News Briefs

VeriWave reports that it has integrated its WiMix performance prediction tool for wireless Quality of Experience (QoE) with an open-air test methodology that uses VeriWave WT20 traffic generator/analyzer units in a real-world environment. The test methodology loads a wireless infrastructure network with traffic from thousands of users, enabling engineers to evaluate a realistic network environment. According to the company, Trapeze Networks is using the open-air test methodology to replicate various vertical-market environments in tests of its Smart Mobile technology.

With prepackaged traffic mixes that represent typical healthcare, education, office-building, hot-spot, government, and law-enforcement environments, VeriWave’s WiMix leverages the capabilities of VeriWave’s WaveTest platform to allow users to create, configure, and control variables impacting end-user experience and performance, including e-mail traffic, Web browsing, CRM applications, audio and video file transfers, video sessions, voice calls, scanners, and RFID asset management and tracking devices. The WiMix test suite allows the user to set predetermined Service Level Agreements for each traffic type. At test completion, WiMix reports the ability of the network to adhere to these Service Level Agreements for each of the traffic types. www.veriwave.com.

Test products introduced during Autotestcon 2007 (September 17–20, Baltimore, MD) included an RF test platform from Aeroflex and a switch/multimeter from Keithley Instruments.

Aeroflex’s new modular RF test platform handles wireless applications up to 6 GHz and supports activities ranging from research to manufacturing. The configurable system, which can integrate into cellular, wireless data, RFIC test, and military/aerospace test applications, encompasses PXI 3000 Series hardware modules, PXI Studio software, and a PXI instrument chassis.

The PXI 3000 Series modules extend frequency range coverage to include HF, VHF, and UHF—from 250 kHz to 6 GHz for signal analysis and from 1 MHz to 6 GHz for signal generation. The PXI Studio software generates and analyzes complex modulated signals, and has plug-ins that enable the software to analyze WiMAX OFDMA signals as well as provide general-purpose spectrum analysis. The new instrument chassis includes one system controller slot and seven peripheral PCI or PXI slots. www.aeroflex.com.

The new Series 3700 system-switch/multimeter and plug-in card family from Keithley Instruments can control up to 576 multiplexer channels in a six-slot, 2U form factor. The digital multimeter option provides low-noise measurements with resolutions up to 7½ digits. Together with a growing family of plug-in switch and control cards, the Series 3700 can serve in a functional test system or in stand-alone data-acquisition and measurement applications. It can perform multichannel I-V testing and accelerated stress tests. www.keithley.com.

Sensor manufacturer PCB Piezotronics has formed a new Automotive Products Division devoted to the automotive test market. Capabilities covered include vehicle NVH and dynamics, vehicle and component durability, and powertrain testing applications. The new division is located in Novi, MI.

Appointed to lead the division as director of sales and marketing is Jeff Case, who was formerly chief program engineer at Ricardo North America. A formal introduction of the division will take place at the Automotive Testing Expo North America, October 21–26, in Novi. PCB will showcase an automotive technologies pavilion, with a series of demonstrations and an IndyCar display with Andretti Green Racing. www.pcb.com.

Agilent Technologies has introduced what it calls the world’s first LXI trigger box that enables precise synchronization over LAN for LXI Class C and GPIB instruments. When an LXI Class C or GPIB instrument is connected to the Agilent E5818A LXI trigger box, it gains the timing capabilities of an LXI Class B instrument. Leveraging the IEEE 1588 precision time protocol (PTP) synchronization, the trigger box enables subnanosecond time triggering and time stamping of events for the attached instruments. With reliable event-log data, users can trace and troubleshoot faults easily.

The LXI trigger box provides LXI peer-to-peer and multicast communication capabilities that improve test time, especially when heavy data exchanges occur between devices. The trigger box can be configured and upgraded through a Web browser.

The SCPI-compatible E5818A LXI trigger box is a stand-alone LXI Class B device and includes a bundled IVI driver. It can achieve a synchronization accuracy of up to 13 ns (standard deviation over direct connection) and provide time stamping of up to 5000 events. Each trigger box provides BNC connectivity to two instruments (any combination of GPIB or LXI Class C).

Price: $1500. Agilent Technologies, www.agilent.com.

PCI Express 2.0, the popular computer interconnect bus, uses a three-layered protocol at speeds up to 5 Gbps. To let you capture bus transactions at those speeds, Tektronix has added two PCI Express (PCIe) 2.0 logic-analysis modules to its TLA7000 line of bench and portable logic analyzers (portable shown). The TLA7S16 and TLA7S08 let you capture and analyze PCIe bus physical-layer signals and decode those signals up to protocol layer 3. The modules also let you verify that the PCIe 2.0 power management functions properly.

A PCIe 2.0 link uses one, four, eight, or 16 “lanes” that operate only as needed, thus minimizing power consumption. The TLA7S series modules capture the handshaking on the bus that manages the lanes. You can trigger an acquisition regardless of lane activation, and you can filter data to show only those patterns of interest. Furthermore, you can use the modules in conjunction with a Tektronix oscilloscope to view the analog and digital characteristics of a signal.

Data lanes consist of two paths, one for each direction, and the eight-channel TLA7S08 can capture data in both directions for links with one or four lanes. The TLA7S16 can capture data in both directions for one, four, or eight-lane links. For 16-lane links, you need two TLA7S16 modules. Tektronix has also introduced the P6708 (eight channel) and P6716 (16 channel) mid-bus probes that let you capture data at bus locations between devices.

Base prices: TLA7Sxx modules—$55,000; P67xx logic probes—$16,000. Tektronix, www.tektronix.com.

Aerospace Testing Expo North America, November 6–8, Anaheim, CA. Sponsored by Reed Exhibitions. www.aerospacetesting-expo.com/northamerica.

Productronica, November 13–16, Munich, Germany. Produced by Messe München. www.global-electronics.net/id/21310.

To learn about other conferences, courses, and calls for papers, visit www.tmworld.com/events.