Rohde & Schwarz FLP1014 Part I

[Sighound36]

Well following on from the R&S MX04 encounter, which I have to say was a very good one! I had mentioned in passing that I was having a lab reorganisation in the not-too-distant future during our conversations during the information exchanges regarding the new scope.

A few weeks later that nice gentleman Joel from R&S UK suggested would I like to try another R7S product this time a Spectrum analyser would I be interested?

Does a Aussie go dunny hopping after a session or two of Sgt Mac Connies kidney splitter tumbleweed ale special?

To right mate.

So, a week or so later a large package arrived, although its weight wasn’t in line with a boat anchor, the only give away was the large blue Rohde & Schwarz logo embossed on the sides, slight give away I feel.

The packaging that R&S UK use is rather neat, the unit arrived safely protected from the rigours of domestic transportation by the rather nifty FPL/ZNLE carry case and what looked like a self-mounding foam surround, quite ingenious.

The carry bag is quite something, sorry just had to have a gratuitous image of the case below, it’s really that good!

[Sighound36]

*Spoiler alert* if you are looking for a massive in depth, deep dive into how each section of this analyser communicates the signal to the next section and what effect the ADC, mixers have etc then may I suggest watching Shahriar investigations on the sister product the ZNLE Network analyser




Electronics is a pretty dry subject at best and if you mention anything like this to people outside this industry their eyes glaze over and they enter quasi sleep mode.

So, this feedback is based on observations as to whether the equipment is capable of delivering the ability to measure what you wish to for the given circumstances, in a simple, intuitive manner. Also to have accurate, repeatable and easy to understand results without fuss, while observing the accepted set up procedures and warm up time. I.E. Can it do the job correctly over and over again with consistent results
 

R&S had kindly loaned a 14Ghz FPL model, it was ‘fully loaded’ as they say including a tracking genny, improved OXCO, digital attenuator plus all software options. This is also can be fitted with an optional DC power supply as well as internal batteries (It neatly fits in to a semi bench unit) it is easily portable for on site work) Fully charged batteries reportedly lastly 3 hours with in filed use.

Its specifications are what I feel are a good grouping of performance and flexibility at an attainable costing for many SME’s, small labs and academic institutions. SSB phase noise: typ. –108 dBc (1 Hz) at 10 kHz with DANL with preamplifier: typ. –163 dBm in the useful 10 MHz to 2 GHz range.

Must admit I really love the form factor, it’s a real bench pleaser (Copyright Sighound36 2023)
I realise the other models in the R&S ranges are larger in physical size and pack more powerful analytical abilities. They also have a higher cost implication!

This FPL really sits really well on the bench, it’s a very neat and well thought out device (R&S have had a wee bit of practice at this I feel!) The end stops bumpers are a nice touch without being intrusive at all. I know this is designed to be semi portable, however its great piece of clean style work. How often can you say that about a piece of electronic test equipment?


Layout of the buttons is intuitive, whilst being clearly readable. The buttons have a positive engagement feel (not tacky or overly squishy (lol), screen is really nice size and the touch aspect is very positive, no mis touched or wrong dialogue box placed issue here. The whole user interface is well laid out, great to read, the options are easily accessed and controlled. Imho works better than the GUI on the MX04, though to be fair R&S have got the measure of this RF equipment design by now. I feel I’m not giving you any new information on this topic here 😊

I know this particular aspect isn’t new at all on many instruments but having dual USB ports on the front another nice but welcome touch as well. One can never have too many USB ports imho

Not sure how long R&S analysers have used this flow chart set up screen for each measurement analysis, however is also a top idea, even if you are in the midst of a complex procedure, you can just go back and look how the instrument is set again simple BUT very effective.

Someone has thought these little features out and they are very welcome.

[Sighound36]

Now to the blunt end of the review, how does it actually feel in use, do I need a Ph.D a alien cryptography to actually use this thing?  Is it any good? And accessioned questions

The week it actually arrived I was knee deep in preparations for a large UK show so my initial time with the FPL was limited to examining to looking at both 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz wifi channel hopping on the local internal networks coupled with channel power as well as occupied bandwidths.

So in fairness not much ‘getting your teeth’ into a juicy measurement prospect, however the FPL preformed faultlessly, even when using four traces on a quite a tight RBW of 1Khz, the FPL produced fast, clean and clear screen presentations that were easy to decipher and intrepid instantly. With occupied band width & adjacent channel power again, this was easily rendered. The Lower screen table read outs were very clear and contained all the information you need to know.

I used the EMI application to check a new PSU we are working on, and compared this to the two other SA we have here, again this FPL has very solid bench performance no question at all.

Limit lines and moveable markers are a breeze to use again it very intuitive to use, compared to the not so intuitive set up procedures we have on one of the others SA units.

The one aspect I was looking forward to using was the noise figure app, unfortunately I didn’t have a NRP sensor in the with the loan unit. I did briefly play with the Vector signal explorer app, this gives you access to some of the lesser VNA functions as apposed to the full gamut that its brother ZNLE VNA carries. However give the abilities of this unit, it generally very good performance and price point. I would suggest it stands up very well against much of the opposition.
One of the finial sessions with this unit was tracking down some  spurious RF interference on a well-loved expensive digital to analogue converter for a client using H & I probes.  Using just the internal pre amp and no external amplification. With ref level set to between -10 & +10 dBc, so far no need to use the external pre amplifier or transient limiter.

The instrument is very fast & responsive here and it’s so simple to readjust the span/ frequency bands of interest quickly.  The simplicity of the app selection and ease of swapping again first rate, this has really been thought out from the (END USERS perspective, not the coders point of view imho) The trace lines are clear & concise and easy to interpret even with 4 of them in the mix, peak & marker tables again simple and clear to read.

Although I didn’t have the necessary time to check out all of the features the FPL spectrum analyser has, I personally felt I managed to obtain a very good handle on its use, quirks and day to day running, its abilities and limitations and most of all its personality.

So rounding up then, this is one of more straightforward pieces I have written the FPL spectrum analyser is one of those products that really does what it says on the tin without fuss or having to navigate thirty six drop down menus while standing on a three legged chair over a precipice.

Likes: There are a lot of them.

Small neat form factor great for both bench and mobile applications
Great solid decent performance for the cost
Models from 3 to 26.5Ghz
Simple and easy to use GUI
Top quality screen & touch facility
Lots of quality apps available including:
EMC pre compliance /VSE/Analogue mod/Noise figure/Power measurements/BER with PRBS data/Multi modulation
Track generator option
Noise measurement option you don’t normally see at this price point
The set-up flow chart to guide you through correctly setting up for a specific measurement attribute.
Battery pack for mobile use (optional).

Dislikes

No HDMI output
No IF output
No phase noise measurement (maybe wishful thinking)
No low frequency extension to 10Hz again suspect that is part of the R&S range structure.

I’m struggling to think of more, but at the moment no its not really a unit you don’t like at all, its been engineered to be very appealing and useable across a wide range of disciplines.

This FPL analyser really is a damn fine jack of all trades with really solid performance and I pretty sure it’s hard to beat at this sector of the market for flexibility and abilities.

Gets the Sighound seal of approval, if you are thinking of having a quality all round damn fine spectrum analyser for your lab then I would suggest a demonstration I’m sure you will be surprised by it potential. Solid B+ all day.

[tautech]

What's a screenshot look like please ?