Yokogawa Electric Corporation has developed the VC3300 Wireless Communication Tester for the manufacture and maintenance of third generation (3G) mobile phones, and will release it to the market on February 10.

The VC3300 is a measuring instrument that will help dramatically improve throughput and reduce costs in the inspection process for 3G (WCDMA*) mobile phones, which are in wide use worldwide. The VC3300 features high performance, high-speed measurement, and affordable pricing.

Yokogawa aims to become one of the top three suppliers in the global communications and measurement market by 2008, and will accomplish this by expediting the development of products that reflect market trends and user needs.

* Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
A 3G mobile phone communication service capable of high-speed data transmission. This service is popular mainly in Japan and Europe.

Development Background

As WCDMA mobile phones capable of exchanging high volumes of data at high speeds have become increasingly popular worldwide, mobile phone manufacturers are stepping up their production of handsets based on this technology. At the same time, the price of these phones continues to drop due to fierce price and service competition among mobile-phone service providers.

Traditionally, manufacturers have tested mobile phones using expensive testers that were designed for development purposes. In order to cope with continued decreases in mobile phone prices, there is currently a strong demand for mobile phone testers that cost less, are designed for use on production lines, and have higher testing throughputs.

Product Features

1. Dramatically Increased Measurement Speeds
The VC3300 features measurement speeds that are 50 times faster than Yokogawa’s conventional models. In addition, the time required to measure the parameters of a mobile phone’s RF block, including transmission power and frequency errors, has been reduced by approximately 0.2 seconds. These advances will help increase throughput in the production line inspection process.

2.Compact and Economical
The VC3300 has half the footprint of conventional multifunctional testers used on production lines and its price has been reduced to approximately one half that of conventional devices. This saves significant space on the production line and reduces inspection costs considerably.

3. Automatic Testing with the Main Unit Alone
By using a scenario file, users can register measurement data items for a mobile phone’s transmission, reception, and other blocks, as well as the measurement sequence. This eliminates the need for a personal computer to set up and control a tester, and automates the mobile phone testing process. The VC3300 thus reduces costs by simplifying the equipment required for the inspection process. Dedicated free-of-charge software for the registration of measurement data is scheduled to be distributed in May.

Major Target Markets

Mobile-phone service providers and mobile phone manufacturers

Applications

Point-of-production inspection and point-of-repair tuning/testing of mobile phones

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