Bit Error Rate Measurements in Reverberation Chambers Using Real-Time Vector Receivers

We discuss practical measurement implementation methods when using laboratory-grade vector instrumentation to measure bit error rate (BER) in the highly reflective, time-variant environment of a reverberation chamber. These methods include synchronizing the transmitted and received signals in spite of time-varying path lengths created in the reverberation chamber and minimizing potential receiver loss of lock after a long-duration fade by use of a simple error-correction scheme. Use of general laboratory instrumentation, rather than application-specific digital receivers, facilitates study of the multipath channel created in the reverberation chamber on BER.