On Sun, 29 Aug 2004, Rod Fritz wrote:

I'm finally finding a little time to work on my backlog of radio projects. What this means is that I am getting motivated to get an inexpensive spectrum analyzer. My budget is very low, but I've seen a few on eBay that I can probably afford. I know there's a lot of knowledge and experience out there, so hope you can give me some good advice. What should I consider and what should I stay away from? Are there any good deals you're aware of?

Obviously, I want everything for almost nothing, but these are my requirements:

1. Coverage of ham bands from 2 Meters through 10 GHz
2. Usable frequency display, digital desired but not required (OSD or

not, either is ok) 3. Stable and fully functional but not necessarily absolutely calibrated (I'm willing to use fudge factors for calibration errors as long as they're minor and predictable) 4. Display quality not noticeably degraded 5. Some type of computer/printer output desired, but not required 6. Tracking generator desired, but not required 7. Popular make and model so parts and information are readily available, newer is better 8. Capabilities and functionality are more important than cosmetics 9. Portability is desired, but not required 10. Price below $1000, preferably below $500

I don't know the going prices today, but H/P made a box about 20 years ago that was about a foot cube, split roughly into two sections of display and RF section. I think the RF sections were plug-ins perhaps of different bands or capabilities. These may be showing up surplus but not sure if they'll be down to your price range yet.

The frequency range you seek may be kind of tough in a single instrument as there are microwave units that tend to bottom out at about 1 to 2 GHz and service monitor type of units that top out at 1 GHz.

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