Subject: spectrum analyser suggestions From: Bob Carlyon <bob.carlyon@xxxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:55:08 +0100 List-Archive:<http://lists.mcgill.ca/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=AUDITORY>This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------090103070808090203030101 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <title></title> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> <pre wrap="">Dear list, Last week I asked for suggestions regarding a replacement for our HP3561A spectrum analyser. I promised to post a summary of responses, and, in no particular order, here they are. I will try out a few options, & I'll let anyone who cares know what we decide on bob ********************************************************************************************** My Daqarta software uses a standard PC sound card to do spectrum analysis, color spectrograms, synchronous averaging (for evoked potentials, etc) and stimulus signal generation. The cost is US$99 for a lifetime license, entitling you to all upgrades. The next version (v3.50, in about a month) will add a pop-up voltmeter, frequency counter, spectral peak tracking, and peak super-resolution. Note that it only supports standard 16-bit stereo cards at present. Since Windows sound cards provide no calibration information (and Windows provides no way to access it even if they did), you will need to do the calibration yourself. Daqarta can calibrate the attenuator step sizes with its Auto-Calibration option, but you will need to provide an absolute full-scale range calibration using an external known signal level. (But the Help does discuss some "tricks" to use a cheap DMM if you have no test equipment.) Once calibrated, Daqarta keeps track of all ranges and levels, and can display in Volts or User Units, including SPL if you provide a frequency response file. D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.daqarta.com">www.daqarta.com</a> Scope, Spectrum, Spectrogram, Signal Generator Science with your sound card! ********************************************************************************************** I'm still happy with the two-channel Stanford Research SR780 I bought ... (from Michael Akeroyd: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:maa@xxxxxxxx">maa@xxxxxxxx</a>) ********************************************************************************************************* </pre> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Dear Bob,</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">we use a stanford research SR780 which works very well.</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Cheers, Lutz</font></span></div> <div> </div> <!-- Converted from text/plain format --> <font size="2">PD Dr. Lutz Wiegrebe<br> Dept. Biologie II<br> Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München<br> Großhadernerstr. 2<br> 82152 Martinsried, Germany<br> phone: +49 89 2180 74 314<br> fax: +49 89 2180 99 74 314</font> <br> ********************************************************************************************************* <pre wrap=""> </pre> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Dear Bob,</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">we use a stanford research SR780 which works very well.</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="656311715-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Cheers, Lutz</font></span></div> <div> </div> <!-- Converted from text/plain format --> <font size="2">PD Dr. Lutz Wiegrebe<br> Dept. Biologie II<br> Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München<br> Großhadernerstr. 2<br> 82152 Martinsried, Germany<br> phone: +49 89 2180 74 314<br> fax: +49 89 2180 99 74 314</font> <br> ********************************************************************************************************* <pre wrap=""> ********************************************************************************************** The following is a link to an Ono Sokki, which, incidentally, appears to have a touch screen rather than buttons.. This looks good - 4 channel, 24bit, 40 kHz FFT real time rate, Windows XP and lots of connections ! <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.onosokki.net/catalog/viewProduct.cfm?ProductID=78&a=1&CategoryIDTrail=4,27">http://www.onosokki.net/catalog/viewProduct.cfm?ProductID=78&a=1&CategoryIDTrail=4,27</a> It's