The Intelsat TDMA burst mode link analyser

The use of a burst mode link analyzer (BMLA) to measure amplitude and time delay in the Intelsat TDMA/DSI system is discussed. The BMLA is controlled by a microcomputer and uses special probe signal waveform to measure amplitude and time delay. It interfaces with the traffic terminal or reference terminal and measures over an 80 MHz bandwidth to an accuracy of 0.1 dB in amplitude and 1.0 ns in time. The transmit, receive, and processor and display sections of the BMLA are described. The process of measuring time delay and amplitude is explained. The results of a loop-back test and an Intelsat V satellite link simulator test are presented; both test results correlated well with the BMLA results.