/CNC and BOM data is thoroughly checked to prevent errors, omissions and anomalies reaching the factory floor.

Latest version provides complete multidimensional testing operations and advanced analysis and data generation capabilities

Signal Safari v7.0, the latest evolution in a line of Aeroflex Signal Safari software, enables advanced analysis of complex communications signal environments. Signal Safari software is designed for use with Aeroflex broadband measurement instruments, including broadband signal and environment generators, analysers, channel simulators and analysis workstations.

This new version of Signal Safari software provides complete multidimensional testing operations and advanced analysis and data generation capabilities for complex wireless communication research and development, microwave testing, signal analysis and satellite communication link test.

Signal Safari addresses the need to reduce development cost within a demanding operational environment.

The software allows test engineers to visualise and understand the entire operating environment, not just an isolated single test signal.

Using Signal Safari, engineers can develop a complete analysis of the signal and the system to avoid troublesome areas such as adjacent signal interference and impairments as well as visualise and understand the operation characteristics for instruments under test.

‘Signal Safari is critical for reducing deployment costs of complex and expensive communication systems’, says Mark Prichard, Business Development Technologist for Aeroflex.

‘Signal Safari takes many testing capabilities and integrates them into a single-instrument solution’.

‘This gives our customers the ultimate test flexibility’.

When used with the Aeroflex broadband measurement instruments, Signal Safari creates a powerful adaptive tool that allows the user to operate with the same interface as the application software installed on the instruments.

Signal Safari software is available in three application configurations - signal analyser, vector signal player and vector signal simulator.

The broadband signal analyser software package offers the following analysis functions: modulation domain with multi-dimensional, coherent demodulation; agile radio demodulation and analysis; pulse (radar) analysis; multiple-bandwidth power-domain analysis; fixed and frequency agile analogue demodulation - AM/FM/PM, PSK/QAM and FSK/MSK/ASK; and coherent modulation domain (simultaneous time, AM, FM and PM).

Broadband signal generators use the vector signal simulator and vector signal player software packages, which offer the following signal and mixed-signal creation capabilities: agile radio; FSK/MSK/ASK, PSK, QAM; radar pulse (fixed and frequency agile); tone comb, PM tone comb; analogue modulation (AM/FM/PM); additive white Gaussian noise; import of recorded or external source data files; commercial wireless standards (CDMA 2000, WCDMA, Edge, GSM IS 95, IS 136); and mixing several signal modulation types within the same test signal environment.

Signal Safari software can generate and analyse complex waveforms using a suite of powerful analysis tools within the vector signal simulator and broadband signal analyser applications.

The software also aids in generating a broad range of signals, from simple CW tones to complex signal environments containing multiple signals of various communications standards.

Signal Safar v7.0 software is included on Aeroflex’s broadband instruments to provide the industry’s best data generation and analysis tools on the market.

The applications are also available for use on workstation computer systems for offline analysis and data file creation capability.

Economy-class continuous-wave microwave signal generator is specifically designed to maximise uptime and reduce cost of ownership

Agilent Technologies has developed a compact microwave analogue signal generator that offers frequency coverage to 20, 32 or 40GHz. Featuring fast frequency switching speeds, high reliability and easy self-maintenance, this mid-performance signal generator provides manufacturing and R and D engineers working on broadband components and systems with the performance required to make a wide range of broadband measurements.
The Agilent N5183A MXG is an economy-class continuous-wave (CW) signal generator specifically designed to maximise uptime and reduce cost of ownership.

Its 900us (maximum) switching speed enables a dramatic increase in throughput.

A simple design delivers easy self-maintenance that reduces downtime to one working day, making it possible for users to maintain or repair the instrument in-house.

Not only does this capability maximise uptime, it also drives a lower cost of ownership.

With +18dBm to 20GHz output power, the Agilent N5183A MXG is able to overcome losses and drive high-power devices.

Additionally, it features a level accuracy, with optional step attenuator, of +/-0.6 to 0.8dB.

Other options to the Agilent N5183A MXG include analogue modulation and pulse modulation - all housed in a compact 2U package.

‘Fast switching speed and lower cost of ownership are key requirements for today’s broadband component manufacturing and R and D engineers’, says Andy Botka, Vice President of Agilent’s Signal Sources Division.

The InfiniiScan Plus enables 150ps hardware-event identification and 75ps software-event identification

Agilent Technologies has broken the one billion acquisition samples (1Gsample) barrier for the first time in a high-performance oscilloscope. The new Agilent Infiniium 90000A series not only offers the world’s deepest acquisition memory depth, but it also offers the world’s first hardware/software integrated triggering system, InfiniiScan Plus.

