KEITHLEY ADDS NEW
CAPABILITIES AND MEMORY ENHANCEMENTS TO
MODEL 2910 RF VECTOR SIGNAL GENERATOR

Cleveland, Ohio – June 5, 2007 -
Keithley Instruments, Inc. (NYSE:KEI), a
leader in solutions for emerging measurement
needs, announces a series of enhancements to
its
Model 2910 RF Vector Signal Generator.
The new capabilities included in the Model
2910 V2.0 include additional wireless signal
generation waveforms, a new power
calibration feature, and increased ARB
memory to accommodate more and larger
waveforms. To learn more about Keithley's
Model 2910 V2.0 RF Vector Signal Generator,
visit www.keithley.com/products/rfmicrowave/?mn=2910-F.
Keithley's award-winning Model 2910 RF
Vector Signal Generator has been recognized
for a number of industry innovations, such
as its Software-Defined Radio (SDR)
Architecture, patent-pending synthesizer
technology, and unique power leveling
circuitry. The Model 2910 uses a highly
versatile software architecture to adapt to
the quickly changing test requirements of
the dynamic wireless market. It provides a
flexible RF test platform that reduces test
times with fast frequency tuning, amplitude
settling, and waveform switching for half
the cost of instruments with similar, or
less, performance capabilities. The Model
2910 can internally generate virtually any
signal with up to 40MHz of modulation
bandwidth and signals greater than 400MHz
modulation bandwidth using external I-Q
inputs. The Model 2910's continuous tuning
capability from 400MHz to 2.5GHz covers the
key ISM bands used for wireless
communications.
In addition, the Model 2910 has the most
intuitive user interface on the market,
making it simple for even the novice user to
quickly and easily generate RF signals. With
an unrivaled combination of high accuracy
and repeatability, speed, flexibility, ease
of use, and compact size, the Model 2910
V2.0 employs new approaches to RF test and
measurement that enables users to get
accurate measurement results quickly, reduce
test times, and decrease costs.
Powerful New Modulation Capabilities
The Model 2910 V2.0 features two new
modulation capability options. The first of
these, the Model 2910-DIG, is a flexible
digital modulation option that allows users
to create an extensive range of signal
modulations used in modern RF communication
products. The Model 2910-DIG lets users
create multiple permutations of all digital
modulation signals including ASK, FSK, PSK,
and QAM, each with user-selectable symbol
rates, filter types, and data types. The
Model 2910-DIG option is especially useful
in research and development labs and in
education for its ability to easily create a
wide range of digital modulation signals.
The other new option is the Model
2910-GPS, a low-cost and flexible solution
for GPS testing that is especially well
suited for production test environments. The
Model 2910-GPS option simulates the coded L1
signal of a GPS satellite with a variety of
data types, including using an external
user-file with up to 37,504 bits (12.5
minutes) of actual satellite data.
Comparable solutions cost at least twice as
much as the Model 2910 V2.0 with GPS option.
Together with other common wireless
standards, such as GSM, EDGE, W-CDMA,
cdmaOne, and cdma2000, the Model 2910-GPS
option expands the scope of the Model 2910's
RF test and measurement capabilities to test
mobile devices with integrated GPS
functionality.
Improved Power Calibration Increases
Accuracy
Keithley's Model 2910 V2.0 also features
a new power calibration table that improves
measurement accuracy by compensating for RF
power losses in test fixture cables. The
table stores power vs. frequency values of
the cables obtained via a separate RF power
meter. The Model 2910 then automatically
adjusts the power, correcting for cable
losses to an accuracy of +0.3dB. This
reduces operator error when making manual
measurements and eliminates the need to
develop power correction programming scripts
in the test executive for automated systems.
Calibrating the test fixture is
simplified with a new SCPI (Standard
Commands for Programmable Instruments)
command feature that allows an external PC
connected to a Model 2910 V2.0 to control a
separate RF power meter, such as a handheld
Keithley Model 3500 RF Power Meter, via a
USB cable; the power meter is used to
measure power at the RF cable connected to
the device under test. Compensating for
cable power loss is critical for production
test environments to reduce measurement
uncertainty, which helps to increase product
quality and yields.
Increased Memory Supports Large
Waveforms
Another enhancement to the Model 2910
V2.0 is its Arbitrary Waveform Generator (ARB)
memory expansion to 100 Mega-samples,
allowing very large waveforms or many
smaller waveforms to be loaded into memory.
The 100 Mega-sample ARB of the Model
2910-ARB option supports multiple signal
waveforms to be resident in memory and
enables switching between these waveforms in
less than three milliseconds using a
remote-control SCPI command over the
instrument's GPIB, USB or LAN interfaces.
A new ARB Sequencing feature further
speeds up waveform switching times to
support instant transition times. Here, the
waveform sampler moves from the last point
of an ARB waveform to the first point of the
next waveform in one clock cycle. The ARB
waveforms can be played in any sequence,
providing added flexibility for speeding up
measurements. Such fast and flexible testing
is especially useful for production test
applications.
Whether switching between frequencies,
amplitude levels, or waveforms, the Model
2910 V2.0 delivers measurement speeds that
are two to twenty times faster than
traditional instruments – delivering the
fastest execution times for testing wireless
devices and products.
Preserving Capital Investment
Keithley's Model 2910 V2.0 RF Vector
Signal Generator is an extremely accurate
and versatile test instrument. It is readily
adaptable to new wireless standards,
increasing productivity, reducing time to
market, and protecting test equipment
capital investment. Users can easily upgrade
to new and emerging standards as they become
available without expensive hardware
upgrades or new equipment purchases. The
Model 2910 is a flexible RF test platform
with the performance needed for today and
the flexibility for the test needs of future
RF wireless technologies.
Existing owners of the Model 2910 can
download the Model 2910 V2.0 firmware with
standard enhancements from Keithley's Web
site at no additional cost. Units can also
be upgraded with the optional Model 2910-DIG
or Model 2910-GPS, or both. These can all be
done in the field, do not need to be
returned to a Keithley Service Center, and
require no hardware upgrade.
Price and availability: Units are
now available with four weeks delivery. The
base price for the Model 2910 V2.0 RF Vector
Signal Generator is $13,400 USD. The ARB
option is $3,150 USD, the flexible digital
modulation option is $3,500 USD, and the GPS
option is $2,500 USD. Firmware upgrade is
free for existing owners of Model 2910
units.
For More Information. For more
information on Keithley's Model 2910 V2.0 RF
Vector Signal Generator or any of its RF
test solutions, visit
www.keithley.com/products/rfmicrowave or
contact the company at:
Telephone: 800-688-9951 440-248-0400
FAX: 440-248-6168
E-mail:
publisher@keithley.com
Internet:
www.keithley.com
Address: Keithley Instruments, Inc.
28775 Aurora Road
Cleveland, OH 44139-1891
About Keithley Instruments, Inc. With
more than 60 years of measurement expertise,
Keithley Instruments has become a world
leader in advanced electrical test
instruments and systems from DC to RF (radio
frequency). Our products solve emerging
measurement needs in production testing,
process monitoring, product development, and
research. Our customers are scientists and
engineers in the worldwide electronics
industry involved with advanced materials
research, semiconductor device development
and fabrication, and the production of end
products such as portable wireless devices.
The value we provide them is a combination
of precision measurement technology and a
rich understanding of their applications to
improve the quality of their products and
reduce their cost of test.
Products and
company names listed are trademarks or trade
names of their respective companies.
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