November 18, 2016
As part of our commitment to wireless device testing, Elite has recently acquired a Rohde & Schwarz CMW500 communications tester. This instrument is essential for testing cellular, WiFi, and GNSS-enabled products. Its purpose is to establish the RF communications link and monitor the transmitter/receiver performance.
This instrument will support Elite testing services in three areas:
1) Elite can now provide a live RF link to support communications evaluation during EMC and environmental stress testing. Many of the products tested at Elite now incorporate a cellular or WiFi radio and often times a communication link has to be established and monitored during the test. With this instrument, Elite engineers can communicate with the client’s radio and monitor attributes such as block errors, packet errors, or others. By providing a CMW500 right here at Elite we can test products having cellular communications or other services without the client having to ship their tester.
2) CE Mark Immunity Testing. The R&TTE (and RED) harmonized standards such as EN 301 489-7 and EN 301 489-24 specify BER and throughput performance criteria to evaluate immunity compliance. With the CMW500 we will be able to set up the cellular (or WiFi) communication channel and monitor performance live and thereby evaluate pass/fail criteria. Having this equipment in-house will enable Elite to provide a comprehensive and, where required, a more appropriate assessment of CE Mark compliance.
3) Pre-compliance TRP/TIS Measurements. Certainly for PTCRB/GCF services Elite relies on the expertise of our partner 7Layers to get Verizon, ATT, Sprint, and global network operator acceptance. But at Elite we can now help clients locally by offering PTCRB pre-compliance services. Using our CMW500 and a 3D chamber we can measure TIS receiver sensitivity (or TRP) so that final compliance at 7Layers will proceed with greater confidence.
For more information on the CMW500 Communications Tester view the YouTube presentation from Rohde & Schwarz for a description of the basic LTE features for this instrument. Contact Steve Laya at Elite for more information on the other cellular, WiFi, or GNSS capabilities and configuration of our CMW500.
Steve Laya, 630-495-9770 x 119
Check out this quick video explaining how the instrument works
Labels: Radio Communications Tester
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