Used spectrum analyzer buyer's guide

[usagi]

Lots of spectrum analzyers can be found on the used market for great prices, especially if you know what to look for! A lot of test equipment such as "communication tester", "transmitter tester", "base station test set", "vector signal analyzer", or other similar description have quite decent basic spectrum analyzer functionality. This guide is intended for hobbyists looking for spectrum analzyers that can be found on the used market for around US$1000 or less.

Use "undesirable" options such as 75ohm input impedance as leverage for negotiating price.

Make/Model	Freq Range	Span	RBW	Avg Price	Notes
Advantest R3131A	9khz-3Ghz	Zero,50khz-Full	300hz-1Mhz	$700-$1600	TG is option 74
Advantest R3261A	9khz-2.6Ghz	Zero,1khz-Full	30hz-1Mhz	$900-$2000
Advantest R3361A	9khz-2.6Ghz	Zero,1khz-Full	30hz-1Mhz	$900-$2000
Advantest R3465	9khz-8Ghz		300hz-5mhz	$1000-$2000
Advantest R4131A	10khz-3.5Ghz	Zero,100khz-Full	1khz-1Mhz	$900-$2000
Agilent E4406A	10Mhz-4Ghz	10hz-10Mhz	0.1hz-1Mhz	$400-$1000	100M span with W-CDMA option. Pay attention to ser# for 12bit vs 14bit models
Agilent E4411B	9khz-1.5Ghz	1khz-5Mhz	0.1hz-1Mhz	$600-$1200	"undesirable" Option 1DP 75ohm input impedance. Option 1DR adds 100hz, 300hz RBW
Agilent E6380E	400khz-1Ghz,1.4-2Ghz	300hz,1khz,3khz,30khz,300khz	Full Span	$800-$1300
Agilent E7495A	10Mhz-2.5Ghz (usable to 500khz)	1khz-Full	10hz-1Mhz	$400-$1000	Portable, 18650 battery pack
Agilent E7495B	10Mhz-2.7Ghz (usable to 500khz)	1khz-Full	10hz-1Mhz	$400-$1000	Portable, 18650 battery pack
Agilent E8285A	800Mhz-1Ghz,1.7-2Ghz	300hz,1khz,3khz,30khz,300khz	Full Span	$350-$700	Option 102 required for Spectrum Analyzer
Agilent N9020A-503 MXA	10hz-3.6ghz	1Hz-8Mhz	Full Span	$1800	+30 dBm (1W) max input
Anritsu MS2711D	100khz-3ghz	Zero,10hz-Full	100hz-1Mhz	$900-$1600	Up to +43dbm input
Anritsu MS8604A	100hz-8.5Ghz	Zero,100hz-Full	10hz-3Mhz	$500-$1000
Anritsu MS8608A	9khz-7.8Ghz	Zero,1khz-Full	300hz-20Mhz	$1000-$1200	Option 02 adds 1hz-1khz RBW Option 04 adds 10hz-1Mhz RBW
Anritsu MS8609A	9khz-13.2Ghz	Zero,1khz-Full	300hz-20Mhz	$1500-$2500	Option 02 adds 1hz-1khz RBW Option 04 adds 10hz-1Mhz RBW Option 32 adds +30dbm input
Anritsu MT8802A	10Mhz-3Ghz	Zero-Full	300hz	$600-$800	ISTR option 7 required for spectrum analyzer
GW Instek GSP-810	150khz-1Ghz	Zero,2khz-100mhz	3khz,30khz,220khz,4Mhz	$300-$700	Unimpressive specs, probably best for classrooms. RBW limitations would hamper HF use.
HP/Keysight 8562A	1khz-22Ghz	Zero,2.5khz-Full	100hz-1Mhz	$100-$2000
HP/Keysight 8566B	100hz-22Ghz	Zero,100hz-Full	10hz-3Mhz	$700-$1400	140lbs!
HP/Keysight 8568B	100hz-1.5Ghz	Zero,100hz-Full	10hz-3Mhz	$700-$1400	140lbs!
HP/Keysight 8590A	10khz-1.5Ghz	Zero,50khz-Full	1khz-3Mhz	$800-$1200	Portable. Be wary of Option 001 (75ohm)
HP/Keysight 8591A	9khz-1.8Ghz	Zero,10khz-Full	1khz-3Mhz	$800-$1200	Option 130 adds 30,100,300hz RBW
HP/Keysight 8594E	9khz-2.9Ghz	Zero,10khz-Full	1khz-3Mhz	$1000-$1200	Portable. Option 130 and 140 adds 30,100,300hz RBW. Option 140 also adds internal OCXO.
Nex1 NS-30	9khz-3Ghz	100Hz/div-Full	300,1k,3k,10k,30k,100k,300k,1M,3M	$UNKNOWN
Rodhe & Schwarz CMU200	10Mhz-2.7Ghz	Zero-Full	10hz-1Mhz	$800-$1200	Up to +47dbm (50W) on RF1 input. Options CMU-B95 and CMU-B96 reduce this to 2W
Rodhe & Schwarz FSH3	100khz-3Ghz	Zero-Full	1khz-1Mhz	$1000-$1800	Portable. RBW 100hz, 300hz with option
Rodhe & Schwarz FSH6	100khz-6Ghz	Zero-Full	1khz-1Mhz	$1500-$2000	Portable. RBW 100hz, 300hz with option

