Use of SCH bursts for co-channel interference measurements
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for identifying signal sources in a multi-source signal. Levels of signal components transmitted by each of the co-channel base stations in the area under test in a wireless network are measured and associated with the appropriate (originating) base station in the presence of co-channel and adjacent-channel interference without interrupting service by sensing and responding to received, variable, patterns.
1. An apparatus comprising:
an antenna;
an RF receiver coupled to the antenna;
a data storage device;
control circuits including control software, coupled to the RF receiver, and the data storage device, the control software storing collected samples of a plurality of received wireless signals, along with time of arrival and location of receipt in the data storage device; and
analysis software recorded on a computer readable medium, the software, responsive to stored, collected samples selects at least one sample and, synthesizes an expected representation of a portion of a waveform from a source including additional software that correlates the one sample with the representation.
2. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the analysis software identifies sources of collected, at least partly decodable, signals in accordance with a predetermined criterion.
3. An apparatus as in claim 1 , where responsive to selected results of correlation processing, a respective signal strength indicium is associated with the one sample.
4. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the software synthesizes a representation of a variable data pattern emitted by the source with respect to an expected time of arrival of the data pattern.
5. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the additional software attempts to establish correlations between a plurality of stored, collected samples, and respective representations.
6. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the additional software carries out a correlation process relative to a predetermined time of arrival of the expected representation.
7. An apparatus as in claim 6 where a correlation time interval is established relative to the time of arrival.