The PAR Meter: Applications in Telecommunications Systems

A time-domain measuring technique utilizing the peak-to-average ratio (PAR) of a received pulse, in conjunction with a few other simple transmission measurements, serves to provide a fast quality check on channels for data communications. Facility makeup of the circuit must be known, since the PAR meter is designed to be especially responsive to envelope delay distortion. This raises potential continuing administrative problems and facility-trunk coordination of changes in makeup caused by high frequency rolls, etc. Troubleshooting via the PAR meter for both switched message network and private line circuits are discussed.