Abstract: An electrical contact assembly has a plurality of formed elongate closed seam tubular elements attached to a carrier with each of the elongate tubular elements attached to the carrier via a tab. Scored creases are formed in the tabs for separating the elongate tubular elements from the assembly and scored creases are formed in the carrier for defining carrier strips. The carrier strip had a plurality of grouped elongate tubular elements. The electrical contact assembly is placed in a crimping die where at least one or more wires are inserting into selected elongate tubular elements. Pressure is applied to least one or more of the selected elongate tubular elements to produce bulk material deformation along a substantial portion of the elongate tubular elements to crimp the elongate tubular elements to the wires as electrical contacts.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention include devices and methods for searching IQ-based time-domain traces for events, marking the events, and analyzing intervals of interest at or around the events on a display unit of a test and measurement instrument. The test and measurement instrument can include an input terminal to receive an RF signal, an ADC to digitize the RF signal, a digital downconverter to produce I (in-phase) and Q (quadrature) baseband component information from the digitized RF signal, an acquisition memory to acquire and store a record, a trace generation section to generate one or more IQ-based time-domain traces, and a search unit to scan the IQ-based time-domain traces for one or more events. The search unit can locate and mark the events for display on a display unit of the test and measurement instrument.

Abstract: Embodiments of this invention provide enhanced triggering capabilities such as frequency and phase triggering in a test and measurement instrument, such as a Real-Time Spectrum Analyzer (RTSA) or oscilloscope. A test and measurement instrument can include input terminals to receive RF signals, an ADC to digitize the RF signals, a digital downconverter to produce I and Q baseband component information, and a power detector to determine a power level using the I and Q information. A comparator compares the power level received from the power detector with a user-definable power threshold, and produces a logic signal for enabling one or more phase or frequency demodulators. The one or more demodulators produce IQ-based time-domain traces derived from the I and Q component information when the power level determined by the power detector exceeds the power threshold. Trigger circuitry is configured to trigger on an event responsive to a delayed trigger enable signal.

Abstract: A test and measurement instrument and method for receiving a radio frequency (RF) signal, digitizing the RF signal using an analog-to-digital converter, downconverting the digitized signal to produce I (in-phase) and Q (quadrature) baseband component information, generating one or more IQ-based time-domain traces using the I and Q baseband component information, and measuring and displaying a variety of measurement values of the IQ-based time-domain traces. The IQ-based time-domain measurement values can be automatically generated and displayed, and/or transmitted to an external device.

Abstract: A test and measurement instrument including a plurality of input ports; an acquisition system coupled to the input ports and configured to acquire frequency domain data from the input ports; a user interface configured to present frequency domain controls for at least two of the input ports; and a controller configured to adjust frequency domain acquisition parameters of the acquisition system in response to the frequency domain controls such that frequency domain acquisition parameters associated with a first input port can be different from frequency domain acquisition parameters associated with a second input port.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring a parameter of a digitized signal including a digitizer to digitize an input signal into a digitized signal, a rasterizer to generate a raster image from the digitized input signal, a processor to receive the raster image, and a control interface to receive an input control signal indicating a request for a measurement. The rasterizer is responsive to the control signal to generate the raster image from the digitized input signal, and the processor is responsive to the control signal to generate a histogram from the raster image.

Abstract: A test and measurement instrument and a method of calibrating the test and measurement instrument including a reference signal generator; multiple input channels; and multiple input circuits. Each input channel is coupled to a corresponding input circuit; and one of the input circuits is coupled to the reference signal generator.

Abstract: A method of determining configuration parameters of a mobile network topology for testing and monitoring purposes at an interface (lub) located between a first node and a second node of the mobile network where between the first and the second node there exist several channels includes finding the channel having signaling information, analyzing signaling information to determine the configuration parameters, updating the configuration parameters dynamically, and performing a monitoring activity or test scenario based on the configuration parameters.

Abstract: The manufacturing method of a probe with printed tip consists of a substrate having a plurality of probe tips connected to its end edge, a plurality of test paths, each connected to one of the probe tips and extending along the substrate, and at least one of the test paths including an electrical component adjacent to the test path's probe tip. The electrical component may be a resistor. The probe tips may have a width equal to the thickness of the substrate. The probe tips may consist of a plurality of probe tip layers. The invention also includes a method of probing signals transmitted over target transmission lines on a target board. The disclosure also includes a method of manufacturing the claimed invention.

Abstract: A digital storage oscilloscope employs an improved edge triggering circuit that discards some of trigger events when it determines that there are many more trigger events than the oscilloscope can use. The determination is made in response to detection of a characteristic of the signal that indicates a repetitive nature of a complex signal. Certain trigger events are selected to be acted upon, and others are discarded, in response to the determination. The circuitry dynamically reacts to changes in the input signal in response to detection of different criteria for a characteristic of repetition as the input signal changes.

