Icon-based home certification, in-home leakage testing, and antenna matching pad
A method for determining the magnitude of leakage in a subscriber's premises CATV installation; a frequency multiplexer for coupling between an antenna and a receiver for the multiplexed frequencies; and, a method for a technician to certify a CATV subscriber's premises for the provision of CATV services are disclosed.
1. An instrument for determining a magnitude of leakage at a subscriber's premises in a cable television (CATV) network, the instrument comprising:
an antenna that receives (i) a first test signal having a first frequency in an aeronautical band and a first signal level and (ii) a second test signal having a second frequency in an Long Term Evolution (LTE) band and a second signal level, the first and second test signals being radiated from a carrier generator with oscillators coupled to cable wiring at the subscriber's premises, wherein the first and second signal levels are each 40 dB to 70 dB above a third signal level of a cable signal supplied by the CATV network so that high power offset is maintained, wherein the third signal level is in a range of −5 dBmV to 0 dBmV; and
a signal level meter electrically coupled to the antenna to receive the first and second test signals from the antenna, the signal level meter measures the first signal level of the first test signal and the second signal level of the second test signal and generates an output signal to cause a graphical indication of the measured first and second signal levels to be presented on a display, wherein the instrument is portable to be transported around the subscriber's premises to locate the leakage, and wherein the signal level meter subtracts a power offset between at least one of the first and second signal levels and the third signal level to determine a field strength of at least one of the first and second test signals, and the graphical indication comprises the field strength of at least one of the first and second test signals.
2. The instrument of claim 1 , wherein the first frequency is about 138 MHz.
3. The instrument of claim 2 , wherein the first frequency is about 139.25 MHz.
4. The instrument of claim 3 , wherein the second frequency is about 757.5 MHz.
5. The instrument of claim 2 , wherein the second frequency is about 750 MHz.
6. The instrument of claim 1 , wherein the second frequency is about 750 MHz.
7. The instrument of claim 4 , wherein the second frequency is about 757.5 MHz.
8. The instrument of claim 1 , further comprising a global positioning system (GPS) receiver to track movement of the instrument around the subscriber's premises.
9. The instrument of claim 1 , wherein the signal level meter is configured to measure a peak in each of the first and second signal levels.
10. The instrument of claim 1 , wherein the first and second signal levels include a gain of the leakage in the cable wiring at the subscriber's premises.
11. The instrument of claim 10 , wherein the signal level meter is configured to: calculate the gain of the leakage using PR=PT−LL+Gr−Ls+GR, where PR is received power received, PT is transmitted power, LL is line loss in at least the cable wiring of the subscriber's premises, Gr is the gain of the leakage, Ls is loss attributable to space between the leakage and the antenna, and GR is a gain of the antenna; and generate an output signal to cause a graphical indication of the calculated gain of the leakage to be presented on a display.
12. A portable instrument system for determining a magnitude of leakage in a subscriber's premises Cable Television (CATV) network, the portable instrument system comprising:
an antenna that receives, from a carrier generator with oscillators coupled to the CATV network, at least two test frequency signals including a first test frequency signal having a first test frequency in an aeronautical band and a first signal level and a second test frequency signal having a second test frequency in an Long Term Evolution (LTE) band and a second signal level, a third signal level provided by the CATV network being in a range of −5 dBmV to 0 dBmV and the first test frequency signal and second test frequency signal being at a level in a range of 40 dB to 70 dB above the third signal level so that high power offset is maintained;
a signal level meter that electrically couples to the antenna, analyzes the at least two test frequency signals to detect a presence of leakage at the subscriber's premises CATV network, and outputs an indication for display on a display screen in response to the presence of leakage; and
an antenna matching pad that electrically and physically couples the antenna and the signal level meter and including at least one filter, wherein the antenna matching pad receives the first test frequency signal and the second test frequency signal from the antenna, provides the first test frequency signal and the second test frequency signal to the signal level meter via the at least one filter, and wherein the signal level meter subtracts a power offset between at least one of the first and second signal levels and the third signal level to determine a field strength of at least one of the first and second test signals, wherein the field strength is outputted with the indication for display on the display screen.
13. The portable instrument system of claim 12 , wherein the first test frequency level is about 750 MHz.
14. The portable instrument system of claim 12 , wherein the second test frequency level is about 138 MHz.
15. The portable instrument system of claim 12 , wherein the antenna matching pad includes: a first connector coupleable to the antenna; a second connector coupleable to the signal level meter; an enclosure body coupled between and at least partially surrounded by the first connector and the second connector; a sleeve surrounded by the enclosure body, the first connector, and the second connector; and a printed circuit board (PCB) assembly having a PCB, a first pin electrically coupled between the PCB and the first connector, and a second pin electrically coupled between the PCB and the second connector, wherein the PCB assembly is at least partially surrounded by the sleeve.
16. A portable instrument system for determining a magnitude of leakage in a subscriber's premises Cable Television (CATV) network, the portable instrument system comprising:
an antenna that receives, from a carrier generator with oscillators coupled to the CATV network, at least two test frequency signals including a first test frequency signal having a first test frequency in an aeronautical band and a first signal level and a second test frequency signal having a second test frequency in an Long Term Evolution (LTE) band and a second signal level, a third signal level provided by the CATV network being in a range of −5 dBmV to 0 dBmV and the first test frequency signal and second test frequency signal being at a level in a range of 40 dB to 70 dB above the third signal level so that high power offset is maintained; and
a signal level meter that electrically couples to the antenna, analyzes the at least two test frequency signals to detect a presence of leakage at the subscriber's premises CATV network, and outputs an indication for display on a display screen in response to the presence of leakage,
wherein the portable instrument system to be transported around the subscriber's premises to locate the leakage, and wherein the signal level meter subtracts a power offset between at least one of the first and second signal levels and the third signal level to determine a field strength of at least one of the first and second test signals, wherein the field strength is outputted with the indication for display on the display screen.