The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has described its ideal receiver in the Spectrum Monitoring Handbook; minimal noise and high intermodulation immunity, expressed as the three parameters Displayed Average Noise Level (DANL), IP2 and IP3.

It sounds simple, but it isn’t that easy for test equipment manufacturers to achieve. A normal handheld spectrum analyzer cannot match the values specified by the ITU. Much more is needed e.g. by including a sub-octave pre-selector filter that protects the mixer from undesirable signals. By comparing DANL, IP2 and IP3 to the ITU values in a simple diagram, the difference between a good receiver like the Narda SignalShark and a general-purpose spectrum analyzer quickly becomes apparent. Just contact us for further information on the Narda SignalShark.