Computer-controlled electronic system monitor

Abstract

An electric power monitor system for radio communication (trunking and paging repeater base station) systems includes a plurality of input switches, power sensors, a power monitor having a display, keyboard, and microprocessor, a printer port, and communications port. The input switches facilitate alarm inputs, for example, unauthorized entry, flooding, fire, and temperature of the antenna site. The power sensors include bidirectional and unidirectional sensors connected to a communication system having tunable components for producing analog signals indicative of system component performance. The power monitor measures, determines, and reports locally and/or remotely the power output and standing wave ratio of transmitters and antennas, insertion loss of combiners and power to and SWR of antennas and alarms. Specific measurements and computations are: (1) transmitter input power forward to the combiner; (2) reflected transmitter power on the input side of the combiner; (3) reflected power from the antenna side of the combiner; (4) transmitter voltage standing wave ratio; (5) combiner insertion loss (IL) per channel; (6) time and date of most recent channel measurement; (7) antenna voltage standing wave ratio; and (8) combiner power to the antenna. The display shows either single measurements or dual measurements of any selected pair of the foregoing measurements. The measurements are compared to acceptable norms and an alarm system will automatically and remotely signal outside-the-norm measurements of the antenna, combiner, and transmitters as well as the selected environmental conditions.