HBflex ™
mmWave and sub-6 GHz Network Testing
Scanning Receiver | 10 MHz – 6 GHz | 24 – 40 GHz
The PCTEL® HBflex is a highly flexible scanner designed for testing 5G NR, LTE, 2G/3G cellular across
mmWave (FR2) and sub-6 GHz (FR1) bands. It features Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) and simultaneous
mmWave and sub-6 GHz measurements to help operators efficiently utilize all their spectrum and make a
smooth transition to 5G.
Bands Technologies Features
• G: 3GPP FR1
5 • 5G NR • CDMA • 4G/5G Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS)
• mmWave 3GPP FR2 • LTE FDD • EV-DO • Dual polarization beamforming
• All existing 2G, 3G, and 4G • TD-LTE • WiFi measurements
• CBRS • NB-IoT • LAA • 2x2 and 4x2 LTE MIMO measurements
• Public safety • UMTS • P25 • Hot-swap battery system
• WiFi (2.4 and 5 GHz) • GSM • DMR • Windows® laptop and Android™
• Other bands currently • TETRA tablet support
deployed around the world Custom Channel Power • Connect with Bluetooth® or USB
Measurements for additional • Blind Scan for automatic channel detection
technologies
HBflex ™ Specifications
5G New Radio (NR)
Measurement modes NR TopN Signal: Synchronization channels (P-SS/S-SS) & PBCH; Layer 3 Reporting: MIB
(FR1 and FR2), SIB1 (FR1); Dual polarization beamforming measurements (FR1); Blind Scan
Data modes PCI, PSS-RP [dBm], SSS-RP [dBm], PSS-RQ [dB], SSS-RQ [dB], PSS-CINR [dB], SSS-CINR
[dB], RSPBCH-RP [dBm], RSPBCH-RQ [dB], RSPBCH-CINR [dB], SSB-RP [dBm], SSB-RQ [dB],
SSB-CINR [dB], SSB-idx, SSB-RSSI, SSS-Delay-Spread, Time Offset
Sub carrier spacing 15/30/120/240 kHz
Max. number of channels 12 (sub-6 GHz), 8 (mmWave)
Max. number of PCIs 16 (sub-6 GHz), 8 (mmWave)
Max. number of beams/PCI 8 (sub-6 GHz), 64 (mmWave)
Measurement rate (typical) 30/sec (sub-6 GHz), 20/sec (mmWave, 2 RF ports), 6/sec (mmWave, 1 RF port)
Dynamic range (CINR) PSS/SSS CINR: -10 to +33 dB (sub-6 GHz), -10 to +23 dB (mmWave)
PBCH DMRS CINR: -8 to + 40 dB
Min. detection level RP SCS @15 kHz: -135 dBm, SCS @30 kHz: -132 dBm, SCS @120 kHz: -128 dBm,
SCS @240 kHz: -128 dBm
Accuracy (CINR) PSS/SSS, PBCH DMRS ±2 dB
LTE FDD and TD-LTE
Measurement modes Top N Synchronization Channel Reference Signal (P-SCH/S-SCH) and Resource Block
(Wideband, Subband), Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), Layer 3 Reporting, Blind Scan,
Mobile Blind Scan
Data modes RP, RQ, CINR, Cyclic Prefix, Time Offsets, Delay Spread; RF Path Measurements (4x1, 4x2);
MIMO: Condition Number, ECQI, EPUT
Channel bandwidths 1.4 / 3 / 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 MHz
Max. number of channels 24
Receive modes SISO; MIMO (2x2, 4x2)
Transmit antenna configurations 1, 2, 4 (with path measurement)
Measurement rates Sync Channel RS LTE FDD: 50/sec; TD-LTE: 25/sec
Dynamic range (CINR) @ 10/15/20 MHz RS -26 to + 40 dB
P-SCH/S-SCH -10 to +18 dB
Min. detection level P-SCH/S-SCH & RS -140 dBm (RSRP @ 15 kHz)
Accuracy (CINR) P-SCH/S-SCH & RS ±1 dB
Max. number of PCIs 16
NB-IoT
Measurement modes Top N NRS (Narrowband Reference Signal), NPSS (Narrowband Primary Synchronization
Signal), and NSSS (Narrowband Secondary Synchronization Signal), Layer 3 Reporting,
Blind Scan
Data modes NRS: RP, RQ, RSSI, CINR, Time Offset; NPSS: RP, RQ, RSSI, CINR; NSSS: RP, RQ, RSSI, CINR,
Time Offset
Operation mode In-Band, Guard Band, Stand-alone
Channel bandwidths 180 kHz
Measurement rates 5/sec
Dynamic range (CINR) NRS -10 to + 40 dB
Min. detection level NRS RP -138 dBm
Accuracy (CINR) NRS ±2 dB
Max. number of PCIs 16
UMTS [WCDMA/HSPA(+)]
