The Agilent 8591E is a compact spectrum analyzer covering 9 kHz to 1.8 GHz with dual input configurations—50 Ω across the full range and 75 Ω from 1 MHz upward. Equipped with Options 041 and 101, this instrument delivers precise RF signal characterization for R&D, field troubleshooting, and wireless system validation. The modular four-slot card cage design enables tailored configurations to match application-specific requirements.
Signal analysis spans power level, frequency, and modulation characteristics with noise performance below -115 dBm and maximum safe input of +30 dBm. The CRT monochrome display supports split-screen operation, multiple markers, peak tables listing ten signals by amplitude or frequency, and peak zoom functionality. Over 200 built-in measurement functions include one-button routines for adjacent channel power, channel power, occupied bandwidth, third-order intercept, percent AM, and N dB points. Advanced capabilities encompass FFT and gated measurements.
Frequency reference stability of ±5 × 10⁻⁶ temperature coefficient and ±2 × 10⁻⁶/year aging ensure long-term accuracy. Resolution bandwidth ranges from 1 kHz to 3 MHz with selectivity of -60 dB/-3 dB ratio at 15:1 for 3–10 kHz RBW. EMI bandwidths include 9 kHz and 120 kHz (6 dB), expandable to 30–300 Hz (3 dB) and 200 Hz (6 dB) via Option 130. Standard minimum span is 10 kHz; Option 130 reduces this to 1 kHz. Amplitude accuracy stands at ±1 dB nominal. Frequency readout accuracy incorporates reference error, span accuracy (±2% for spans ≤10 MHz × N, ±3% for larger spans), 1% of span, 20% of RBW, and 100 Hz × N terms.
