Pulse based cable attenuation measurement system

Claim 2

A cable testing apparatus, comprising: a main unit and a remote unit coupled to opposite ends of a cable under test; a pulse generator located in said remote unit for generating pulses of predetermined width and amplitude, said pulse generator being coupled to a far end of a transmission line in said cable under test; and a measurement circuit located in said main unit and coupled to a near end of said transmission line for receiving and measuring said pulses, said measurement circuit including a waveform digitizer to provide a digitized waveform record of said pulses, and a circuit for analyzing said digitized waveform record to provide for said cable under test attenuation versus frequency information over a predetermined frequency spectrum.

Claim 3

A cable test apparatus in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a signal generator located in said main unit for generating stimulus signals, wherein said pulse generator in said remote unit generates said pulses in response to said stimulus signals.

Claim 4

A cable test apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said stimulus signals are generated in response to a command from said measurement circuit.

Claim 5

A cable test apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means for analyzing said digitized waveform record is a processor which performs a fast Fourier transform.

Claim 6

A cable test apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said remote unit automatically configures itself in response to an instruction from said main unit to receive said stimulus signals on a first channel and transmit said pulses on a second channel wherein said second channel is coupled to said transmission line.

Claim 7

A cable test system for determining signal attenuation in a cable under test, comprising: a main unit having a stimulus pulse generator coupled to a near end of a selected one of a plurality of transmission lines within said cable under test, a waveform digitizer coupled to the near end of a selected another of said plurality of transmission lines, and a first processor coupled to said stimulus pulse generator and said waveform digitizer; and a remote unit having a stimulus pulse detector coupled to a far end of said selected one of said plurality of transmission lines, a measurement pulse generator coupled to the far end of said selected another of said plurality of transmission lines, and a second processor coupled to said stimulus pulse detector and said measurement pulse generator; wherein said stimulus pulse generator applies a stimulus pulse to said one of said plurality of transmission lines responsive to a transmit initiate signal applied by said first processor to said stimulus pulse generator, said pulse detector detects said stimulus pulse and generates a trigger signal, said measurement pulse generator generates a measurement pulse having a predetermined amplitude and width in response to said trigger signal, and said waveform digitizer produces a waveform record of said measurement pulse.

Claim 8

A cable test system for determining signal attenuation in a cable under test, comprising: a main unit having a stimulus pulse generator coupled to a near end of a selected one of a plurality of transmission lines within said cable under test, a waveform digitizer coupled to the near end of a selected another of said plurality of transmission lines, and a first processor coupled to said stimulus pulse generator and said waveform digitizer; and a remote unit having a stimulus pulse detector coupled to a far end of said selected one of said plurality of transmission lines, a measurement pulse generator coupled to the far end of said selected another of said plurality of transmission lines, and a second processor coupled to said stimulus pulse detector and said measurement pulse generator; wherein said stimulus pulse generator applies a stimulus pulse to said one of said plurality of transmission lines responsive to a transmit initiate signal applied by said first processor to said stimulus pulse generator, said pulse detector detects said stimulus pulse and generates a trigger signal, said measurement pulse generator generates a measurement pulse having a predetermined amplitude and width in response to said trigger signal, and said waveform digitizer produces a waveform record of said measurement pulse.

Claim 9

A remote unit having a pulse generator for operation with a main cable test system, comprising: means for connecting said remote unit to a cable under test having a plurality of transmission lines; a pulse detector coupled to said plurality of transmission lines to detect a pulse train received from said main cable test system on a first one of said plurality of transmission lines; a decoder for decoding said pulse train to provide an instruction; and a processor responsive to said instruction for activating a signal path to connect an output of said pulse generator to a second one of said plurality of transmission lines.

Claim 10

A remote unit having a pulse generator for operation with a main cable test system, comprising: means for connecting said remote unit to a cable under test having a plurality of transmission lines; a pulse detector coupled to said plurality of transmission lines to detect a pulse train received from said main cable test system on a first one of said plurality of transmission lines; a decoder for decoding said pulse train to provide an instruction; and a processor responsive to said instruction for activating a signal path to connect an output of said pulse generator to a second one of said plurality of transmission lines.