Anritsu Corporation has launched the MT8862A wireless connectivity test set for measuring the RF TRx characteristics of WLAN IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands) devices. The MT8862A has standard WLAN protocol messages to connect with the device under test (DUT) for measuring each TRx performance item in the network mode.

The key features of the new product are:

  • RF performance measurement under realistic operation conditions (network mode): The test set’s network mode can be used to test RF TRx characteristics, such as Tx power, modulation accuracy and error vector magnitude (EVM). These can be measured with WLAN devices under realistic operation conditions.
  • Easy measurement environment configuration: The MT8862A can simulate access points and stations to establish the DUT network connection using IEEE802.11a/b/g/n/ac WLAN protocol messaging. When the connection is established, RF measurements can be made using general WLAN communication procedures without requiring special tools and control procedures, eliminating the need for configuring a special measurement environment.
  • Internet control message protocol (ICMP) echo request for TX measurement: With the ICMP echo request, the MT8862A can measure the RF Tx characteristics of reply packets from the DUT.
  • Rx sensitivity measurements using ACK frame count for bathtub curve generation: The MT8862A supports Rx sensitivity measurements using the ACK frame count. Packets can be sent while lowering the power level by setting the power level range (-120 dBm-0 dBm) and step size, and the Rx sensitivity bathtub curve can be generated automatically.
  • Web browser graphic user interface (GUI) operation immediately after connection: The MT8862A can be connected to the external PC using an Ethernet cable for instant access from the web browser to the complete set-up of the GUI operation envir­­onment without requiring test set-up operation.
  • Frame capture logging for troubleshooting connection problems: With its built-in frame capture logging function, the MT8862A can capture and save frame logs for troubleshooting DUT connection problems.
  • IP data transfer using connection verification test: The Ethernet port on the back panel of the MT8862A can be used for exchan­ging IP data with an external server. Further, IP connections between the client PC connected to the DUT and the external server connected to the MT8862A can be checked using the ping function.