New Tektronix Tool Helps Locate Interference

Tracking down interference has never been easy, but as communication links trade robustness for data rate, even a short burst of interference can create big problems. Last week Tektronix announced its new Specmon spectrum analyzer. It can discover and capture events as short as 3.7 microseconds with 100 percent probability of intercept. Such an event could be generated by frequency hopping wideband signals.

“The growing use of frequency hopping technologies has made hunting down the resulting transient signals next to impossible in the field with conventional spectrum monitoring receivers and equipment,” said Jim McGillivary, general manager of Tektronix’s spectrum analyzer product line. “With Specmon, we are giving spectrum managers the tool they need to keep interference issues under control with features like broader bandwidth, multiple integrated functions in a single box, and open data format compatibility to industry standards."

The Specmon is available with up to 110 MHz real-time bandwidth. It includes applications for mapping, interferer locator, signal demodulation and automated field measurements. It’s also capable of more conventional measurements such as field strength, channel power, ACPR, and spur searches. Data can be exported into Google Earth, MapInfo or MATLAB for additional analysis.

Specmon prices will start at $51,600. See http://www.tek.com/spectrum-analyzer/specmon for additional information. 

Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.