KR101360905B1 - Home network testing - Google Patents

Abstract

The home network test apparatus includes an input port having one or more connectors among other connectors for receiving different types of communication cables, such as coaxial cables, telephone cables, and electrical cables; And a test device section with various other test devices for testing the presence of different types of home networks, such as MoCA, HomePlug, and HPNA. The present invention utilizes separate components that analyze the physical layer in the time domain to find uniquely timed RF power pulses that are characteristic and different for each of the network protocols.

Description

Home network testing

1 is a diagram schematically showing a MoCA test configuration.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a maximum hold trace of a spectrum output directly from the MoCA bridge device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a zero span spectrum illustrating the timing of the single MoCA bridge device of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the detection spectrum of FIG. 3.

5 is a schematic of a MoCA test configuration with two MoCA bridge devices.

FIG. 6 shows the timing of the detected signal through the two connected MoCA bridge devices of FIG. 5.

7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating the detection spectrum of FIG. 6 with two different scales.

9-11 illustrate another mode captured at a 1.4 KHz data pulse rate, which may occur when the device becomes unstable after the device has been synced once.

12 is a diagram schematically illustrating a MoCA test configuration including four MoCA bridge devices.

13 is a graph showing the timing of four MoCA devices with no data transfers made.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the detection spectrum up to 3KHz from the test configuration of FIG. 12.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the detection spectrum up to 30 KHz from the test configuration of FIG. 1.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of an HPNA test configuration including one HPNA bridge device.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a maximum hold trace of a spectrum output directly from the HPNA device of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a zero span spectrum illustrating the timing of the master single device of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 illustrates an FFT for the detection spectrum of FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a schematic of an HPNA test configuration including two HPNA bridge devices.

FIG. 21 shows the timing of the detected signal through the two connected devices of FIG. 20 with no data transfer.

22 shows the timing of the detected signal through the two connected devices of FIG. 20 with no data transfer.

23 is a schematic view of a test apparatus according to the present invention.

The present invention relates to test equipment for testing a plurality of different home networking technologies such as MoCA, HPNAv3 and HomePlug, and more particularly, to a home network detection and measurement device based on physical layer characteristics.

The Coaxial Cable-based Home Network Standard (MoCA ^TM ) provides voice and video without requiring new connections, wiring, point of entry devices or truck rolls. And utilizing the immense amount of unused bandwidth available on in-home coaxial cable to carry data (triple play). It is estimated that 70% to 90% of homes in the United States already have coaxial cables installed to form a home network infrastructure. In addition, many homes have existing coaxial cables deployed in one or more basic entertainment consumption sites, such as family rooms, media rooms, and master bedrooms, which facilitate the deployment of triple play networks. MoCA technology allows homeowners to leverage their existing coaxial cable infrastructure as a networking system and deliver other entertainment and information programming with a high 'quality of service'.

MoCA-based technology combines the essential elements needed to distribute DVD-quality entertainment throughout the home: high speed (270 mbps), high quality of service (QoS), and state-of-the-art packet-level encryption. Provides innate security for shielded wired connections. Coaxial cables are designed to carry high bandwidth video and are used to securely deliver millions of dollars of pay per view and premium video content on a daily basis. It is customary. MoCA networks can also be used as the backbone for multiple wireless access points used to extend wireless coverage throughout the consumer's home.

The Home PNA (Home Phoneline Network Alliance) (HPNA ^™ ) is to provide triple-play home networking solutions for distributing entertainment data over both existing coaxial cable and telephone lines. By providing data rates up to 320 Mbps with guaranteed QoS, HPNA technology enables service providers to meet and respond to the growing demand for new multimedia services such as IPTV and VoIP at home. HPNA technology also offers consumers many of the benefits of "no-new-wires" home networking.

