Bench tests instruments for Ireland & Britain!

Anglia Components has signed a distribution agreement for Britain and Ireland with Teledyne LeCroy, the world leading manufacturer of bench test instruments.

This is the first time that Anglia has offered test instruments, and the first time Teledyne LeCroy has appointed a component specialist to its network. Both companies believe that the relationship will add value for customers, and strengthen their businesses by identifying new opportunities.

Frank McCoubrey, Distribution Sales Manager, Tony Minchell, Applications Engineer and Nicola Gomiero, EMEA Indirect Channel Manager all with Teledyne LeCroy; and Anglia's Sarah Porter, Marketing Manager, and David Pearson, Technical Director.

According to Nicola Gomiero, EMEA Indirect Channel Manager for Teledyne LeCroy, Anglia’s Field Application Engineers are already working closely with many potential Teledyne LeCroy customers, and have the skills to help them choose bench test equipment. He said, “Anglia offers Teledyne LeCroy a unique combination of a highly effective, technical sales team and a strong online sales channel. Adding Anglia to our distribution network improves our service to our customers and provides them with a new and easier way of doing business with Teledyne LeCroy. They now have the opportunity to discuss their test needs with a team that they already know and trust, and place orders online for next day delivery through Anglia Live.”

Steve Rawlins, Anglia CEO added, “Teledyne LeCroy is recognized as one of the world leaders in bench test instruments, and we can now give our customers access to an outstanding and competitive product range based on market leading technology. Our Field Applications Team will take a pro-active approach, identifying customers who could benefit from using the equipment. Adding a test instrument line is an innovation for Anglia, and we believe that this new relationship will enable us to bring more value to our customers and introduce new opportunities to Teledyne LeCroy.”

Under the agreement, Anglia will stock and sell the Teledyne LeCroy distribution range of oscilloscopes and waveform generators along with the associated probes and accessories. A range of instruments will be held at Anglia’s warehouse ready for same day shipment, and be offered online through Anglia Live. Anglia’s Field Applications Engineering team will be trained by Teledyne LeCroy, and will be offer customer demonstrations and technical support.

Microwave switch system adopted for test suite

Keithley Instruments has announced that LeCroy Corporation has chosen Keithley’s System 46 (S46) RF/Microwave Switch System as part of the original equipment for its new USB 3.0 Test Suite product family. Keithley’s S46 switch is engineered to simplify the automated switching needed to test a wide range of telecommunications products and devices, including Bluetooth devices. The USB 3.0 Test Suite represents the industry’s first single-source lineup of test instruments that can comprehensively support the Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 standard, also known as SuperSpeed USB.

James J. Mueller, LeCroy’s VP of Measurement Technology, explains, “We chose the Keithley S46 switch for the USB 3.0 Test Suite because it was capable of handling the broad range of signals the instruments in this test suite will encounter. The S46 allows us to route transmitter output from a device under test to the receiver input of our Protocol-enabled Receiver and Transmitter Tolerance Tester (PeRT3 ™) or an oscilloscope, such as our WaveMaster™ 8 Zi Oscilloscopes. Additionally, the S46 allows us to route the transmitter output from the PeRT 3 directly to the receiver input of the device under test or to the oscilloscope for calibration.”

Mark Hoersten, Keithley’s Vice President, Marketing, notes, “The S46’s standard configurations make it simple for manufacturers like LeCroy to select a system that meets the specifications of the testing application without the expense of unnecessary switches or other features. The ‘just what you need and no more’ design philosophy on which our S46 systems are based helps LeCroy to provide its customers with outstanding price/performance value.”

The S46 RF/Microwave Switch is widely used in applications such as testing cellular and cordless phones, specialized mobile radios, base stations, specialized antenna systems, RF components including RFICs, wireless peripherals, including Bluetooth devices, broadband wireless transceivers, high speed digital communications including SONET devices with speeds of 3Gbps and 10Gbps. The standard S46 system is specified for a bandwidth of 18GHz; custom S46 systems can support bandwidths up to 40GHz. As test requirements change, relays can be easily added to the system to create a new switch configuration.

The S46 controller automatically counts relay contact closures to allow equipment maintenance personnel to assess when the relays are nearing the end of their mechanical life. In this way, preventive maintenance can be performed in a timely way during scheduled shutdowns, avoiding unplanned shutdowns and the resulting loss of production time. In addition to counting contact closures, the S46 has a portion of its memory available to store S-parameters or calibration constants for each relay contact or each pathway. If a specific performance parameter is critical, such as Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) or insertion loss, the parameter can be stored in memory for use in trend analysis between scheduled maintenance shutdowns. Stored parameters can also be used for compensation to enhance accuracy during RF measurements.