What is the bill of material for spectrum analyzers?

[unbuildpain]

What is the bill of material for spectrum analyzers? I've noticed that almost of them are above $1000, some are even going as high as $50000. What is the reason for their cost being so high? How much would the components in them actually cost to make?

Even the highest priced ones don't seem to go over 20GHz, are there any spectrum analyzers which go upto 300GHz or even higher?

How much would it take to build one?

 

[d123]

Hi,

What is the reason for their cost being so high?

Possibly, to paraphrase an anecdote made by an engineering teacher to a PLC group: A customer asks an engineer why his services are so expensive just to fit capacitor banks in factories, the engineer answers, "The parts cost $100, the knowledge I have and that you don't about how they fit together and where they go costs the other $900."

 

[betwixt]

I'll try a more technical answer
The reason they are expensive is the limited market for them, being such a specialist instrument they can't be mass produced. You can buy fairly cheap ones or make your own but they wouldn't be able to accurately measure signal levels or be selective enough.
Up to about 20GHz they can use conventional high frequency and microwave techniques, as the frequency increases it becomes more difficult to provide the gain and linearity needed in the amplifier stages and to ensure stability in the local oscillator stages. Beyond about 30GHz it becomes necessary to use more exotic materials and start using linear down-mixers which further increase costs.

I have an Anritsu one here that is more the 40 years old and only covers up to 2GHz but it would still fetch a good price if I tried to sell it.

Brian.

 

[wwfeldman]

ballpark guess-timate:
cost of parts: relatively small
cost of manufacture: relatively small
cost of engineering: relatively medium
cost of testing and verification: relativity medium
cost of advertising and sales: relativity medium
cost of support: relativity medium
cost of items i left out: relativity medium
cost of management (including legal): relatively large
cost of profit: relativity large

call small 1, medium 3, and large 5, then there are 27 parts
take the $50,000 device, divide by 27, parts are about $1800

the thing that my guess-timate does not account for is the experience
developed over years by many people building a machine,
then building a better one, etc.

NOTE: this is a very rough estimate

the differences between the $1000 device and the $50,000 device can be
gleaned from the differences in specifications and company reputation

Keysight has a spectrum analyzers with a maximum frequency of 110 GHz (N9040B/41B UXA)

 

[danadakk]

Depends on type of analyzer -

Types of spectrum analyzers
Spectrum analyzers originally measured only amplitude. These swept-tuned, super heterodyne analyzers evolved over time with the communications industry. With the need for phase measurements, signal analyzers took the place of their more basic counterparts. Spectrum analyzers measure the magnitude of an input versus signal frequency. Vector signal analyzers measure the magnitude and phase of an input signal at a single frequency. Today’s signal analyzers combine functionality of the earlier evolutions of spectrum analyzers, such as analog, vector, and FFT (fast Fourier transform) measurements. Along with these new high-functioning signal analyzers, more compact options have come about, such as the Keysight FieldFox and modular spectrum analyzers. While the terms signal analyzer and spectrum analyzer are not interchangeable, they often refer to the same measurements and concepts. Many people use “spectrum analyzer” to refer to signal analyzers.

FFT analyzers (such as in scopes) can be much lower cost, depending on range of
course. But their performance limited compared to heterodyne types.


Regards, Dana.