New Portable Base Station Emulator from Andrew Makes Indoor Coverage Easier

Andrew, the CommScope, Inc. division that is a global leader in wireless communication systems and products, is going indoors with its Invex.NxG™ wireless drive-test system, offering new equipment that makes designing and testing indoor wireless coverage systems easier.

The i.Send™ portable transmitter imitates wireless base station signals by broadcasting radio frequency (RF) signals that allow for coverage measurements indoors. Network designers can use the i.Send transmitter to verify optimal antenna positioning for indoor distributed antenna systems (DAS) and as a low power source for testing the design and functionality of RF repeaters and base stations.

“The i.Send transmitter is a unique tool for verifying in-building coverage, DAS and repeater system design,” said John Baker, vice president and general manager, Network Solutions, Andrew. “Such a device should help operator engineers maximize the performance of their indoor networks prior to final installation.”

The portable Invex.NxG i.Send offers over 20 dBm of transmit power for up to four hours between battery charges and supports GSM, CDMA, UMTS and W-CDMA frequency bands with user-settable channel and message parameters. Users can configure i.Send via a Wi-Fi connection, selecting the desired frequency and modulation schemes, with the ability to set the parameters within the scheme. For ease of operation, the unit is placed in transmit or standby mode via the Wi-Fi connection.

Andrew’s Invex.NxG wireless drive-test system enables wireless operators to view their own and their competitors’ wireless voice and data services from the perspective of the subscriber by providing critical quality-of-service (QoS) measurements. Invex.NxG identifies failed originations, abnormal ends, call setup time, and call quality for improving voice service levels. It also performs packet data testing for analyzing upload/download throughput speeds for data services and can be used by field personnel for independently checking network signal strength and identifying base station locations and sectors, assisting them in their jobs.