HPNA technology, built on Ethernet, allows all components of a home network to interact over existing home telephone lines without interfering with existing voice or fax services. In the same way as the operation of a LAN, home networking is the processing, management, transmission, and storage of information, such as telephones, fax machines, desktops, laptops, printers, scanners, and web cameras. Other devices in the home network can be connected and integrated through the home's unpredictable wiring topology.

HomePlug ^™ 1.0 is a technical specification for connecting devices to each other via power lines in the home. HomePlug-certified products connect PCs and other devices using Ethernet, USB and 802.11 "WiFi" technologies to the powerline via HomePlug "bridges" or "adapters." Some products, such as connected audio players, may have built-in HomePlug technology. HomePlug products provide a simple solution for consumers interested in distributing connectivity around their homes without adding any new wiring.

Since most electronic devices already use electrical outlets for receiving power, the purpose of the home PNA is to determine how their same electrical outlets and electrical wires can be used to connect the devices to each other and to the Internet. Was to design. Today, HomePlug networking is the only generally recognized specification for high-speed powerline networking with millions of products in use on six continents.

Electrical outlets are the most widespread home wiring medium. The connection of electrical outlets is available worldwide, and several outlets can be used at low cost per connection point in every room. HomePlug technology leverages existing electrical outlets to provide both power and connectivity. In addition, because of the convenience of connecting any device through an electrical outlet, it is possible to allow entertainment, information access and telephone services to be provided for new products.

Because of the variety of home network technologies, namely coaxial cables, telephone lines, and electrical wiring, test devices in conventional home networks are typically dedicated to one technology. In addition, conventional devices that wish to analyze any of these networks will employ a dedicated network chipset to detect and join the network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a test apparatus for a single home network for use in testing home networks having different home network technologies, and to provide a method for determining the existence and health of a network. It is intended to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by using the physical layer characteristics of each of the networking techniques discussed previously to maintain the network topology without affecting multiple devices on the network.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a test apparatus for home networks, the test apparatus comprising: at least one selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables, telephone cables and electrical cables as an input port for inputting a home network signal; An input port comprising connectors for mating with a cable of; A first filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within the measurement band of the first home network technology from the home network signal to generate a first filtered signal; A second filtering device generating a second filtered signal by removing all signals from the home network signal except signals in a measurement band of a second home network technology different from the first home network technology; Measuring means connected to the first and second filtering devices to determine which home network technology exists on the home network; And which one of the connectors should be connected to which of the first and second filtering devices, and which one of the first and second filtering devices should be connected to the measuring means. And a switching means.

The invention also relates to a test apparatus for home networks, the test apparatus comprising: an input port for inputting a home network signal, the input port comprising connectors for coupling with a coaxial cable; A filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within the measurement band of MoCA home network technology from the home networking signal to generate a filtered signal; And an amplitude demodulator connected to the filtering device for generating a final voltage signal from the filtered signal, the measuring means comprising: whether or not a pulse is repeated in the voltage signal approximately every 10 ms with a width of about 90 Hz to 110 Hz; Determining means for determining, said pulse indicating that MoCA home network technology is present on the home network.

Another embodiment of the present invention relates to a test apparatus for home networks, wherein the test apparatus is an input port for inputting a home network signal and includes at least one selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables and telephone cables. An input port comprising connectors for mating with a cable; A filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within a measurement band of HPNA home network technology to generate a filtered signal from the home network signal; And an amplitude demodulator connected to the filtering device for generating a final voltage signal from the filtered signal, the measuring means comprising: whether or not a pulse is repeated in the voltage signal approximately every 15 ms with a width of about 165 Hz to 185 Hz; And measuring means for determining, said pulses indicate that HPNA home network technology is present on the home network.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a test apparatus for home networks including the following configurations, which is an input port for inputting a home network signal, including coaxial cables, telephone cables and An input port comprising connectors mating with at least one cable selected from the group consisting of electrical cables; Filtering means for removing all signals from the home network signal except signals in the measurement band of one selected network technology to produce a first filtered signal; And measuring means connected to said filtering means for determining what home network technology exists on a home network, said measuring means comprising: an amplitude demodulator for generating a final voltage signal; And converting means for performing a fast Fourier transform on the final voltage signal to produce a converted signal, wherein the measuring means identifies a product of approximately 100 Hz in the converted signal to detect the MoCA signal, The measuring means detects an HPNA version 3 signal by identifying a product of approximately 66.7 Hz in the converted signal.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to test equipment designed to test a plurality of different home networking technologies, such as MoCA, HPNA, or HomePlug, which are typically mutually exclusive in certain deployment respects. Equipment that supports multiple networking technologies allows service providers to choose the best networking solution for each customer based on their individual installation, without having to employ separate test equipment. The instrument provides the technician with a common interface for testing completely different networking technologies.

