I just purchased this model. So even years later, your reviews are still generating sales. Keep the reviews coming. Who knows what you are reviewing today, that I might buy 4 years from now...
Shahriar, once again your review is orders of magnitude better than any other... I see it as educational, not just informational. I really appreciate the reverse engineering of the design and discussion of the engineering of a piece of RF gear. Kudos to you! Level of content and length of content is great. Keep going deep!
This is a great review! Subscribed. It not only takes quite a bit of time to do a review this thorough, but knowledge, and access to test equipment with a level of performance higher than the equipment being tested.
I had one of those to review too, it had to go back as it was a demo unit and was needed for a customer, haven't got it back again yet so I haven't done the review video yet, you would do a more in depth one than me anyway!
excellent video. Loved it. I just received my SSA3021X today and I am learning how to handle this and this video is the best. However, I have a question: what is that fairly strong signal at very low frequency (probably at DC or so) about -10dBm which is always present on the left of screen when the START frequency is very low? No matter if the input is connected or not its always there. I have that on mine, too and I was not expecting that. Is that normal?
ANOTHER great video Shariar, keep em coming! What directional coupler did you use when you measured the return loss of the antenna ? TNX again for taking the time in the production of your videos! My new 3032 seems to have a bug, after normalisation TG randomly turns off even tho it says its on. Preset won't help only power cycling it. And I agree with you with lots of wasted space on screen. My only complaint is the 48hrs they give you try out options, hardly enough time to do anything. I use my hacked Rigol 815-TG if i need to do any of the the "special" measurements. 73 N8AUM
Since you were talking about using torque wrenches, can you do a video on the importance of those ones and showing differences between using them and just your hands?
I remember you talking about it quite a lot, however I don't remember showing actual measurement differences or problems that arise by doing it wrong. My memory is not infallible though, or I might even have missed a video once (omg!)!
Hello, greetings from Peru. What book or what theme should I read or investigate to understand the constructive blocks of the spectrum analizer that you describe. Especially the analogo part where the filters are, the good program depends on what you want to do or I'm wrong. Thank you.
Since you are quite smart i have a question that I was unable to find answer for. Why sometimes pcb designer don't use ground layer on top and bottom ? I mean, what is the advantages of having ground free top/bottom layer ? I only have two explanations, simpler impedance control, and better soldering maybe ?
Layers cost money. If you can keep the board within spec and use fewer layers, you do. If you need the extra layers for EMI compliance or other reasons then you put them in. Also some devices use external shielding instead. So a high-sensitivity device that can't afford heavy shielding might use ground planes on both top and bottom of the board (with plenty of via stitching around the edges), while an instrument like this uses a ground plane on one side and a big aluminium shield on the other side. And many devices simply don't need the extra EMI resistance that ground planes provide. For example a computer motherboard will be using lots of differential pairs for the high-speed digital signalling so ground-plane shielding isn't really needed. Ground and power planes are still useful for making layout easier if you can afford the layers, of course.
But in any case, have better ground between components simply by poring top and bottom with GND net would yeald better results in terms of nearly everything. It does not cost, as well it keeps chemical usage in fabs lower, and provide more accurate tracks since it needs to be in etching solution shorter (in theory) Yes, layers cost money, so use all of them every time possible. My use only to make GND connections better. even if i had dedicated internal ground layer, and via nearly every pad, having top and bottom ground plane makes ground path less inductive.
Usually one prefers the simplest ground system possible, many layers of ground can be bad as you can have longer loop length, more inductance and possibly multiple ground paths. If you can keep the ground to one plane it’s best. Shielding is another topic, but shields aren’t used to carry current, they are just held at the reference potential to reduce noise. Grounding of circuits is an extremely complex subject that you’ll never stop learning more about, many times there is no one right answer, and it becomes a form of art.
I have a noisy electric earth, which is injecting common mode noise in my measurements, since the coax shield is connected to earth. What's the "professional" method to get rid of that?