See also: Used multimeter buyer's guide

[usagi]

Keysight Product page: E4406A VSA Transmitter Tester, 7 MHz to 4 GHz

image courtesy of sglabs.it


Models with 14-bit IF appear to have better performance

Does my E4406A VSA Series Analyzer have a 14-bit digital IF or a 12-bit digital IF? (archive.is)

All instruments that were manufactured in Malaysia were originally built with 14-bit Digital IF assemblies. Instruments manufactured in the US that have Serial numbers US41513009 and later were also originally built with 14-bit Digital IF assemblies. Also, U.S. instruments that have serial numbers that start with US4136 and have the following suffixes were also originally built with 14-bit Digital IF assemblies: 2964, 2977, 2982, 2986, 2987, 2988, 2989, 2990, 2991, 2992, 2993, 2998, 3000, 3003, 3004, 3005, 3006, 3007. All other instruments with serial numbers US41362959 and prior were originally built with 12-bit digital IF assemblies. The date at which instruments started to be manufactured with the 14-bit Digital IF was approximately January 15, 2002.

You can also determine which digital IF assembly you have by looking at the Show System menu which is accessible by pressing the following key sequence on your instrument: . The part numbers of the major assemblies in the instrument will be given shown under this menu. The part numbers of the two revisions of the 14 bit Digital IF assembly are E4440-60025 and E4440-60195. The 12-bit Digital IF assembly is part number E4406-60006.

Option B7C IQ baseband option is highly desirable but rare.
Option BAF W-CDMA option allows for span up to 100mhz

agilent e4406a span concatenator
http://ve2zaz.net/InstrCtl/InstrCtl.htm

HP E4406A remote control

Topic: Agilent E4406A Vector Signal Analyser

[usagi]

Product Page: R&S®CMU200 Universal Radio Communication Tester


Be aware of the following options. If installed, they reduce the max input power on RF 1, which may be undesirable:
if R&S CMU-B95 is installed, RF 1 continuous input power = max 2 W
if R&S CMU-B96 is installed, RF 1 continuous input power = max 2 W

Topic: Enabling options for R&S test equipment

Topic: Rohde & Schwarz CMU200

Topic: CMU200 almost tracking generator



Controller is a standard PC architecture running MS-DOS. CPU upgrades and SSD conversions are possible.

FMR5 motherboard uses AMD K6-2/300 CPU (Socket 7).
FMR6 motherboard uses Celeron Mobile CPU
FMR6Plus motherboard uses Celeron Mobile CPU (socket 495), BIOS 1.00 supports Pentium III 933

[usagi]

Anritsu MT8802a Product Page



Anritsu MT8802A (MT8801C) service tips

Topic: Anritsu MT8801A/B/C & MT8802A

ISTR Option 7 required for spectrum analyzer functionality

[usagi]

True spectrum analyzer. Vector display. Introduced in 1980!

Huge and heavy - 140lbs. Shipping can easily run several hundred $ even in the US.

Keysight Product Page: 8566B Spectrum Analyzer, 100 Hz to 22 GHz

Keysight Product Page: 8568B Spectrum Analyzer, 100 Hz to 1500 MHz

image courtesy of sglabs.it


HP 8568 Resources (also covers HP 8566B) @ hpmemoryproject.org

HP 8566B User's Manual

HP 8568B User's Manual

EB5AGV's Workbench: HP-8566A repair

[usagi]

Keysight Product Page: E7495B Base Station Test Set



Topic: Agilent E7495 linux root account

Service manual and firmware

Battery pack rebuild

Hidden Tetris and Snake games on your Agilent 

Replace background screen image

Battery drain while "standby" or "off" can be significant. Agilent recommends removing batteries when not in use for extended periods.

