National Instruments 786982-01 Vector Signal Transceiver

The National Instruments 786982-01 is a high performance vector signal transceiver (VST) that integrates the functionalities of a vector signal generator, vector signal analyzer and a high speed serial interface. It is also known as the PXIe-5841. This device supports an instantaneous bandwidth of up to 1 GHz suitable for testing a diverse range of cellular and wireless standards including Wi-Fi 6 and 5G NR. It features a software defined radio architecture which enables flexible, R & D grade performance within the compact form factor of a 2U PXI Express module.

The 786982-01 boasts a wide frequency range from 9 kHz to 6 GHz at both RF IN and RF OUT ports. The VST's frequency capabilities are segmented across various ranges and offer up to 1 GHz of bandwidth at frequencies above 2.2 GHz. The device's internal local oscillator can be enhanced with an optional high performance module, improving phase noise, measurement time and error vector magnitude (EVM) performance. This vector signal transceiver excels in frequency accuracy and spectral purity with typical frequency settling times less than 400 microseconds and phase noise as low as -102 dBc/Hz at frequencies up to 4 GHz. Its tuning resolution reaches an impressive 888 nHz that allows for extremely fine adjustments. For signal generation and analysis, the VST supports a dynamic range on RF input from the average noise level to +30 dBm with an RF gain resolution of 1 dB.

The NI 786982-01 is equipped with high end baseband processing capabilities. It includes analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters with rates up to 1.25 GS/s supported by a powerful Xilinx Virtex-7 X690T FPGA. This setup provides substantial data processing power with 433,200 look up tables and 3,600 DSP48 slices. The module also includes ample memory resources with 2 GB of DRAM per bank and 2 MB of onboard SRAM to support high data throughput and storage. The 786982-01 module offers robust environmental and mechanical specifications. It operates effectively across a wide range of temperatures (0 °C to 55 °C). The module's compact dimensions (4.1 cm × 12.9 cm × 21.1 cm) ensure it fits within standard PXI Express slots.