Arinst SSA-R2 TG

[Bicurico]

Hello,

I published a test report of the Arinst SSA-R2 TG on my blog: https://vma-satellite.blogspot.com/2021/05/arinst-ssa-r2tg-one-of-themost-frequent.html

This device is fairly unknown outside Russia and despite having seen it being advertised on eBay and AliExpress, I never found much information on it.

Well, I got one, tested it and have to say that it is a pretty fine spectrum analyser! I think it is the most affordable device of this kind, that really works at good performance.

The only shortcoming is the fixed RBW of 200 KHz. If you can live with it, then you can seriously consider this portable device, which is sold at around 350 Euro.

I am very happy with and it is a big step up from devices like the SMA/NWT/D6/LTDZ or TinySA.

Regards,
Vitor

[LogicalDave]

I think it's important for folks who are new to spectrum analysis and on a budget to understand just how limiting that 200kHz resolution bandwidth (RBW) is. 

It means that 200kHz is the finest resolution detail you can see; if you look at a 40kHz deviated FSK signal, it will just be a big 200kHz blob.  This makes it virtually useless for looking at anything narrow-band (e.g. FM/FSK).  Most FM broadcast channels are 100kHz or 200kHz spaced with +/-75kHz deviation.  Most sub-GHz IoT signals are also narrow-band.  2m FM amateur radio signals are +/-5 or even 2.5kHz deviated.  This means you can't look at any of these in a meaningful way using a device with 200kHz RBW.

The TinySA is the only very low-cost SA I've seen with RBW approaching reasonable (3kHz).  Most folks who need a low-budget, sub-GHz SA would be better off with either a TinySA ($50-$60) or one of the older used cellular field service tools such as the Anritsu SiteMaster or CellMaster which are regularly available on eBay for around $500 and offer RBW down to 100Hz, are good to at least 3GHz and have other nice features like cable and antenna analysis.

[Bicurico]

@LogicalDave: You are correct in your analysis and observation.

While the Arinst still manages to render FM radio stations (100kHz signal with 200kHz RBW), the resolution already suffers.

In my opinion, the Arinst SSA-TG R2 is not the ideal device for HAM or people interested into looking at signals with smaller bandwidth than 100-200kHz.

Here the TinySA is clearly the better choice, if the supported frequency range is enough. In this aspect, the TinySA is limited, but suitable for HAM. However, it lacks TG functionality, too, so no filter/antenna measurements!

I would position the Arinst SSA-TG R2 as an ideal tool as a tool to monitor and measure within TV/CATV/SAT broadcast, reception and distribution, as well as, for mobile phone applications. The increased frequency range is nice for other applications, too. Because you get a signal generator up to 6GHz (!) and the TG function allows to measure filters and antennas.

So, neither device is an allrounder and potentially interested buyers should know what the need/want to measure.

As always, these devices represent the best tradeoff between functionality and price. An Arinst SSA-TG R2 with variable RBW would certainly have a different price, as would a TinySA with increased frequency range...

Regards,
Vitor

[ozkarah]

I found the following device which seems to be a clone of Arinst. The price is very attractive.

https://tr.aliexpress.com/item/1005004345625108.html


Has anyone used/tested this version?