Hi, at 12:05 the pointer is near R1. Next to this is an SOT 23-6 package marked 955C do you know what this IC is and what its full part ID would be? It is not in the SMD marking code book. Thanks
Good morning, thanks for the accurate review! I whould like to know if is necessary optionals license to to have a lifetime possibility to use all the measure selectable inside "Meas" menu (Channel power, ACPR, Occupied bw, T-Power, TOI, Spectrum monitor). Thanks! Regards. Andrea
Would you recommend this SA in 2023 is their something at the price point of the SSA3021? I’m a amateur radio operator on a budget. Thank you for the very detailed videos.
I get that, but the font, placement, and layout of the marker text on the top-left of the spectrum display is _identical_. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a vendor that provided SW for these Chinese test equipment brands.
Greetings from Argentina, I'm looking forward to buy this unit for cellphone RF repair , will I be short in terms of frequency for debugging 4G or 5G networks? can you please clarify to me.
If you are into cellphone repair and don't know the answer to that question then I wonder why you are even in that business since the answer to your question is so extremely obvious.
@@dtiydr Obvious or not, but I'd like to know if it'll be of any practical use for debugging Rf circuitry or better buy tiny Sa which there's an upgraded version which reaches 5ghz.
@@daaudiome If you absolutely also need 5g and don't want as many options and such then buy it. Test it out since its not expensive at all and if you miss a lot of things in it the buy fex the 3021X Plus.
Great Instrument! But can anyone tell me why in 2024( or after 6 years) it costs about the same as in 2018 as i looked up some prices? Should be about the half accordingly the general value-loss of electronics. O.K. Given about 20% Inflation these years.Nevertheless
Liked, but slightly dissapointed. Just a nice review of yet another spectrum analyzer. I think most of us would like to learn more technical stuff than watching UI and common features of SAs. The level of your knowledge is far beyond doing tradeshows for mediocre instrument :(
I enjoy the reviews of equipment, especially budget equipment being used by an expert that would otherwise use something with higher specifications, this shows the entry level guys what they can actually expect this equipment to do for them. Most engineers don’t play with RF all that much so this type of equipment will likely land in labs as one-time -or occasional use gear for pros, and this information is priceless for the amateur hobbyists looking for more capabilities in their home lab. It’s extremely difficult to learn RF if you have no way of measuring what the signal is actually doing, all the theory and mathematics in the world get you nowhere. I appreciate practical example over pure theory, especially when most experienced engineering is done empirically with as little calculation as one can get away with...
I actually appreciate an in-depth review of an instrument like this. I am certainly an amateur compared to Shahriar, however I am currently looking to purchase a spectrum analyzer. There is technical information, but it did not overshadow his assessment of the instrument. He has plenty of other videos that are more academic if you so choose.
A very sweet presentation. You might consider speaking a bit slower. Some of the details are glossed over for no apparent reason. The level of the presentation Is spot on for those who are aware of normalized measurements and the reason they exist. It might be helpful to do a quick review for those who don't realize the limitations of the sweep generator and its nonlinearity of output level due to cost and or design constraints. de ARS KQ2E
Why oh why they spare 2 screws on the N-connector(s)? The place where the most mechanical force is taking place! Why? 2 screws? Come on Siglent. Otherwise very neat instruments 👍
Who have this video a thumbs down? If somebody who did reads this, please let me know why. Just out of curiosity. 360 times thumbs up and 4 down seems weird and always makes me wonder.
What you term as "Quite Good for a second harmonic" at 40db down is actually not even close to what the FCC requires for a broadcast station in the united states at 80db down on the 2nd harmonic.
wb5mgr This is from a broadband source. There are no filters. Why are you comparing the output of a synthesizer to the FCC regulations of a wireless transmitter?
So none of the measurement features, none of the analysis features, no tracking generator, no ability to connect to inputs other than an antenna, vastly worse resolution, vastly smaller frequency range, and worse UI. Some of that (UI, some of the measurement & analysis) can be mitigated if someone writes better PC software for it, but most can't. There are better SDRs with closer hardware specs in the $200-3000 range depending on how close you want to get in terms of the resolution and frequency range, but the RTL-SDR is nowhere close. It's a nice device, I've got one, but it's not a spectrum analyzer. It's like the difference between a data logging multimeter and an oscilloscope: both measure voltage over time and can graph the results, but they're entirely different instruments.
