Abstract: A remote, wireless electrical signal measurement device for measuring and adjusting a component in a communications system. The device includes a source device, a remote system and a base system. The device permits a technician wearing the remote system to control through verbal commands the measurement and adjustment of a source device operably attached to the base system.

Abstract: An electrical signal measurement device comprises a system unit which is carried on the person of a technician by attachment to a belt, harness or the like and, in one embodiment, a headpiece incorporating a display, microphone and ear phone. The display, microphone and ear phone are linked to the system unit and supported by software, including a speech recognition system, running on a central processing unit (CPU) which is part of the system unit. In operation, the technician connects a probe to a test point in the cable system, and the technician operates the device by speaking into the microphone. The speech recognition system responds to the technician's spoken words to direct and navigate through a displayed user interface in order to operate the signal level meter measurement functions. Synthesized speech signals are generated to provide user feedback and messages. A signal introduced at the probe is sampled and digitized by the CPU and then formatted for display by the headpiece mounted display.

Abstract: A remote, wireless electrical signal measurement device for measuring and adjusting a component in a communications system. The device includes a source device, a remote system and a base system. The device permits a technician wearing the remote system to control through verbal commands the measurement and adjustment of a source device operably attached to the base system.

Abstract: Performance testing of transmission signals to ensure quality and compliance with governmental regulations by limiting interference with intended signals, such as entertainment signals seen by viewers, while reducing the manpower required for testing and eliminating the need for communication between field units and sources of transmission in order to improve traditional performance testing, for example, in Cable Television (CTV) Systems or CATV (Community Antenna TeleVision) Systems, which testing not only has been time consuming but also has required partial disruption of service, and application of these concepts to other modes of information transmission.

Abstract: An RF ingress/egress management system is made up of three major components. (1) A headend monitoring receiver, that is frequency tunable from 5 to 50 MHz, is capable of decoding and reading a unique tone that is transmitted and enters a cable flaw and is returned to the headend via the upstream coaxial plant. (2) A mobile transceiver global positioning satellite (GPS) system receives RF egress in the 50 MHz to 1 GHz region and stamps a GPS coordinate and stores that information. Also, a 5 to to MHz transmitter modulated with GPS coordinates transmits sufficient power to enter the cable television system flaw and be received at the headend location via the headend monitor. (3) A computer software system quantifies the cable flaw at egress and ingress frequencies and assigns a coordinate and figure of merit so that a repair technician can expedite repair of the coaxial plant.

Abstract: A data acquisition and transceiver module is used to acquire data from diagnostic equipment, such as a portable sampling spectrum analyzer. This data is then transmitted to a slave transceiver and storage module where it is stored in memory. The slave transceiver and storage module is typically housed remotely from the diagnostic equipment in the telecommunications electronic equipment and serves as an archival resource for set-up and maintenance parameters.

Abstract: An academic quiz controller system includes first and second pluralities of identical and interchangeable response stations (11, 12, 13, 14 and 21, 22, 23, 24) each provided with a switch (17) and an indicator light (16) activated by the switch when pressed by a contestant. The first and second pluralities of response stations are serially connected by means of three pair telephone wire (10 and 20) and modular telephone jacks to form first and second strings of response stations. A microprocessor-controlled master console (30) has a plurality of indicators (33 and 34), one for each response station, a start switch (36) and a mode switch (37). The first and second strings of response stations are connected to the master console by means of three pair telephone wire (15 and 25) and modular telephone jacks as is a judge's switch pad (40) which is used for inputting an indication as to whether an answer is right or wrong.

Abstract: A portable spectrum analyzer using frequency synthesis is used in the field to perform voltage amplitude measurements of specified channel segments in a multichannel configured coaxial cable environment. The instrument is a microprocessor (28) based system, and includes an RF input (1) and keyboard (36) and function switch inputs and provides both aural and visual outputs by means of a speaker and an LCD display (27). A three stage frequency converter (7) including PLLs (11, 12 and 13) controlled by the microprocessor (28) allows for the automatic monitoring of a plurality of carrier channels or the display of both video and audio levels of a single channel. Automatic adjustment of the input signal level is provided by attenuator pads (2 and 3) controlled by the microprocessor (28). Calibration is also automatically controlled by the periodic injection of a signal of predetermined level from a noise source (4) under the control of the microprocessor (28).