Measurement modes Top N Pilot, Layer 3 Reporting, Blind Scan, Mobile Blind Scan
Data modes lo, Ec/Io, Aggregate Ec/Io, SIR, Rake Finger Count, Time Offset, Delay Spread
Channel bandwidths 200 kHz / 3.84 MHz
Max. number of channels 24
Measurement rate 100/sec (high speed mode); 50/sec (high dynamic range mode)
Top N CPICH dynamic range (Ec/Io) -26 dB
Min. detection level -120 dBm (high dynamic range mode)
Accuracy ±1 dB
Max. number of Pilots 32
GSM
Measurement modes Color Code, Layer 3 Reporting, Blind Scan, Mobile Blind Scan
Data modes BSIC, C/I, RSSI
Channel bandwidths 30 kHz / 200 kHz
Measurement rates Up to 200 BSIC Decodes/sec
Dynamic range +2 dB C/I
Min. basic detection level -110 dBm
Accuracy ±1 dB
HBflex ™ Specifications
CDMA and EV-DO
Measurement modes Top N PN, CDMA Layer 3 Reporting, Blind Scan, Mobile Blind Scan
Data modes Ec, lo, Ec/Io, Aggregate Ec/Io, Pilot Delay, Delay Spread
Channel bandwidths 30 kHz / 1.25 MHz
Max. number of channels 24
Measurement rates CDMA: 25/sec; EV-DO: 18/sec
Top N PN dynamic range, Ec/Io CDMA: -28 dB; EV-DO: -18.5 dB
Min. PN detection level CDMA: -130 dBm; EV-DO: -120 dBm
Accuracy (CINR) ±1 dB
Max. number of Pilots 32
WiFi
Wireless adapter ORiNOCO® USB-9100 (US), Asus USB-AC56 (world) or equivalent
Radio configuration 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
Data modes Signal Strength, Noise Level, SNR, Channel Number, Channel Bandwidth, BSSID, Device Name,
SSID, Security Protocol, 802.11 Media, Beacon Interval, Channel Utilization, Throughput
Frequency range 2.4 - 2.483 GHz; 5.15 - 5.85 GHz (subject to country regulations)
Measurement rates 9/sec (typical); 5/sec (typical) for 802.11ac
LAA
Measurement modes QTopN
Data modes RSRP, RSRQ, RS-CINR, PSS-RQ, PSS- RP, PSS-CINR, SSS-RP, SSS-RQ, SSS-CINR
Channel bandwidth 20 MHz
Max. number of channels 24
Measurement rate (20MHz, 1 Sig) 6.25/sec
Dynamic range (CINR) -12 dB
Minimum detection level RSRP -130 dBm
Accuracy (CINR) RS-CINR ±1 dB (Input CINR 0 dB to +15 dB)
P25 (Phase 1 and Phase 2)
Measurement modes DL, UL*, RSSI
Data modes DL SINR, RSSI, OOS-BER, Frame BER, Network ID, Auto Classification of Phase and Modulation Type
UL SINR, RSSI, Frame BER, Network ID, Mobile ID, Auto Classification of Phase and Modulation Type
Channel bandwidths DL & UL 12.5 kHz
Measurement rate DL 5.4 Decodes/sec (maximum); 2.7 Decodes/sec (typical); 100 RSSI/sec
UL 2.4 Decodes/sec (typical), 100 RSSI/sec
Dynamic range (SINR) DL & UL +1 dB minimum detection
RSSI Accuracy DL (Phase 1 C4FM & Phase 2 HDQPSK) ±1 dB over -105 to -10 dBm
UL ±1 dB over -105 to -10 dBm
SINR Accuracy DL (Phase 1 C4FM & Phase 2 HDQPSK) ±1 dB over +10 to +25 dB; ±2 dB over +7 to +10 dB, 25 to 30dB
UL ±1 dB over +10 to +25 dB; ±2 dB over +7 to +10 dB, 25 to 30dB
Adjacent channel rejection DL & UL 49 dB
DMR
Measurement modes Decode, RSSI
Data modes SINR, RSSI, Frame BER
Channel bandwidths 12.5 kHz
Measurement rate 5.4 Decodes/sec (maximum); 2.7 Decodes/sec (typical); 100 RSSI/sec
Dynamic range (SINR) -1 dB minimum detection
Accuracy SINR ±1 dB over 6 to 40 dB; ±2 dB over 3 to 6 dB
RSSI ±1 dB over -118 to -10 dBm
Adjacent channel rejection 49 dB
TETRA
Measurement modes Decode, RSSI
Data modes SINR, RSSI, Frame BER, Color Code, MCC, MNC
Channel bandwidths 25 kHz
Measurement rate 6.5 Decodes/sec (maximum); 3.5 Decodes/sec (typical); 100 RSSI/sec
Dynamic range (SINR) +2 dB minimum detection
Accuracy SINR ±2 dB over +8 to +20 dB; ±3 dB over +4 to +8 dB
RSSI ±1 dB over -118 to -10 dBm
Adjacent channel rejection 20 dB
GPS
Type 56 channel internal receiver
