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[Rick Earl]

This popped up in my browser, I've never heard of the brand, not sure how the specs compare, it is from monoprice,  but the price looks good. 

OWON - XSA-1015 Spectrum Analyzer


https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=104&cp_id=10432&cs_id=1043201&p_id=30623&seq=1&format=2

[Keith Broughton]

Nice price

[Tim McCulloch]

Damn, I wish I hadn't blown my holiday budget on hookers and blow... /sarc

That IS a nice price...

[Dan Mortensen]

The owanna.com linked on the spec sheet is not valid, but the lilliput site shows two versions, the other with a little higher frequency range than we'd probably need.

FWIW, I've had mostly good luck with a variety of Monoprice products, although nothing like this. Oh, and Amazon has it, too. Same price, free shipping.

Can someone interpret the spec sheet and tell us what you think, at least as it compares to other analyzers starting with RF Explorer and going up?

It uses N connector as RF in/out, so there's an adaptor to BNC needed.

EDIT: Here's another one on Amazon that looks like almost the same front panel layout with a couple insightful reviews.

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

The owanna.com linked on the spec sheet is not valid, but the lilliput site shows two versions, the other with a little higher frequency range than we'd probably need.

FWIW, I've had mostly good luck with a variety of Monoprice products, although nothing like this. Oh, and Amazon has it, too. Same price, free shipping.

Can someone interpret the spec sheet and tell us what you think, at least as it compares to other analyzers starting with RF Explorer and going up?

It uses N connector as RF in/out, so there's an adaptor to BNC needed.

EDIT: Here's another one on Amazon that looks like almost the same front panel layout with a couple insightful reviews.

Owon and Rigol are Asian test equipment brands. Rigol has a significant following in the hobbyist world. I have a very nice oscilloscope from Rigol (DS-1074Z). The Rigol analyzer gets good reviews and a better price on tequipment.net which is a good dealer:

https://www.tequipment.net/RigolDSA815.html

I have no personal experience with either spectrum analyzers but based on other products, I would rather have the Rigol.

[Chris Johnson [UK]]

I have a couple of DSA815's from Rigol, and they are fantastic. Reliable, accurate and easy to use.

Highly recommended

[Dan Mortensen]

The Rigol analyzer gets good reviews and a better price on tequipment.net which is a good dealer:

https://www.tequipment.net/RigolDSA815.html

That one doesn't have the tracking generator, which may not be useful in our world? The one that does is the same price as Amazon.

TEquipment seems like a cool site, and it's neat that the Rigol is recognized as useful.

Is the tracking generator useful to us? Is the builtin generator useful in testing cables, or do you need an outboard generator? Or something else?

I got the little RF Explorer generator and was surprised there was nothing equivalent to a pink/white noise generator in it. Isn't having some kind of broadband signal more helpful than a specific frequency in evaluating something like cable?

[Mac Kerr]

Is the tracking generator useful to us? Is the builtin generator useful in testing cables, or do you need an outboard generator? Or something else?

I have to admit that I'm not an expert on tracking generators, but I think it is used (among other uses I'm sure) to document the frequency response of a DUT, of special interest to most of us, cables.

For the price o a tti that analyzer with a bigger screen and a tracking generator seems pretty attractive.

Mac

[Henry Cohen]

Is the tracking generator useful to us? Is the builtin generator useful in testing cables, or do you need an outboard generator? Or something else?

A tracking generator is needed if you want to measure coax cables for proper performance; tuning filters; confirming proper operation of RX multi-couplers, TX combiners, passive splitters/combiners and adapters; basically anything with two ports. Add a directional coupler or return loss bridge and now you can test antennas and terminations.

I got the little RF Explorer generator and was surprised there was nothing equivalent to a pink/white noise generator in it. Isn't having some kind of broadband signal more helpful than a specific frequency in evaluating something like cable?

The RF Explorer signal generator is an RF signal generator, and a very cheap one at that, not an audio generator. If you want to test for receiver audio demod and SINAD (the RF world equivalent of SNR), you need a communications service monitor or other full test set (and a lot more money).

[Henry Cohen]

For the price o a tti that analyzer with a bigger screen and a tracking generator seems pretty attractive.

Only downside is no battery option and no VDC input for an external battery.

[ProSoundWeb Community]