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Product category: Stand-Alone Instruments
News Release from: Aeroflex | Subject: IFR 3900 Series
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 11 October 2004

PMR tester has the personality to cope
with Tetra

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The IFR 3900 Series is a next-generation portable digital radio test set platform claimed to set a new benchmark for quality, performance and value.

Aeroflex has reinforced its commitment to the professional mobile radio (PMR) communications test market with the launch of the IFR 3900 Series, its next generation portable digital radio test set platform Setting a new benchmark for quality, performance and value, the digital architecture of the Aeroflex IFR 3900 Series is designed both to support the defined specifications in today's standards as well as be ready for future requirements in the constantly evolving and rapidly changing worldwide digital PMR market

It does this through the incorporation of software options or "PMR personalities" that provide the measurement and signalling capabilities for specific advanced digital modulation and protocols as well as a range of general-purpose measurement facilities.

The first "PMR personality" available for the Aeroflex IFR 3900 provides Tetra digital trunked radio systems support for mobile terminal and basestation testing.

It supports all the test capabilities required by manufacturers, system operators and support organisations.

The software and hardware architecture will also allow the Tetra "personality" to continue to evolve along with the Tetra standard.

In its Tetra incarnation, the Aeroflex IFR 3900 is the successor to Aeroflex's IFR 2968 Tetra radio test set, the current de-facto industry standard Tetra tester.

The Aeroflex IFR 3900 offers a number of distinct advantages and benefits over the IFR 2968.

The implementation of basestation emulation and test mode operation as separate systems along with the replacement of the deeply nested Tetra testing menus with a graphical windows-like user interface make the Aeroflex IFR 3900 much easier to use.

With up to nine times improvement in the speed of Tetra measurements, it also ensures higher production and repair throughput.

Furthermore, better measurement accuracy and measurement dynamic range facilitates a higher manufacturing test yield.

Usability is substantially improved with graphical navigation and control via front panel keys or alternatively a mouse.

The use of a colour, sunlight-readable display facilitates the visual differentiation and interpretation of settings, results, limits and status.

The display can be customised to show the measurements of interest in configurable graphical tiles that can be viewed individually in detail or collectively showing key information.

A 20% lighter design at 15.9kg also improves portability for field applications and a significantly smaller footprint reduces required bench space.

The Aeroflex IFR 3900 is a robust digital radio test platform that incorporates an RF receiver, signal generator, powerful DSP subsystems and integrated instrument applications software.

Its future-proof, modular design and software re-configurable digital architecture not only provide a flexible test capability along with highly accurate and repeatable measurement performance for today's PMR test requirements, but also ensures that advances in PMR technology can be easily catered for.

Direct input of signal power of up to 125W is supported providing compatibility with virtually all practical mobile and infrastructure test requirements.

A low power input is also provided for more sensitive measurements such as off-air analysis.

The Aeroflex IFR 3900 platform has also been designed with extensive I/O and storage facilities as standard.

GPIB and IP addressable Ethernet connections allow remote control and remote operation respectively.

Triggering and synchronisation interfaces are provided for measurement along with configurable single and dual-port duplex RF I/O configuration and analogue/modulation I/O.

Printers and other peripherals can be easily connected and the platform contains a 20Gbyte hard disk.

"We are strongly committed to the professional mobile radio test market and Tetra test in particular", said Graham Stevens, Aeroflex's Product Manager for Radio Test Sets.

"The Aeroflex IFR 3900 digital radio test set platform reinforces our market leadership in Tetra with a next generation platform that significantly improves on our previous offering".

"In addition it reinforces our commitment to the PMR market as a whole by providing a test platform capable of supporting and keeping pace with a broad range of PMR standards as they evolve and emerge".

The Aeroflex IFR 3900 digital radio test set platform with Tetra "personality" will be available for delivery in Q4 2004.

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