Position accuracy 2.5 meters
Acquisition time Cold start: <30 sec; Hot start: <2 sec
Sensitivity (tracking) >-150 dBm
*UL measured on one out-of-service traffic channel
HBflex ™ Specifications
Power Measurements
Accuracy ±1 dB (across basic RF input power range)
Dynamic range -120 to -20 dBm @ 30 kHz
RSSI 5G NR, LTE 11,050 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
NB-IoT, UMTS, GSM 4,250 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
CDMA, EV-DO 8,500 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
Custom channel power (examples) 12.5 kHz (P25, DMR, EDACS, Analog LMR) 25,500 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
25 kHz (TETRA, EDACS, Analog LMR) 14,025 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
125 kHz (LoRa) 10,710 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
250 kHz (LoRa) 8,925 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
500 kHz (LoRa) 6,885 ch/sec (maximum, continguous channels)
Enhanced Power Scan (EPS) 5 kHz to 20 MHz in 2.5 kHz increments 1,000 MHz/sec @ 5 MHz (typical)
Spectrum analysis Range: >90 dB >270 MHz/sec (single sweep)
LTE power analysis 1.3 / 3/ 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 MHz TD-LTE only 20 msec @ 5 MHz
Physical
Maximum power (+9 to +17 VDC) 25W max.
Size 10.10” D x 6.50” W x 4.40” H (255.3 mm D x 165.1 mm W x 111.5 mm H)
Weight 7.26 lbs (3.3kg)
Temperature range Operating: 0°C to +50°C; Storage: - 30°C to +80°C
Humidity 5% to 95% relative humidity, non-condensing
Host data communications interface USB 2.0, Ethernet, Bluetooth®
Data storage SD (32 GB)
Antenna ports RF (sub 6 GHz, Bluetooth): SMA Female (50 Ω);
GPS: Male (50 Ω) SMB,
RF (mmWave): 2.92 mm Female
Safety EN 62368-1
EMC EN 301 489 -1
Shock and vibration MIL-STD-810G, SAE J1455
RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU and amendment 2015/863 (RoHS 3)
RF Characteristics
Frequency range Sub 6 GHz: 10 MHz – 6 GHz
mmWave: N257 (26.5-29.5 GHz), N258 (24.25-27.5 GHz), N260 (37-40
GHz), N261 (27.5-28.35 GHz)
Internally generated spurious response -105 dBm (typical)
RF operating range In-Band - 20 dBm max.
Desensitization Adjacent channel >50 dB (20MHz RBW)
Safe RF input range ≤ +0 dBm
Frequency accuracy ±0.05 ppm (GPS Locked); ± 0.1 ppm (GPS unlocked)
Conducted local oscillator -55 dBm (typical)
Supported bands, technologies, data modes, software features, and frequency ranges vary by scanning receiver configuration. Upgrades may be available for previously purchased
scanning receivers. Please contact a sales representative for more information.
Solving Complex Wireless Challenges
PCTEL is a leading global provider of wireless technology For more information about the HBflex scanning
solutions, including purpose-built Industrial IoT devices, antenna receiver, contact your sales representative or visit
systems, and test and measurement products. Trusted by our > pctel.com/scanning-receivers
customers for over 25 years, we solve complex wireless challenges
to help organizations stay connected, transform, and grow.
PCTEL, Inc.
T: +1 301 515 0036 | pctel.com | NASDAQ: PCTI
Specifications subject to change without notice. PCTEL® and HBflex™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of PCTEL, Inc. Windows® is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Android™ is a
trademark of Google Inc. Bluetooth® is a registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG. ORiNOCO® is a registered trademark of Proxim Wireless Corporation. ©2022 PCTEL, Inc. All rights reserved. (March 2022)
