Agilent / Keysight  E4437B Opinions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 04:38:00 pm
content: Hello,Has anyone on the forum owned or used one of the Agilent E4437's or similar models before in their daily profession? I am looking for pro's and con's of this particular line of multi mode RF gens.All I know currently is they look pretty, have relatively low phase noise performance and will just about generate most modern modulated RF signatures.Thank you,

author: andy_silicon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 05:44:52 pm
content: I have a fully loaded E4437B.( external modulation / digital ARB / extended memory )It was faulty and I repaired it.I'll be honest and state that I haven't used it to the full extent - it was a fairly cheap upgrade to a standard 1Ghz with AM/FM.It can produce pretty much any signal I'd ever want upto 4Ghz.If you have specific questions - just ask.Only con I can think - it would be nice to have an ethernet connection for transfer of waveforms.

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 05:48:24 pm
content: Andy,Thats good to knowI am contemplating purchase of something of this caliber. Actually I might opt for 6Ghz to accommodate the 5Ghz WiFi area as well.The N5182 series is raising my interest as well.JLM

author: andy_silicon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 05:51:03 pm
content: I do recall when repairing mine that there is a common early fault which required the replacement of an HP unobtanium device ( the IC was a prescaler as far as I recall - and would overheat and die )So if you are unlucky to get a unit with one of these - you might be living on borrowed time.

author: andy_silicon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 05:52:37 pm
content: Being picky - the lcd isn't as nice as a TFT :-)

author: andy_silicon
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 06:19:22 pm
content: If I had the money - the N5182.My E4437B cost me around $1200 :-) and a couple of days to repair.

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 07:14:55 pm
content: Quote from: andy_silicon on August 27, 2014, 06:19:22 pmThat's a good price! I would buy one of those if I could find one for $1200I'm finding the N5182's quite pricey, but they are the current trendy item. 15K - 20K here in the U.S.Might have to save up a while for the newer one.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 07:35:51 pm
content: Be sure to do some research when buying a non working (for parts) device. Early this year I bought an E4421B and it turns out it has a massive number of defects. More than I was hoping for. They probably threw all the defective modules in a defective machine and shipped it off. I got most sorted out; the last step is to replace the DSTN LCD with a TFT screen.

author: G0HZU
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 27, 2014, 10:23:47 pm
content: I've got one of the first gen ESGD generators here, the E4433 ESGD4000. It looks the same as the later 4437 but I guess it will have a lower spec for the modulation capabilities. Mine has the options fitted for the baseband modulator and high stab OCXO fitted.I paid about £800 for it as an ex rental and it came with a 2 year Trescal calibration.The good points (for me) are that it offers 0.02dB amplitude steps and has very accurate and flat levelling across the full frequency range. Very impressed with this! Much better than the Marconi 2024 in this respect.It also offers vector modulation and a decent internal function generator with a dedicated LF output BNC connector. I've used this feature a lot. The phase noise performance is quite good up at UHF but isn't so good down at LF because of the way it synthesises the lower frequencies. But I can use the Marconi 2024 here instead if phase noise is an issue.I really like the ESGD as a general purpose generator, the fan noise isn't too loud and the user interface fairly intuitive. My only complaint about the interface is that you have to move your hand a lot even when doing simple functions because the relevant buttons are a long way apart on the front panel. But this is only a minor gripe really. The other minor gripe is that it is really easy to turn it off by mistake because the OFF/STANDBY button is touch sensitive.It would be nice if it was a bit smaller but at least it isn't very heavy unlike the older generation of HP sig gensIt has a screensaver for the LCD screen which I think is a good idea.