The invention also relates to a test apparatus that implements a non-intrusive method for detecting the presence and level of a home network employing MoCA, HPNA, or HomePlug. The topology of the network remains completely intact, and measurements are performed without affecting many devices on the network. The method in accordance with the present invention utilizes separate components to analyze the physical layer in the time domain to find uniquely timing RF power pulses that are distinctive and distinct in each of the network protocols.

Tests were performed to provide characterizatons of the underlying physical layer signals present on various networks such as coaxial cable, telephone lines and electrical wiring, hosting MoCA, HPNA and Homeplug based devices. The purpose of the tests was to establish sufficient awareness to develop circuits capable of detecting the presence of these signals.

All testing for MoCA-based networks was performed using Entropic ECP1001P Ethernet to MoCA bridges, and AM RF measurements were performed using an Agilen E4443 spectrum analyzer. The detected measurements were performed using a Wavetek D171 75 detector and a picoscope digital USB oscilloscope (200 Msps). All testing was performed on MoCA channel 11 1050 MHz and the devices were set to auto master.

1 illustrates a test configuration including one MoCA bridge 11 connected to spectrum analyzer 12 without any Ethernet devices added. The spectrum shown in FIG. 2 shows the maximum hold trace of the spectrum output directly from the MoCA bridge 11, which includes the level -12 dBm (+36.75 dBmV); Bandwidth 50 MHz; A signal that exists behind a set top box equal to a signal-to-noise ratio of 50 dB.

MoCA bridge devices 11 should not be connected directly back-to-back because the direct output of one bridge device is too high for the input of the other bridge device. This can cause damage. Typically, 20 dB pads should be installed between bridge devices. Therefore, it is desirable that an alarm be installed on the test apparatus to exceed the maximum level.

The zero span spectrum shown in FIG. 3 shows the timing of a single MoCA bridge device 11, which is when the master set-top is connected to the network and turned on in the absence of other devices. It may be a typical signal present. The test device finds this signal to determine the presence of the master device, and the levels at the current test point are within an acceptable level tolerance for the slave device to perform its proper function. Can be verified. A single MoCA bridge device emits one RF signal every 10 ms (100 Hz).

4 illustrates a fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the detection spectrum of FIG. 3, in which a 100 Hz product is remarkably represented in the spectrum. Such a product at approximately 100 Hz, for example between 95 Hz and 105 Hz, is present even when multiple devices are connected, and may be composed of data bursts that may consist of management messages searching for other devices or may be composed of timing control messages of the master device. Can be.

5 illustrates a test configuration in which two MoCA bridges 21 and 22 to which Ethernet devices 23 and 24 are added, respectively, are connected to the spectrum analyzer 25. 6 shows the timing of the detected signal through two connected Ethernet and MoCA bridge devices 21-24, in which case the time between pulses is 360.6 kHz (2.77 KHz).

