Used spectrum analyzer buyer's guide

[SaabFAN]

The HP8922G (The "G" is important, as there are a ton of versions available and only a handful have Spectrum Analyzer-Capability, which is also called Option 006) might also be worth looking into.

They are priced at about 350€ from resellers in germany (Price with 6 months warranty), but are quite heavy.
Occasionally they appear for a lot less or similarly priced but with a big second unit.

Spectrum Analyzer-Capabilities:
- Bandwidth: 10 - 1000MHz
- Span: 5kHz - 4MHz (Manual states that with Overrange its possible to set Span to 10MHz)

The instrument has iBASIC, so it should be possible to do something similar to the Full Spectrum-Script for the E4406.

Big Plus: It has Audio-Oscilloscope, Audio-Signal Gen, RF Signal-Gen (10 - 1000MHz) and a lot of other stuff.
Also Agilent seems to have built these beasts for quite a long time. The manuals are clean OCR-PDFs instead of simple scans.

[Bicurico]

Hi,

I recently posted on the REPAIRS forum about my attempt to repair a Keysight E4403B spectrum analyser. What I thought would be an easy repair, turned out to be a nightmare:

The device would not turn on. No LED, nothing. That was the description.

I figured that the cause would be one of this:

1) Burned fuse -> extremly easy to "repair"
2) Dried electrolytic capacitors -> easy to repair, just swap them for same spec new ones
3) Some other component that could be visually identified for being dead, burned, exploded -> possible to repair as long the replacement part can be obtained

Well, turns out that the fault is neither of the three cases and:

1) The PSU is extremly complex
2) No documentation has EVER been published by HP/Agilent/Keysight
3) The PSU has many unobtainable components (including a microcontroller with software and EEPROM with data)
4) The only second hand replacment PSU are either sold BROKEN for 150 Euro + shipping, second hand and "working until removal" for 600 Euro + shipping or refurbished for 1500 US$ + shipping + trade in  of the broken PSU

Why am I posting this here?

Because:

1) The E440x series is fairly popular on eBay and looks fairly modern (LCD screen, etc.)
2) It is from a reputable brand (HP/Agilent/Keysight - in this chronological order)
3) These devices are still sold for high prices on eBay

Yet: a simple failure on the PSU and you probably won't get it back working EVER!

So the question is: is it really that much better than a brand new Siglent SSA3021X or wouldn't it be better to spend a little more and get a brand new Rohde & Schwarz FPC1000?

If you are buying a second hand premium spectrum analyzer, make sure you will be able to repair it and that you have access to service manuals and spare parts!

Regards,
Vitor

PS: Yes, I am very frustrated right now and the device isn't even mine...

[BravoV]

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

For negotiating mine, I used the leverage that the company (used to be Korea LG subsidiary) which is now making military weapons only, and totally abandoned all their T&M business. Probably sold to Aeroflex. Scored for slightly less than 200 bucks.

Nex1 NS-30 , 9KHz-3GHz, full specification -> PDF

This model also Oem-ed to popular brand Aeroflex with model number IFR-2399.



Few photos when unpacking.

[tecman]

I recently picked up an Advantest R3465 for $ 400.  Front bezel had some areas broken and a knob missing.  Made a temp knob, but the bezel was more of a challenge.  The side flanges (stick out to protect the face) were both badly damaged.  Solution was to just cut them off.  Other areas were cracked or broken.  Several rounds of repair with epoxy and a dremel resolved them.  The plastic of the bezel seems to crack easily due to age, and a replacement was impossible to find, so epoxy repair was the only practical option, and it worked and is not visible to the user for the most part.

As for the analyzer, 10K~8 gHz, LCD screen and it works great, and a great bargain.

paul

[Mechatrommer]

i guess Advantest R3465 (9KHz - 8GHz, 300Hz - 5MHz RBW) can be added to $500 - $2000 list. i got mine for $600 due to its advertised as "as is" and some defects (dead battery and out of cal). you still can find a working R3465 at a bit more than $1000 sold in ebay, and one seller selling it at nearly $2000. i guess it will depends on how long the seller want to keep it in their shelf (the higher the price the longer it will be before it find its buyer).

few other Advantest SA units (3GHz - 8GHz) also still sold at around $1K in ebay, some are $500. there is currently one Advantest R3267 (100Hz - 8GHz, 1Hz - 10MHz RBW) sold as "as is" (keyboard controller fault) at $500. if you are lucky, the power to it got shorted or disconnected due to some passive burnt out, if you are unlucky, the keyboard controller chip is dead, and if you are unlucky unlucky, the chip is unobtanium. i cant take the risk, maybe you can communicate further with the seller on the situation.

One thing about R3465 is its a "Modulation" Spectrum Analyzer, i'm not entirely sure what is, but from the spec sheet http://www.testequipmenthq.com/datasheets/ADVANTEST-R3465-Datasheet.pdf it can do constellation and eye diagram plot and some other measurements in "Transient" mode (normal SA function is "CW" mode), i guess it has something with radio communication CDMA, GSM etc. i dont know how to use it (its there) and have no proper signal for it to test the function. so i believe it can add values to the SA functions.

and edited ps: esp for new kids familiar with modern gadgetries, this thing is a 17kg relic, it can wear out your backbone pretty soon if you keep moving it, like what i feel right now... thought you may get warned from this... the heaviest in my arsenal right now, but not the most expensive.. fwiw, ymmv.

stock photo...

[usagi]

updated nex and advantest

[0culus]

*snip*
One thing about R3465 is its a "Modulation" Spectrum Analyzer, i'm not entirely sure what is, but from the spec sheet http://www.testequipmenthq.com/datasheets/ADVANTEST-R3465-Datasheet.pdf it can do constellation and eye diagram plot and some other measurements in "Transient" mode (normal SA function is "CW" mode), i guess it has something with radio communication CDMA, GSM etc. i dont know how to use it (its there) and have no proper signal for it to test the function. so i believe it can add values to the SA functions.

*snip*

"Transient" might mean some kind of limited real time capability. Sweep tuned analyzers are great for narrowband carrier work, but they have poor probability of intercept for digital spread spectrum protocols.

[usagi]

Product Page: R&S®FSH6 Spectrum Analyzer

[usagi]

Agilent/Keysight N9020-503 MXA are now showing up on ebay from chinese sellers for about $1800.

https://www.keysight.com/us/en/product/N9020A/mxa-signal-analyzer-10hz-26-5ghz.html

[Sighound36]

Agilent/Keysight N9020-503 MXA are now showing up on ebay from chinese sellers for about $1800.

https://www.keysight.com/us/en/product/N9020A/mxa-signal-analyzer-10hz-26-5ghz.html

(Attachment Link)

There are two sitting on ebay for what seems like a bargin ($1800)for many months now. I would suggest caution here. If it seems to good to be true.............

[Mechatrommer]

Agilent/Keysight N9020-503 MXA are now showing up on ebay from chinese sellers for about $1800.
https://www.keysight.com/us/en/product/N9020A/mxa-signal-analyzer-10hz-26-5ghz.html
(Attachment Link)

There are two sitting on ebay for what seems like a bargin ($1800)for many months now. I would suggest caution here. If it seems to good to be true.............

its seem not, they are 3.6GHz model (not 26.5GHz).. and sellers got some rating... i got 13.2GHz Anritsu for half the price..

[usagi]

Anritsu MS8609A Product Page



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

quite a few of these are on ebay now (2024-04-23)