VSG25A Vector Signal Generator K0014
VSG25A Vector Signal Generator K0014

VSG25A Vector Signal Generator

The VSG25A is a 100 MHz to 2.5 GHz vector signal generator, featuring a 12-bit I/Q baseband arbitrary waveform generator which can be clocked at virtually any frequency from 54 kHz to 180 MHz, and includes a 4096×16 bit pattern buffer for built-in or custom modulation.


The VSG25A hardware features a 12-bit I/Q baseband arbitrary waveform generator which can be clocked at virtually any frequency from 54 kHz to 180 MHz, and includes a 4096×16 bit pattern buffer for built-in or custom modulation.

The VSG25A vector signal generator does have some limitations. The pattern buffer is small and cannot be upgraded. There is no reconstruction filter on the I/Q baseband, resulting in out-of-band spurious signals, and there is a single 2.7 GHz low pass filter on the RF output, so 3rd harmonics below 3.6 GHz may need to be filtered externally. If these are not show-stoppers for you, the VSG25A is an unbeatable value.


  • CW: 100 MHz to 2.5 GHz, -40 dBm to +10 dBm
    • Unspecified operation down to 80 MHz, or -70 dBm to +13 dBm
  • AM / FM: 30 Hz to 40 MHz modulation rates, sine, triangle, square, ramp
  • Pulse: 6 ns to 25 ms width, 12 ns to 1 second period
  • Multi-tone: Up to 1023 tones with optional center notch
    • Use random phase + notch for Noise Power Ratio testing
    • Use parabolic phase for best signal / noise
  • PSK: BPSK, DBPSK, QPSK, OQPSK, DQPSK, π/4 DQPSK, 8-PSK, D8PSK, 16-PSK
    • 4k to 45M symbols per second
    • Optional raised cosine, root raised cosine filtering
    • Up to 512 symbols, streamed continuously in a loop
    • Binary symbol editor features 1-click insertion of PN7 / PN9 sequences
  • QAM: QAM-16, QAM-64, QAM-256 (same features as PSK)
  • ASK / FSK: 4k to 45M symbols per second
    • Optional Gaussian filtering
    • Up to 512 symbols, streamed continuously in a loop
  • Sweep
  • Arbitrary Custom Modulation
    • Load a CSV file with I and Q values, specify center frequency, amplitude, pattern length (up to 2048), pattern period (up to 65535), and clock rate.

ModeVSG25A
Frequency Range100 MHz to 2.5 GHz (useable down to 80 MHz)
Frequency Resolution

<1 Hz

Timebase
Accuracy (excluding temperature drift): ± 5 ppm / year
• Temperature Drift: typically -0.2 ppm / °C.
• Adjustable to ± 1 ppm
Amplitude• CW Absolute Amplitude Accuracy: -40 to +10 dBm, ± 1.5 dB
Dac Clock/Sample Rate

• 53.333 kHz to 180 MHz

Typical SSB Phase Noise
(1 GHz)		Offset Frequency          dBc/Hz typical
• 100 Hz                            -68
• 1 kHz                              -88
• 10 kHz                            -102
• 100 kHz                          -105
• 1 MHz                            -132
AM/FM• Modulation Rate: 30 Hz to 40 MHz
• AM THD: < 1%
• FM THD: < 0.1% (0.01% typical)
Pulse• Pulse width: 6 ns to 25 ms
• Duty cycle minimum: 0.00025% (pulse period ≤1.0 s)
• Duty cycle maximum 99.9% (“"off" time > 6 ns)
• On / off ratio > 45 dB (typically 60 dB)
Multi-Tone• Tone count, 2 to 1023 with optional center notch
• Tone spacing: 1 kHz to 10 MHz
• Tone Phase Relationship: parabolic or random
Operating TemperatureStandard 32°F to 122°F (0°C to +50°C)
Size and Weight• 5.5" x 2.25" x 1.0" (140mm x 57mm x 25mm)• 0.5 lb. (227 gm)
Power Consumption• 2 Watt (typ)
InterfaceUSB 2.0
System RequirementsWindows Operating System, x64_86 architecture