FIG. 7 shows the spectrum of the detected signal from two connected Ethernet and MoCA bridge devices 21-24, with the 2.8 KHz product and its harmonics visualized. 8 illustrates a portion of the same spectrum from 0 to 6 KHz, showing both the 2.8 KHz product as well as the 100 Hz product. Another mode captured, which can occur when the device becomes unstable after the device has been synchronized once, was the 1.4 KHz data pulse rate, which is illustrated in FIGS. 9-11.

12 illustrates a test configuration including four Ethernet devices 35a through 35d and a spectrum analyzer 36 and four MoCA bridges 31 through 34. FIG. 13 is a graph showing the timing of four devices 31 to 34 for which no data transmission is made. The levels for the three MoCA devices of the MoCA devices 31 to 34 are at a low level because they extend with a long cable to the spectrum analyzer 36. The spectra of the detected signal (FIGS. 14 and 15) show that the salient signal is currently within the 1.2 KHz range. The graphs of Figures 13, 14 and 15 show that a 100 Hz signal is still present. 14 illustrates a graph showing the detection spectrum up to 3 KHz, and FIG. 15 illustrates a graph showing the detection spectrum up to 30 KHz.

The MoCA signal may be set to any one of 29 channels in the 800 MHz to 1500 MHz range. Using a simple diode detector and FFT, the MoCA signal can be identified by finding that a 100 Hz, 1.2 KHz, 1.4 KHz, or 2.8 KHz product is present in the detected signal.

Frequencies in the detection spectrum Configuration 100 Hz One device is connected 100 Hz + 1.4 KHz + 2.8 KHz 2 devices connected 100 Hz + 1.4 KHz Two devices are connected but one device is unstable or its signal level is low 100 Hz + 1.2 KHz More than two devices are connected

Since 100 Hz is still present in any number of devices, detection of that signal can usually be used to detect the presence of the MoCA device (s). In a MoCA network, the presence of a pulse that repeats approximately every 10 ms with a width of about 90 ms to 110 ms indicates that there is a MoCA master on the network. Once the RF pulse is identified, the system will perform power measurements during the time the pulse is active and another power measurement while the pulse is inactive. With these values, the equipment can provide information about the power, noise floor and signal-to-noise ratio of a given home network at a particular test point.

The amplitude demodulation of the signal provides a relatively unique pattern when compared to other signals that may exist in the 775 MHz to 1550 MHz frequency band. Other signals may include satellite and CATV signals.

Characterization of basic physical layer signals present in coaxial cable network hosting HPNAv3-based devices has been tested to establish sufficient awareness to develop circuits capable of detecting the presence of these signals. All testing was performed using Ready-Link CEB-401 Ethernet-HPNA bridges 61, which are connected to the personal computer 62 via an Ethernet cable used to generate traffic on the HPNA network. RF measurements were performed using a spectrum analyzer / oscilloscope 64, and the detected measurements were performed using a Wavetek D171 75 detector 63 and a picoscope digital USB spectrum analyzer / oscilloscope 64 (200 Msps). The personal computer 66 hosts the software that controls the picoscope digital USB spectrum analyzer / oscilloscope 64 and determines how to process and display the data (time domain oscilloscope or frequency domain spectrum analyzer).

16 illustrates a single HPNA bridge 61 without Ethernet devices added. The personal computer (PC) 62 is connected to the HPNA bridge via an Ethernet cable. PC 62 is used to generate traffic in an HPNA network.

FIG. 17 illustrates a maximum hold trace of the spectrum output directly from the HPNA device 61, which has a level of -13 dBm (+35.75 dBmV); Bandwidth 20 MHz; A signal that exists behind a set top box equal to a signal-to-noise ratio of 55 dB.

The zero span spectrum illustrated in FIG. 18 shows the timing of the HPNA master single device 61, which is present when the HPNA master set top is turned on and connected to the network but no other devices are present. This is a typical signal. The test rig finds this signal, the HPNA RF signal frequency, which is a 16 MHz wide OFDM signal transmitted at about 0 dBm, to determine the presence of the HPNA master device 61 in order to allow the client device to perform its proper function. And verify that the levels at the current test point are within tolerances of the acceptable levels.

