1Version Management
Table 1 — updated description sheet.
| Version | Description | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| V2.5.4 | Added: Connect ETH Device, External Reference Clock Input, Reference Clock Output, Trigger Input, Trigger Output, RF Hardware, and GNSS Usage sections; added the Software & Firmware Update section; refactored the RF and Modulation Control section. | 05/09/2026 | |
| V1.1.5 | Initial version. | 03/18/2026 | |
2System Requirements
The VSG-Mini-6 is a USB vector signal generator; its companion SGStudio software must be installed and run on a host PC. The table below lists the basic recommended configuration. For systems below these specifications, refer to actual test results.
| Item | Requirement | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 (dependent on the VS2019 C++ redistributables) | ||
| Architecture | Windows x64 | ||
| Processor | Intel i3 or above | ||
| Memory | 8 GB RAM. When generating digitally modulated waveforms with PN > 15, 16 GB RAM is recommended. | ||
| Storage | For 62.5 MHz sample-rate output in streaming mode, the drive must sustain read/write speeds greater than 250 MB/s. | ||
| Data Interface | USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 (USB 3.0 recommended). Streaming mode is limited by the interface bandwidth. | ||
| Display Resolution | At least 1280 × 800 pixels | ||
| Other | Some antivirus software may prevent the system from operating normally. | ||
3Introduction to Operating Modes
The SGStudio software provides three main operating modes: CW, Playback, and Real-Time Streaming.
3.1 CW Mode
When RF is on and MOD is off in the software interface, the device enters CW mode. A single-tone carrier signal is generated without loading any baseband waveform file.
3.2 Playback Mode
Playback mode uses an onboard-memory preloaded mechanism. After the signal-pattern parameters are modified, the software immediately generates the corresponding IQ data and loads it into the instrument's internal memory, supporting looped or single-shot playback. Because the data is stored in advance, the instrument can reach its maximum analog bandwidth (100 MHz) without high-speed real-time transfer. The total stored waveform data is limited by the onboard memory (125 MB). All signal patterns except Streaming use this mode by default.
3.3 Real-Time Streaming Mode
The software transmits IQ waveform data to the instrument through the USB bus, and the instrument receives and plays the data in real time. After the user stops transmission, the instrument continues playback until all transmitted data has been played, then stops automatically. The sampling rate and transmission speed are limited by the physical bandwidth of the data interface.
3.4 Large Waveform Streaming
Large waveform streaming addresses the case where an oversized waveform file cannot be fully loaded into onboard memory (for example, digitally modulated signals with long PN sequences). The software can generate the complete waveform in the background and save it as a temporary WAV file, then automatically switch to streaming transmission for seamless playback.
| Strategy | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Adjust Params | Stop waveform generation and require the user to manually adjust parameters and regenerate a waveform that meets the memory limitation. | ||
| Generate And Trim Data | Continue generating the complete waveform, but retain only the first N sample points when downloading to the instrument so the data fits transmitter memory. The waveform may become discontinuous. | ||
| Generate & Stream | Generate the complete waveform in the background (even beyond 100 MB), save it as a temporary WAV file, then switch to Streaming mode to play the file. | ||
3.5 Interface Layout
The SGStudio interface consists of the Menu, RF Parameter Settings Area, Mode Selection Area, Mode Parameter Settings Area, and Instrument State.
Menu: save and open configuration files; set power-on state; connect USB/ETH devices; switch language/theme; preference settings; GNSS information; view instrument information; software and firmware update; preset; single and continuous transmission.
RF Parameter Settings Area: Frequency; Level; RF On/Off; Modulation On/Off; Frequency/Power Sweep; General Settings.
Mode Selection Area: AM; FM; Pulse; Digital Ramp; AWGN; Digital Mod; DSSS; OFDM; Playback; Streaming.
Instrument State: instrument connection status; bus data throughput; instrument model and UID; software/firmware version; real-time temperature.
4General Operations
4.1 Save and Open Configuration Files
Save: click "File" → "Save", set the path and file name in the Save Settings dialog, then click "Save". Configuration files are saved to the /data folder by default. Open: click "File" → "Open", select a configuration file, and click "Open" to apply the preset configuration.
4.2 Set Power-On State
The instrument supports user-defined startup states. Click "File" → "Power On State"; for "Default" or "Last State", click the option; for "User Preset", choose a saved configuration file.
| Power-On State | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Default | Instrument default configuration. | ||
| User Preset | Use a user-saved configuration file as the initial power-on configuration. | ||
| Last State | Use the parameter configuration from the previous software session as the initial startup configuration. | ||
4.3 Connect USB Device
With the instrument connected to the computer by USB cable, click "Device" → "USB Connect". The interface lists all signal generators connected to the PC.
