Computer controlled radio tester and method

摘要

A tester (10) for multiple types of radios (34) has a first group of generic test elements (14) common to all types of radios to be tested and second groups of test elements (12) specific to each one of the multiple types of radios (34). Each of the second groups of test elements (12) is mounted within a pluggable module (12) for insertion into the tester (10) where it couples to a common bus (16) accessed by all of the other test elements (12, 14) and by the controlling computer (18). Each pluggable module (12) contains a specific identifier which, when accessed (284) by the controlling computer (18) initiates a stored program (288) which causes the computer (18), via the bus (16), to couple the various test elements (12, 14) into a configuration required to test the radio type (34) associated with that identifier. The tester (10) is very compact and conveniently uses a lap top computer (18) as the controlling element.