Replace Obsolete Signal Generators with No Change to Your Test Program Sets

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Overview

Aging test instrumentation is a concern for engineers supporting old Automated Test Equipment (ATE) systems. Users of these systems are faced with the dilemma that test instruments in these aged systems are no longer available, are becoming too costly to maintain and repair and are no longer supported by the original equipment manufacturer.  One solution is to replace the obsolete model altogether.

The primary concern when replacing old test equipment is editing the existing Test Program Sets (TPS) or ATE program code.  This can be a time consuming and costly solution.  In some cases it is almost impossible to reprogram the existing code because some of the TPS use older compilers that are no longer available.

Emulation Command Sets

The 2500B Series Microwave Signal Generators have several emulation command sets, which enable the signal generator to emulate Spanawave/Giga-tronics and other manufacturer’s obsolete signal generators. These emulation command sets enable the 2500B signal generator to accept and respond to programming commands as if they were an instrument from Spanawave/Giga-tronics or a different manufacturer. These command sets facilitate the replacement of many of the most popular signal generators from Spanawave/Giga-tronics and Hewlett Packard, found in test systems that are still in service today.

The 2500B signal generators and the emulation modes can be used to replace old and obsolete test equipment. One Spanawave/Giga-tronics signal generator is capable of emulating several other models of synthesizers. The benefit of a single signal generator capable of replacing multiple synthesizer models is that the need to maintain spares for each of the replacement models is reduced to one synthesizer model whenever a unit is in need of service or calibration.

Contact Spanawave to discuss your specific application and what support may be available.

All the previous series of Spanawave/Giga-tronics signal generator command sets are included on the 2500B Series signal generators. Some features and functions of the existing signal generator that is to be replaced may not be available on the 2500B Series signal generators.

The 2500B series microwave signal generators are capable of emulating the following obsolete signal generators: