Patent ID: 6636048
Filing Date: 2003-10-21
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
An apparatus for determining the location of a fault in a cable link, comprising:a frequency generator for generating a test signal to test the cable link; a control processor which receives input from a user and controls said frequency generator; a transmitter for transmitting said test signal through the cable link; a receiver for receiving said test signal after said test signal has passed through the cable link; and a signal processing circuit coupled to said receiver, wherein said signal processing circuit calculates a signal representative of a performance characteristic at a first distance based on said received test signal and compares said calculated signal to a desired performance limit to generate a limit comparison, and further wherein said signal processing circuit comprises: an analog to digital converter; a digital filter and detector coupled to said analog to digital converter configured to convert an input signal into a complex value; a transforming mechanism coupled to said digital filter and detector, configured to convert the complex value from rectangular to polar coordinates comprising a magnitude and a phase; and a comparator coupled to said transforming mechanism configured to compare said magnitude with a predetermined value.