2008 Best in Test Honorable Mentions

DL9000 series mixed-signal oscilloscopes
Yokogawa Electric, www.yokogawa.com

To address the increasing complexity of the embedded market, the DL9000 series of mixed-signal oscilloscopes can simultaneously monitor four analog channels and 32 logic inputs, as well as decode two independent serial-bus protocols. The four-model family offers analog frequency bandwidths of 500 MHz and 1 GHz, along with a sampling speed of up to 5 Gsamples/s. For troubleshooting anomalies, you can save captured signals to history memory, which lets you separate individual logic events out of a persisted display. The scopes match sample rate and memory depth between the analog and logic channels, ensuring that signals are correlated and waveform update rate is maintained.

Pulse Master pulse/pattern generators
Tabor Electronics, www.taborelec.com

Offering a choice of single-channel and dual-channel configurations, the Pulse Master series of pulse/pattern generators not only provides high-performance pulse-pattern features but also generates a complete array of standard, arbitrary, sequenced, and modulated waveforms. What’s more, it does so in a compact 2U half-rack-sized box. The single-channel PM8571 and dual-channel PM8572 also implement command emulators for both new and discontinued pulse and function generators, providing smooth drop-in replacement for slots vacated by out-of-order instruments from other manufacturers. The Pulse Master units provide 10-ps pulse resolution with 4-ns transition time (3 ns typical).

J7000A series random jitter disturbance sources
NoiseCom, www.noisecom.com

The six models in the J7000A series of jitter test systems lets you add random jitter to serial data streams for testing jitter tolerance, clock recovery, and bit-error rate (BER). The instruments inject high-crest-factor Gaussian noise in a way that reflects real-world behavior and enhances digital signal receiver testing by adding precise amounts of white noise to the signal stream, allowing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) to change to reflect small changes in BER. Noise generators are available in several frequency bands, ranging from 1 MHz to 10 MHz up to 10 MHz to 5 GHz, for testing to such serial data specifications as PCI Express, SATA, and DOCSIS.

JT 2147 boundary-scan integration module
JTAG Technologies, www.jtag.com

Teamed with the Symphony 228xPLUS boundary-scan controller, the JT 2147 Custom Function Module (CFM) brings boundary-scan testing and in-system programming to Teradyne in-circuit testers. The JT 2147 CFM is specifically designed for use with Teradyne’s ICT Custom Function Board (CFB) and simply plugs into a socket on the CFB. The module provides a means of incorporating a boundary-scan Test Access Port (TAP) pod into the in-circuit test system. Two CFMs can be installed on the CFB, which provides ground isolation and also contains a switching matrix to route TAP signals to pins on the test fixture.

GX1034 3U PXI standards module
Geotest-Marvin Test Systems, www.geotestinc.com

The GX1034, a 3U PXI standards module, gives PXI system designers and developers an in-system accuracy verification strategy that can recertify a system’s source and measure baseband instrumentation without relying on external transfer standards. The GX1034 provides a DC voltage source reference, an AC voltage source reference, eight low-drift resistor references, and a precision 10-MHz frequency reference. An onboard EEPROM ensures standards traceability and accuracy. By incorporating this module as part of an overall system-certification strategy, you can improve logistics for recertifying test systems, enhance integration and make better use of existing test software infrastructure, and lower total costs associated with test system maintenance and support.