A single HPNA device 61 emits one RF signal every 15 mS (66.67 Hz), as can be seen in FIG. 19 illustrating the FFT of the detected spectrum therefrom. The product at approximately 67 Hz, for example 65 to 70 Hz, is remarkable in its detection spectrum and is present even when multiple devices are connected. This data burst may be an administration message to discover other devices or timing control messages of the master device.

20 shows a test configuration in which two HPNA bridges 71 and 72 and two connected Ethernet devices 73 and 74 are connected to the spectrum analyzer 75. FIG. 21 shows the timing of the detected signal through two connected devices 73 and 74 without data transfer, and FIG. 22 shows two connected devices 73 and 74 with data transfer. The timing of the detected signal through is shown.

HPNA (version 3) signals can be detected using simple amplitude demodulation and FFT, and such signals can be identified by finding the presence of a 66.7 Hz product in the detected signal. If the device is configured as a client device, the device only emits RF pulses once a second. In this case, it may be difficult to detect via the FFT for the amplitude demodulation signal.

By employing the method according to the invention, a basic home network physical layer tester can be implemented which is less expensive and reduces power consumption than a solution comprising a dedicated network chipset.

Referring to FIG. 23, the home network test apparatus 91 according to the present invention includes a first connector 93a which receives one end of a coaxial cable for testing MoCA networks, and an RJ45 Cat 56 cable for testing HPNA networks. A second connector 93b for receiving one end of the third connector, a third connector 93c for receiving one end of a telephone cable such as RJ11 for testing HPNA networks, and a banana type for testing HomePlug networks. And an input port 92 provided with a fourth connector 93d including plugs. The input port 92 may include any combination of one or more of the aforementioned connectors 93a through 93d depending on the different types of home networks for which the test device 91 is designed for testing. A first switch 94, such as a single pole four throw (SPFT), is used to select which connectors 93a to 93d should be connected to the filter arrangement 96, and a second switch (such as an SPFT) 95 is used to select which section of the filter arrangement 96 is connected to the selected connectors 93a to 93d.

The filter arrangement 96 includes a filtering device for each of the different types of home networks. In the illustrated embodiment, filter arrangement 96 includes a filter stage 97 for HomePlug networks, a filter stage 98 for HPNA networks and a filter stage 99 for MoCA networks, but other homes. Network filter devices may also fall within the scope of the present invention.

HomePlug and HPNA stages 97 and 98 require first and second filtering devices 101 and 102, respectively, to remove all signals except signals in the measurement band (4 to 50 MHz). Typically, the HomePlug filter 97 is a 30 MHz low pass filter, and the HPNA filter passes signals in the range of 4 MHz to 12 MHz or 12 MHz to 28 MHz depending on the selected HPNA band. MoCA is a protocol that includes multiple channels and is in the high frequency range (800-1500 MHz). Each channel is 50 MHz wide. The signal conditions required for the MoCA signal are given at stage 99 and include, for example, signal frequency down conversion followed by a filtering step of a 50 MHz low pass filter.

The MoCA frequency down converter 105 consists of a frequency mixer 106 and a phase locked loop (PLL) local oscillator 107. The microcomputer or microprocessor 115 controls the PLL oscillator 107 to select which MoCA channel to tune in. The output of mixer 106 is then sent to filter 108 so that all unwanted frequency products are removed. MoCA signals are in the 800 MHz to 1500 MHz frequency band. Since a MoCA network can have multiple channels, it is necessary to tune to a single desired channel and select that channel. Thus, since the local oscillator 107 is set to the same frequency as the desired channel, the result is that the oscillator channel is mixed by the mixer 106 with the desired MoCA and one of the resulting products is in baseband. do. The low pass filter 108 removes all other channels and mixer products.

