R&S®ARGUS-IT Spectrum Monitoring and Management System (Rohde & Schwarz International - Products - Radiomonitoring

Software

R&S® ARGUS-IT software comprises the following software packages:

Monitoring Software R&S® ARGUS comprises numerous facilities for measuring, monitoring, direction finding, evaluation and report generation
Geographic Information Software R&S^®MapView displays DF stations, bearing results, transmitter locations and measurement results of coverage measurements on a digital map; digital maps can be created or imported
Integrated Digital Audio Software R&S^®AllAudio is a software package for digital recording, playback, mixing and distribution of audio signals; a complete intercom system is also provided
The spectrum management system has facilities for planning and managing transmitters, billing, bookkeeping and report generation

The software packages run under the Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0 operating systems which provide ideal ease of operation, operational safety and networking. Uniform operation, preemptive multitasking and versatility in integrating additional software (e.g. MS Office) are further advantages.

Monitoring Software R&S® ARGUS

R&S® ARGUS is a pure client-server application comprising a measurement unit (server) and a control unit (client).

The control unit provides the R&S® ARGUS user-friendly graphic user interface. This user interface can be used to configure measurement units, define measurement jobs and transfer them to measurement units, to receive, display and store measurement results and transfer these results to other applications. The control unit menu always presents the settings and measurement options of one measurement unit. One control unit can access up to eight stations simultaneously.

The R&S® ARGUS measurement unit is controlled by a measurement processor which is either identical to the control processor or can be accessed via WAN or LAN. The measurement unit receives the measurement jobs from all the connected control units, coordinates them and processes them. Measurement devices are controlled and measurement results and alarm conditions are determined, buffered and transferred to the control units.

This approach has the following advantages over remote-control packages such as pcAnywhere:

Simpler to use software
Faster implementation of measurement jobs because only information relevant to the measurements is transferred - no need to fiddle about with files
Cost-effective solution as the connection to the measurement section can be interrupted during a measurement, so cutting costs
Simpler message concept as all messages can be automatically routed to the control section, if required

R&S®ARGUS-IT Spectrum Monitoring and Management System Software

Measurement modes

Different R&S® ARGUS measurement modes and other modules access the various monitoring, measuring and direction finding activities:

Direct measurement mode

The direct measurement mode is used to control the measurement equipment directly via virtual control panels. This mode provides the operator with a fast way to monitor, measure, locate and identify emissions.

Interactive measurement mode

The interactive measurement mode is used to obtain an overview of a spectrum, for analyzing and identifying electromagnetic emissions, for obtaining results when an antenna is moved, for analyzing intermodulation and for performing coverage measurements. Intermodulation with up to three source signals is taken into account.

Bearing measurement mode

The bearing measurement mode is used to locate transmitters. Up to four direction finders can be controlled simultaneously. It is also possible to take running fixes and thus locate radio signals with just one direction finder (direction finding from different locations).

Automatic measurement mode

The automatic measurement mode is used to control all the equipment according to a schedule. The user defines the measurement tasks and starts them. The measurements are then performed automatically during the period of time defined by the user. The measurement results can be evaluated while the task is being performed or when it has been completed.

Evaluation mode

The measurement data obtained from all the measurement modes can then be processed using the evaluation module. This module allows a comprehensive statistical evaluation of measurement results in accordance with the standards and recommendations of ITU-R. Measurement results, their definitions and statistical analyses can also be documented in reports.

Order report module

Using the order report module other applications are enabled to transfer measurement orders to and to receive measurement results as reports from Monitoring Software R&S® ARGUS. R&S® ARGUS itself can also create measurement orders and transmit them to several independent operating positions. The reports with the results are returned to R&S® ARGUS.

Difference measurement module

The difference measurement module is an addition to the automatic measurement mode. This module allows simultaneous measurements with two receivers of the same type to be performed. This feature can be used with scan (scanning from start frequency to stop frequency using frequency increments) and frequency list scans (scanning using frequencies from a frequency list). Afterwards the difference of these measurements is calculated. The frequency spectrum of both receivers and the difference can be displayed in graphical form.

Data exchange interface

The data exchange interface is used to import files with frequencies, general, FM or TV transmitter data and to export measurement results, bearing results, measurement processes and all types of transmitter lists to files. The files can be in dBase, Excel, text, comma-delimited ASCII, Access and html format. Frequency channel occupancy data can be exported to files in comma-delimited ASCII format. In addition, printouts can be made in RTF format.

R&S^®ARGUS-IT Spectrum Monitoring and Management System

From stand alone systems to completely automated nationwide networks