There was a time, and not so long ago, that spectrum analyzers were large and heavy instruments that had to be wheeled around on a trolley or mounted in a van for field operations. And their upper frequency stopped at say 10 GHz for the really expensive ones. Oh, how things have changed! Today it is possible to carry a spectrum analyzer in your pocket, or stick it on a drone and fly it around. What’s more, it measures frequencies up to 110 GHz.

Ultra-portable, that is what Anritsu calls its family of USB-driven instruments. The MS2760A is the newest sibling in this family, a device capable of performing spectrum measurements from 9 kHz to 110 GHz with a 100 dB dynamic range up to 110 GHz. It can do a single sweep across the full frequency range in only 11 seconds. It uses a tablet computer as display.

“Just think of all the millimeter wave signals you can find!” shouts signal hunter Luke after he and Becca have found a hidden microwave signal by mounting the MS2760A on a commercial drone. Cool Tool! Indeed.