Loughborough's electronics students gain hands-on RF test experience using Rohde & Schwarz spectrum analysers - April 2008
Fleet, UK – 29th January 2008 – Loughborough University has taken delivery of six Rohde & Schwarz R&S FS315 spectrum analyzers, enabling its students to profit from hands-on experience when learning about the fundamentals of communications engineering.
Second year students on the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering’s BEng/MEng course will use the R&S FS315 instruments. It is also envisaged that when used with an electric field probe, the R&S FS315s will prove useful for teaching the 3rd year Electromagnetic Compatibility Module and for the department’s final year project students too.
Loughborough University’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering is a grade 5 RAE rated research department and each year, attracts approximately 120 new students to its undergraduate programmes. Rohde & Schwarz will donate a prize for the best final year project in the field of RF & Wireless Communications. It will also provide seminar support to students completing the M Sc in Mobile Communication and additional hands-on experience using Rohde & Schwarz’ mobile communication testers and protocol analysers.
Commenting on the arrival of the R&S FS315’s, Rob Seager, a lecturer and researcher in Loughborough’s Wireless Communications Group said: “Understanding signal analysis is fundamental for any engineer and we believe that this is best achieved with as much hands-on experience as possible, within the constraints of the curriculum and time.” Referring to the popular second year Communications course, he added: “We are looking at how frequency is built up of complex signals and understanding how filters affect what’s going on. Ultimately, the addition of these R&S FS315 spectrum analyzers will improve the quality of our teaching, whilst familiarity with the use of a spectrum analyzer could make our students more employable in the long term.”
Noted Phil McCluskey, Rohde & Schwarz UK’s University Programme Manager: “With Communications representing a key theme in the undergraduate curriculum, it is encouraging to see how many of Loughborough’s students will benefit from the recent additions. We support the belief that students are best served by being able to investigate real-world signals on the latest RF test and measurement equipment, rather than relying on simulation, and our SMART instruments have been developed with just this goal in mind.”
The R&S FS315 spectrum analysers are from Rohde & Schwarz’ SMART instruments family. This instrument includes a tracking generator that can be used as a CW signal source with a permanently set frequency, but also expands the R&S FS315’s field of application to include scalar transmission and reflection measurements. Ideal for general-purpose signal investigations and with the added benefit of scalar network analysis, the R&S FS315 provides a unique set of measurement characteristics at an affordable price for the education market and beyond.