Noise floor below 375mhz is significantly higher is a known issue due to preamp design (archive.is)

Rubber gasket MP29 (P/N E7495-40023) coming loose from screen bezel appears to be a common issue.

Quite a sturdy beast, case is magnesium. Designed for field use at cellular transmitter towers.

At 20lbs (9.1kg), it is "portable" in exactly the same way the Osborne 1 was "portable".

[razberik]

There are few Advantest R3261, R3361, R4131 out there. These are quite simple, made of generic components and all schematics available.
I repaired my R3361A, topic here.
And the amber CRT is incredible, so perfectly fits with yellowed plastic and so good and comfortable to read.

[usagi]

Topic: Advantest R3361A [FIXED]



Advantest R3261 / R3361 Operating Manual [EN]

[usagi]

Advantest R4131 Manual [EN]

image courtesy of sglabs.it

[usagi]

Keysight Product Page: 8594E Portable Spectrum Analyzer, 9 kHz to 2.9 GHz

HP 859x Series User's Guide

[usagi]

Anritsu MS8604A Product Page

[usagi]

Anritsu MS8608A Product Page



Thread: Anritsu MS8609A 9kHz - 13.2GHz Spectrum/Signal Analyzer - Short Review

[JPortici]

excellent

[nctnico]

I'm missing the Advantest R3131 (320x240 monochrome display) and R3132 (640x480 color display) from the list. They are both not terribly expensive and not very heavy. Also an Advantest R3477 Signal Analyser may turn up on Ebay every now and then which is a PC based spectrum analyser with 1Hz RBW, 15.4GHz range and good performance at the price of being big and noisy.

[usagi]

I'm missing the Advantest R3131 (320x240 monochrome display) and R3132 (640x480 color display) from the list. They are both not terribly expensive and not very heavy. Also an Advantest R3477 Signal Analyser may turn up on Ebay every now and then which is a PC based spectrum analyser with 1Hz RBW, 15.4GHz range and good performance at the price of being big and noisy.

is the average ebay price for working R3131, R3132, and R3477 under $1000? i was unable to find any. i am sure they can be had for bargain price compared to original MSRP but once you go north of $1200 you might as well start looking at a brand new siglent ssa3021x.

[innkeeper]

HP 8560A 50hz-2.9ghz can be had very often in the $400 dollar range without the tracking generator.

(corrected model number mistakenly said 8650a)

[usagi]

HP 8650A 50hz-2.9ghz can be had very often in the $400 dollar range without the tracking generator.

i dont see any ebay auctions for hp 8650a. can you find any? if any are sold anymore, it looks extremely rare.

[DaJMasta]

Are you including portable versions in your list?

The Anritsu Sitemaster 331 variants (and occasionally 332) could be worth listing as they come up around this pricepoint.  Maybe also the BK Precision 2650 series could also show up (though not the newer A variants).  The R&S FSH3 series handheld units occasionally go for under $1000 US, but it's not super common.  I don't think the R&S FSEA/FSIQ series benchtop analyzers typically sell under $1000, but you can find some under that needing repair or occasionally a working base model for not too much more.

[usagi]

Are you including portable versions in your list?

yes, see the agilent e7945a/b.

The Anritsu Sitemaster 331 variants (and occasionally 332) could be worth listing as they come up around this pricepoint.  Maybe also the BK Precision 2650 series could also show up (though not the newer A variants).  The R&S FSH3 series handheld units occasionally go for under $1000 US, but it's not super common.  I don't think the R&S FSEA/FSIQ series benchtop analyzers typically sell under $1000, but you can find some under that needing repair or occasionally a working base model for not too much more.

the sitemaster 331 prices seem to be all over the place. $700 - $3000. what's up with that? there seem to be like 41,000 variants of the 331.

[usagi]

Product Page: R&S®FSH3 Spectrum Analyzer

[DaJMasta]

the sitemaster 331 prices seem to be all over the place. $700 - $3000. what's up with that? there seem to be like 41,000 variants of the 331.

