NPL helps develop unique new calibration tool for radio frequencies Jun 23, 2009
Users can now be even more confident that the Fluke 9640A RF Reference Source can be used to calibrate a broad range of RF test equipment including spectrum analyzers, modulation meters and analysers, RF power meters and sensors, measurement receivers, frequency counters and attenuators. Paul Bunyan, Head of Metrology, Fluke Precision Measurement Ltd, said: "Working together with a member of NPL staff on-site was a significant factor in understanding and demonstrating the potential for this... (EurekAlert! -- Business News)
Indian scientists bridge the audio divide Jun 18, 2009
Sarpeshkar, a well-known professor of electrical engineering at the MIT and his graduate student Mondal, designed the 1mm by 3 mm RF Cochlea chip that is faster and more energy efficient than any currently working in radio-frequency (RF) spectrum analyzers [1 ... Spectrum analyzers, one of the key devices supporting our technology-dependent existence, are used in making radio frequencies work optimally for a range of uses from wireless phones, air traffic control, global positioning systems,... (Asia Times Online)
'The Day We Found the Universe' May 16, 2009
Using telescopes, star charts, photographic plates, color spectrum analyzers - tools that were, at the time, radically cutting-edge - a few dozen scientists, some working separately, some together, and some totally at odds with one another, revealed that our universe is unimaginably larger than even the wildest previous estimates or suppositions had dared approach, and that the entire vast mishmash is irrefutably, irretrievably expanding. And fast. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
Decoding spectrum jumble on the cheap for WiFi planning Mar 13, 2009
Of course, good spectrum analyzers cost thousands of dollars and require a fair amount of expertise to operate. A related approach is to use heat-mapping software that analyzes just WiFi networks in your vicinity and produces colored maps that show signal intensity as you walk around. (Ars Technica)