The InfiniiScan Plus enables 150ps hardware-event identification and 75ps software-event identification.

The ultra-deep memory options in the Infiniium oscilloscope are able to capture 25ms of time, at 40 Gsample/s, on all four channels simultaneously.

This is a 6x increase over other oscilloscopes in the same class.

Powered by Infiniium data accelerator technology, deep memory captures provide the industry’s fastest data offload, with rapid access to offline analysis.

Both the DSO and DSA models are capable of more than 150,000 measurements per second and modes supporting over 300,000 triggers per second.

Jay Alexander, Vice President and General Manager of Agilent’s oscilloscopes business said ‘The Infiniium 90000A series enables our customers to analyse and debug cutting-edge, high-speed digital and RF technologies that require the best signal integrity, the longest memory depth and deep analysis capability’.

The InfiniiScan Plus event identification system is based on the world’s fastest hardware trigger system.

This new trigger system can identify glitches faster than 250ps.

The Infiniium 90000A will offer the only three-level trigger system, combining multiple hardware triggers with the InfiniiScan software, providing virtually infinite trigger combinations for any debug situation.

It is also the only scope above 4GHz bandwidth that offers standard analogue high-definition TV triggers to address the emerging HDTV market.

Agilent provides investment protection with the industry’s only upgradeable bandwidth for real-time oscilloscopes, upgradeable memory options and the industry’s only application server licensing for oscilloscopes.

The series of oscilloscopes includes 2.5, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 13GHz models with memory options of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1Gsamples.

‘At NVIDIA, we are always pushing the envelope with regard to process technology and developing new interface standards’, said Bill Simms, Manager of Mixed Signal design validation at NVIDIA.

‘To analyse these interfaces, we require oscilloscopes to have high bandwidth, deep capture memory and fast data processing’.

‘The Agilent DSA90000A oscilloscope helps us to not only capture large amounts of data, but also to process that data record in a much shorter time’.

‘This improves our development time and shortens our time to market’.

Unprecedented RF signal discovery capability for a broad range of digital RF applications including RFID, radiocommunications and spectrum management

Tektronix has added DPX waveform image processor technology to its mid-range RSA3000B Series real-time spectrum analysers. This provides a unique live RF view of the spectrum using the RSA3300B and RSA3408B family models, enabling an unprecedented RF signal discovery capability for a broad range of digital RF applications including RFID, radiocommunications and spectrum management.

DPX transforms volumes of real-time data and produces a live RF spectrum display that reveals previously unseen RF signals and signal anomalies.

The rapid expansion of digital RF applications has driven the measurement needs of many applications including mobile communications and spectrum management beyond the capabilities of swept spectrum and vector signal analysis.

Digital RF signals carry complex modulation and change from one instant to the next, hopping frequencies, spiking briefly and then disappearing.

These transient and time varying transmission techniques help RF devices avoid interference, maximise peak power and, often, evade detection.

‘Tektronix real-time spectrum analysers are the first and only analysers designed specifically to solve problems created by digital RF technologies’, says Rick King, Vice President, Real-Time spectrum analyser product line, Tektronix.

The addition of DPX technology with live RF from the high performance RSA6100A Series combined with a broad range of application-specific measurements makes the mid-range RSA3300B Series and RSA3408B the best choice not only for the toughest RF discovery and debug problems, but also as an everyday spectrum analysis and system characterisation tool’.

With a spectrum processing rate hundreds of times greater than any spectrum analyser from other vendors, the RSA3300B series and RSA3408B provide 100% probability of intercept for transients as brief as 31us on the RSA3408B and 41us on the RSA3300B Series models.

Combined with the exclusive ability to trigger on transient signals in both time and frequency domains, the RSA3300B Series and RSA3408B offer unmatched troubleshooting and debug of digital RF designs.

The RSA3300B series is available with frequency coverage from DC to 3 or 8GHz.

With 15MHz capture bandwidth and 70dB spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR), the RSA3300Bs are ideal for use in the design and debug of 3G mobile systems, near-field systems (such as RFID and Bluetooth), and narrow- to medium-bandwidth communications systems.

The RSA3408B with DC to 8GHz frequency coverage, 36MHz capture bandwidth and 73dB SFDR is tailored for higher bandwidth and dynamic range applications including 3G mobile components and system debug, WLAN and WiMAX system design, demanding spectrum management applications and general purpose digital RF debug.