What I wonder is are there any chips in it to warrant the price. Or is the price simply convention and small market. Could the price be 1/10 if they sold many more. And I believe it could. Further, I would be interested to hear Shariar's serious thoughts on if that functionality could be added onto a scope for $100 retail. I'm guessing it could. Thus should.
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If your viewers have any questions about SIGLENT instrumentation, please feel free to contact your local sales office or write us at info@siglent.com
I just purchased this model. So even years later, your reviews are still generating sales.
Keep the reviews coming. Who knows what you are reviewing today, that I might buy 4 years from now...
The 3021X Plus came out not that long ago so its valuable to look at this video since its so comprehensive.
Shahriar, once again your review is orders of magnitude better than any other... I see it as educational, not just informational. I really appreciate the reverse engineering of the design and discussion of the engineering of a piece of RF gear. Kudos to you!
Level of content and length of content is great. Keep going deep!
Better than expected for the price. Siglent is making an effort. Not quite enough for me to buy one, but getting closer.
This is a great review! Subscribed. It not only takes quite a bit of time to do a review this thorough, but knowledge, and access to test equipment with a level of performance higher than the equipment being tested.
28:20 - "Let's go very low frequency, say 100 MHz". hashtag StuffRFguysSay
I remember that square Antenna from almost exact a year ago.
Cool to see it back
Great vid. again. As always.
Thank you very much for sharing your time and knowledge with us. Greetings from Argentina!
Great video as always. Thanks for the detailed review!
Nice review, and I learned some stuff as usual. You are an inspiration. Thanks.
I had one of those to review too, it had to go back as it was a demo unit and was needed for a customer, haven't got it back again yet so I haven't done the review video yet, you would do a more in depth one than me anyway!
Good Review, and not a bad deal for a low bucks analyzer.
excellent educational video as usual...thanks.
Very nice review! Thanks!
excellent video. Loved it. I just received my SSA3021X today and I am learning how to handle this and this video is the best. However, I have a question: what is that fairly strong signal at very low frequency (probably at DC or so) about -10dBm which is always present on the left of screen when the START frequency is very low? No matter if the input is connected or not its always there. I have that on mine, too and I was not expecting that. Is that normal?
That's mains 50/60Hz interference. You can never fully get rid of it.
It's not "real" i think, an artifact of how most spectrum analysers work- local oscillator feedthrough
ANOTHER great video Shariar, keep em coming! What directional coupler did you use when you measured the return loss of the antenna ? TNX again for taking the time in the production of your videos! My new 3032 seems to have a bug, after normalisation TG randomly turns off even tho it says its on. Preset won't help only power cycling it. And I agree with you with lots of wasted space on screen. My only complaint is the 48hrs they give you try out options, hardly enough time to do anything. I use my hacked Rigol 815-TG if i need to do any of the the "special" measurements.
73 N8AUM
Since you were talking about using torque wrenches, can you do a video on the importance of those ones and showing differences between using them and just your hands?
Yes, I would be interested in such a video as well.
I have done a video tutorial on microwave components and I think I discussed it in there.
I remember you talking about it quite a lot, however I don't remember showing actual measurement differences or problems that arise by doing it wrong. My memory is not infallible though, or I might even have missed a video once (omg!)!
58:50, I searched through your videos, have you ever done something on EMI Testing, ideally with the SSA3032? Great video!
Hello, greetings from Peru. What book or what theme should I read or investigate to understand the constructive blocks of the spectrum analizer that you describe. Especially the analogo part where the filters are, the good program depends on what you want to do or I'm wrong. Thank you.
Since you are quite smart i have a question that I was unable to find answer for.
Why sometimes pcb designer don't use ground layer on top and bottom ? I mean, what is the advantages of having ground free top/bottom layer ?
I only have two explanations, simpler impedance control, and better soldering maybe ?
Layers cost money. If you can keep the board within spec and use fewer layers, you do. If you need the extra layers for EMI compliance or other reasons then you put them in. Also some devices use external shielding instead. So a high-sensitivity device that can't afford heavy shielding might use ground planes on both top and bottom of the board (with plenty of via stitching around the edges), while an instrument like this uses a ground plane on one side and a big aluminium shield on the other side.
