Chat Live
Contact Us
sales@valuetronics.com
The DS3 Interface Module is a plug-in module that extends a host FIREBERD 6000 or FIREBERD 4000 communications analyzer with native DS3 (44.736 Mbit/s, T3) test capability. It provides DS3 transmit and receive interfaces, framing logic, pattern generation and detection, error insertion, and alarm monitoring — turning a FIREBERD analyzer into a complete DS3 bit error rate test set for North American digital hierarchy line and equipment testing.
DS3 is the 44.736 Mbit/s level of the North American Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy, historically carried over coaxial DSX-3 cross-connects in central offices and long-haul transmission systems and used to aggregate twenty-eight DS1 (1.544 Mbit/s) tributaries. Engineers and technicians install the DS3 Interface Module in a FIREBERD chassis to verify DS3 line cards, multiplexers, M13 and C-Bit framers, microwave radios, fiber terminals, and DSX patch panels, and to commission or troubleshoot DS3 spans by injecting known patterns and counting received errors at the far end or via loopback.
ValueTronics International has specialized in test and measurement equipment since 1992, and our 20,000 sq ft secure warehouse at 1675 Cambridge Drive in Elgin, Illinois is where each instrument is received, inspected, and verified before it ships. Legacy DS3 test gear like this module is exactly the kind of equipment that benefits from a knowledgeable second-source supplier — the modules are no longer manufactured, the host analyzers remain in active service in carrier and defense network test labs, and finding a working unit with the right interface and framing options often comes down to inventory depth and condition documentation rather than a catalog page.
The FIREBERD product line — including the 6000 and 4000 hosts that accept this DS3 Interface Module — originated with TTC (Telecommunications Techniques Corporation), which became part of Dynatech Communications, then Acterna Corporation in 2000, then JDSU after Acterna was acquired in 2005, and finally Viavi Solutions after JDSU split its test and measurement business in 2015. Modules and analyzers bearing TTC, Dynatech, Acterna, or JDSU branding all trace through this same lineage.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Framing Modes | |
| Framing | T3 unframed; T3 framed (M13 or C-Bit) |
| Operating Modes | |
| Modes | Normal; Test loopback |
| DS3 Input | |
| