In the High-Speed Zone, at the center of the exhibition floor at EDI CON USA 2017, you will find a number of demo pods showcasing the latest in high-speed design, including signal-integrity and power-integrity products from SiSoft, Teledyne LeCroy, Passives Plus, and iTech College. At one corner of the High-Speed Zone, you can visit the SI/PI Measurement Lab, which promises to be a “no sales pitch zone” and aims to give you tips on how to make critical SI or PI measurements. The SI/PI Measurement Lab is the brainchild of Steve Sandler, Picotest, and Mike Schnecker, Rohde & Schwarz, and they’ve put together an array of test equipment for use. Asking you to BYOB, bring your own board, Mike and Steve and their teams stand ready to help you make your measurements. If your board is too secret, they will have some sample boards for you to try instead.

I spoke with Steve Sandler recently about his and Mike’s plans for the new SI/PI Measurement Lab, here’s some of what he shared with me:

SIJ: What equipment will you have?

Steve Sandler: We will have a Rohde & Schwarz RTO2064 6-GHz oscilloscope, FSWP26 signal analyzer (1 MHz to 26.5 GHz), and a ZNB8 8.5GHz network analyzer. In addition, we are brining along Picotest equipment probes, cables, interconnects, and some new products that haven’t been released yet.

SIJ: What can people bring?

Steve Sandler: Anything they like. We are encouraging people to bring boards, but understand that many generally don’t want to do that. It will be a nice opportunity for people to come and ask questions, but we will also have a really good selection of things to measure anyway. Some stuff that’s unusual, some that’s typical, and some that you might not expect to be able to measure well including clocks, amplifiers, demo boards, etc.

SIJ: What can attendees expect?

Steve Sandler:  NO Sales pitch, NO cost.  We will staff the lab with people who have expertise in these measurements. We are willing to share our expertise and are asking for nothing in return. We want to share what we know for the benefit of sharing it.

SIJ: What does the SI/PI Measurement Lab matter?

Steve Sandler: There are very few places where you can bring your own projects and get help measuring them. There are few places where people can get this opportunity. If you want help measuring things, there’s no cheaper way to do it than this!

Attendees can visit the SI/PI Measurement Lab at EDI CON with either a free EXPO pass (advanced registration required for a free pass) or a full-conference pass ($200 for three full days of training with the code AUGUST.) Registration is open now. Housing rates close August 22.