SSA3021X+ arrived at noon. It's now an SVA1032X except in model number.
I bought this as an experiment to see where these units are really at. The threads have been great on "upgrading" methods but scant information (except good phase noise discussions) on other functions.
Initial thoughts:
Spectrum analyzer - pretty darned good, good speed, clean noise floor, good measurement functions. Channel and occupied BW measurements match an Agilent PSA.
VNA - very disappointing, very basic operation. Perhaps Siglent doesn't want to give away the code from it's higher end units, including IFBW and other functions. But in the end, it works. I have quality plots of antenna response for several eval boards with BT chip antennas. It did a nice job of finding bandwidth and giving good graphics and table of results.
Suggestions
1. *Correction* - missed the BACK arrow over the soft keys - - - The lack of a BACK function is very painful and very lacking. The units are low cost but that doesn't matter. You NEED a back function. A depth of 2 or 3 would be nice.
2. The lack of VNA IF control except on their high end models hurts their noise floor for SOLT calibration. The good news is that it seems very stable over several hours. Unit came in from very cold weather and two hours inside, I'm not seeing drift.
3. STRANGE - loading up a STA file does not flip to the function for that file (i.e. SA or VNA). It will ignore a VNA STA if in SA mode but doesn't tell you.
For me this was a dry run for Siglent and a higher frequency, better performance model from them. Hard to beat for $1600.
And Saelig gives a 6% discount to EEVBlog members. I was told by TEquipment that this discount is GONE with their acquisition by Test Equity. TEq will now CHARGE a stocking fee for returns. Like Keysight, they've gone off key. Some years back you could get a demo unit, then were told to just buy one because you can return freely. All gone for Test Equity. Verified with two individuals so if this is not the case, feel free to respond and flog your support staff.
Dooooh !! I didn't even see the back arrow above the soft keys.