PATRIOT VOICE LINK OVERVIEW OF TESTING-continued

TM 11-6625-3056-12

2-6.

PATRIOT VOICE LINK OVERVIEW OF TESTING (cont)

Errors

Errors fall into three general categories:

Random: Errors

that occur

infrequently and

at random

intervals.

Random errors usually are caused by events external to the equipment such as power-line

transients, shock, or vibration. In some cases they may be due to poor connections in or to the

equipment.

Burst: Errors that occur in

groups.

Burst errors usually are caused by events external to the equipment such as sunspots or over-

flying aircraft.

Continuous: Errors that occur

continuously.

Continuous errors usually are caused by equipment malfunctions including bad or missing

connections or improper antenna alignment.

Path

An acceptable path is indicated by a zero, or near-zero, count on the display Random errors

Quality

are indicated by a count that increases by only one or two at infrequent intervals.

A marginal path is indicated by a low count on the display. Burst errors are indicated by a count

that may change at a high rate one moment and not at all the next.

A defective path is indicated by a high count on the display. Continuous errors are indicated by a

count that increases rapidly and constantly.

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