In a world with a growing list of wireless systems, there is a real need for monitoring tools and instruments everyone can use.

Wireless microphones, Video links, GSM/GPRS/3G/4G networks, WiFi, ZigBee, Bluetooth, ISM bands… The list never ends. Some of these are amateur RF bands and therefore nice for hacking and tinkering. Some others are professional, licensed bands with specific use where every Hertz of the assigned spectrum is precious.

Dealing with all this complexity is only feasible with the right tool at hand.

RF Explorer is an affordable Handheld Spectrum Analyzer designed from scratch to be a sort of Swiss Army Knife for the specific needs of digital radio frequency communication.

Commercial high-end spectrum analyzers are traditionally expensive and bulky, in the order of many thousand dollars, and you need significant expertise to master them. RF Explorer offers 90% of what a high cost unit will do for RF digital band communication, at a 5% of the cost. Additionally, it can be carried on easily anywhere, used outdoors efficiently for hours with a single battery charge.

RF enthusiast have limited themselves to cheap "RF Power Detector / Frequency counter" devices in the past. But these are limited to display data for a single point of maximum power, and traditionally power metrics are too unreliable, in the order of 20dB or even 30dB inaccuracy.

In contrast, a spectrum analyzer like RF Explorer will display full frequency spectrum in the band, including carrier and modulated shape, will display Spread Spectrum activity if that exist, and will show bandwidth to monitor collisions, frequency deviation from expected tone, etc.

RF Explorer start at only $99 for narrow bands ISM models, and they are fully functional analyzers used worldwide by radio enthusiasts, engineers and companies who deal with specific ISM bands only.

But there are more advanced models available covering wider bands including the 6G model with a full coverage of 15-2700MHz and 4850-6100MHz in the same unit, with excellent dynamic range and plenty of features.

There are some other devices in the market which offers some of these features in an USB key, and they are of reasonable cost, albeit with limited bandwidth and resolution when compared to RF Explorer. However, USB-Key devices always depend on a PC connection, and that is very inconvenient for outdoor work or if you need to save space in the lab desk.

You can connect RF Explorer to your computer for additional features and display quality, but that is optional; RF Explorer is fully functional as an independent unit.

See below a quick summary of what you can do today with RF Explorer, together with firmware extensions we are working on for the near future.

Let us know your suggestions in RF Explorer distribution List as we are highly motivated to extend this device based on community requests.

RF Signal Generator is fully programmable, can work as a CW single carrier, multi Sweep and Tracking Generator from 100Khz to 6GHz. More details available on this page.

RF Explorer currently supported workflows

• Monitor continuous wave (CW) and temporary transmissions in specific ISM band.
• Detect whether a device is transmitting in the expected frequency and with expected power
• Check whether an antenna or amplifier change makes a difference in power, orientation and noise
• Detect band occupancy to move your gadget to a different channel
• Some analyzers may also work as RF Signal Generator to transmit pure RF tone so you can test your RF link in seconds.
• Works completely automatic so you do not need to be an expert to use it. It will resolve RBW, Sweep time, for you.
• Offer spectrum data in Normal, Average, Peak Maximum calculator modes
• Open communication API SCPI and libraries.
• Free computer software for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux, unlimited capture and post-processing storage
• Optimized for all worldwide frequencies between 50KHz to 6100MHz. Check on this model map for more details and comparison chart.
• RF Explorer Signal Generator with tracking capabilities for full SNA test and characterization of 2 port RF devices. More details here.

Additional information

• If you just received your RF Explorer and want to start playing with it, please go to the Getting Started page.
• RF Explorer detailed specifications and model map
• Free Downloads, including User Manual and firmware upgrades
• RF Explorer Touch multiplatform free download software specially indicated for Tablet and Touch computers but also compatible with traditional mouse/keyboard computers. Supports Windows, macOS and Linux including Raspberry Pi with touchscreen.
• Windows PC Client - download it for free and check some of the included examples to try RF Explorer right now!
• Uploading new firmware is easy and safe
• Example of an RFBee transceiver monitored with a RF Explorer
• Do you want to know what people say about RF Explorer? Check some of the reference threads online

High performance software for Windows, Mac and Linux

Realtime or adjusted signals, 3D spectrogram waterfall, CSV export, high quality graphics and a large feature set is available for free to RF Explorer users

RF Explorer roadmap and future extensions

• Transmission test tones in OOK and FSK
• Digital transmission decoding and packet sniffing for OOK and FSK, including Manchester code support
• Logging features for multi-hour transmission monitoring
• Frequency counter
• Automatic peak detection
• Storage for 1000's screenshots in expanded memory.

For an example of how easy and powerful RF Explorer is in a real advanced use case, check this tutorial combining the Signal Generator and the Spectrum Analyzer to fully characterize a RF filter.

To better know what others are saying about RF Explorer, check on online videos and references.