TS4000 Radio Modem User’s Manual
Testing
65
A BER (Bit Error Rate) test is used to determine how good a radio environment is
for transmitting data. The BER result tells the percentage of bits that are
corrupted. A BER of 3.0 x 10-4 means that 3 out of 10,000 (104) bits are
corrupted.
BER Test
The longer a BER test runs the more accurate the result. To get an accurate
result a BER test should be run until at least 100 errors have been received.
This provides a 90% confidence level in the BER value. However, in a relatively
error free environment this can take a very long time. An alternative is to run the
BER test until at least 10 errors have been received which provides a 68%
confidence level.
AirTest can be setup to run a BER test. To run a BER test, the TS4000s must be
configured with packet operation disabled. This is because when the TS4000 is
setup for packet operation it discards corrupted packets and does not send them
out the serial port.
1) Attach two TS4000s each to a PC serial port.
2) Configure AirTest for serial port settings (baud rate, data bits and parity) that
match the attached TS4000’s settings (Setup Manu – Port Setup).
3) Select and start one of the automated tests. To select a test, use the Test
Setup command from the Setup menu. Use the on-line help for details about
the different tests.
4) Observe the results by click on the Show Status button on the Comm Port
window.