PC Spectrum Analyser?


Is it possible to turn a PC in to a spectrum analyser without spending too much money? I was hoping it would be possible to connect a good linear mic to the input of a sound card, and to do the rest in software. So:

- Does anyone know of good, real time, cheap or reasonably priced spectrum analysis software for sound that will run on a PC?

- What would be a reasonably priced good microphone that is linear in the audible spectrum?

BTW, I do also have a 20Mhz dual trace osciliscope here, but to the bext of my knowledge there is no way to turn that in to a spectrum analyser for cheap... Seems like with a fast, sweepable filter that should not be too hard to do though?

Niels.
njonker

Showing 1 response by njonker

Well, I hate to admit it but I gave up on the idea of the PC Spectrum Analyser using my soundcard for now. Running a 1kHz test signal from CD through an osciloscope gave a nearly perfect sine wave. Running it through the spectrum analysis software on the PC showed TONS of harmonics at as little as 10dB below signal level... If those were really there, I should have seen them on the o'scope as well. Besides, signals above about 10kHz just did not get digitized very well at all. So my conclusion was: Forget about the sound card.

So I looked at a few solutions that have external attachments, like digital osciloscopes. Some looked like they might do the job, but still not really what I needed. Still, there was the issue of the linear mic and calibration.

So the next best thing I coudl find was the Audio Toolbox mentioned above. It is independant, but it is connectable to a PC for reading out results. We will see how well it works...

Niels.
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