Programmable digital attenuator for RF and microwave applications

Vaunix released its new, portable 0.1 – 40 GHz Lab Brick programmable digital attenuator for broadband RF and microwave test and measurement applications. Model LDA-403 is a high-resolution digital attenuator that features a 31.5 dB attenuation range and 0.5 dB step size. It is ideal for use in creating highly refined Automated Test Equipment (ATE) stands for Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi6E, 4G, 5G, LTE, DVB, and microwave radio fading simulators, and for engineering/production test labs. In addition to its impressive attenuation characteristics, this bi-directional, 50-ohm attenuator offers insertion loss specs ranging from 3 Db at 6 GHz to 9.5 Db at 40 GHz. It is easily programmable for fixed attenuation, swept attenuation ramps, and fading profiles directly from the included Graphical User Interface (GUI) or webUI. Alternatively, for users wishing to develop their own interface, Vaunix supplies LabVIEW drivers, Windows API DLL files, Linux drivers, and Python examples. Multiple LDA-403 units can be powered and controlled through a single connection to a PC by linking the expansion bus of the attenuators. The LDA-403 offers both USB and Ethernet interfaces, measures 4.27 x 1.97 x 0.86 inches (108.5 x 50 x 21.8 millimeters) and weighs just 0.4 pounds (182 grams). The USB port uses a native HID interface to avoid the difficulties inherent in using older serial or IEEE-488 interfaces im...