Why we see the market growing for Handheld Test and Measurement Equipments?

To maximize the effectiveness for a range of user skill levels, new generation handheld instruments include operating modes that are flexible enough to meet the needs of novice and expert users. To increase efficiency, the latest handhelds can be configured with multiple capabilities in a single unit: cable and antenna test, spectrum analysis and vector network analysis. Additional built-in capabilities such as a tracking generator, power meter, DC source and even GPS reduce the number of items I&M personnel need to carry into the field.

The test equipment industry is a fast moving sector as vendors strive to supply test solutions for ever-changing technical requirements. One notable trend is the growth in demand for handheld devices. Traditional stand-alone test equipment often does not work well in outdoor, hard-to-reach, or moving environments. These settings demand a small, lightweight, and portable test system.

Nearly all major brands have introduced new models of handheld test equipment and analyzers. The radio communications market is one driving factor behind the explosion in the handheld equipment demand. As cellular communications improves and expands and protocols change and grow, field technicians are more in demand and so are the instruments that best suit their work environments.

Another new technology driving demand for portability is the recent proliferation of fiber optic network installations.

How Handheld helps

Handheld, portable RF/microwave test equipment has come a long way in the last decade, with the majority of benchtop measurement functions (such as signal generation and analysis) now available from portable packages. These miniature measurement powerhouses can be used manually, and many also include advanced test software programs and the latest computer interfaces for programmable and automatic testing at a remote site.

The deeper integration of RF, microwave and high-speed digital technologies in a single device that must provide outstanding battery life. Thus, those instrument manufacturers that offer advanced handhelds are looking for software and hardware tools that will help them overcome the same issues their customers face.

“The explosive growth of wireless data and the expansion of next-generation LTE, 3G and 4G wireless networks in several countries boost the use of handheld and portable instruments in field applications,” said Frost & Sullivan Measurement and Instrumentation Industry Manager Sujan Sami. “Radio frequency handheld instruments, in particular, are increasingly used in the installation and maintenance applications of air interfaces, access networks, and network performance.”

Madhukar Tripathi, Regional Manager, Anritsu India Pvt. Ltd.

Anritsu is first company to introduce handheld instruments concept for telecom testing in field. Handheld instruments are being upgraded as per industry requirement, more compact, longer battery life, and better display and faster. Now single handheld instrument can perform testing for GSM, EGPRS, WCDMA & latest communication technology Long Term Evolution (LTE).  Handheld instrument are most suitable test instrument for filed application where you cannot carry bench top heavy instrument.

Currently many instrument are being converted into handheld due changes in electronics. Changes in semiconductor components, display system are making handheld smarter and better day by day.

Anritsu have wide range of handheld instrument for telecom application. This covers RF MW and Optical FiberData communication technology. Anritsu is first company to introduce Site master (flag product under handheld category) and this is into 9^th generation now.

Due to performance and appropriate cost advantages handheld instruments are getting popular day by day. Demand of handheld instrument is increasing. New products are launched under Handheld category for new applications like EMF testing or Interference testing.

Following are main handheld products

RF & Microwave Handheld instruments

• Site Master ( Cable & Antenna Analyzer)
• VNA Master
• Spectrum Master
• PIM Master
• LMR Master
• BTS Master
• Cell Master

Optical Fiber handheld instruments

• Optical Power Meter
• Optical Light Source
• OTDR
• Micro OTDR (Network Master)
• Ethernet tester ( Network Master)
• Data Tester

Anritsu handheld instrument are primary used in Telecom domain. Now Anritsu handheld instruments are more popular in educational market. Anritsu handheld are also useful in broadcast market along with defence communication applications.  Mobile Network Operator, Network Equipment Manufacturer (NEM), System Integrator (SI), Installation companies, engineering research lab are main users of these handheld instruments.

Stephen Hire, General Manager – India, Aeroflex Asia

Traditionally, portability came at the expense of performance but modern handheld equipment frequently can now offer very good levels of performance. Another recent enhancement is the addition of touch screen control to improve ease of use. The cellular industry has driven the development of battery technology and handheld test equipment is also able to offer longer battery life as a result.

We have our 9100 series handheld spectrum analysers that offer class-leading performance in a cost-effective and rugged package. Our new 3550 radio test sets digital communications test capability such as P25 and DMR. Our GPSG-1000 GPS simulators offer a performance level traditionally only available in large lab-based systems. We also have a wide range of avionics test equipment that can be used for ramp-testing of aircraft.

With the ever increasing capabilities of handheld equipment, end users are certain to benefit. Indian customers will benefit in two ways. Smaller companies gain by getting access to higher performance equipment – in many cases, they can now get the performance of benchtop equipment but at the cost of handheld equipment. Customers involved in field maintenance will gain by being able to complete a wider range of tasks in the field. The growth of the cellular industry and newer regulations on issues such as EMF measurements for cellular towers are also driving growth. For all of these reasons, we see good prospects in the Indian market.

Mr. Shailendra Kalra, Managing Director, Livingston India

We see a strong trend in moving to high-speed transmission test in  handheld testers. The latest testers from JDSU and EXFO combine multiple new technologies (like SDH, PDH, 1/10G Ethernet, Fiber Channel, etc.) in one portable tester.

