Ranger

Ranger systems are actively used by commercial and military communications Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and waveform designers as well as Radar/Electronic Warfare (EW) OEMs, system integrators, and test ranges for spectrum capture and analysis, EW support, electronic spectrum obfuscation, and RF monitoring and signal surveying.

Radio Design Development

• Synthesizer settling - verify spectral frequency deviation, setting, and recovery damping characteristics.
• Turn on/Turn off, attack/decay characteristics - check rise time/fall time, as well as spectral occupancy.
• Provide system stimulus and response analysis for RF systems, whether under design, development, or test.

Spectrum Management

• Extensive documentation aids facilitate documentation of all observations. 
• Electromagnetic Environment (EME) characterization.
• Identify all signals in an environment and compare to what should be there.
• Analyze and locate interferers for interference mitigation.
• Record, analyze, and report on test events.
• GEO stamp - highly precise time and location identification.
• EME Characterization - Identify signals in the environment, signal analysis, interference detection and mitigation, as well as band usage statistics.
• Surveillance – Signal Intelligence, Satellite Test Range Support.

Surveillance

• Identify and analyze signals in complex signal environments.

Radar/EW/ECM/Test

• Verification testing - Signal analysis, stimulus/response testing, radar and target simulation, ECM/ECCM testing

Test Range Support

• Range set up characterization, record and analyze test events, CIED / EW, EME characterization, EME generation, transmitter and receiver tests, validation, and verification tests.
• Determine EME prior to testing/presence of unwanted signal activity for mitigation.

Military Radio/Communications Test

• Test Applications - Radio signal characterization, spec verification, interoperability testing, golden radio simulation.
• Provide EME and stimulus then observe response.

• Record up to three hours with 200 MHz IBW, continuous streaming to a single capture (using mA-3A01 mass storage device)
• Signal View Toolkit (SVT)
  • Live signal monitoring
  • Precision GPS timestamped captures
  • Software, external TTL, and GPS time triggering features
• SVT File
  • Extensive post-capture analysis capabilities including Pulse, PSK, QAM, AM, FM, PM, and more
  • Spectrum/Spectrogram/Time Plots
• Vector Signal Simulator (VSS)
  • Create and playback a wide range of signals
  • Create composite multi-standard / multi-carrier environments by combining waveforms of different technologies and bandwidths 
• Vector Signal Player (VSP)
  • Play back recordings, single waveforms, or whole composite environments 
  • External Playback Triggering
• Bench top or rack mount use

Ranger Configurations

Ranger Preconfigured RF Analysis Solutions
The Ranger product line offers a wide selection of preconfigured systems to support a wide variety of requirements and use case scenarios. The VIAVI Signal WorkShop RF Analysis application is integrated in all Ranger systems, providing our customers with a top-of-the-line RF signal generation and signal analysis test solution. Refer to the Ranger brochure for a list of preconfigured systems. 

Ranger Custom Test Solutions
Not finding what you need with one of the preconfigured systems? Contact VIAVI to discuss custom Ranger configurations.

Hardware Components

Ranger systems consist of modules found in the VIAVI CMP product line. Refer to the CMP Product page for detailed overview and data sheets for the following CMP modules:

mA-1305 Advanced High-Performance AXIe Chassis
The mA-1305 AXIe Chassis is the basis for all Ranger systems. The mA-1305 chassis is built upon the powerful AXIe instrumentation standard and is compliant to the AXIe-1 Revision 2.0 specification. The mA-1305 Chassis contains an embedded system module which provides a powerful dual-core processor for chassis management functions.

mA-3011 AXIe Embedded Host Processor
The mA-3011 provides a compact and integrated solution for AXIe-based deployments by eliminating the need for an external host processor for module control. The mA-3011 contains an Intel i7 4700 EQ chipset which provides powerful quad-core processing to support Signal WorkShop’s RF Analysis capabilities.

mA-6806 AXIe Vector Signal Transceiver
The mA-6806 provides the measurement capabilities of a vector signal analyzer with the arbitrary waveform playback functions of a vector signal generator. The mA-6806 is designed with precision timing and triggering functionality to support simultaneous capture and playback over 160 MHz of bandwidth. The mA-6806 provides the following key features and capabilities to support Ranger’s signal generation and analysis functions:
•    VSA/VSG Frequency range 1 MHz to 6 GHz 
•    Maximum bandwidth 160 MHz (200 MHz usable)

mA-6A30 AXIe Vector Signal Transceiver with 30 GHz Downconverter
The mA-6A30 combines the measurement capabilities of a vector signal analyzer with the arbitrary waveform playback functions of a vector signal generator. The mA-6A30 provides the RF performance, triggering, and data transfer capabilities needed to generate, capture, and stream over 160 MHz of signal bandwidth with precision timing. Extended frequency range and pre-select filtering allows the mA-6A30 to analyze high-frequency signals, harmonics, and out of-band spurious products. The mA-6A30 provides the following key capabilities to support Ranger’s signal generation and analysis functions:
•    VSA frequency range 1 MHz - 30 GHz
•    VSG frequency range 1 MHz - 6 GHz
•    Maximum signal bandwidth 200 MHz

mA-3A01 Mass Data Storage Module
The mA-3A01 is an AXIe-based mass storage tray which supports up to four NVMe (NonVolatile Memory Express) Solid State Drives (SSDs). The supports both large file streaming data and mass storage on the same solid-state drives. Hardware installation options include three 3.2 TB enterprise grade Micron U.2 2.5” form factor SSDs as standard (9.6 TB), or optionally allow up to four SSDs (12.8 TB). 

When used in combination with the mA-6806 or mA-6A30 and the mA-3011 Embedded Host Controller, the mA-3A01 supports streaming large file storage for RF signal captures, as well as extended playback via the mA-6806’s arbitrary waveform generation.

Signal WorkShop
Signal Workshop is a fully integrated signal analysis application designed to assist in finding and / or solving the most difficult RF communications signal quality, interference, and environmental RF issues.