4.4 Connect ETH Device
For an Ethernet-based instrument, select "Device" → "ETH Connect", enter the IP Address and Port, and choose the Local Interface (ensure the PC is on the same network segment as the instrument). Click "Connect"; on success the status bar shows "Connected ETH XXX" (e.g., Connected ETH 192.168.1.100 0 B/s).
4.5 Theme Setting
Click "System" → "Theme" to switch between the Dark and Light themes.
4.6 Preference Settings
Click "System" → "Preference" to open the configuration window.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Lock | On: a lock icon appears at the right of the screen. Click it to lock the screen and prevent accidental operation; click again to unlock. | ||
| Auto Mod | On: when "Enable" is selected in the mode parameter area, the "Modulation" control is enabled automatically. Off: the "MOD" control must be enabled manually. | ||
4.7 Viewing Instrument Information
Click "System" → "About" to display the instrument UID, software/firmware version, power-port voltage and current, and USB-port voltage and current.
4.8 Single and Continuous Transmission
Click "Single" to transmit the signal once; click "Continue" to transmit continuously.
4.9 Preset
Click "Preset" in the menu bar to restore the current software configuration to the instrument's default initial state.
4.10 RF and Modulation Control
During a Frequency or Power Sweep, modulation can be enabled concurrently so the modulated signal tracks variations in frequency or power.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| RF ON/OFF | Controls the RF output state. When set to OFF, RF output is forcibly disabled regardless of other settings. | ||
| MOD ON/OFF | Switches the modulation state. MOD OFF with RF ON outputs a CW signal; both ON outputs the signal using the selected modulation type. | ||
4.11 Frequency and Power Sweep
With RF and Frequency/Power Sweep enabled, the instrument outputs a CW sweep signal; additionally enabling MOD provides a modulated sweep output.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweep Type | Frequency Sweep: sweeps frequency across the range at a fixed level. Power Sweep: sweeps level across the range at a fixed frequency. | ||
| Start/Stop Frequency | Sets the sweep range for a frequency sweep. | ||
| Start/Stop Level | Sets the sweep range for a power sweep. | ||
| Frequency Step | Frequency step size between adjacent sweep points. | ||
| Level Step | Level increment between adjacent sweep points. | ||
| Dwell Time | Update interval between adjacent sweep points (instrument reconfiguration time plus dwell). Range: 1 ms to 1000 s. | ||
Example — analog frequency sweep, 1 GHz to 2 GHz, level −20 dBm, 100 MHz step, 10 ms dwell: click "RF Sweep"; set Sweep Type to Frequency, Start 1 GHz, Stop 2 GHz, Step 100 MHz, Dwell 10 ms, and enable RF Sweep; set Level to −20 dBm and RF On.
4.12 External Reference Clock Input
Input an external reference clock per the Quick Start Guide, then click "General Settings" → "RefCLKSource" in the RF parameter area and select "External" (10 MHz). If the source displays "External", the switch succeeded; if it reverts to "Internal", click "Preset" to return to the internal clock.
4.13 Reference Clock Output
Connect the instrument's reference-clock output per the Quick Start Guide, then click "General Settings" and enable "RefCLKOut" to output a 100 MHz clock signal.
4.14 Trigger Input
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger Source | Supports bus trigger, external trigger, and XPPS trigger. | ||
| Trigger Action | Effective only when RF sweep is enabled. Sweep: a trigger starts the preset RF sweep (adjacent-point interval set by dwell time). Hop: a trigger performs a single-step transition to the next RF state (dwell time ignored; hop rate follows the trigger pulses). | ||
| Trigger Edge | Rising- or falling-edge triggering. In bus-trigger mode the edge setting is ignored. | ||
4.15 Trigger Output
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger Output | Enable or disable the trigger-output function. | ||
| Trigger Action | Sweep: outputs one trigger after completing one RF sweep. Hop: outputs one trigger after completing one frequency hop. | ||
| Trigger Edge | Output trigger can be a rising or falling edge. | ||
4.16 RF Hardware (LO Mode)
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | Automatically selects optimal operating parameters based on output frequency, step size, and operating state. | ||
| Low Phase Noise | Improves phase stability and optimizes close-in phase noise by adjusting the PLL control strategy. | ||
| Low Spurious | Optimizes the LO output spectrum, suppressing fractional spurs to improve spectral purity. | ||
4.17 Fan Control
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto | Default. The fan turns on when the temperature exceeds the preset threshold (50 °C) and off when it falls below. | ||
| On | Turns the fan on. | ||
| Off | Turns the fan off. | ||
4.18 Saving Baseband IQ Data
Click "Save IQ Data" in the mode parameter area, set the path and file name in the dialog, and click "OK" to save the baseband IQ data file.
