I was hoping that some TinySA spectrum analyzer users would share their experiences and workflows using TinySA, e.g..]
Hi Mark, here's my 2 cents:
What settings are you using to scan (for onscreen viewing and/or for export) RBW? VBW? Spur removal=auto or off?
My startup config in tinySA Ultra is:
- Start freq: 470 Mhz.
- Stop freq: 550 MHz.
- Span: 80MHz (I'm in europe, so multiples of 8 MHz TV channels make sense to me) - This span shows me 10 DTV channels, sometimes I go for a span of 40MHz.
- Firmware update above Version V1.4079 to show 10 vertical gridlines.
- 3 traces: Average, Realtime, Max Hold
- Waterfall.
- Draw Line: -85 dBm
- RBW: 100kHz usually. 300kHz if I want a faster sweep for such wide span.
- REF Level: will depend on the signal presence, but usually -30 (-120 to -30 vertical axis with 10/ division)
This is my starting point to view DTV in the air on screen.
I usually export a single trace (AVERAGE) with the above settings, but if I want precision this is what I go for:
- SPAN: 11.225MHz, which divided by 450 data points gives me a point every 25kHz.
- RBW: 30kHz allows for very precise, low-DANL (Displayed Average Noise Level) traces (average noise level bellow -100dBm).
I then move along the spectrum to get a trace every 11.225 MHz until done (694MHz). Easiest way to move along is change to input center frequency, click on center frequency text on-screen, then use the jog to move along.
Can you perform a really wide scan (e.g. 500-600MHz) with a small RBW and capture lots of data to the computer (more points than the screen resolution) or do you need to do smaller chunked scans?
You can adjust RBW independent of SPAN. So wideband scans with precise resolution are possible. Nonetheless, maximum sweep points (data points) have a limit of 450. I'm usually OK with this but still do multiple scans. Either with 80, 40 or even smaller spans for more datapoints on the PC.
If chunked scans, how are you combining scans to import into WWB, IAS, Soundbase,...
Over the years my most used system to combine multiple CSV files in the same folder has been Windows Command line:
copy *.csv combined.csv does the trick.
With tinySA Ultra, you also need to divide frequency by 1 million (to get MHz) to make it compatible with WWB. My wife built a small windows program to combine files and prep the frequency column for WWB/IAS. Get it here:
https://github.com/elraval/tinySA-Ultra-scan-tool Is there a way to save the scans onto the MicroSD card in CSV so one could run scans remote from a computer and then copy the scan files later? There is a Trace>SD command that can save a measurement trace to SD but no mention of the file format
MENU>STORAGE>SAVE TRACES This will save ALL traces to the SD card as a CSV. If you have multiple traces, multiple values separated by commas will be stored. I normally only save AVERAGE trace to CSV when scanning for DTV (exclusions).
There is a SD Icon on the front screen that allows you to save pictures (BMP) of the display. I've submitted a feature request for this button to allow for saving traces in CSV instead. Erik (the developer) found it to be a good idea, hopefully will get into a firmware update soon:
https://groups.io/g/tinysa/topic/99124932#11809I would really enjoy this feature as it would save me time (and clicks) to store the 20 traces I need to get my max resolution scans.
TinySA's Windows software looks pretty weak.
Agree, and the developer is not prioritising software development, since he has a well documented serial API in you can use to remote command and extract data from the unit. His focus has been on improving firmware constantly, and he's been very active at it, specially on the Ultra.
I believe more software developers will eventually take advantage of this API and build their own software to integrate with tinySA. Some have done so already:
https://vma-satellite.blogspot.com/2023/01/vma-simple-spectrum-analyser-for.htmlI have a TinySA Ultra coming in the mail Saturday.
Enjoy your new unit. Mine has totally replaced the RF Explorer I've been using and loving for the past 10 years: the ability to save traces to SD card, colour touch-screen, waterfall, multiple traces, the ability to set RBW (independant from span) are great improvements I really appreciate.