‘Many digital RF applications need to detect and analyse RF signals that quickly change frequencies or use complex characteristics’, says David Saar, President, Saar Associates.

‘Most spectrum analysers cannot adequately perform the needed measurements for these applications’.

‘Tektronix has addressed these problems by adding robust capabilities for the time domain through its RSA family of real-time spectrum analysers, often saving hours or days troubleshooting problems’.

‘The unique real-time presentation of live RF signals means that a user will always find a problem signal’.

‘This combination of capabilities makes the new RSA3408B and RSA3300B models very attractive for a wide variety of applications’.

DPX waveform image processor technology in the RSA3300B Series and RSA3408B models displays the live spectrum by processing better than 48,000 spectrum measurements per second, similar to the previously announced top-of-the-line RSA6114A model.

This is orders of magnitude more information than is shown by any other spectrum analyser without DPX, minimising the analysis gaps inherent in swept spectrum and vector signal analysers.

To achieve this speed, DPX makes use of dedicated real-time hardware to process the incoming signal.

In addition to live RF, the waveform image processor also provides an intensity-graded persistence display that holds anomalies until the eye can see them to show the history of occurrence for dynamic signals and immediate feedback on signal variations over time.

This provides engineers the ability to rapidly see on screen both transients and signals that ordinarily could not be seen, either because they are masked by other signals or could only be deduced after time consuming offline analysis.

DPX waveform imaging will enhance productivity by quickly capturing elusive anomalies and transient events, improving accuracy and insight, and accelerating design debug.

‘RF signals are complicated and often change substantially over time’, says Takehiro Kawai, Assistant Manager, RFID Business Development Department, Business Development group, Omron Corporation.

‘If we can quickly discover interference, then we can promptly analyse and solve problems’.

‘The DPX live RF display of the RSA3000B series makes this easy, providing an ability to see and intuitively understand RFID signal behaviour’.

‘Also, RSA3000B’s analysis capabilities are also valuable for in-depth analysis of differences with IC tag chips that many companies provide’.

The RSA3000B model with 15MHz bandwidth and the RSA3408B with 36MHz bandwidth are the only mid-range performance spectrum analysers that can offer a frequency domain trigger.

This is performed using the frequency mask trigger (FMT) feature, finding interfering and transient signals that no other instrument can.

FMT ensures that potential systems instabilities are eliminated from the design before they can cause a problem.

By displaying a seamless record of frequency and power changes over time, the Tektronix analysers can solve many transient problems ranging from modulation switching on software-defined radio systems to identification of rogue pulses in radar transmission to dynamic modulation changes during a WLAN transmission.

The explosion of digital RF has created a highly complex technology environment, requiring a need for next generation test and measurement instruments.

Tektronix offers a digital RF test bench from signal generation to acquisition.

Real-time spectrum analysers seamlessly capture RF signals changing over time and perform spectral, time, and modulation analysis with time-correlated multidomain views.

Arbitrary waveform generators generate ideal, distorted or ‘real-world’ signals.

Logic analysers enable the capture and analysis of the digital I/Q information to more quickly debug elusive problems within the digital baseband segment of a digital RF design.

Digital oscilloscopes allow measurements of strict timing relationships including signal integrity analysis.

The Agilent 86108A waveform analyser can trigger directly from a single-ended or differential data signal, eliminating the need for a separate trigger input

Agilent Technologies has released a precision waveform analyser designed for engineers involved in design verification and validation of high-speed electrical communications systems and components. It offers residual jitter well below 100fs and channel bandwidths of 35GHz. This new plug-in module is the latest addition to the Agilent 86100C DCA-J product family.

Measurement setup is made easy with integrated instrumentation-grade hardware clock recovery.

This allows the Agilent 86108A to trigger directly from a single-ended or differential data signal, eliminating the need for a separate trigger input.

The integrated triggering system functions in the presence of spread-spectrum clocking, allowing accurate signal analysis on components and systems used for serial busses such as PCI Express and SATA.

The on-board phase detector enables a simple and accurate technique to determine PLL bandwidth on devices with either clock or data inputs and outputs.

The Agilent 86108A precision waveform analyser offers low intrinsic jitter, accurate measurement waveforms and internal high-gain clock recovery, allowing for easy measurement setup and accurate analysis of signals with spread-spectrum clocking.

A new triggering architecture allows simple connection schemes and eliminates the sampling delay that has historically corrupted jitter measurements made with a sampling scope.

An internal phase detector enables accurate measurements of PLL bandwidth, jitter transfer and jitter/phase noise spectrum.