Leading test and measurement company Rohde & Schwarz  has launched a new Q/V band RF upconverter for testing satellite payloads.

The new R&S SZV100A RF upconverter from Rohde & Schwarz offers a solution for testing broadband transponders in the payloads of very high throughput satellites (VHTS).

With its 2 GHz modulation bandwidth, the R&S SZV100A covers the entire frequency range from 36 GHz to 56 GHz.

Engineers can use R&S SZV100A RF upconverter from Rohde & Schwarz to test amplifiers, converters, receiver modules and complete satellite payloads in the Q/V band.

Together with the R&S SMW200A vector signal generator, the R&S SZV100A Q/V band RF upconverter provides continuous coverage of all satellite bands from VHF to V band as well as the frequency bands for 5G in the Q/V band.

The test setup consists of the R&S SMW200A vector signal generator, the R&S SMA100B RF and microwave signal generator, and the R&S SZV100A Q/V band RF upconverter.

The R&S SMW200A delivers the modulated broadband IF signal with bandwidths up to 2 GHz, while the R&S SMA100B provides the high-precision LO signal. The maximum output power of the R&S SZV100A is as high as +16 dBm (at 1 dB compression point), Rohde & Schwarz said.

The compact housing design, low weight and mounting points of the R&S SZV100A allow mounting as close as possible to the DUT, for example on the outside of a thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC). The distance between the IF source or LO source and the R&S SZV100A can be as much as 10 meters, allowing an optimized test setup.

The upconverter and the signal generators can be operated remotely with a PC software over a LAN connection. The R&S SZV remote control software enables simple and convenient configuration of the entire device setup.