Reminder to RF specialists--Antenna RoadTest Needs You

Without a network or spectrum analyser there isn't much testing one could do. Eventually those that have roadtested such test equipment will join this roadtest...

Hi!

There was some thread where various ideas were suggested if there was absolutely no RF equipment. Examples were transceiver boards, for more subjective/empirical types of tests, e.g. to confirm range, sensitivity to nearby hand detuning, etc. or even using receivers or home-made power meters.

For home use, where there is a small budget, then for a basic comparison of antenna bandwidth or tuning, a software-defined radio could be another option to do it cheaply.

Regarding which SDR could be feasible, I only have LimeSDR so cannot compare with the other possibilities, but I feel the LimeSDR hardware is great (although a few quirky design choices here and there), but the software still needs work, although there is plenty of it out there, the documentation is weak. So far using the available software I've got it to arbitrarily generate a signal at a desired frequency, and also some extremely basic FM tone, and for receiving signals, I used some software that is spectrum-analyzer-like.

From using the SDR, I'd say it's a _very_ basic alternative for an SA, but is just about usable. All design engineers in firms should have access to a spectrum analyzer I hope, but there could be many small firms that may not realize the need for it : (

Even the cheapest real SA (a modern low-cost one, not the very ancient decades-old ebay boatanchors which are totally worthless - I'm trying to get rid of one) would be better for general use compared to the SDR, but if there is the absolute minimal budget for RF hardware, then the SDR could be an option maybe. Today the LimeSDR-Mini would be a better choice than the original LimeSDR I reckon, and is $159.

Screenshot is from an 868MHz transmitter, spectrum being picked up by LimeSDR.

Hi!

There was some thread where various ideas were suggested if there was absolutely no RF equipment. Examples were transceiver boards, for more subjective/empirical types of tests, e.g. to confirm range, sensitivity to nearby hand detuning, etc. or even using receivers or home-made power meters.

For home use, where there is a small budget, then for a basic comparison of antenna bandwidth or tuning, a software-defined radio could be another option to do it cheaply.

Regarding which SDR could be feasible, I only have LimeSDR so cannot compare with the other possibilities, but I feel the LimeSDR hardware is great (although a few quirky design choices here and there), but the software still needs work, although there is plenty of it out there, the documentation is weak. So far using the available software I've got it to arbitrarily generate a signal at a desired frequency, and also some extremely basic FM tone, and for receiving signals, I used some software that is spectrum-analyzer-like.

From using the SDR, I'd say it's a _very_ basic alternative for an SA, but is just about usable. All design engineers in firms should have access to a spectrum analyzer I hope, but there could be many small firms that may not realize the need for it : (

Even the cheapest real SA (a modern low-cost one, not the very ancient decades-old ebay boatanchors which are totally worthless - I'm trying to get rid of one) would be better for general use compared to the SDR, but if there is the absolute minimal budget for RF hardware, then the SDR could be an option maybe. Today the LimeSDR-Mini would be a better choice than the original LimeSDR I reckon, and is $159.

Screenshot is from an 868MHz transmitter, spectrum being picked up by LimeSDR.