TBPS01 EMC Near-field Probes + TBWA2 Wideband Amplifier

Near-field probes are without a doubt the most effective tool for debugging EMC issues. Near-field probes are used to locate the source of RF emissions as well as circuitry susceptible to RF. Near-field probes should be at the top of the list when it comes to selecting EMC pre-compliance test equipment.

The probes are usually connected to a spectrum analyzer and function similarly to wide bandwidth antennas. Scanning the probe over the surface of a PCB assembly, enclosure aperture or gaps, cables and any other component of a product quickly identifies areas that emit electromagnetic radiation. The source of the emissions can be narrowed down even more by changing to a smaller probe.
RF immunity tests can also be performed by injecting an RF signal into the probe and radiating it into possibly vulnerable circuit sections: Furthermore, via contactless monitoring of RF signal levels, the probes can be employed in the field of repair or debugging to trace out faults in RF signal chains. Non-invasive measuring of RF building blocks such as modulators or oscillators is another application. A low noise preamplifier can be used to measure frequency, phase noise, and spectral components.
The TBPS01 set includes the magnetic field probes H20, H10, and H5, as well as an electric field probe E5 and a coaxial cable and adapter for use with spectrum analyzers with N or SMA connectors. The sets TBPS01-TBWA/20dB and TBPS01-TBWA2/40dB have 6GHz wideband preamplifiers added.
The TBWA2/20dB and TBWA2/40db wideband amplifiers are connected between probe and spectrum analyzer to increase the dynamic range of the measurements, especially at lower frequencies.

LINKS AND REVIEWS

EDN Review (EMC Blog from Kenneth Wyatt)

Elektronik Praxis EMC Pre Compliance Testing (in German)

The review starts at 27:22.

Example of using the near field probes for non-invasive RF measurement

EMI/EMC Testing: DSA815 w/ DIY Probes, TekBox Probes, TEM Cell

Another video from the EEV blog, starts are 19:10.

A review with our EMC probes and the Signalhound BB60C Spectrum Analyzer from the Signalpath, starts are 1:21.22.

Dave uses our H-Field probe to test a credit card RFID/NFC theft protection bag

Real-time near-field measurements with the RSA306B

Teardown & Repair of an Agilent N5182A MXG