Patent ID: 7567521

Claim:
An apparatus for testing a multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) system, including switching and control circuitry for selectively combining a plurality of data signals to provide a composite signal, which corresponds to one or more of said plurality of data signals, and a trigger signal for controlling capturing of selected portions of said composite signal, comprising: signal routing and detection circuitry responsive to one or more electrical characteristics, including at least one of voltage, current and power, of a plurality of data signals received from a plurality of MIMO transmitters and a plurality of control signals with respective asserted and de-asserted control signal states by conveying one or more of said plurality of data signals and providing one or more detection signals indicative of respective magnitudes of one or more of said plurality of data signals; signal combining circuitry coupled to said signal routing and detection circuitry and responsive to said conveyed one or more of said plurality of data signals by providing a corresponding composite signal, including a plurality of sequential non-contiguous data packets; and control circuitry coupled to said signal routing and detection circuitry and responsive to said one or more detection signals by providing said plurality of control signals and a trigger signal indicative of said respective magnitudes of one or more of said plurality of data signals and said respective asserted and de-asserted control signal states to facilitate capturing, during a plurality of sequential non-contiguous capture intervals, a respective portion, at least, of each one of at least two of said plurality of sequential non-contiguous data packets to provide a plurality of captured data for assembly into a plurality of substantially contiguous data.