Portable real time cellular telephone and pager network system monitor

Abstract

A portable real-time monitoring system for field testing and troubleshooting a cellular telephone network, paging network, or mobile radio system employs a user friendly interface between a user and a scanning radio receiver which displays, monitors and stores parameters related to real-time performance. A portable all-band radio receiver capable of receiving cellular and paging frequencies is connected to a computer, such as, for example, a lap-top computer suitable for mobile operation at remote sites, personal computer (PC) or workstation. An interface circuit is installed within the radio receiver which taps available signals within the receiver as well as allows the computer to control the receiver frequency selection, band designation and demodulation setting. The interface hardware and microcode cooperate to process and decode received signals according to cellular and paging network industry standards. An application running on the computer is provided which utilizes the processed signals to permit complete automated reception, display and storage of cellular, paging, and mobile radio data as well as the signal strength (RSSI) for each signal. All monitored activity is displayed on the PC screen and is written to a disk in an organized ASCII or HEX file for instant retrieval and analysis. Masks can also be specified by the user which allow only selected data to pass or not pass through the system. The masks may be used to trigger alarms and print data when selected data is detected.