Application Note

GC7105A Base Station Analyzer

GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints

Introduction
This document provides measurement hints of the Base Station Analyzer GC7105A for GSM code domain analysis
and helps improve the measurement accuracy using the instrument’s Tx Analyzer feature for modulated signal
analysis. You may increase the accuracy of your data by using more than one of the hints in your test setup and
measurements.

Background
The GC7105A is a Base Station Analyzer for installation and maintenance of modern wireless communication sys-
tems. It combines the functionality of spectrum analysis, cable and antenna analysis, power meter, and modulation
analysis, including:
• cdmaOne/cdma2000
• EVDO
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• WCDMA/HSDPA
• TD-SCDMA
The modulation measurement suite of the Base Station Analyzer provides not only RF parametric analysis but also
modulation parametric analysis of modern wireless communication systems. Built-in wireless standard test proce-
dures allow users to test each of the following items with a single button action.

cdmaOne/cdma2000 Analyzer:
• CDMA Channel Power / Multi-channel Power
• CDMA Adjacent Channel Power
• CDMA Spectrum Emission Mask
• CDMA Code Domain Power
• Frequency Error Time Offset
• Waveform Quality
• PN Search

EVDO Analyzer:
• EVDO Channel Power / Multi-channel Power
• EVDO Adjacent Channel Power
• EVDO Spectrum Emission Mask
• EVDO Code Domain Power
• Frequency Error Time Offset
• Waveform Quality
• PN Search

WCDMA/HSDPA Analyzer:
• WCDMA Channel Power
• Multi-channel Power
• Adjacent Channel Leakage Power Ration (ACLR)
• WCDMA Spurious Emission Mask
• WCDMA Occupied Bandwidth
• WCDMA Code Domain Error Vector Magnitude (EVM)
• Peak Coded Domain Error (PCDE)
• Auto Scramble Search

WEBSITE: www.jdsu.com/test
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 2

GSM/GPRS/EDGE Analyzer:
• GSM Channel Power
• Occupied Bandwidth
• Power vs. Time (Slot and Frame)
• Spectrum Emissions
• Burst Power
• RMS Phase Error
• Peak Phase Error
• Frequency Error
• TSC Code
• IQ Origin Offset

TD-SCDMA Analyzer:
• TD-SCDMA Channel Power
• Adjacent Channel Leakage Power Ration (ACLR)
• Spurious Emission Mask
• Occupied Bandwidth
• Code Domain Error
• Power vs. Time (Frame, Slot and Mask)
• Timing Offset
• Frequency Error
• IQ Origin Offset
This document focused on the measurements and the conformance with the GSM standard 3GPP TS 45.002 and
TS  45.005.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 3

GSM Measurements
Transmitter Test
In transmitter test, there are three different measurements, In-channel, Out-of-channel and Out-of-band.

In-channel measurement determines the link quality seen by the user:

• Transmitted RF power, which verifies that the RF carrier is contained within the designated 200kHz channel.
• Power vs. Time, which verifies that the transmitter output power has the correct amplitude, shape, and timing
for the TDMA sequence.
• Phase and Frequency Error, which verifies the accuracy of the transmitter’s 0.3GMSK modulation process.

Out-of-channel measurement determines how much interference the user causes other GSM users:
• RF Spectrum
• Spurious signal (Spurious Emission Mask)
In this document, we will focus on the In-channel and Out-of-channel measurements.
Note that access to the even-second clock and frequency reference (base station time-base) is always required for
the best measurement result, especially for frequency error and time offset measurement.

FDMA and TDMA

The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) digital cellular standard is a time division multiple access
(TDMA) multiplexing scheme that uses Gaussian minimum shift keying (GMSK) modulation.
Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), which is also TDMA but uses 3π/8 8PSK (phase shift keying)
modulation, is an enhancement to GSM that promises to deliver true third-generation (3G) wireless services such
as multimedia and other broadband applications.
GSM standard defines a voice and data over-air interface between a mobile radio and the system infrastructure.
EDGE enhances the GSM standard by implementing a new modulation format and filtering designed to provide
higher data rates in the same spectrum. EDGE and GSM signals can be transmitted on the same frequency, occupy-
ing different time slots, and both use existing GSM equipment.
The following diagram shows part of one of the GSM bands. Each band is divided into 200 kHz slots called ARFCN
(Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Numbers), an integer which designates the carrier frequency. As well as divid-
ing up the frequency, the ARFCN is also divided in time into 8 time slots, each time slot is being used in turn by a
different Mobile Station. The 8 time slots together are known as a Frame.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 4

This diagram illustrates 4 Traffic Channels. Each one of the Traffic Channel uses a particular ARFCN and time
slot. Two of the Traffic Channels are on the same ARFCN, using different time slots, the other two are on different
ARFCN. The combination of a time slots number and ARFCN is called a physical channel.

