Telephone tester takes Skype onboard

The Microtronix Model 503 telephone tester has been enhanced with DSP technology to allow testing of Skype enabled desktop, wireless and stand-alone telephones.

Telephone manufacturers, designers and quality assurance departments can now source Skype telephone testing ability from Microtronix Systems.

Microtronix has achieved this by adding DSP technology to the Model 503 product family, which embodies over 35 years' experience of building telephone test equipment.

Microtronix products and support are available in the UK from Cupio.

Microtronix has built on the DSP techniques and its own direct digital generation capabilities to permit testing of Skype enabled desktop, wireless and stand-alone telephones supported by high speed, repeatable and accurate readings.

Tests such as send/receive response characteristics, loudness rating calculations to industry standards, receiver volume control and others are provided.

The Microtronix test system is based on a controller unit with Microtronix' Skype client software installed.

The unit also contains a test program or test script that specifies the limits and test sequence for the telephone under test.

The telephone under test is connected to a second computer running normal Skype software.

The two computers are network connected to one another and to an Ethernet hub, so that a Skype network connection can be made and monitored.

This test method measures the performance of the complete system including the USB audio device and the codec used by Skype to compress/decompress audio for internet transmission.

By using the Skype network, the Microtronix software creates a seamless connection allowing the phone to be tested in production or quality assurance environments.

Research and development facilities can take advantage of the HATS interface option to connect to a head and torso simulator.

A number of software options are available.

The Summary Collector Program automatically collects and stores the summary reports to a disk drive or local area network.

The multitone frequency response feature provides increased testing speed in a production environment.

The audio file play and record option allows the tester to play an audio file through the artificial mouth and make a recording of the received signal at the artificial ear.

Audio files can also be analysed using DSP techniques, allowing the system to display a frequency response.

This Skype testing setup can be used as a stand-alone product or easily integrated with other test systems.

In either case, it simplifies the connection and testing process for Skype enabled phones while providing ease of use, high speed and accuracy.

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