Meet the ‘Cool Stuff’ Winners: MicroGen Electronics TS9000 FM Broadcast Analyzer

A cost-effective FM mod monitor that does its calculations on a PC, this product is made by MicroGen, based in London, and was exhibited by Broadcast Warehouse, its distributor.
It is an FM receiver and modulation analyser (that’s how they spell it on the other side of The Pond) that runs from and is powered by a USB port, allowing on-site or mobile monitoring. It samples the multiplex signal at 240 kHz before passing info over USB to the PC, where measurements and calculations are performed in Windows software. It covers 87.5 to 108 MHz in 10 kHz steps, with an attenuator of -10/20/30 dB for high signal strength areas.
The unit can be used to inspect modulation level, pilot, RDS and SCA sub carriers. Transmitter RDS data streams can be analyzed and used as a source for debugging RDS encoder setup. Modulation histograms and other logging facilities are available so you can see changes over time.
The company says it’s the first FM broadcast analyzer to show users the FFT of the complete composite multiplex signal out to 100 kHz. Features include antenna, MPX and IF inputs, and balanced XLR and headphone outputs. Click-and-drag tuning lets it be used as an on-air tuner or single-channel modulation analyzer.
Retail price: $1,800.
Info: (888) 866-1671 or www.broadcastwarehouse.com.