spectrumanalyzer
Latest
High Contrast's 'Spectrum Analyser' embraces our glitchy digital history (video)
Forget the rose-tinted view of the early digital era that we sometimes get from chiptunes. High Contrast's new "Spectrum Analyser" music video triggers our nostalgia by embracing the messiness and imperfections of computing in the '80s and '90s -- all while producing the kind of psychedelic journey we'd have expected from the '60s. We almost don't know where to start. The flood of Windows screens? The polar bear fighting game? The endless, purposeful video glitches? There's no one frame that can illustrate just how much 8- and 16-bit history is packed into one space. As long as you're a fan of drum-and-bass, it's best to catch the video after the break if you want a trip down memory lane... just expect a few odd detours.
Scout Observer replaces military SATCOM, is powered by the iPhone 4
If you need to channel your inner MacGyver, there's a tool for that... predictably, it's powered by your smartphone. By connecting an iPhone 4 to the Scout Observer's Toolkit, it's transformed into a spectrum analyzer, power meter, multimeter and Low Noise Block Downconverter (LNB). In English, that means the device lets you locate and verify satellite signals (including other mobile signals), measure their strength, and determine GPS location (amongst other things). The six-pound device replaces the standard 160-pound SATCOM terminal, making it the perfect accessory for covert operations -- if those are the kinds of romps you prefer on the weekend. The company is now accepting pre-orders for shipment sometime in Q4, and hopes to roll out versions for other phones in the near future.
Examiners use spectrum analyzers to bust cellphone-packin' cheats
We don't see too many spectrum analyzers 'round these parts, and when we do the applications are usually pretty obscure. But catching cheating cheaters before they cheat again? That we can understand -- and apparently that's exactly what happened in Taiwan recently, when folks being tested for government jobs were overseen by folks packing a Rohde and Schwarz FSH4 spectrum analyzer. In addition to being a "closed book" test, this one was also a "closed phone" test, and the analyzers allowed examiners to listen for (and pinpoint the location of) mobile phone signals. As of right now, it looks like officials have uncovered three prospective cheaters, although additional evidence will have to be offered before a conclusion is made (perhaps they were just sexting). Can we offer a friendly word of advice? The next time you're taking a test somewhere, and the room is full of people outfitted with large spectrum analyzers and Secret Service-style earbuds, you'd probably want to take that as fair warning and turn off your celly.
BVS kicks out BumbleBee UMPC spectrum analyzer
Although UMPCs haven't exactly caught like wildfire for one reason or another, Berkeley Varitronics Systems is hoping to make a splash in the spectrum analyzer niche with its vividly colored BumbleBee. Touted as a tool for "investigating and troubleshooting corporate wireless networks," BVS' machine is capable of measuring VoIP, 802.11b/a/g, Bluetooth, WiMAX, cordless phones and video, RFID, and broadband public safety data networks. Aside from packing goods that a vast majority of average joes will have absolutely no use for, the three-pound handheld houses a 1GHz Intel Pentium M processor, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, a seven-inch WVGA touchscreen display, 1GB of DDR RAM, 40GB hard drive, Ethernet, an SMA connection port, and gets powered by four AA cells. While it's doubtful you'll be using all this hardware to check your inbox, it does give you user-selectable power triggers, three pairs of markers, spectrogram, histogram, video smoothing, and waveform averaging, and a PIP mode that allows viewing of live and recorded data. For those still with us, the BumbleBee is purportedly available in two separate forms, one with omnidirectional antennas covering 902 to 928MHz, 2.4 to 2.5GHz, and 5.15 to 5.9GHz, while the other flavor just handles 2.4 to 2.5GHz and 4.9 to 5.9GHz. Of course, all this analyzing won't run you cheap, as each unit clocks in at a whopping $4,500, and if you're thinking about interfacing with Windows XP mapping software, you'll be looking at an extra $2,500 for that luxury.[Via Slashgear]