4.19 GNSS Usage
The VSG-Mini-6 can display GNSS information after an external GNSS antenna is connected. Click "System" → "GNSS Info", select the "External" antenna, and wait 1 to 3 minutes for lock.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Antenna | Select Internal or External (currently only External is supported). | ||
| Format | Local Time or UTC Time. | ||
| Date / Time | Date and time of the current positioning. | ||
| Longitude / Latitude / Altitude | Coordinates and altitude of the current positioning. | ||
| Satellite Number | Number of positioned satellites. | ||
| SNR (Max / Min / Avg) | Maximum, minimum, and average SNR of positioned satellites. | ||
5Signal Waveform Overview
5.1 Amplitude Modulation (AM)
Example — AM signal at 1 GHz, −20 dBm, 1 kHz rate, 50% depth, sine baseband.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | AM modulation frequency. Range: 1 Hz to 10 MHz. | ||
| Depth (%) | Ratio of modulation-signal amplitude to carrier amplitude. Range: 1% to 100%. | ||
| Shape | Sine / Square / Triangle / Ramp | ||
5.2 Frequency Modulation (FM)
Example — FM signal at 1 GHz, −20 dBm, 5 kHz rate, 75 kHz deviation, sine waveform.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | FM modulation frequency. | ||
| Deviation | Maximum carrier-frequency offset during modulation. | ||
| Shape | Sine / Square / Triangle / Ramp | ||
5.3 Pulse
Example — pulse signal at 1 GHz, −20 dBm, 100 ns width, 400 ns period.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Width | Duration of the high-level state within one pulse period. Range: 8 ns to 1 s. | ||
| Period | Time interval between the rising edges of two adjacent pulses. Range: 16 ns to 1 s. | ||
| Duty Cycle (%) | Returned value. Ratio of pulse width to period (percentage of high-level duration). | ||
5.4 Digital Ramp Sweep
Ramp Sweep is CW sweeping across a specified frequency range at the desired output level; because frequency changes continuously, it is limited by the instantaneous bandwidth of the transmit channel. Example — center 1 GHz, −20 dBm, 10 MHz span, 100 ms sweep time, 200 ms period.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Span | Frequency span of the ramp sweep (carrier frequency is the sweep center). | ||
| Sweep Time | Time to sweep across the defined range. Range: 1 µs to 1 s. | ||
| Period | Interval between two consecutive sweeps (≥ sweep time). Range: 1 µs to 1 s. | ||
5.5 Gaussian White Noise (AWGN)
Example — center 1 GHz, 10 MHz output bandwidth, 10 ms duration, −20 dBm.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth | Effective frequency range of the noise. Range: 50 kHz to 62.5 MHz. | ||
| Length | Duration of a single noise signal. Range: 100 µs to 200 ms. | ||
5.6 Digital Modulation
Example — BPSK signal at 1 GHz, −20 dBm peak, 10 MHz symbol rate.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol Rate | Symbols transmitted per second. Limited by the maximum sampling rate and oversampling: Symbol Rate ≤ 125 MHz / oversample. | ||
| Filter Type | Rectangular, Raised Cosine, Root Raised Cosine, Gaussian, Half-Sine. | ||
| Modulation Type | APSK (16APSK); ASK (2/4/8ASK); FSK (2/4/8/16FSK); PSK (BPSK, QPSK, OQPSK, 8PSK, 16PSK, DBPSK, DQPSK, D8PSK, Pi/4 DQPSK); QAM (16/64/256/1024QAM). | ||
| Filter Alpha | Roll-off factor. Raised/Root Raised Cosine: 0.025 to 1; Gaussian: 0.15 to 2.5. | ||
| Filter Length | Longer filters improve filtering at the cost of load and delay. Range: [2, 400/oversample], even numbers. | ||
| PN | Order of the pseudo-random noise sequence (default 9). Range: [4, 24]. Very high orders may exceed internal memory; a dialog offers cancel, continue (truncated download), or background generation with automatic switch to Streaming. | ||
| Sequence Seed | Initial value of the PN generator (default 23). The same seed reproduces the same sequence. | ||
| Oversample | Samples per symbol. Higher values smooth the waveform and reduce aliasing but increase data size. Range: [2, 32], even numbers. | ||
| FSK Deviation | Frequency deviation in FSK mode. Range: 1 Hz to 15 × symbol rate. | ||
5.7 Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Example — DSSS at 1 GHz, −20 dBm, 300 kHz symbol rate, BPSK, spreading-code length 6.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol Rate | Symbols per second in the raw data. Constraint: Symbol Rate ≤ Sampling rate / (Oversampling × 2^PN − 1). | ||
| Filter Type / Alpha / Length | Rectangular, Raised Cosine, Root Raised Cosine, Gaussian, Half-Sine. Alpha per filter type; length is even integers in [2, 400/oversample]. | ||