Figure 2 – GSM FDMA and TDMA

Framing Structure
The framing structure for GSM measurements is based on a hierarchical system consisting of time slots, TDMA
frames, multi-frames, super-frames, and hyper-frames. One time slot consists of 156.25 (157) symbol periods
including tail, training sequence, encryption, guard time, and data bits.
Eight of these time slots make up one TDMA frame.

Figure 3 – Framing Structure

GSM Bursts
Since GSM is a TDMA format, RF power is being switched on and off depending on whether the actual burst is
being transmitted (Normal Burst-Time slot, Frequency Correction Burst, and Synchronization Burst).
The Frequency Correction Burst (FCCH) is a very specially designed burst. Again it is a message in a single time
slot. What the message is, the ticking of a clock, a constant frequency sine wave which the mobile can synchronize
its internal clock.
The Synchronization Burst (SCH) is a complete message in itself and does not need multiple messages to be sorted,
in order to be used. It appears at regular intervals and from its position, much of the order of the frame can be
deduced. Once the position of the burst is known, the mobile knows that it will see a Frequency Correction Burst
(FCCH) in the next frame.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 5

Power switching causes spectral splatter at frequencies other than that being transmitted by the carrier. Fast transi-
tions in the time domain causes switching transients that have high frequency content associated with them.
A burst is a period of RF carrier which is modulated by a data stream. A burst therefore represents the physical
content of a time slot. Different types of burst exist in the GSM system. One characteristic of a burst is its useful
duration. The useful part of a burst is defined as beginning from half way through symbol number 0. The definition
of the useful part of a burst needs to be considered in conjunction with the requirements placed on the phase and
amplitude characteristics of a burst as specified in 3GPP specification.

Figure 4 – GSM RF Burst

The burst can be divided into three distinct areas:

• Ramp up
• Useful part of the burst
• Ramp down
All of these levels are controlled by the GSM standard.
Due to the nature of the burst signal, it is very important to set Trigger sources properly to get more accurate mea-
surement results. The trigger sources are as follows:
• RF Burst
Sets the trigger point to the RF burst signal (Since all of the GSM signals are burst signal, this is default
trigger setting).
• Int. FB (internal Frequency correction Burst)
Sets the trigger point to the internal frequency burst (the analyzer decodes the frequency correction burst in
the time slot)
• RF Burst & TS (Training Sequence code)
Sets the trigger point to RF burst signal and TS.
• Free
Free Running
• Ext
Sets the trigger source to external sync reference
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 6

Channel Power
The Channel Power measures in-channel power of GSM and EDGE systems. GSM and EDGE systems use dynamic
power control to ensure that each link is maintained with minimum power. This gives two fundamental benefits:
overall system interference is kept to a minimum and, in the case of mobile stations, battery life is maximized.
The Channel Power measurement determines the average power of an RF signal burst at or above a specified
threshold value. The threshold value may be absolute, or relative to the peak value of the signal.
The purpose of the Channel Power measurement is to determine the power delivered to the antenna system on the
RF channel under test. The instrument acquires a GSM or EDGE signal in the time domain. The average power
level above the threshold is then computed and displayed.

Figure 5 – GSM Signal Waveform

Figure 6 – GSM Channel Power Measurement (0.27MHz)

• Channel power measures the average power in a GSM/EDGE frame in the frequency specified.
• Out of specification power indicates system faults.
• Channel power is expressed in dBm and Power spectral density in dBm/Hz.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 7

Occupied Bandwidth
The occupied bandwidth is calculated as the bandwidth containing 99% of the transmitted power .

Figure 7 – Typical GSM Occupied Bandwidth Measurement

Power vs. Time (Slot & Frame)

Power vs. Time (P vs.T) measures the mean transmit power during the “useful part” of GSM bursts (see Figure 8)
and verifies that the power ramp fits within the standardized mask. It also shows the rise, fall, and “useful part” of
the GSM burst. GSM is a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) scheme with eight time slots, or bursts, per RF
channel and by using the “Multi-Slot” function, up to eight slots in a frame can be viewed at one time.
The useful part of the burst is the area where the modulated data is present. There are 148 bits and each bit is repre-
sented by a single symbol in 0.3GMSK modulation.

Figure 8 – Useful Part of the Burst (Power vs. Time view)

 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 8

If the burst does not occur at the right time, or if the burst is irregular, then other adjacent time slots can experience
interference. Because of this, the industry standards specify a tight mask for the TDMA burst.