Current technological demands are pushing towards greater use of handheld instrumentation, however it means that companies must make new investments. We also see that the life cycles of handheld instruments are normally shorter, because mostly they have a large part of their functionality based in software and this will require updating, but will at a certain point be outdated.

Livingston is providing a wide range of portable telecommunication test instrumentation. From optical testers, like OTDRs and power meters, through to transmission testers, but also a variety of RF instruments, portable spectrum analysers and small network analysers.

For the Indian market we see a clear trend in an increasing number of requests for higher quality test instruments. In order to carry out work more efficiently and to provide more accurate results, good quality test instruments which are properly calibrated and maintained are in ever greater demand.

Livingston India is supplying a very large proportion of its test equipment to the telecom market. We address the whole eco-system – from large operators, like Reliance Telecom, manufacturers, like Alcatel Lucent, Ericsson and Cisco, to system integrators and sub-contractors.

Vishal Gupta, Sr. Technical Expert, RF/Microwave Technologies, Agilent Technologies India

Handheld products closely matching Benchtop technology

In early days of Test and Measurement, small, portable and handheld form-factor was believed to be loose on measurement accuracy. That has changed. Agilent with its innovation in analog and digital designs, packaging and measurement algorithms is able to bring out handheld products closely matching benchtop technology. One of the most innovative and comprehensive handheld tester from Agilent called Fieldfox would be considered here to bring out the true value of what a handheld product can offer. This albeit is not the only handheld product from Agilent. Other products like Digital Multimeter, Power Meter, Oscilloscope and Spectrum analyzer are equally powerful.

How do we differentiate between Handheld and Benchtop testers?

Primarily on accuracy, features, size, use pattern and mobility. Agilent with its innovation in MMIC and chip technology along with robust architecture helped achieve benchtop accuracy and precision in handheld products.  Agilent Fieldfox has 14 MMICs used 48 times at different blocks to achieve desired size, weight, performance and environment specifications. These MMICs give new level of RF/uW performance, long battery life and most rugged and reliable design. The advent of products like Fieldfox has changed the market belief about handheld products.

Customers are asking for easy to use, portable, battery operated rugged and versatile handheld testers. T&M industry offers wide range of products now in HH category. Agilent addresses these requirements for radar, communication, signal measurements, cable & antenna testing, etc using HH testers.

Where it suits?

If we look into various industry segments, viz, R&D, Validation, Installation and Maintenance, their testing requirement is varied. R&D and Validations are lab exercises and test systems and units to the extreme level of accuracy. A precise, accurate and feature rich benchtop tester is an answer for such test situations. However in installation and maintenance industry, testers with small form factor and good test performance which are easy to use, is a major criterion to make a choice. Agilent uses its measurement science knowledge to build capabilities in handheld tester consistent to our benchtop models. So the current structure of companies, with deep technical and measurement knowledge, making handheld testers is beneficial to the market.

Handheld T&M growth

The demand for light weight, easy to operate and rugged testers is on the rise.Installation and maintenance of electronics systems like RADAR, satellite ground stations, radio networks requires testing of filters, diplexers, duplexers and antennas in field. Moreover, growth of wireless network is driving growth requirements of handheld testers. Handheld RF tester offers various strong features like calibration during boot up procedure, wide screen display with day light feature, long lasting battery, operating environment specifications of temperature and humidity, data storage and compatibility with industry tools along with multiple instruments in one unit, which are building preference for the handheld testers.

Handheld has been traditionally used by Installation and Maintenance industry. However recent advancements in HH technology make it an attractive choice for Validation market too. Users of handheld instruments are largely Service Providers, Equipment manufacturers, CableTV operators and Broadcast service providers.

Handheld testers are also used in Aerospace and Defence industry for maintaining and troubleshooting Communication systems, Spectrum clearance, testing of Radar and Satellite Ground Stations..

Education and Research is another big consumer of HH testers for lab experiments, device verification, and verification of PhD thesis. Regulatory agencies too uses handheld tester for legal compliance.

Agilent handheld test equipment portfolio

Agilent is constantly growing its handheld test portfolio from digital multimeters to oscilloscopes to RF and microwave spectrum and vector network and RF analyzers. Last year, Agilent introduced 14 new handheld RF test equipment to expand its handheld product portfolio in microwave frequencies. Agilent also introduced 2 new oscilloscopes, one with 100 MHz bandwidth and 1 GSa/s sampling rate and other with 200 MHz bandwidth and 2 GSa/s sampling rate. These oscilloscopes also provide memory depth up to 2 Mpts enabling users to capture non-repeating signals such as motor start up sequence and

transient waveforms without sacrificing signal details. Agilent’s handheld test tools address the test and measurement capabilities that engineers need to complete their test and troubleshooting tasks with high accuracy and ease in the field. Following are some of the flagship handheld testers from Agilent Technologies:

N9344C  Handheld Spectrum Analyzer up to 20GHz
N9918A Microwave Analyzers up to 26.5GHz
N9938A Microwave VNA up to 26.5GHz
U1620A provides 200 MHz bandwidth and 2 GSa/s sampling rate.