different from their CF 5210 FFT Analyser, which Mike Stone (in Brian Moore's group) says they found very unreliable & disappointing ************************************************************************* We have happily used an Ono-Sokki CF-350Z for about 14 years, which was an update of an older Ono-Sokki model (which we also still have two of). What the current status of these instruments is, I don't know, but they have been very useful and pretty much trouble-free. (From Stuart Rosen) Yours -- Stuart *************************************************************************************************** Bob, We have the Agilent one you mention & I really like it - it's solid & doesn't crash like some of the PC/windows ones I've come across. The down side was that I think we had to pay extra for mic. inputs etc. I've also used ones by Ono-sokki in the past which have been good, but BIG - I haven't used recent ones though. What I have found in the past is that prices are often negotiable if you have two or three alternatives. We also have a LeCroy WaveRunner 64Xi oscilloscope which has built in FFT as a Maths function, for straight forward spectral measurements it is OK - I haven't really used it in anger - but it runs on windows! (B.B. We (Bob's lab) use LeCroy Waverunner scopes - they're great if you can get over the fact that they're only 12-bit) (from Richard Baker) ********************************************************************************************************* 've got an HP 35670A and it is a nice instrument but unless you feel you really, really need the physical interface of a spectrum analyzer, I suggest you get a laptop computer with a data acquisition interface. You'll get more channels, high resolution (20 or 24 bit), higher bandwidth, and the data will already be on a computer. Besides the physical size, the big problem with the HP35670a is the difficulty in getting data in/out. You only have a 3.5" floppy disk and HPIB - there is no other way to get data in or out. The analyzer is only 16 bit and you are limited in your bandwidth. Because of that reason, I use my HP almost exclusively as a function generator/simple meter and do my data acquisition with my laptop. A similar two channel analyzer is available from Stanford Research SRS 780 and 785 <a href="http://www.thinksrs.com/products/SR785.htm">http://www.thinksrs.com/products/SR785.htm</a> Similar performance to the HP 35670A but about half the price. If I were looking for a new analyzer I would instead a rugged laptop and one of the following DAQ systems national instruments (espcially the USB 9233) with the sound and vibration labview kit. <a href="http://www.ni.com"> http://www.ni.com</a> IOtech (several products) <a href="http://www.iotech.com/">http://www.iotech.com/</a> DataTranslation (several products) <a href="http://www.datx.com/products/dataacquisition/usb/default.htm"> http://www.datx.com/products/dataacquisition/usb/default.htm</a> Ralph -- Ralph T. Muehleisen Assistant Professor, Civil and Architectural Engineering Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616 tel: 312-567-3545 fax: 312-567-3519 email: <a href="mailto:muehleisen@xxxxxxxx">muehleisen@xxxxxxxx</a> url:<a href="http://acoustics.iit.edu/muehleisen">http://acoustics.iit.edu/muehleisen</a> ********************************************************************************************************* ********************************************************************************************************* Hi Bob, We've been using a 2-channel HP 35670A analyzer for about 15 years. It's been a great instrument -- very robust, accurate, well-documented, easy-to-use. Recently though we've been relying more and more on PC/Matlab analysis. The flexibility (mainly in displaying results) wins in many cases, especially when you want to do specialized measurements repetitively. The tradeoff is in SNR, unless you get an external audio interface (which would still be far less expensive than the HP). Regards, Pat Patrick M. Zurek President Sensimetrics Corporation 48 Grove St. Somerville, MA 02144 Tel: 617-625-0600 x237 Fax: 617-625-6612 email: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pat@xxxxxxxx">pat@xxxxxxxx</a> web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.sens.com">www.sens.com</a> ********************************************************************************************************* Hi