The first, second, or third filtered signals from each of the first, second, and third filter stages 97, 98, and 99 are third, such as a single pole three throw (SPTT). The third switch is synchronized with the second switch 95 to send the selected signal to the test or measurement section 110 via the selected filter stages 97-99. The test section 110 includes a microcomputer 115, such as an amplitude demodulator or RF detector (log amp) 111, comparator 112 and a PIC microcomputer.

The test facility 110 is controlled by a microcomputer 115 having two inputs and several control outputs, including an analog to digital converter (ADC) and a pulse shaping comparator 112. do. The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) receives a signal from the log amp 111 and the output of the log amp 111 is sent to the pulse shaping comparator 112. Comparator 112 shapes the filtered pulses induced by third switch 109 into a digital signal, which triggers the measurement by microcomputer 115.

The third switch 109 is controlled by the microcomputer 115 and allows the microcomputer 115 to select which filter stages 97 to 99, ie which RF signals are to be routed to the log amp 111. To be able. The log amp 111 includes an internal RF detector and circuitry that takes a log function for the detected output from the filter stages 97-99. The final voltage can then be measured by the analog-to-digital converter of the microcomputer 115 and represents the power input into the log amp 111. Since the data has already been converted to logarithmic scale, a simple slope and intercept equation is applied to the ADC counts to convert it to an absolute dBmV or dBm power level. Comparator 112 may cause microcomputer 115 to accurately adjust the timing of incoming RF pulses. Timing aspects such as time period and pulse width are important to the detection algorithm.

The first, second and third switches 94, 95 and 109 are connected manually, i.e. by an expert, to which connector 93a to 93d the first, second and third filter stages 97, 98 and 99. It can be controlled to select which of the filter stages to connect to and which of the first, second and third filter stages 97, 98 and 99 to connect to the test fixture 110. Alternatively, the first, second and third switches 94, 95 and 109 are automatically operated by control means, for example stored in the microcomputer 115, which in turn causes each of the connectors 93a to 93d, By selecting each of the filter stages 97, 98, and 99 to be connected to the test facility 110, it is possible to quickly determine the type of home network technology found on any cable connected to the input port 92. Do it. In a test facility designed to test a single home network technology, spare filters may be omitted, as well as the first, second and third switches 94, 95, 109.

The signals to be measured periodically appear in the form of RF bursts. The signal from the log amp 111 is sent to the comparator 112 to be signal adjusted and shaped into digital pulses, which are used to operate the measurement engine in the microcomputer 115. The microcomputer 115 detects the rising edge of the pulse, corresponding to the beginning of the RF pulse, and then waits for a preset time before performing the RF power measurement, which causes the power measurement to be RF power. To ensure that it is performed at the peak point. The microcomputer 115 also performs the same type of measurement to detect the falling edge to determine the level of the noise floor. The microcomputer 115 also includes an internal timer for measuring the period of the pulses. When the microcomputer 115 captures a series of pulses corresponding to any of the MoCA, HPNA or HomePlug pulses mentioned above, the microcomputer 115 identifies the type of home network in use to determine the measured RF signal level. Report the signal to noise ratio.

As described above, the test section 110 includes an amplitude demodulator 111 for generating first, second and third voltage signals in the time domain from each of the first, second and third filtered signals. . As such, the microcomputer 115 may identify the MoCA signal in the home network by identifying a pulse that repeats approximately every 10 ms with a width of about 90 Hz to 110 Hz in the first voltage signal, and in the second filtered signal. HPNA version 3 signals may be identified in a home network by identifying pulses that repeat approximately every 15 ms with widths of 165 kHz to 185 kHz. Alternatively, test section 110 may also include means for performing FFT, which is included in microcomputer 115, to generate first, second, and third transformed signals in the frequency domain. , Enabling the HPNA version 3 signal to be identified as approximately 66.7 Hz of product is present in the second transformed signal and consisting of 100 Hz, 1.2 KHz, 1.4 KHz and 2.8 KHz products in the first transformed signal. The presence of one product selected from the group allows the MoCA signal to be identified. Converting the first, second and third voltage signals is a method of determining the repetition period of the pulse.

