NSA using EXCEL ´97 with GPIB allows making measurement and analysis less tedious

Performing normalized site attenuation (NSA) measurements and reporting the results is a tedious process. Usually the data is obtained manually or with a program developed using an instrument control language. Analyzing, comparing and reporting the data usually requires importing the current and past data into a spreadsheet to perform the needed calculations. The theoretical NSA values were normally taken from tables buried in different standards. Up to now the tables in various standards had errors which required mitigation. Calculating NSA on the fly removes the potential data entry and interpolation errors. With the release of Excel 97 the process is streamlined without the need for additional add ins. Microsoft ® Excel 97 includes Microsoft Visual Basic that can be used to control GPIB, serial and general purpose input output devices.