Bob, You might take a look at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.praat.org">www.praat.org</a> and <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/resource/sfs/">http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/resource/sfs/</a> Best, Heriberto (<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:avelino@xxxxxxxx">avelino@xxxxxxxx</a>) ************************************************************************************* </pre> <pre wrap=""> </pre> <p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#003300" face="Garamond" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Garamond; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Praxis, via <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Liberty</st1:place></st1:city> Instruments…fantastic!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font color="#003300" face="Garamond" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Garamond; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Goudy Old Style" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Goudy Old Style"; color: navy;"><img id="_x0000_i1026" src="cid:part1.02040707.00010105@xxxxxxxx" height="62" width="171"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><font color="navy" face="Goudy Old Style" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Goudy Old Style"; color: navy;">Professor David W. Smith</span></font><font color="#003300"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em><i><font color="navy" face="Goudy Old Style" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Goudy Old Style"; color: navy;">Depts. of Psychology and Otolaryngology</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em><i><font color="navy" face="Goudy Old Style" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Goudy Old Style"; color: navy;">Center for Smell and Taste</span></font></i></em><o:p></o:p></p> <em><i><font color="navy" face="Goudy Old Style" size="3"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Goudy Old Style"; color: navy;">Center for Hearing Research<br> <br> (NB this is a software solution)<br> </span></font></i></em> <pre wrap=""> ********************************************************************************************************* Hi Bob, We've been using a 2-channel HP 35670A analyzer for about 15 years. It's been a great instrument -- very robust, accurate, well-documented, easy-to-use. Recently though we've been relying more and more on PC/Matlab analysis. The flexibility (mainly in displaying results) wins in many cases, especially when you want to do specialized measurements repetitively. The tradeoff is in SNR, unless you get an external audio interface (which would still be far less expensive than the HP). Regards, Pat Patrick M. Zurek President Sensimetrics Corporation 48 Grove St. Somerville, MA 02144 Tel: 617-625-0600 x237 Fax: 617-625-6612 email: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pat@xxxxxxxx">pat@xxxxxxxx</a> web: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.sens.com">www.sens.com</a> ********************************************************************************************************* </pre> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Dear Bob</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Use B&K's Pulse - a mostly software-based solution - with trustwothy and reliable signal analysis.</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2"> I worked on the project myself - including the FFT - and I was proud of it. I would still recommend it, although I don't work at the company anymore so I'm a little less biased :-)</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">I have no idea if the price is tolarable. See the product on </font></span><span class="718381214-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2"><a href="http://www.bksv.com/2746.asp">http://www.bksv.com/2746.asp</a></font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"><font color="#0000ff" face="Arial" size="2">Best regards</font></span></div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"></span><span class="718381214-20062007"></span> </div> <div dir="ltr" align="left"><span class="718381214-20062007"> <div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2"><em>Lars