I have been looking for awhile now for a signal generator that can output anywhere from 100 MHZ to 1GHZ, it can actually vary, I am just going to use it for some testing I have planned. I would preferably want a function generator so I could test with varying waveform shapes. The problem is all the ones I have found are like $5,000 and up and the Function generators are even more.

So first off why are they so expensive when my router generates a WiFi signal at 2.4 GHZ? Is there a way to turn my WiFi into a function generator or signal generator at a lower frequency like 1Ghz, lol

Also is there a cheaper one from another place that works just aswell. If not, is there at-least some way to make one with a PC as the Generator source or build one?

 

Hello,

You can cover the range with a couple of these POS VCO blocks from minicircuits:
http://www.mini-circuits.com/products/vco_pic_linear.shtml

Bertus

 

Your router generates a signal only at 2.4 GHz. If it could generate a useful signal of the same quality at the 0.1-2.4 GHz bandwidth, then it would also cost more than 1K$.

 

Laboratory equipment is expensive for a reason. Generating stable and accurate signals and waveforms in that frequency range is difficult. Throw in different waveforms, with adjustable parameters like amplitude and frequency and it is not hard to understand why an RF bench covering the UHF range might cost half a million because after the signal generator you might need a spectrum analyzer and a network analyzer and lots of tweenies and terminated cables.

The other point to the economics that you raised was the wireless router. A handful of companies probably sell tens of millions of wireless routers in a year. How many companies sell how many UHF signal generators in a year? Hundreds, maybe thousands. Do you see the problem?

 

Have you searched for used instruments? Ebay would be a good place to start.

 

If you went the Mini-Circuits route, you could get this:
K-POS-2+ - $79.95
Datasheet:
http://www.mini-circuits.com/pdfs/K-POS-2+.pdf
A datasheet for just one of the modules:
http://www.mini-circuits.com/pdfs/POS-200+.pdf

We don't know what kind of testing you are planning on. If you merely need a source of frequencies, this would be a cheap way to go - but obtaining these modules would be just the beginning.