RBW versus Waterfall zoom level?

tustinfarmtustinfarm
in Configuration and Operation

I've finally reached a point where I understand the concept of resolution bandwidth in spectrum displays and the associated dBm levels...so I am wondering if there are standard RBW values associated with each level of zoom, i.e. WF5 etc? I could infer the RBW from observing the S-meter/dBm levels versus the spectrum display, of course....but was hoping for something a bit more precise.

Comments

  • n6gnn6gn

    To the best of my knowledge, WF bins are each 1/1024 of the total span. I think the levels reported by the comms side more or less match what one 'reads' visually from the WF display.

    Be careful not to read to much into WF levels/bins though. It is possible to get wrong answers based on where/how things are sampling. For accuracy I always go to a known RBW on the comms side, often I use 10 kHz BW if that is signal-free.

    Also be aware that the minimum level that the comm side will report is -127 dBm. Make sure that you have picked or adjusted the filter such that noise is actually above that minimum.

Sign In or Register to comment.