Agilent E4406A Value - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2016, 06:56:21 pm
content: I have been offered a Agilent E4406A for about 520€ including shipping to germany from the UK.As I'm a student with a rather limited Budget, I'm now asking myself: Is this machine worth the money?I'm doing electronics as a hobby and have a bit of experience in the area of Power-Supplies, of which I have already sold some, and want to expand into communication and plan to get my HAM-License next spring (together with my father) to connect the boat of my father to our home network when he is miles away from the next WLAN-Hotspot.Is the E4406A something I could use, or would it be better to rely on the Spectrum Analyzer I'm building and documenting in the Open Source Hardware-Subforum?

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2016, 07:30:35 pm
content: Quote from: SaabFAN on September 20, 2016, 06:56:21 pmThat depends. If the VSA is in good and fully working condition then €520 sounds reasonable, even more so if it includes shipping from the UK to DE.The question is, is it worth it to you?QuoteFrankly, I'm not sure if it is of use to you. The E4406A VSA *is* a Spectrum Analyzer (VSA = Vector Spectrum Analyzer, i.e. it uses FFT for spectrum analysis), however since it was designed for testing cell phone transmitters it comes with various limitations, like a max span of 10Mhz (or 100Mhz with the HSDPA software option). It's not the same as a traditional swept SA.The VSA is great if you want a low-cost device to use with the Agilent/Keysight 89600A Vector Signal Analysis Software. As a standalone SA however you're probably better off with a conventional SA.

author: Earendil
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2016, 07:38:23 pm
content: If your budget is really low then you might want to consider using a SDR stick (e.g.: RTL2832U).It's pretty limited as an SA though but I've seen some people in the forum use it as such.

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 20, 2016, 08:08:09 pm
content: I already have an SDR-Stick and the big problem with it is that one can never be sure what the actual amplitude is because of the automatic gain control implemented in hardware.They also have a 75Ohm Impedance instead of 50Ohm.So while it's ok to make a sweep from 30MHz to 1.75GHz, it's basically useless when I want to make accurate measurements.I also found a Software that is able to have a E4406A perform a full frequency sweep in about 90 seconds and display the result on the PC.The condition of the device seems to be good and it's working and the seller wants to sell it to me via a company that would allow me to test it and if I don't like it I can refund it.Also the device seems to have the BAF WCDMA-Option installed (screenshot of the Option-screen).

author: Wuerstchenhund
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2016, 08:33:57 am
content: Quote from: SaabFAN on September 20, 2016, 08:08:09 pmYes, but that's still 90 seconds (and it depends on the RBW). Unless you only look at CW it's not very useful.QuoteOnly you can say if that's a good investment. But the VSA is not a good replacement for a standalone SA, which often can be found for similar money.And before you buy I'd check if it has the 14bit backend or the 12bit one.

author: SaabFAN
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2016, 03:36:12 pm
content: Well, I think I'm going to pass on that one.If anyone is interestes, here is the link to the Quoka-Listing:http://www.quoka.de/handwerk-hausbau/geraete-maschinen/c2925a162633010/agilent-e4406a-vsa-spektrum-analysator.html

author: G0HZU
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2016, 07:49:16 pm
content: Quote from: Wuerstchenhund on September 20, 2016, 07:30:35 pmQuoteI think that is going to confuse/mislead a few people.The E4406A is best described as a VectorSignalAnalyser (VSA). One of its party tricks in its default 'Basic' mode (apart from complex demodulation of 'the signal') is that it can display the spectrum of the signal it is analysing using an FFT. The FFT is just a sideshow and not the reason it is called a VSA or Vector Signal Analyser.

author: G0HZU
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2016, 08:03:21 pm
content: QuoteMaybe, but for initial tinkering with ham signals (that are usually narrowband) you could replace the E4406A with a simple downconverting mixer and do your vector analysis of the narrowband signal using a cheapo PC and soundcard. i.e. downconvert the signal to baseband and look at it via a soundcard. There are loads of freeware programs that can give you a 20kHz wide spectrum analyser and you can also make a cheap narrowband IQ demodulator using a soundcard and some cheap/basic external hardware on a little PCB.If you want to do genuine (wideband) spectrum analysis of your ham signal to look at spurious or harmonic levels then use a conventional spectrum analyser alongside the above setupThe E4406A isn't going to be a good choice as a wideband spectrum analyser because it really is just a signal analyser and the frequency plan of the RF downconverter it uses is very crude and is prone to image/IF breakthrough.

author: RCHRDM
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2019, 08:46:19 pm
content: HelloHas anyone successfully updated the firmware in the E4406A using the Agilent updater software? I am having problems with this.Richard