Agilent Technologies, Inc. 8924E CDMA Mobile Station Test Set
The Agilent Technologies 8924E CDMA Mobile Station Service Test Set provides the essential set of measurements required to verify the performance of CDMA mobile phones in service applications. The standard 8924E provides cellular dual-mode CDMA phone test capability. Additionally, with the Agilent 83236B PCS Interface, the 8924E supports PCS dual-mode/dual-band CDMA mobile testing. The 8924E's high accuracy CDMA base station emulation allows the 8924E to verify key parametric and functional characteristics of CDMA phones. The Agilent 83217A CDMA Dual-Mode Mobile Station Test Software automates both CDMA and analog tests which improves a technician's throughput. Automation reduces test cost while providing more consistent test procedures in high volume applica-tions such as incoming inspection and defect verification.
CDMA and Analog Testing
With the press of a single button, the 8924E automatically handles the complex, over-the-air call processing required to make a CDMA phone call. For complete call processing verifica-tion, the 8924E supports both mobile and base station initiated call connect and disconnect. Once a phone call is established, verifying the overall functionality of a CDMA mobile is simple using the 8924E's voice echo mode. For testing to a variety of protocol formats, the 8924E offers six user selectable protocol stacks: IS-95, IS-95A, TSB-74, J-STD-008, Korean PCS, and ARIB T53. The 8924E also supports a number of service options including 9600 bps and 14,400 bps traffic In addition to CDMA call processing, the 8924E has one-button analog cellular call processing. User settable cell configuration parameters include control channel number, SID, SAT tone, and VMAC. Single button commands initiate power level changes, hand-offs, and registration. This full-featured analog call processing provides not only AMPS testing, but NAMPS, TACS, and JTACS test capabilities.
Transmitter Measurements
The 8924E incorporates a next generation average power measurement based on new DSP technology. The 8924E also provides a DSP-based channel power measurement that reports the power in a 1.23 MHz bandwidth measured at its internal IF for accurate low-level CDMA power measurements. The 8924E measures transmitted waveform quality by the IS-98A/J-STD-018 recommended correlated power method also known as the rho (r) measurement. In addition, the rho measurement reports the frequency error, modulation phase and amplitude error, and the carrier feedthrough.
High Accuracy CDMA Source for CDMA Receiver Test
The 8924E generates all of the channels required by the IS-95A air interface, just like an operational CDMA base station. The CDMA source supports the following CDMA channels: Pilot, Sync, Paging, Traffic, and ortho-gonal channel noise source (OCNS). An Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) source is also included to provide the interference generated by adjacent cells in a working CDMA network. The relative CDMA channel accuracy of the 8924E ensures that a user specified E b /N t value is accurate to 0.2 dB. This level of performance means that frame error rate (FER) measurements obtained with the 8924E are reliable. The standard electronic attenuator provides ultra reliable operation with minimal glitch energy when changing output.
CDMA Receiver Tests
The key performance parameter for CDMA mobile station receivers is true frame error rate in the presence of Additive White Gaussian Noise. The 8924E fully supports Service Options 002 and 009 (9600 bps and 14,400 bps data loopback modes) to test receiver FER performance. With Service Option 002/009, the 8924E actually com-pares the received traffic data to the transmitted traffic pseudo-random data and performs a bit-by-bit comparison to calculate the true FER. The 8924E uses the industry standard CCITT 2 15-1 PRBS pattern for its data source. For complete receiver characterization, the 8924E measures FER at all four data rates used in the CDMA system: full, half, quarter, and one-eighth. To reduce CDMA receiver test time to an absolute minimum, the 8924E uses confidence limit technology to determine FER test results. Simply set the target frame error rate specification and turn on confidence limit testing, then start the test. The 8924E then uses a statistical model compliant with the IS-98 standard to determine if and when the CDMA phone has passed the test. If few errors are detected, the test passes in a minimum period of time. As more errors are detected, the test lengthens to provide confidence that the true FER performance of the mobile meets the target specification. An Agilent Technologies innovation also extends the confidence limit methodology to stop the test early if the phone fails the confidence limit with the requested confidence interval. Early termination on FER tests eliminates wasted time when defective mobiles are detected.
Hard Hand-off and CDMA to Analog Hand-off Verification
To speed testing, the 8924E supports hard hand-offs between RF channels. Hard hand-off support means that once a CDMA phone call is established, test-ing can continue on different RF channels without having to tear the call down. To make a hard hand-off with the 8924E, establish a CDMA call, then just enter a new RF channel number. Efficient dual-mode phone testing requires CDMA to analog hand-off capability. Typical phone testing starts in the CDMA mode. Once the CDMA tests are complete, the test set hands the mobile off to analog mode. Analog tests can then continue without wasting time establishing an analog phone call. The 8924E supports both CDMA PCS to analog cellular and CDMA cellular to analog cellular hand-offs to speed testing.
Agilent 83217A Dual-Mode Mobile Station Test Software
Besides its many measurement func-tions, the 8924E includes a program-mable IBASIC controller. This control-ler allows the creation of custom measurement software. For those who do not wish to write their own software, Agilent Technologies offers the 83217A Dual-Mode Mobile Station Test Soft-ware. The 83217A automates cellular mobile measurements using the 8924E. Automated testing improves consistency and reduces operator errors resulting in lower operating costs and improved product quality. The 83217A offers four options for testing cellular/PCS mobile stations. Option 001 supports testing of mobiles that are AMPS, NAMPS, and CDMA compliant, while Option 002 supports testing of TACS, ETACS, and CDMA mobiles. Option 003 supports CDMA phones that are JTACS dual-mode. Option 004 tests CDMA phones that operate in the U.S. or Korean PCS frequency bands and/or the U.S. AMPS cellular band. Option 004 software requires that the 8924E be used with the 83236B PCS Interface. These software packages provide a compre-hensive suite of analog and digital tests that can be customized to fit specific requirements. Test points, test limits, and test sequences can be stored for future retrieval. Test results can be printed directly from the 8924E via its parallel port to many common printers for archiving.
Features
Agilent 83236B PCS Interface
Agilent 83217A CDMA Dual Mode Mobile Station Test Software
Transmitter Measurements