If the pulse is identified, the microcomputer 115 performs a first power measurement during the time the pulse is active, and performs a second power measurement while the pulse is inactive; Logic means determine the power, noise floor and signal-to-noise ratio of a given home network at a particular test point.

According to the present invention, in order to provide a test apparatus of a single home network for use in testing home networks having different home network technologies, and to provide a method for determining the existence and health of the network. By using the physical layer characteristics of each of the networking techniques discussed in the above, it is possible to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art by maintaining the network topology without affecting multiple devices on the network.

Claims (20)

In a test apparatus for home networks, An input port for inputting a home network signal, the input port comprising connectors for coupling with at least one cable selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables, telephone cables, and electrical cables; A first filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within the measurement band of the first home network technology from the home network signal to generate a first filtered signal; A second filtering device which generates a second filtered signal by removing all signals from the home network signal except signals in a measurement band of a second home network technology different from the first home network technology; Measurement equipment connected to the first and second filtering devices to determine which home network technology exists on the home network; And Selecting which of the connectors should be connected with which of the first and second filtering devices, and which one of the first and second filtering devices should be connected with the measurement equipment Switches; The measuring equipment, An amplitude demodulator for producing a final voltage signal; And And a converter for performing a fast Fourier transform on the final voltage signal to produce a converted signal. delete The product of claim 1, wherein the first home network technology is MoCA and the measurement equipment is one product selected from the group consisting of 100 Hz, 1.2 KHz, 1.4 KHz, and 2.8 KHz products in the converted signal. Detecting the MoCA signal by identifying a test apparatus. 4. The test apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first filtering device comprises a 50 MHz low pass filter. In a test apparatus for home networks, An input port for inputting a home network signal, the input port comprising connectors for coupling with at least one cable selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables, telephone cables, and electrical cables; A first filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within the measurement band of the first home network technology from the home network signal to generate a first filtered signal; A second filtering device which generates a second filtered signal by removing all signals from the home network signal except signals in a measurement band of a second home network technology different from the first home network technology; Measurement equipment connected to the first and second filtering devices to determine which home network technology exists on the home network; And Selecting which of the connectors should be connected with which of the first and second filtering devices, and which one of the first and second filtering devices should be connected with the measurement equipment Switches; The measuring equipment includes an amplitude demodulator for generating a final voltage signal from the first or second filtered signal, the first home network technology is MoCA, and the measuring equipment is about 90 kW to 110 kW in the voltage signal. And the MoCA signal is detected by identifying pulses that repeat every approximately 10 ms in width. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein once the MoCA pulse is detected, the measurement equipment performs the first power measurement during the time the pulse is active and by performing the second power measurement while the pulse is inactive. And a power source, a noise floor, and a signal-to-noise ratio of a given home network at a particular test point. The method of claim 6, wherein the measuring equipment, A comparator for adjusting the final voltage signal to form a digital pulse; And And a microprocessor equipped with an analog-to-digital converter for determining the power input into the amplitude demodulator. The method of claim 1, wherein the second home network technology is HPNA version 3, and wherein the measurement equipment detects the HPNA version 3 signal by identifying a product of approximately 66.7 Hz in the converted signal. Testing device. The test apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second filtering device comprises a 4 MHz to 12 MHz band pass filter or a 12 MHz to 28 MHz band pass filter. In a test apparatus for home networks, An input port for inputting a home network signal, the input port comprising connectors for coupling with at least one cable selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables, telephone cables, and electrical cables; A first filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within the measurement band of the first home network technology from the home network signal to generate a first filtered signal; A second filtering device which generates