And many devices simply don't need the extra EMI resistance that ground planes provide. For example a computer motherboard will be using lots of differential pairs for the high-speed digital signalling so ground-plane shielding isn't really needed. Ground and power planes are still useful for making layout easier if you can afford the layers, of course.
But in any case, have better ground between components simply by poring top and bottom with GND net would yeald better results in terms of nearly everything. It does not cost, as well it keeps chemical usage in fabs lower, and provide more accurate tracks since it needs to be in etching solution shorter (in theory)
Yes, layers cost money, so use all of them every time possible.
My use only to make GND connections better. even if i had dedicated internal ground layer, and via nearly every pad, having top and bottom ground plane makes ground path less inductive.
Usually one prefers the simplest ground system possible, many layers of ground can be bad as you can have longer loop length, more inductance and possibly multiple ground paths. If you can keep the ground to one plane it’s best. Shielding is another topic, but shields aren’t used to carry current, they are just held at the reference potential to reduce noise. Grounding of circuits is an extremely complex subject that you’ll never stop learning more about, many times there is no one right answer, and it becomes a form of art.
Many thanks for your excellent video. May I ask what cable you use for your assemblies? Many thanks once again, I look forward to each of your videos.
So SA + TG acts like a VNA? Why one would prefer VNA over SA+TG, given no issue with cost? Is it due to only single port limitation with SA?
It is not really a VNA, it can only perform scaler measurements and on a single port.
I have a noisy electric earth, which is injecting common mode noise in my measurements, since the coax shield is connected to earth. What's the "professional" method to get rid of that?
Hi, at 12:05 the pointer is near R1. Next to this is an SOT 23-6 package marked 955C do you know what this IC is and what its full part ID would be? It is not in the SMD marking code book. Thanks
Some measurements on the diplexer are done without an antenna or other termination, isn't that changing the parameters?
pretty straight forward
Very good job
First measurement: -2.3dB due to cables? There is a maybe a meter of cable there. Second measurement it's -0.5 dB. I'm I missing something?
Is directional coupler and reflection bridge the same type of circuit? Thanks in advance.
No, but used similar.
Good morning,
thanks for the accurate review!
I whould like to know if is necessary optionals license to to have a lifetime possibility to use all the measure selectable inside "Meas" menu (Channel power, ACPR, Occupied bw, T-Power, TOI, Spectrum monitor).
Thanks!
Regards.
Andrea
Would you recommend this SA in 2023 is their something at the price point of the SSA3021? I’m a amateur radio operator on a budget. Thank you for the very detailed videos.
How can a spectrum analyzer have RBW of 1Hz? How is that implemented? Digitally with a dsp?
I can't help but think that this shares a lot of code with my Rigol DSA815. The fonts and menus are suspiciously similar.
hpux735 they are both mimicking the keysight instruments.
I get that, but the font, placement, and layout of the marker text on the top-left of the spectrum display is _identical_. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a vendor that provided SW for these Chinese test equipment brands.
The point wasn't lost on Dave Jones either...
👍👍
Thank you very much! Looking for an used one in EU
... and I'd like to know if the instrument can measure the THD. If so I'd like to know if it is optional or not. Many thanks again!
Greetings from Argentina, I'm looking forward to buy this unit for cellphone RF repair , will I be short in terms of frequency for debugging 4G or 5G networks? can you please clarify to me.
If you are into cellphone repair and don't know the answer to that question then I wonder why you are even in that business since the answer to your question is so extremely obvious.
@@dtiydr Obvious or not, but I'd like to know if it'll be of any practical use for debugging Rf circuitry or better buy tiny Sa which there's an upgraded version which reaches 5ghz.
@@daaudiome If you absolutely also need 5g and don't want as many options and such then buy it. Test it out since its not expensive at all and if you miss a lot of things in it the buy fex the 3021X Plus.
