In article ,
William Sommerwerck wrote:

It would be interesting to stick a spectrum analyzer at various
points in the system -- starting at the unamplified antenna
signal and see what's going on.

Uh, most HP spectrum analyzers had a 35+ dB noise figure...

I didn't know it was that bad.

I don't know about the specific number, but I believe that in general
spectrum analyzers make quite poor receivers (for weak-signal work at
least). They're designed more for bench-work, where signals are
relatively strong and there's a real need to ensure that strong-signal
intermodulation doesn't occur.

It's not a trivial job to make a receiver front-end with a really low
noise filter, enough gain to take advantage of it, the ability to
withstand really strong signals without overloading, and a wide
frequency range.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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