Bramsløw</em></font></div> <div> </div> <div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2">Audiology<br> Oticon A/S<br> Kongebakken 9<br> DK-2765 Smørum<br> Denmark</font></div> <div> </div> <div align="left"><font face="Arial" size="2">+45 39 13 <font color="#ff0000">85 42</font> Direct<br> +45 39 17 71 00 Main<br> </font><a href="mailto:lab@xxxxxxxx"><font face="Arial" size="2">lab@xxxxxxxx</font></a><br> <a href="http://www.oticon.com/"><font face="Arial" size="2">http://www.oticon.com</font></a><br> <br> </div> </span></div> <pre wrap=""> *************************************************************************************************** </pre> <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- Dr. Bob Carlyon MRC Cognition & Brain Sciences Unit 15 Chaucer Rd. Cambridge CB2 7EF England Phone: +44 1223 355294 ext 651 Fax: +44 1223 359062 <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk">www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk</a></pre> </body> </html> --------------090103070808090203030101 Content-Type: image/jpeg Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 Content-ID: <part1.02040707.00010105@xxxxxxxx> /9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQEAYABgAAD/2wBDAAoHBwgHBgoICAgLCgoLDhgQDg0NDh0VFhEYIx8l JCIfIiEmKzcvJik0KSEiMEExNDk7Pj4+JS5ESUM8SDc9Pjv/2wBDAQoLCw4NDhwQEBw7KCIo Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozs7Ozv/wAAR CAA+AKsDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAHwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQFBgcICQoL/8QAtRAA AgEDAwIEAwUFBAQAAAF9AQIDAAQRBRIhMUEGE1FhByJxFDKBkaEII0KxwRVS0fAkM2JyggkK FhcYGRolJicoKSo0NTY3ODk6Q0RFRkdISUpTVFVWV1hZWmNkZWZnaGlqc3R1dnd4eXqDhIWG h4iJipKTlJWWl5iZmqKjpKWmp6ipqrKztLW2t7i5usLDxMXGx8jJytLT1NXW19jZ2uHi4+Tl 5ufo6erx8vP09fb3+Pn6/8QAHwEAAwEBAQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAECAwQFBgcICQoL/8QAtREA AgECBAQDBAcFBAQAAQJ3AAECAxEEBSExBhJBUQdhcRMiMoEIFEKRobHBCSMzUvAVYnLRChYk NOEl8RcYGRomJygpKjU2Nzg5OkNERUZHSElKU1RVVldYWVpjZGVmZ2hpanN0dXZ3eHl6goOE hYaHiImKkpOUlZaXmJmaoqOkpaanqKmqsrO0tba3uLm6wsPExcbHyMnK0tPU1dbX2Nna4uPk 5ebn6Onq8vP09fb3+Pn6/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwD2aiiqjalaR332N5gk23dhuAR9aaTewm0t y3RUfnRf89U/76FKJomOBIhPswosx3H0UUUgCiiigAooqlcakkGpW9h5bNJOC2R0UD1ppN7C bS3LtFRXFxFawNNO4SNBkk1DYalb6ijtblv3bbWDrtI/CjldrhdXsW6KQkDqQKWkMKKKo3f9 q/aB9jNr5W3kS7s5/CmldibsXqKyjd61EDv02GbjgxT4/Q00avfjhtEuc+zqRV+zf9NE86/p GvRUVvK80CySQtCzDlGIyv5VLWZYUUUUAFQz2dtdDFxBHKB/eUGpqKabWwWuZv8Awj+k5z9g iz+NQ29hoV5LNFDaRF4G2yAKVwa2KxdITy9a1ZSeTIrfmDWsZSabu9DJximlYlbQo4/msbme 1cdNrll/EGqlxrV9pwNpdW6vdP8ALBInCSHpk+lbskixRtI5wqgkn0FYkGm/2zBNe3w5uFxA v/PJOxHv3pwknrPVCkraQ3IL7T5tNtYtSe6lku0lVpW3HawJwVA6YrpAcgH1rmJbqafQDazs ftENykEncn5uDW/f3S2NhLcNz5a5A9T2p1FJ2T3u/wBAg0rtbFC21SW78RTWkTKbaCP5sDOW +tVoZUuPGsvOfJg2j2PGf51X8Ko1t/aM84AdCN4Hbgk1UisLiewGrW7kXUrSM6KfmeMnBx+F a8kVJryt95nzSaT+Zuxr/bF95782ds+Il7SOOrfQdqZovOrauf8ApsB+lX9MmtZrCI2ZHlKo AXuvsfes2xnWxu9allPyxyCTr2xWWrUl/W5ps0/62KXiS6ln1G3t4t3kwyoHI/vnoPyra1jU f7Osi6DdNIdkS+rGsWeFv7DtLqf/AFk14sz/APAj/hirCOdV1m4uyC1tYKyxAchnxyR/n0rR xVl2VyE3d92T+Fp7i40ySS5laRjM3LHPpVbWtWu5ftEemPtjtV3TzD1/uiq9neyW2gWllZnd eXhbb/sAnkmtaXTorDw3PaqNwELFmx95sdaTSjU5muugJuULLsT2t8sOiw3d5KB+6VnY9ziq aeIzmOWawmhtJW2pOxGOehI7CszTQdfltrdwfsVlEu9T0d8V0GrWyT6Pcw7RjyyQPTAyP5VM owjK0lq/wKUpSjdf8OXetLVHRZzc6Nayt1MYB/Dj+lXq55KzaNk7q5Gs8LSmJZUMi8lAwyPw qSqMGkWltqMt9ErCWUYbnj3NXqHboCv1CiiikMKw7ZvJ8X3cW7PnQq+PpxW5UZgiM4nMa+aB gPjnHpmrjK1/MmSvYz9ZfzGtLHtdTAP7qOTWmAAAAMAdqydc3W72eoBdy2suZMdlIwTV2fUr S3szdvOnlAZBBzu+lNpuMbf0yU0pO5zdxvOs3Kn/AFbX0OfritXWHN3f2emJzvcSzeyL/iaq W2mXV1pUt1gLdT3AuUVj0weAfwq3pdndSancanew+S7gJHHuztUVvJre+35mUU9u5l6pO2my apahGDXpVomC8HPBGa0/DkZa1ExGFQeVF/ujqfxNWtcm8jSJ3ABcrtTI7nirNlALWyhgAx5a Bf0qJTvT2LjC0ylc6ZJBcNe6YVjnY5kiP3Jfr6H3rHlt5dX1N0R/swm2fareXh/l7j1FdZWL 4mVY7KK7QhbiGVfKbvknp9KKU25W6hUgrX6GhfafBf2JtJQRGQMbeCuOmKLDT4NPs1tYQSgz kt1YnqTVhCSilupHNOrHmduW+hrZXuZ9hodjp07z28ZDtxljnaPQVfZVdSrAFSMEHvS0UOTk 7tgkkrIht7WC0j8u3hSJSc4UY5p08ZlgkjBwXUrn6ipKKV3e4W0sZfh62urPSxb3a7WjdgvO flrUoopylzNthFcqsFFFFSMKKKKACiiigBCoZSrAEHgg1nDw/pSzCUWaZByBzgH6dK0qKpSa 2YnFPcTpS0UVIzO1y2lutLkSAZkQh1X+8Qc4pLbXtOniDNcpC4HzJKdrKfoa0qhls7aZt0tv FIfVkBNWpK1pENO90Z03iOyBMdrvvJegSFScn69KigsL7U72O81QLFFCd0Vspzg+rVspFHEM RoqD0UYp9VzpfChcrfxMKKKKyNAooooAKKKKACiiigAooooA/9k= --------------090103070808090203030101--