Abstract: A test and measurement instrument including a port including a plurality of connections; an impedance sense circuit configured to sense an impedance coupled to a connection of the plurality of connections; and a controller configured to setup the test and measurement instrument in response to a sensed impedance from the impedance sense circuit.

Abstract: A test and measurement instrument converts digital data that represents an input signal into a series of frequency spectra and accumulates frequency spectra into a bitmap database in response to a gating signal. In some embodiments, the gating signal is generated when the instantaneous power of the input signal violates a power threshold.

Abstract: A method of displaying protocol-specific data includes receiving data, extracting protocol-specific information from the data, converting protocol-specific information into a symbolic representation, and presenting the symbolic representation. A dimension of symbols of the symbolic representation differentiates protocol layers. A test and measurement instrument for displaying data includes an acquisition system configured to receive an input signal, a processor coupled to the acquisition system and configured to generate a symbolic representation of protocol-specific information within the input signal, and a user interface coupled to the processor and configured to present the symbolic representation. A dimension of symbols of the symbolic representation differentiates protocol layers.

Abstract: A method for analyzing jitter using a test and measurement instrument includes obtaining a collection of time interval error (TIE) values corresponding to composite jitter of a waveform, optionally decomposing the composite jitter into jitter components that are correlated to the data pattern and components that are uncorrelated to the data pattern, and using a spectral approach to decompose the jitter components into jitter components that are recognizable as deterministic and jitter components that are unrecognizable as deterministic. Thereafter, the jitter components analyzed in the frequency domain are converted back to the time domain, and subtracted from the composite jitter, thereby isolating uncorrelated residual jitter. The uncorrelated residual jitter is decomposed into bounded uncorrelated jitter and random jitter, for example, by integrating a probability density (PDF) function of the residual jitter and analyzing the resulting cumulative distribution function (CDF) curve in Q-space.

Abstract: System and method for correlating multiple frames of data associated with a single call into a call record. One embodiment comprises correlating data in a radio access network by capturing data passing to and from a radio network controller, identifying ATM Adaptation Layer type 5 (AAL5) frames within the data, assigning a first call identifier to the AAL5 frames, identifying ATM Adaptation Layer type 2 (AAL2) frames within the data, assigning a second call identifier to the AAL2 frames, and combining AAL2 frames and AAL5 frames having a same first call identifier and a same second call identifier into a call record. The data passing to and from the first radio network controller may be data passing over an Iub interface between a Node B and the radio network controller or data passing over an Iur interface between two radio network controllers.

Abstract: A probe comprises a small “consumable” probe substrate permanently mounted to a circuit-under-test. The probe substrate includes a high-fidelity signal pathway, which is inserted into a conductor of the circuit-under-test, and a high-bandwidth sensing circuit which senses the signal-under-test as it propagates along the signal pathway. The probe substrate further includes a probe socket for receiving a detachable interconnect to a measurement instrument. Power is alternatively supplied to the probe by the circuit-under-test or the interconnect. When the interconnect is attached, control signals from the measurement instrument are supplied to the sensing circuit and the output of the sensing circuit is supplied to the measurement instrument. In one embodiment, the sensing circuit uses high-breakdown transistors in order to avoid the use of passive attenuation. In a further embodiment, the sensing circuit includes broadband directional sensing circuitry.

Abstract: A method of measuring the phase transient response of a device under test automatically provides a flattened phase transient response without any user intervention. The method comprises the steps of calculating an instantaneous phase waveform based on an instantaneous voltage waveform that represents an output signal of the device under test as it steps from a first frequency to a second frequency, calculating an instantaneous frequency waveform based on the instantaneous phase waveform, automatically estimating the second frequency based on the instantaneous frequency waveform without any user intervention, and flattening the instantaneous phase waveform based on the estimate of the second frequency.

Abstract: A “density trace” according to an embodiment of the present invention is formed by measuring the density of each column of a frequency domain bitmap above a user-specified “amplitude threshold.” The density of each column equals the sum of the densities of all of the pixels in the column that are above the amplitude threshold divided by the sum of the densities of all of the pixels in the column. A density trace provides a convenient way to define and represent the occupancy for a large number of columns, and also allows density data to be quickly transmitted from one instrument or computer to another. In some embodiments, a density trace is incorporated into a trigger detector of a test and measurement instrument and used to generate a trigger signal. The trigger detector compares the density trace to a user-specified “density threshold” and generates the trigger signal when the value of any point of the density trace violates the density threshold.