At EuMW 2026, everything RF met Kyle MacCoy of National Instruments (NI), who demonstrated the company’s PXI-based RF test platform and Channel Emulator System Software (CHESS). The company’s demonstrations highlighted how NI’s modular test architecture can automate RF measurements and recreate real-world wireless channel conditions in a laboratory environment. National Instruments’ Channel Emulator System Software (CHESS) combines PXI hardware, Vector Signal Transceivers (VSTs), and FPGA-based processing to emulate RF impairments including Doppler shift, fading, path loss, interference, and multipath propagation.
European Microwave Week (EuMW) 2026, held from 4-9 October in London, is Europe’s premier event for the RF, microwave, mmWave, and radar industry, bringing together the companies and technologies shaping the future of high-frequency engineering.
PXI-Based RF Test Platform
At their booth, NI showcased its PXI-based RF test platform, a modular test architecture designed for the characterization and validation of RF components and subsystems, including transmit/receive (T/R) modules. Built around a PXI chassis and a Vector Signal Transceiver (VST), the platform combines RF signal generation, signal analysis, user-programmable FPGA processing, and synchronized instrumentation within a single test environment. By sharing timing, triggering, and synchronization resources across the PXI backplane, the system enables multiple RF measurements to be performed on the same device without repeatedly changing test connections. Browse transmit/receive front-end modules on everything RF.
During the demonstration, MacCoy showed how the platform automates instrument switching, frequency control, power management, and DUT control through the PXI chassis. Using NI’s software and measurement IP, engineers can create automated test sequences that perform a range of parametric measurements on a single setup, reducing test time and improving repeatability. The system was configured to execute measurements including compression testing, S-parameter characterization, intermodulation analysis, noise figure measurements, and pulse analysis, providing a comprehensive view of RF device performance from a unified test platform.
Because the same PXI architecture can be scaled with additional instruments and processing resources, it can support applications ranging from RF component characterization and radar T/R module testing to system-level validation and production test environments. The system was configured to perform multiple measurements automatically, including:
- Compression testing, used to evaluate amplifier linearity and determine how a device behaves as signal power increases.
- S-parameter measurements, which characterize how RF energy is transmitted and reflected through a device.
- Intermodulation measurements, which analyze distortion products generated by nonlinear RF components.
- Noise figure measurements, used to assess the amount of noise added by a receiver or RF subsystem.
- Pulse measurements, commonly used in radar and pulsed RF applications to evaluate pulse characteristics and timing.
By integrating these measurements within a single PXI platform, engineers can move through a complete RF test sequence without changing instrument connections, improving test speed and repeatability. National Instruments’ modular PXI architecture is designed to support both characterization and automated production test workflows.
Channel Emulator System Software (CHESS)
NI’s Channel Emulator System Software (CHESS) is a hardware-in-the-loop RF channel emulation platform that recreates real-world wireless environments in a controlled laboratory setting. Built on NI’s PXI architecture, the system combines Vector Signal Transceivers (VSTs) and FPGA-based processing to model channel impairments including Doppler shift, propagation delay, fading, path loss, interference, noise, and multipath propagation in real time. Designed for communications system validation, CHESS enables engineers to evaluate system performance under realistic operating conditions long before field deployment.
The platform can stream channel data from external scenario-generation and simulation tools, allowing users to recreate dynamic air-to-ground, air-to-air, and satellite communication links, or generate custom test scenarios with multiple changing parameters. Its software-defined, scalable architecture allows additional channels and bandwidth to be added as test requirements evolve, providing a repeatable environment for validating complex wireless systems.
During the demonstration, McCoy used a VST as the RF front end while FPGA-based co-processors introduced channel impairments into the signal path. He showed how increasing channel noise affected the signal’s constellation diagram, causing the demodulated signal points to spread in real time. The demonstration illustrated how engineers can observe and analyze the impact of changing channel conditions on system performance without leaving the lab.
The demonstrations at EuMW 2026 highlighted National Instruments’ approach to RF testing, bringing component characterization and system-level validation together within a common, modular hardware and software ecosystem. By leveraging PXI and VST technology across different test applications, NI demonstrated how engineers can streamline test development, reuse instrumentation, and adapt their validation systems to increasingly complex RF and wireless technologies.
To discover more technologies, product launches, and demonstrations from the exhibition floor, click here to view everything RF’s complete EuMW 2026 coverage.
Click here to learn more about National Instruments and its RF solutions.