Abstract: A segmented upstream management system for a bidirectional coaxial network of the type including a bidirectional trunk (14) having a plurality of bidirectional feeders (12) and a plurality of drops (10) is disclosed. The management system includes a number of rerouting devices (36) connected in the bidirectional trunk at intervals so as to divide the number of drops into predefined groups. A plurality of upconverters (40) are connected to the outputs of the rerouting devices. The upconverters are in turn connected to a return only trunk (38) which transmits the frequency diverse, upconverted signals and each respective local oscillator signal from the upconverters to a hub or headend site (16). At the headend site, the return only trunk is connected to a plurality of synchronous down converters (42) which produce down converted signals from each of the predefined groups.

Abstract: A status monitor for coaxial cable networks is disclosed. The monitor is designed to be directly attached to an output port of an amplifier/repeater in the network and is used as an aid in trouble shooting faults in the network. The monitor comprises a detector (12 or 40) which generates a d.c. voltage indicative of the level of a pilot frequency signal on the network. This d.c. voltage is supplied to a plurality of voltage comparators (18, 20 and 22) which compare the d.c. voltage with different reference voltages in order to sense different fault conditions. If a fault condition is sensed, the outputs of the comparators are used by a tone selection logic (24) and an OR logic switch (26) to control a voltage controlled oscillator (28) to generate a modulating tone. A signal from a crystal controlled oscillator (32) or an IF output of the detector (40) is modulated by the tone produced by the voltage controlled oscillator and radiated.

Abstract: A split-band, redundant amplifier system is disclosed. The system has at least two identical amplifiers (1, 2) each capable of amplifying signals having frequencies within a predetermined pass band. A first filter (3) divides signals into at least two contiguous split-bands within the pass band. A second filter (5) combines the signals in the split-bands. In normal operation, the amplifiers are connected in parallel between the two filters, and each amplifier amplifies signals in only one of the split-bands. Switches (SW1, SW2, SW3, SW4, SW5, SW6, SW7, and SW8) are connected to the amplifiers and the filters and are operative to selectively connect an input signal to the first filter or to one of the amplifiers and to selectively connect the output of the second filter or the output of one of the amplifiers to the output of the system. A sensing circuit (7) is connected to the outputs of each of the amplifiers and detects when an amplifier becomes inoperative.

Abstract: A method and apparatus of compatibly and simultaneously transmitting and receiving an encoded signal with the normal visual and aural carrier of a television signal is disclosed. The encoded signal is used as a modulating signal to frequency modulate the visual carrier frequency signal prior to amplitude modulating the visual carrier frequency signal with a source of composite video signals. Normally, the introduction of additional sideband power even in the form of constant amplitude components will cause visual distortion to a received picture due to the normal Nyquist shaped bandpass characteristics of the intermediate frequency amplifier in the television receiver. This distortion is reduced or eliminated in several ways. The maximum allowable frequency modulation deviation can be limited so that the visual distortion is substantially reduced.

Abstract: The detector is primarily useful in detecting RF leaks due to defects in the shielding in a CATV coaxial cable distribution network. RF leaks are detected by transmitting a unique signal and using a very narrow band receiver to detect the unique signal to thereby detect small amounts of RF leakage from the CATV coaxial cable distribution network at the locations of defects in the shielding. The leakage from the CATV coaxial cable distribution network is due to defects in the shielding such as small cracks in the cable, loose fittings or other non-RF tight conditions. The detector is a three-part system including a transmitter, a remote cable powered preamp and antenna assembly, and a narrow band receiver providing an audio output. The transmitter is designed to be permanently installed at the head end location and is modulated with a unique audio tone. An RF leak is detected by moving the remote preamp and antenna assembly along the coaxial cable distribution network of the CATV system.

Abstract: Existing CATV coaxial cable systems are found to present a transparent window, in both the upstream and downstream directions, to communications signals over a frequency band from 10-300KHz, whereby such signals follow the path of the 60Hz power signal throughout the system. Signals in this band do not interfere with the high frequency TV signals being transmitted, and are not subject to interference by such TV signals. This discovery is thus utilized to implement bi-directional communications between any two or more points linked by such a CATV system without requiring any substantial modifications or additions to the existing system components.A specific application utilizes such a communications link to remotely control non-duplication switching in the head or antenna end of a CATV system.