| Oversample | Sample points per chip period. Range: [4, 32], even numbers. | ||
| Modulation Type | Currently only BPSK is supported. | ||
| Code | Order of the spreading code. Range: [4, 16]. Higher orders (length = 2^n − 1) give higher spreading gain and anti-jamming capability but greater complexity. | ||
5.8 OFDM
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Modulation Type | Per-subcarrier scheme: BPSK, QPSK, 8PSK, 16PSK, QAM16, QAM64, QAM256. | ||
| FFT Size | Total number of subcarriers: 2^n, n ∈ {4…11}. | ||
| Sample Rate / Carrier Spacing | Waveform sampling rate; carrier spacing = Sample Rate / FFT Size. | ||
| Symbol Count | OFDM symbols per burst. Range: [2, 16348]. | ||
| Guard Band Carriers (Left/Right) | Low- and high-frequency edge guard subcarriers (not used for data). | ||
| Guard Interval (%) | Cyclic-prefix length as a percentage of the OFDM symbol; protects against multipath. | ||
| Null DC | Enable disables the DC subcarrier (recommended); Disable enables it. | ||
| Windowed / Window Length (%) | Optional time-domain windowing to reduce spectral leakage; length applied symmetrically to both edges. Range 0–100%, default 50%. | ||
5.9 Playback
Playback (arbitrary-file output) plays back .wav waveform files using a preloaded storage mechanism, ensuring stable output of complex waveforms at maximum analog bandwidth.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample Rate | Sampling rate of the arbitrary waveform (max 125 MHz). Match the original to avoid distortion. | ||
| Auto Scale / I/Q Ratio (%) | Auto Scale maps the maximum sample to full-scale output; otherwise the I/Q ratio (1–100%) scales amplitude. | ||
| Period / Sample Offset / Samples To Use | Total samples in the file; starting playback point; number of samples output from the offset. | ||
| Load / Unload File / File Name | Loads a .wav file (≤ 100 MB); clears the loaded file; shows the loaded file name ("N/A" if none). | ||
| Samples In File / Signal Length / Period Length | I/Q sample pairs in the file; playback duration = Samples To Use / Sample Rate; file duration = Samples In File / Sample Rate. | ||
5.10 Streaming
Streaming continuously outputs one or more WAV complex baseband waveform files as RF signals, loaded and transmitted in real time from the file system for large-capacity, continuous output.
| Parameter | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sample Rate | Sampling rate of the files in the list (max 62.5 MHz). Match the original; no resampling is performed for mismatched rates. | ||
| Load Files / Unload Files / Remove File | Add WAV files to the list; remove all files; remove the selected file. | ||
6Software and Firmware Update
This section describes how to update the instrument's software, FPGA, MCU, and Bus versions.
6.1 Version Requirements
Check the software and firmware versions (see Viewing Instrument Information). For all instruments, ensure the GUI version is 2.5.4 or above. If the software indicates the update cannot be performed, contact official technical support.
6.2 Parameter Description
Note displays the current and target versions of the software, FPGA, MCU, and Bus. Update Content provides details of the changes in the target version. Update Notification sets whether an update notification pops up automatically when a new version is detected.
| Update Method | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Online | Download and install the latest software and firmware directly from the server. | ||
| Default | Update using the locally stored default update files. | ||
| Local | Manually select local update files to perform the update. | ||
6.3 Online Update
- Click "System" → "Update" to enter the update interface.
- Check "Update Notification" and ensure the device is connected to the internet; the Update window pops up automatically when a new version is detected.
- Set "Update Method" to Online. The package downloads and is parsed; the "Update" button then becomes enabled and release notes are shown.
- Compare the current and target versions, review the new features and fixes, then click "Update".
- The software exits and enters the upgrade process. Keep the update window open until the progress bar completes and the software restarts.
- Close the update-information window, then click "System" → "About" to confirm the current firmware version.
7Download
The complete VSG-Mini-6 SGStudio Software User Manual is available as a PDF.