Microwave Engineering Europe - March 2009 - (Page 33) PRODUCTS 33 Wideband radio tester for today’s and future wireless measurements The CMW500 wideband radio communication tester from Rohde & Schwarz is a all-inone solution for every phase of development and production. The tester opens the door to measurements in production by supporting all relevant cellular and non-cellular standards and by achieving alignment times up to ten times faster than with conventional solutions. To enable cuttingedge development of HSPA+ and UMTS LTE, a broad range of test capabilities are already available. All functional layers of a wireless device — RF parameters, protocols and applications — can be tested with a single platform. New wireless standards are continuously being developed to ensure higher data rates, lower latency and efficient use of the available frequency spectrum. To position their products successfully in the market, manufacturers of RF/ baseband chipsets and wireless devices combine different technologies and standards. But to succeed, the combination of services must exhibit stable performance across all network boundaries. To meet the growing demands on testing in development and production, the CMW500 offers a flexible, scalable platform. Now, users no longer need several instruments in order to handle the various measuring tasks. Development engineers need a test instrument that allows in-depth functional analysis of RF and protocol layers and also handles sophisticated measuring tasks extending up to application tests. The multitechnology support of the radio tester includes, for example, all necessary handover and cell-selection scenarios across various standards. In production, on the other hand, the focus is on saving time and lowering costs. By applying the company’s Smart Alignment test concept, for example, the CMW500 makes alignment up to ten times faster than with conventional methods. Since the tester offers the option of coming equipped with two channels, it can even test two DUTs at the same time using different standards. Moreover, the radio tester delivers absolute accuracy, repeatability and linearity. An advantage that has received little attention up to now is the use of consistent test concepts throughout all phases of product development. From development through to production, the CMW500 delivers consistent, comparable results. Consequently, errors that appear in production can easily be reproduced and eliminated in the development lab. Conversely, test scripts or alignment routines from development can easily be implemented in production. Featuring a frequency range up to 6 GHz, the CMW500 radio tester is ideally suited to tomorrow’s technological challenges. Its modular concept, which allows users to add new standards with optional software updates, yields minimum test costs and maximum flexibility. The CMW500 supports the following standards by means of specific feature sets: GSM/ (E)GPRS, WCDMA/HSPA, UMTS LTE, TD-SCDMA, CDMA2000® 1xRTT, CDMA2000® 1xEV-DO, Mobile WiMAXTM, WLAN, Bluetooth®, DVB-T and GPS. www.mwee.com/215200079 Low power ZigBee module targets home automation, smart building and industrial applications Specialist distributor, Admiral Microwaves has announced the availability of the latest ZigBee Ready module from US manufacturer, California Eastern Laboratories (CEL). The Apex series ZAXM-201 is a new addition to the Apex range and is designed to suit a wide range of applications, be it ZigBee or IEEE 802.15.4. Based around the Ember™ EM250 platform, the module features Ember’s transceiver IC and 16-bit microprocessor, together with a high efficiency, 1 mW to 100 mW software configurable, on-board power amplifier. With integrated antenna, it operates over a transmission range of more than 4000 feet, and delivers a constant RF output power across the 2.1 to 3.6 V voltage input range. The module also features 16 general purpose I/O ports and DMA, SP1, I2C and UART interfaces. Power consumption is a low 170 mA at a typical 100 mW output, making the module platform ideal for developing remote sensing applications. Designed for use in mesh, point-to-point, and pointto-multipoint systems, they provide a fully integrated and ZigBee certified solution aimed at getting product to market quickly, reliably and cost effectively. This module works hand in hand with the ZALM301 which is based around the EM260 network processor IC. An SPI-based microprocessor interface delivers the flexibility to choose an external microprocessor based on the application’s needs and memory requirement. www.mwee.com/213400752 ● Microwave Engineering Europe ● March 2009 www.mwee.com http://www.mwee.com/215200079 http://www.mwee.com/213400752 http://www.mwee.com
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