Measuring Paging Channel Message Error Rate (MER)

Last updated: October 28, 2004

This section is only applicable to the lab application.

The Paging Channel MER is used to evaluate how well the mobile station demodulates the paging channel in an AWGN (no fading or multipath) environment.

General Procedure

NOTE

It's recommended that you follow the steps in the order described below to ensure valid results. If you vary the test procedure, you may get the unexpected results. See Paging Channel MER Procedures for details.

Connect the mobile station's antenna output to the test set's front panel RF IN/OUT connector and power them on.
Press the blue SHIFT key and then the green Preset key to full reset the test set.
Power on the mobile station and wait for the mobile station to perform a power up registration. The mobile station information should appear in the Mobile Reported Information window after a successful registration. Otherwise, perform the steps 1 through 9 in How Do I Set Up an IS-2000 Call? to set up the parameters required for the mobile station to find services.
Turn off the timer based registration (see D. Registration Parameters )
Press the Call Setup key.
Press the More key on the lower left side of the test set two times until of the Call Control 3 of 3 menu is displayed.
Press the F6 ( Paging Channel MER ), go to Paging MER menu.
Press the F1 ( Paging Channel MER Parms ) to access the Paging Channel MER Parameters menu. Use the knob and DATA ENTRY keys to set the parameters as needed for your test situation (see Paging Channel MER Parameters ). For example,
- Set the Max Slot Cycle Index to 0 .
- Set the F-QPCH State to On .
- Set the AWGN Power (dBm/1.23 MHz) to -54.00 .
- Press the F6 ( Close Menu ) when finishing the setups.
NOTE

It is recommended that you set up the parameters associated with the MER test prior to initiating the MER test procedure. The test set provides a warning message if key settings are changed during the test. However, the test set does not block the changes or cause the MER test procedure to be aborted.

Press the F6 ( Close Menu ) when finishing the setups
(Optional) Press the F5 ( Clear MER Procedure Parms ). This action will clear the results shown in the Paging Channel Message Error Rate window.
Press the F3 ( Originate Call ) to establish a call. Verify that the call has established by checking for Connected in the Active Cell field.
Press the F2 ( Start MER Procedure ). The Paging MER test procedure starts only when a call is established. See Paging Channel MER Procedures for details.
Press the F3 ( End Call ) to disconnect the call. This ensures that the mobile station will listen to the paging channel.
Press the F4 ( Audit Order ), select On . This causes the test set to start sending Audit Order messages on the paging channel.
Wait for the enough time you'd like to have the MER test procedure run. Standard specifies "at least 2 minutes and until sufficient confidence is ensured".
Press the F4 ( Audit Order ), select Off . This causes the test set to stop sending Audit Order messages on the paging channel.
Press the F3 ( Originate Call ) to establish a call. Verify that the call has established by checking for Connected in the Active Cell field.
Press the F2 ( End MER Procedure ). The Paging MER test procedure can be ended only when a call is established.
Observe the Paging MER results shown in the Paging Channel Message Error Rate window and evaluate the mobile station performance of the demodulation of the paging channel. A typical display is shown below.
(Optional) If required, press the F3 ( End Call ) to disconnect the call.
Turn the timer based registration back to on (see D. Registration Parameters ).

Testing 3.3.2 Demodulation of Slotted Mode Paging Channel

This test examines the mobile station demodulation performance of the Paging Channel in an AWGN (no fading or multipath) environment, and the figure of merit is determined by the message error rate (MER). Since the MS is operating in slotted mode, this test also makes sure the mobile station wakes up in time so that it does not miss the beginning of its assigned slots on the Paging Channel.

The MER is measured only for 9600 bps data rate. If the mobile station supports the Quick Paging Channel, then this test shall be performed with the Quick Paging Channel enabled.

To perform the tests as specified in the standard, follow the procedures as describe in the General Procedure . You need to set the following settings (as listed in Settings in Step 8 ) in step 8 per standard requirements (see Terminologies on the Test Set Adherence to Standard for the mappings of menus/softkeys on the test set's front panel to the parameter settings as specified in the standard).

Settings in Step 8
Settings Specified in the Standard		Equivalent Settings on the Test Set
Parameters	Values
MAX_SLOT_CYCLE_INDEX	0	Set the `Max Slot Cycle Index` to `0` .
Paging Data Rate (bps)	9600	Set the `Paging Data Rate` to `Full` .
Quick Paging Data Rate (bps)	4800	If the mobile station support Quick Paging Channel: Set the `F-QPCH State` to `On` . Set the `F-QPCH Data Rate` to `Full` .
Pilot Ec/Ior (dB)	-7	Set the `Cell 1 F-Pilot Level` to `-7.00 dB.`
Sync Ec/Ior (dB)	-16	Set the `Cell 1 F-FCH/Traffic Level` to `-16.00 dB.`
Quick Paging Ec/Ior (dB)	-10	Set the `F-QPCH Relative to Pilot Level` to `-3 dB` . The Quick Paging Ec/Ior is the ratio of Quick Paging Level to Cell Power. It equals the `F-QPCH Relative to Pilot Level` plus the `Cell 1 F-Pilot Level` .
Paging Ec/Ior (dB)	Test 1:-16.2 Test 2: -10.7	`Set the Cell 1 F-Paging Level to - 16.20 dB (for test 1) or -10.70 dB (for test 2).`
Ioc (dBm/1.23 MHz)	Test 1:-54 Test 2: -48.5	Set the `AWGN Power (dBm/1.23 MHz)` to `-54.00` (for test 1) or `-48.50` (for test 2).
Î _or /Ioc (dB)	Test 1:-1 Test 2: -6.5	Set `Cell 1 Power` ( F7 on the `Call Parms 1 of 3` ) to `-55.00` dBm/1.23 MHz for both tests. Î _or /Ioc is the ratio of Cell Power to AWGN. It is not directly settable. Normally, the Ioc has been specified. You need to set `Cell Power` to the value of (Ioc + Ior/Ioc) to achieve this setting.
Paging Eb/Nt (dB)	Test 1: 3.9 Test 2: 3.9	Observe the `F-Paging Eb/Nt` value in the Paging Channel Message Error Rate window. The Paging Eb/Nt is not directly settable. It is calculated based on other specified parameters.
QPCH Eb/Nt (dB)	Test 1: 13.1 Test 2: 7.6	Observe the `F-QPCH Eb/Nt` value in the Paging Channel Message Error Rate window. The QPCH Eb/Nt is not directly settable. It is calculated based on other specified parameters.

Measuring Paging Channel Message Error Rate (MER)

General Procedure

Testing 3.3.2 Demodulation of Slotted Mode Paging Channel

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