a second filtered signal by removing all signals from the home network signal except signals in a measurement band of a second home network technology different from the first home network technology; Measurement equipment connected to the first and second filtering devices to determine which home network technology exists on the home network; And Selecting which of the connectors should be connected with which of the first and second filtering devices, and which one of the first and second filtering devices should be connected with the measurement equipment Switches; The measuring equipment includes an amplitude demodulator for generating a final voltage signal, the second home network technology is HPNA, and the measuring equipment is configured to generate pulses repeated approximately every 15 ms with a width of about 165 Hz to 185 Hz in the voltage signal. Detecting the HPNA signal by identification. The measurement device of claim 10, wherein once the pulse is detected, the measurement equipment performs a first power measurement during the time the pulse is active, and by performing a second power measurement while the pulse is inactive. And the power, noise floor, and signal-to-noise ratio of the given home network at the time of the test. The method of claim 11, wherein the measuring equipment, A comparator for adjusting the final voltage signal to form a digital pulse; And And a microprocessor equipped with an analog-to-digital converter for determining the power input into the amplitude demodulator. The method of claim 1, And a third filtering device for generating a third filtered signal by removing all signals except for the signals within the measurement band of the third home network technology from the home network signal. The test apparatus of claim 13, wherein the input port includes connectors for coupling with electrical wires and the third home network technology is HomePlug. The test apparatus of claim 12, wherein the third filtering apparatus comprises a 30 MHz low pass filter. In a test apparatus for home networks, An input port for inputting a home network signal, the input port comprising connectors for coupling with a coaxial cable; A filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within the measurement band of MoCA home network technology to generate a filtered signal from the home network signal; And A measuring device connected to the filtering device and including an amplitude demodulator for generating a final voltage signal from the filtered signal, wherein a pulse is repeated in the voltage signal approximately every 10 ms with a width of about 90 Hz to 110 Hz; And measuring equipment for determining that the pulse indicates that MoCA home network technology is present on the home network. The measurement apparatus of claim 16, wherein once the MoCA pulse is identified, the measurement equipment performs the first power measurement during the time the MoCA pulse is active and the second power measurement while the MoCA pulse is inactive. Test equipment characterized by allowing the equipment to determine the power, noise floor, and signal-to-noise ratio of the MoCA home network at a particular test point. In a test apparatus for home networks, An input port for inputting a home network signal, comprising: an input port including connectors for coupling with at least one cable selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables and telephone cables; A filtering device that removes all signals except for signals within a measurement band of HPNA home network technology to generate a filtered signal from the home network signal; And Measuring equipment connected to the filtering device and comprising an amplitude demodulator for generating a final voltage signal from the filtered signal, wherein a pulse is present in the voltage signal that repeats approximately every 15 ms with a width of about 165 Hz to 185 Hz; And measuring equipment for determining that the pulse indicates that HPNA home network technology is present on the home network. 19. The method of claim 18, wherein once the HPNA pulse is identified, the measurement equipment performs the first power measurement during the time that the HPNA pulse is active and the second power measurement while the HPNA pulse is inactive. Test equipment characterized by allowing the equipment to determine the power, noise floor, and signal-to-noise ratio of the HPNA home network at a particular test point. In a test apparatus for home networks, An input port for inputting a home network signal, the input port comprising connectors for coupling with at least one cable selected from the group consisting of coaxial cables, telephone cables, and electrical cables; Filtering means for removing all signals from the home network signal except signals in the measurement band of one selected home network technology to generate a first filtered signal; And Measuring means connected to the filtering means to determine which home network technology exists on a home network; The measuring means comprises: an amplitude demodulator for generating a final voltage signal; And converting means for performing a fast Fourier transform on the final voltage signal to generate the converted signal, The measuring means detects a MoCA signal by identifying a product of approximately 100 Hz in the converted signal, Said measuring means detecting an HPNA version 3 signal by identifying a product of approximately 66.7 Hz in said converted signal.

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