Applied Instruments 1685 - CATV Multi-Carrier RF Test Signal Generator

Spectrum Analyzers are useful for system frequency-response testing. The cable system's video carriers act as stimuli and the spectrum analyzer measures the response at any point in the cascade of amplifiers. The beauty of this technique is that there is no subscriber interference. The shortcoming is that if your system is not carrying channels throughout the passband, the spectrum analyzer has nothing to measure. Using a 1685's CW continuous wave test signals provides stable, clean stimuli for frequency response testing that won't interfere with existing channels. 

The Model 1685 is a headend/hubsite RF multi-carrier generator. It is custom-built and can be built in configurations from 1 carrier up to 8 carriers with any carrier frequencies from 5 MHz up to 1218 MHz.

Each CW carrier can be activated individually or simultaneously. The RF carriers generated are extremely clean and stable, thus making the 1685 an ideal instrument for testing/aligning the CATV forward band.

The Model 1685 generates RF continuous wave signals for use as reference signals when aligning a CATV forward band. This rack-mount unit may be configured with one to eight RF carriers. Each carrier may be activated individually or simultaneously. The optional built-in attenuator provides up to 70 dB of carrier amplitude range. With spectral purity of at least 60 dBc, the carriers may also be used for hum and noise evaluation tests.