Patent ID: 9136952
Filing Date: 2015-09-15
Classification: G01R,H04B,H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of detecting a threshold-error of a multi-level signal-under-test using an error detector instrument, the method comprising: mapping a digital test sequence to M binary reference sequences, wherein M is an integer greater than one, and wherein the mapping is lossless; coupling, communicatively, a first error detection channel of the instrument to receive the signal-under-test; configuring the first channel with a first voltage threshold and a first binary reference sequence of the M binary reference sequences; beginning a first test at a first start time by communicating the signal-under-test to at least the first channel; receiving, by the first error detection channel, a first received amplitude of the signal-under-test; resolving, by the first error detection channel at a first sample time, a first received level wherein the first channel resolves the first received level as a first binary value when the first received amplitude is greater than the first threshold and resolves the first received level as a second binary value when the first received amplitude is less than the first threshold; and counting the threshold-error if the first received level of the first received amplitude does not match a first corresponding digit of the first binary reference sequence, wherein the first corresponding digit is defined by the mapping; configuring the first error detection channel of the instrument with a second voltage threshold and a second binary reference sequence of the M binary reference sequences; beginning a second test at a second start time by communicating the digital test sequence to at least the first error detection channel; receiving, by the first channel, a second received amplitude of the signal-under-test; resolving, by the first channel at a second sample time, a second received level wherein the first channel resolves the second received level as the first binary value when the second received amplitude is greater than the second threshold and resolves the second received level as the second binary value when the second received amplitude is less than the second threshold; and counting the threshold-error if the second received level of the second received amplitude does not match a second corresponding digit of the second binary reference sequence, wherein the second corresponding digit is defined by the mapping.