The high-speed phase-coherent synthesizer is a best-of-breed laboratory instrument designed for demanding microwave radar applications, including ECW. The frequency range extends from 250 MHz up to 18 GHz (P, L, S, C, X and Ku Bands). It can build a table of over 65,000 frequencies that can be randomly switched among in under1 microsecond with coherent phase.  Continuous coverage is provided in both the 250-1050 MHz band and from 900 MHz through 18 GHz.
This synthesizer is a high-performance, limited production unit. The instrument price can vary based on configuration but in 2011 the price was in the $200K range.

• Switching speed: 300 ns typical
• Bandwidth: Entire Band at each port
• Spurs: approx. -70 dBc at +10dBm output
• Flatness: ±1dB across entire band
• Programmable fast attenuation: >10dB in .5dB steps

What is meant by phase coherence? Every time you return to the same frequency during a data collection the phase of that frequency will act as if you never left that frequency. This is not to be confused with being phase locked to an external reference, which of course the ACS also supports.

The rear panel photo shows the multiple interfaces and connections including: parallel and fiber optic frequency addressing, external reference, triggers, markers, LAN connection and a serial port.

Full details on setting up and using the ACS can be found in the User's Technical Guide, available on request.

Full details on the ACS's performance can be found in the specification sheet, available as a PDF download below.

The included virtual front panel software  allows the synthesizer to be used without any additional programming effort. Using the VFP you can do everything from calibrate the instrument to measure spurs. All the features of the synthesizer can be exercised from the virtual front panel. Connect a PC to the ACS using an Ethernet cable and configuration is complete. If you prefer, you can write your own software, as the ACS has an extremely functional SCPI compliant parser built-in. Full details on the VFP software can be found in the Virtual Front Panel User's Guide, available as a PDF download below. Full details on the SCPI command set are also available for download.

You can also watch a brief screencast

that demonstrates the basic features of the VFP software. This screencast is in .wmv format and uses the Windows Media Player. It is about three minutes long and 1.5 megabytes.