Customer Success: Noisecom CNG-EbNo SNR Noise Generator

Customer Success Story:

Customer is a government agency that provides data to their commercial clients via satellite systems. They use the Noisecom CNG-EbNo instrument, a SNR generator to monitor interference on two IF bands of interest, 75 MHz and 1550 MHz. This helped them to automatically add noise at a desired level and improve the overall process for selecting the carrier of interest.

Previous Situation:

Customer had been using a traditional method with a power meter to measure both their signal power and broadband noise power levels. The traditional method for power measurements usually works well if there is only one carrier in the entire IF band and other carriers are significantly low in power level. However, the customer has multiple IF carriers and had to add noise to a specific IF frequency which was very difficult for them when using traditional Eb/No generators. Typically those traditional Eb/No generators use broadband noise sources to generate noise in the full bandwidth of the instrument. The previous solution with a traditional Eb/No generator and power meter was a very time consuming procedure for the customer.

Problem or Challenge and its Impact:

The previous test method with a traditional power meter was not suitable since there are multiple carriers present in the IF band and the meter was not able to perform frequency selective power measurements. A broadband noise generator with a signal combiner or an Eb/No generator in manual mode combines the desired signal with noise. The customer had to use an external spectrum analyzer to perform frequency selective channel power measurement both on the desired carrier and noise level and then adjusted the noise level manually to generate the desired Eb/No. The procedure was time consuming, noise levels were hard to measure with a spectrum analyzer at low output power levels and the manual Eb/No calculations were prone to errors. The time needed to locate each IF carrier and add noise to each eventually increased their total test time.

Solution Implemented/Action Taken:

Noisecom has added a spectrum analyzer internally to replace the power meter with the CNG-EbNo instrument which helps the customer now to select the carrier of interest and automatically add noise at a desired level. This improved automated test process helped them to monitor the band of interest for interference with the internal spectrum analysis. The customer is now able to reduce their test time and eliminate any processing issues.

Results/Impact:

The Noisecom CNG-EbNo helped customer achieve their goal. They were able to improve their test procedure, eliminate manual processing errors and reduce the overall test time.