How come you never do ELF experiments? Say, 32kHz ? 😁 Don't forget, amazing things happen down below too!
please what is the name the connecting cable use to connect the RF input
Great Instrument! But can anyone tell me why in 2024( or after 6 years) it costs about the same as in 2018 as i looked up some prices? Should be about the half accordingly the general value-loss of electronics. O.K. Given about 20% Inflation these years.Nevertheless
Liked, but slightly dissapointed. Just a nice review of yet another spectrum analyzer. I think most of us would like to learn more technical stuff than watching UI and common features of SAs. The level of your knowledge is far beyond doing tradeshows for mediocre instrument :(
That is why I do teardown analysis as well as experiments which themselves have technical content.
I enjoy the reviews of equipment, especially budget equipment being used by an expert that would otherwise use something with higher specifications, this shows the entry level guys what they can actually expect this equipment to do for them. Most engineers don’t play with RF all that much so this type of equipment will likely land in labs as one-time -or occasional use gear for pros, and this information is priceless for the amateur hobbyists looking for more capabilities in their home lab. It’s extremely difficult to learn RF if you have no way of measuring what the signal is actually doing, all the theory and mathematics in the world get you nowhere. I appreciate practical example over pure theory, especially when most experienced engineering is done empirically with as little calculation as one can get away with...
I actually appreciate an in-depth review of an instrument like this. I am certainly an amateur compared to Shahriar, however I am currently looking to purchase a spectrum analyzer. There is technical information, but it did not overshadow his assessment of the instrument. He has plenty of other videos that are more academic if you so choose.
A very sweet presentation. You might consider speaking a bit slower. Some of the details are glossed over for no apparent reason. The level of the presentation Is spot on for those who are aware of normalized measurements and the reason they exist. It might be helpful to do a quick review for those who don't realize the limitations of the sweep generator and its nonlinearity of output level due to cost and or design constraints. de ARS KQ2E
Judging from the video thumbnail I thought it's a microwave oven :D خخخخخخ ایول
like the song 'if I had a million dollar ...'
Isn't that an antenna for a microcell?
Why oh why they spare 2 screws on the N-connector(s)? The place where the most mechanical force is taking place! Why? 2 screws? Come on Siglent. Otherwise very neat instruments 👍
Who have this video a thumbs down? If somebody who did reads this, please let me know why. Just out of curiosity. 360 times thumbs up and 4 down seems weird and always makes me wonder.
What you term as "Quite Good for a second harmonic" at 40db down is actually not even close to what the FCC requires for a broadcast station in the united states at 80db down on the 2nd harmonic.
wb5mgr This is from a broadband source. There are no filters. Why are you comparing the output of a synthesizer to the FCC regulations of a wireless transmitter?
It seems expensive when you can do similar with a ten dollar software defined radio. Isn't it time spectrum analyzers come way down in price?
Can you show me a $10 software defined radio with similar specifications?
They have come way down in price. A cheap SDR has much lower specs - it really depends on what you
call "similar".
Not the same specs but too close to warrant the price difference as I see it. You tell me watch?v=zu-K1Sslw1Q
So none of the measurement features, none of the analysis features, no tracking generator, no ability to connect to inputs other than an antenna, vastly worse resolution, vastly smaller frequency range, and worse UI. Some of that (UI, some of the measurement & analysis) can be mitigated if someone writes better PC software for it, but most can't. There are better SDRs with closer hardware specs in the $200-3000 range depending on how close you want to get in terms of the resolution and frequency range, but the RTL-SDR is nowhere close. It's a nice device, I've got one, but it's not a spectrum analyzer. It's like the difference between a data logging multimeter and an oscilloscope: both measure voltage over time and can graph the results, but they're entirely different instruments.
What I wonder is are there any chips in it to warrant the price. Or is the price simply convention and small market. Could the price be 1/10 if they sold many more. And I believe it could.
Further, I would be interested to hear Shariar's serious thoughts on if that functionality could be added onto a scope for $100 retail. I'm guessing it could. Thus should.
Isn't 60Hz video a tad overkill/wasteful/computer burden?
People seem to like the 60FPS videos more. But as you said, it takes much longer to render.
Please keep doing 60FPS!
try also screencapping at 60fps, with OBS for example.
Please don't stop with the 60fps.
codefeenix. We are EEs after all. If anyone deserves a higher sampling rate, it's us.