An introduction to the pdts (pcm/dsi test set): design principles and application in the intelsat tdma/dsi system
Daniel K. N. Lai · International Journal of Satellite Communications · 1985
Abstract The operational use of TDMA in the INTELSAT system brings about an exciting major milestone in satellite telecommunications. To a certain extent, the performance of the technically complex, robust, centrally controlled TDMA/DSI system depends on the effectiveness of the alignment, maintenance and testing procedures. The wide range of disciplines encountered in such an advanced system may raise difficulties for the station staffs currently familiar with the existing FDMA network. Such problems have given rise to the birth of a conceptually new test equipment PDTS (PCM/DSI test set) to evaluate the performance of the DSI or DNI unit in a TDMA terminal. This equipment is capable of generating PCM test patterns in predetermined sequences and feeding them at the baseband channel level into the terrestrial interface of the DSI for purposes of operationally testing channel continuity, DSI assignment and cumulative BER during the test cycle. The present paper describes the general principles of PDTS as well as its operational use in the TDMA/DSI system.