Yeah, I would focus on the 331D variant, it seems to be around that $1000 pricepoint pretty commonly and is usually sold with a color screen (which is actually an option on most 331 models... oddly).  The pricing variation is probably partly due to the number of variants and options for them, but just the confusion around all of the versions - I think it's been in production in one model or another for quite some time.

Maybe the Anritsu MS2711 is worth adding too, seems to be sold around the same price.

[nctnico]

I'm missing the Advantest R3131 (320x240 monochrome display) and R3132 (640x480 color display) from the list. They are both not terribly expensive and not very heavy. Also an Advantest R3477 Signal Analyser may turn up on Ebay every now and then which is a PC based spectrum analyser with 1Hz RBW, 15.4GHz range and good performance at the price of being big and noisy.

is the average ebay price for working R3131, R3132, and R3477 under $1000? i was unable to find any. i am sure they can be had for bargain price compared to original MSRP but once you go north of $1200 you might as well start looking at a brand new siglent ssa3021x.

AFAIK you should be able to get an R3131 for much less than $1000 all day long. R3132 will take some haggling and the R3477 is probably closer to $2000. All these SAs work to at least 3GHz where with the Siglent SSA3021X you have to see if they remain hackable or not (and the firmware doesn't seem to be finished yet anyway). Still the Siglent SSA3021X is mighty tempting when spending around $1500 on a spectrum analyser.

[tautech]

I'm missing the Advantest R3131 (320x240 monochrome display) and R3132 (640x480 color display) from the list. They are both not terribly expensive and not very heavy. Also an Advantest R3477 Signal Analyser may turn up on Ebay every now and then which is a PC based spectrum analyser with 1Hz RBW, 15.4GHz range and good performance at the price of being big and noisy.

is the average ebay price for working R3131, R3132, and R3477 under $1000? i was unable to find any. i am sure they can be had for bargain price compared to original MSRP but once you go north of $1200 you might as well start looking at a brand new siglent ssa3021x.

AFAIK you should be able to get an R3131 for much less than $1000 all day long. R3132 will take some haggling and the R3477 is probably closer to $2000. All these SAs work to at least 3GHz where with the Siglent SSA3021X you have to see if they remain hackable or not (and the firmware doesn't seem to be finished yet anyway). Still the Siglent SSA3021X is mighty tempting when spending around $1500 on a spectrum analyser.

Qualify this remark please.

[nctnico]

I'm missing the Advantest R3131 (320x240 monochrome display) and R3132 (640x480 color display) from the list. They are both not terribly expensive and not very heavy. Also an Advantest R3477 Signal Analyser may turn up on Ebay every now and then which is a PC based spectrum analyser with 1Hz RBW, 15.4GHz range and good performance at the price of being big and noisy.

is the average ebay price for working R3131, R3132, and R3477 under $1000? i was unable to find any. i am sure they can be had for bargain price compared to original MSRP but once you go north of $1200 you might as well start looking at a brand new siglent ssa3021x.

AFAIK you should be able to get an R3131 for much less than $1000 all day long. R3132 will take some haggling and the R3477 is probably closer to $2000. All these SAs work to at least 3GHz where with the Siglent SSA3021X you have to see if they remain hackable or not (and the firmware doesn't seem to be finished yet anyway). Still the Siglent SSA3021X is mighty tempting when spending around $1500 on a spectrum analyser.

Qualify this remark please.

AFAIK the last firmware update fixed the wonky results some people got from using the tracking generator but that also made the sweeps a lot slower (see: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/siglent-ssa3000x-spectrum-analyzers/msg1071366/#msg1071366 ). This is at least one issue that needs attention.

[usagi]

the sitemaster 331 prices seem to be all over the place. $700 - $3000. what's up with that? there seem to be like 41,000 variants of the 331.

Yeah, I would focus on the 331D variant, it seems to be around that $1000 pricepoint pretty commonly and is usually sold with a color screen (which is actually an option on most 331 models... oddly).  The pricing variation is probably partly due to the number of variants and options for them, but just the confusion around all of the versions - I think it's been in production in one model or another for quite some time.

Maybe the Anritsu MS2711 is worth adding too, seems to be sold around the same price.

looks like the S331D is an antenna analzyer only - only SWR, cable loss, TDR, etc. there is no spectrum analyzer feature in the documentation and there does not appear to be an SA option for the S331D.