I will offer a couple of points for your consideration. Think about your application a little.
How often will you use it? Are you a "test equipment nut" or are you intimidated by lots of bells and whistles? Will you take it into the field a lot? Will you service the unit yourself? How important is regular calibration? These factors can help you evaluate different units. Some of the IFR instruments and the HP 8924 can be quite heavy and might be less desireable for regular field use. Some people have indicated that the IFR 1600 & 1900 and the HP 8920 units have user interfaces that take some time to master. On the other hand, if you are a regular user or a person who loves sophisticated instruments, this can be a plus. I have several units between work and my personal collection, including Motorola R2001D, R2670A, R2670B, HP8920A, Anritsu MT8801B, and Aeroflex / IFR 2975. If forced to pick just one, the 8920 wins hands down. It has more features and better performance specifications than just about anything around. On the other hand, there is the service issue. Agilent no longer supports the 8920A. The 8920B is supported until sometime next year. If you need service - the per incident charge is more than $2800.00 plus S&H. Compare that to the Motorola [General Dynamics] 2600 series. Their "A" models [which are as old as the earliest HP8920A's] are still supported. The flat rate repair for a 2600 / 2670 runs from $925.00 to $1450.00 + S&H, depending on the exact model. Calibration runs from $475.00 to $675.00. [calibration is included in a flat rate repair] I recently purchased a Motorola R2670A off ebay. I wanted a digtial service monitor since I have put up a 2 meter P25 repeater. This analyzer cost me less than $2K shipped to my door. It was listed as being inoperative. I took the chance since I knew I could get a flat rate repair and my total investment would still be under $4K. As it turned out, the unit was easily made operational, so I did well on that purchase. It still is no 8920, but is a nice unit with a good range of capabilities backed by great support. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - --- In [email protected], "Kruser" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: "... I need a better service monitor ..."
