Micronetics Wireless Inc. is close to receiving patents for its MicroCal Module, a recently developed integrated circuit that facilitates self-monitoring in wireless equipment, reported the company.
MicroCal’s alarm circuitry monitors the health or integrity of radio frequency, detecting minor performance degradations in the wireless portion of a communications network, said Dave Robbins, chief technical officer at Hudson, N.H.-based Micronetics. Many alarm systems detect only major breakdowns, he explained.
Any error information detected by MicroCal is reported back to a network’s management, which can control or change parameters remotely.
“This tiny component gives you the ability to get inside the RF, or analog, portion of a wireless system and really see what’s going on,” commented Robbins. He said that monitoring a system’s radio frequency is time-consuming, as it requires each channel in a bandwidth to be analyzed separately. MicroCal monitors the entire bandwidth being used by a piece of equipment.
MicroCal can be used in various network functions. Cellular and personal communications services operators can use the MicroCal to help resolve problems of adjacent and co-channel interference, explained Robbins. Acting as a calibrating tool, the circuitry module helps carriers determine how much power a cell site is emitting, where and how far. MicroCal’s measure of path loss allows carriers erecting new cell sites to characterize and map the surrounding terrain.
For equipment providers, MicroCal is an installation tool. “The installation of equipment is a complicated procedure,” said Robbins. “A lot of problems come from improper installation of a base station.”
Other methods exist for checking installation, but are expensive. “This patent is not expensive*…*because there is no need for a synthesizer,” said Robbins.
The MicroCal also is used as a self-monitoring device in wireless handsets.
The core technology used in MicroCal is derived from noise source technology used previously in the military for testing radio receivers, explained Robbins. Several years ago, Micronetics recognized the technology could be applied in wireless equipment, but faced several hurdles in adapting and refining its specifications. The module needed to be small, low cost, low in supply voltage and very repeatable, said Robbins. As a calibrating source, the module needed to be stable.
MicroCal has been in the field about a year, said Robbins, in hardware supplied by Motorola Inc., Stanford Telecom and Northern Telecom Inc. Robbins said the company works with original equipment manufacturers to integrate MicroCal into their equipment. Micronetics also is in discussions with Nokia Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc. and Siemens AG, to use MicroCal in their network equipment.
In addition to its MicroCal Module, Micronetics’ produces a voltage controlled oscillator.
