June 2013: With rapid growth in smartphone and tablet manufacturing globally, testing these complex wireless devices has become more challenging. Though the market for wireless communication network analysers and testers is set to grow, not many global companies manufacture these equipment.
In this section, we are featuring some of the wireless communication network analysers and testers launched in the last one year. Some of the major players in this domain like Advantest Corporation and General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies have not launched any new wireless testers and analysers in the last one year.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013:
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Model: Aeroflex 3550, Brand: Aeroflex, Manufacturer: Aeroflex Incorporated, USA
Upgraded in March 2013, the Aeroflex 3550 hand-held radio test system now has support for Bird Technologies’ through-line Wideband Power Sensors (WPS). The addition of the Bird 5017 and support for other Bird power sensors allow the 3550 to improve measurement accuracies for in-field test applications. The Bird 5017 supports frequency ranges from 25 MHz to 1 GHz, with a power accuracy of ±4 per cent of the reading.
Key features
- The 3550 test system is light-weight (3.76 kg, including the battery) for field-testing of analogue, DMR, P25, NXDN and dPMR systems, and features 4.5 hours of continuous operation with its internal battery
- The test system allows the user to test all aspects of the radio system—the transmitter, receiver, cables and antennas—with powerful features typically found only in benchtop equipment
- It also meets MIL-PRF-28800F specifications for humidity, shock and vibration, with an operating range of 0°C to 50°C
Contact details: Rob Barden, director, marketing, Ph: 316-522-4981, [email protected], www.aeroflex.com
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Models: T4110S, T4010S and T4020S, Brand: Agilent Technologies, Manufacturer: Agilent Technologies Inc., USA
Launched in January 2013, the wireless communication tester comes in three different versions that include the LTE protocol test system (T4110S), LTE RF test system (T4010S) and LTE RRM test system (T4020S).
Key features
- The T4110S LTE protocol tester is the right tool for test laboratories and LTE device manufacturers wanting to exercise LTE 3GPP signalling conformance test cases. The T4110S allows the test plans to be automatically executed without user intervention and the result of the test is obtained
- The T4010S LTE RF tester is a comprehensive tool for LTE UE RF parametric verification and characterisation. Its R&D version provides users with all the necessary tools to develop fully customised test cases, either founded on the 3GPP defined test cases or completely new ones.
- The T4020S LTE RRM tester is the perfect tool for in-house and third party test laboratories, as well as LTE device vendors wanting to pre-test the LTE RRM conformance test cases.
Contact details: Agilent India Customer Contact Center, sales, marketing and application, Ph: 1800-11-2929 (toll free), [email protected], www.agilent.com
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Model: R&S CMW500, Brand: Rohde & Schwarz, Manufacturer: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Co KG, Germany
Upgraded in December 2012, the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester is now equipped with new software options for LTE-advanced downlink carrier aggregation. The R&S CMW500 is a universal tester for testing the air interface of wireless devices. It can be used in all phases of product development and production, and supports all common cellular and non-cellular wireless technologies.
Key features
- Supports and tests all protocol layers—from the RF to end-to-end data
- Based on a concept implementing scalable options and can be adapted to any application
- Efficient testing of interaction between protocol parameters and application performance
- Increased test depth owing to the combination of protocol and RF measurements
- Consistent measurement results in development, conformance test and production
Contact details: Ph: 49-89-4129-0, [email protected], www.rohde-schwarz.com
India branch: Rohde & Schwarz India Pvt Ltd
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Model: SIQMA, Brand: Signalion, Manufacturer: Signalion GmbH, Germany
Launched in September 2012, the SIQMA solution allows users to quickly analyse the optical common public radio interface (CPRI) signals in the uplink channel of a cellular system and detect external interferers or Remote Radio Unit (RRU) malfunctions or misconfigurations. Live data is captured from the optical link between the RRU and the BaseBand Unit (BBU).
Key features
- Switch between MIMO/diversity streams via GUI or touchscreen
- Measurements in a live cell with no distortion or disturbance of signals
- Portable device with a robust and functional housing designed for field use
- CPRI line bit rate: up to 3.072 Gbps
- Analysis of all antenna streams are in parallel in separate spectrum and spectrogram windows
Contact details: Udo Dehne, key accounts manager, [email protected], Ph: 49-351-206931-38, www.signalion.com
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Model: MT8870A, Brand: Anritsu, Manufacturer: Anritsu Corporation, Japan
Launched in July 2012, the MT8870A universal wireless test set has been specifically designed for high-volume manufacturing tests of all common cellular and short-range wireless technologies. An MT8870A instrument mainframe can contain up to four MU887000A TRX Test modules (10 MHz to 6 GHz). Each module has an integrated vector signal generator (VSA) and vector signal analyser (VSA) to perform DUT transmitter and receiver tests.
Key features
- Built-in signal generator and signal analyser
- 160MHz wide measurement bandwidth for the latest WLAN 802.11ac as standard
- One module supporting multiple wireless standards
- Up to four measurement modules can be installed in one main frame and each module can be controlled independently. The four installed modules share the same power supply, chassis, and internal bus interface, helping cut infrastructure costs.
Contact details: For Asia Pacific Sales Region (ASPR), Ph: 65-6282-2400, [email protected], [email protected]. For Europe and Middle East Asia (EMEA), Ph: 441582433261, [email protected], www.anritsu.com
India branch: Anritsu India Pvt Ltd
