Communication instrumentation

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Engineers and scientists can now generate RF and baseband signals with a new National Instruments RF vector signal generator and an arbitrary waveform generator with onboard signal processing.

Engineers and scientists can now generate RF and baseband signals with the new National Instruments PXI-5671 RF vector signal generator and the new NI PXI-5441 arbitrary waveform generator with onboard signal processing.

The PXI-5671 module is a 3-slot RF vector signal generator that delivers signal generation from 250 kHz to 2.7 GHz, 20 MHz of real-time bandwidth and up to 512 MB of memory.

An onboard quadrature digital upconverter extends waveform playback time and reduces the time required to compute and download waveform data by computing the waveform data using an onboard field programmable gate array (FPGA).

This functionality is good for engineers who require data streaming with rapid response time for software-defined radio (SDR) or faster download times for satellite radio applications. In addition, the NI PXI-5671 can generate custom and standard modulation formats including AM, FM, PM, ASK, FSK, MSK, GMSK, PSK, QPSK, PAM, and QAM.

For its part, the PXI-5441 is a 100 MS/sec arbitrary waveform generator with onboard signal processing (OSP). OSP functions include FIR and CIC interpolation filters, digital per-filter gain and offset control, a numerically controlled oscillator (NCO), and IQ mixing for quadrature digital upconversion.

With 16-bit resolution and -91 dBc close-in spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR), the NI PXI-5441 is suitable for applications requiring digital upconversion and baseband interpolation such as prototyping, validating, and testing communications, radar, and electronic warfare systems.

Because the PXI-5441 is a full-featured arbitrary waveform generator, it is also capable of generating general-purpose electrical test signals and has a maximum output range of 12 Vpp into a 50 Ohm load.

The PXI-5671 and PXI-5441 modules ship with the new NI Modulation Toolkit 3.0 for LabVIEW. In addition to its ability to rapidly prototype any standard-specific or custom digital communication system, the software now includes channel coding, channel equalisation and channel models as well as new, easy-to-use pallet functions for ASK, PAM, AM-VSB and AM-SSB modulation formats.