Figure 9 – Mask for Normal Duration Bursts

For GSM 400, GSM 850, GSM 700 and GSM 900 MS -59 dBc or 54 dBm, whichever is the greater for GSM
400, GSM 900, GSM 850 and GSM 700, except for
the time slot preceding the active slot, for which the
allowed level is 59 dBc or 36 dBm whichever is the
greater;
-48 dBc or 48 dBm, whichever is the greater for DCS
1 800 and PCS 1 900
For DCS 1 800 and PCS 1900 MS -48 dBc or -48 dBm, whichever is the higher.
For all BTS no requirement below -30 dBc.
For GSM 400, GSM 900, GSM 700 and GSM 850 MS -4 dBc for power control level 16
-2 dBc for power level 17
-1 dBc for power level controls levels 18 and 19
For DCS 1 800 MS -4dBc for power control level 11
-2dBc for power level 12
-1dBc for power control levels 13,14 and 15
For GSM 400, GSM 900, GSM 700 and GSM 850 MS -30 dBc or -17 dBm, whichever is the higher
For DCS 1 800 MS -30dBc or -20dBm, whichever is the higher
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 9

Figure 10 – Power vs. Time Measurement (Slot view)

Figure 11 – Power vs. Time Measurement (Frame view)

Frequency & Phase Error (Demodulator)

Phase and frequency error are the measurements of modulation quality for GSM. Since GSM uses relative phase to
transmit information, the phase and frequency accuracy of the transmitter are critical to the system performance
and ultimately transmission coverage.
GSM receivers rely on the phase and frequency quality of the 0.3 GMSK signal in order to achieve the expected car-
rier to noise performance. A transmitter with high phase and frequency error is often still able to support phone
calls during a functional test.
The phase error of the signal is measured by computing the difference between the phase of the transmitted signal
and the phase of a theoretically signal. The instrument samples the transmitter output in order to capture the actual
phase trajectory. This is then demodulated and the ideal phase trajectory is mathematically derived. The error sig-
nal is obtained by subtracting one from the other.
This measurement displays the frequency and phase errors numerically and graphically, showing the binary repre-
sentation of the demodulated data bits.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 10

Figure 12 – GSM Demodulator Analysis (I/Q Polar Vector)

Figure 13 – GSM Data bit Analysis

• Phase Err RMS

The RMS phase error in degrees between the received signal and an ideal reconstructed reference signal of the
first active slot.
• Phase Err Peak
The peak phase error in degrees between the received signal and an ideal reconstructed reference signal of the
first active slot.
• Modulation type
The modulation type can be GMSK (for GSM signals) or 8PSK (for EDGE signals).
• Freq Error
Frequency error is the difference between the received frequency and the specified frequency. This number is
only as accurate as the frequency reference used, and is typically only useful with a good external frequency
reference or GPS. Frequency error is displayed in both Hz and ppm.
• TSC
The Training Sequence Code (TSC) detected in the first active burst is displayed. GSM/EDGE base stations
may use Training Sequence Codes 0-7. If an invalid TSC is detected “N/A” is displayed.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 11

• Burst Power (dBm)

Burst power is the average power over the useful part of the first active GSM/EDGE burst slot.
• I/Q Origin Offset (dBc)
Origin Offset is the carriers leakage component of the measured signal in dB and this measurement is
applicable to EDGE signal only.
• BSIC (Base Transceiver Station Identity Code)
This is a code in GSM which is broadcasted on the SCH (Synchronization Channel) in order to identify the
NCC (Network Color Code) and the BCC (Base Station Color Code).
• EVM RMS
The RMS (%) of all the error vectors between the ideal reconstructed reference symbol points and the
received symbol points divided by the RMS value of the signal present in the first active slot.
• EVM Peak
The peak (%) of all the error vectors between the ideal reconstructed reference symbol points and the received
symbol points divided by the RMS value of the signal present in the first active slot.
• EVM 95th
The 95th percentile is the point where 95% of the individual EVM values, measured at each symbol interval,
is below that point. That is, only 5% of the symbols are allowed to have an EVM exceeding the 95th-percentile
point. The EVM values are acquired during the useful part of the burst, excluding tail bits, over 200 bursts.
The measured 95th-percentile value shall be <11 % for BTS under normal and extreme conditions.
 Application Note: GC7105A GSM/EDGE Measurement Hints 12

Spectrum Emissions Measurement

In this measurement, the spurious transmissions (whether modulated or unmodulated) and the switch-
ing transients are specified together by measuring the peak power in a given bandwidth at various frequencies.
The bandwidth is increased as the frequency offset between the measurement frequency and, either the carrier, or
the edge of the MS or BTS transmit band, increases. The effect for spurious signals of widening the measurement
bandwidth is to reduce the allowed total spurious energy per frequency. The effect for switching transients is to
effectively reduce the allowed level of the switching transients (the peak level of a switching transient increases by
6 dB for each doubling of the measurement bandwidth). The conditions are specified in the following table, a peak
hold measurement being assumed.
The measurement conditions for radiated and conducted spurious are specified separately in 3GPP TS 51.010 and
3GPP TS 51.02x series. The frequency bands where these are actually measured may differ from one type to the
other (see 3GPP TS 51.010 and 3GPP TS 51.02x series).

Figure 14 – Spurious Emission Test Limit

Figure 15 – Spurious Emission Mask Measurement

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Product specifications and descriptions in this document subject to change without notice. © 2009 JDS Uniphase Corporation 30162611 000 0209 GC7105GSM/EDGE.AN.CPO.TM.AE