Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
(OP)
What is the proper setting of the Resolution Band Width of a Spectrum Analyzer relative to the Band Width of an amplifier? Should it be greater, equal, or narrower than the amplifier's Band Width?





RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
The resolution bandwidth shows you the details of what's going on within the amplifier's bandwidth, and perhaps beyond the amplifier's stated bandwidth in case it's misbehaving (e.g. oscillating).
Here's a good intro: http://www.ni.com/white-paper/3983/en/
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
In general, one might wish to explore around a bit. Set the initial sweep to 'DC to Daylight' just to confirm that nothing funny is going on. And then narrow in on whatever it is that you're specifically interested in.
Worth mentioning that there's a trade-off with resolution bandwidth, in that a scan might take longer. Not a big deal if everything is steady state, but when trying to capture transient activity it becomes an explicit trade-off.
It's worthwhile to connect an antenna to a spectrum analyzer, and explore the effect of the various settings while viewing (for example) the FM Broadcast band.
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
However the fft "resolution" (with respect to determining frequency) is sometimes referred to as the "bin width" (it's not exactly the same due to windowing considerations, but it's very closely related).
fft Bin width is a frequency increment equal to (or less than) the Fs / (2*N) where Fs is sample frequency and N is FFT length.
This distinction in terminology (band width vs bin width vs resolution) may be important because a better frequency resolution may imply a lower bin width and bandwidth.
I'm not sure if this terminology is or could be confusing to op. (Maybe it's just me that's confused)_. Feel free to disregard if it's not relevant to what you're talking about.
=====================================
(2B)+(2B)' ?
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
At the risk of oversimplification for brevity, the RBW is essentially the IF bandwidth.
RE: Proper setting of Resolution Band Width
=====================================
(2B)+(2B)' ?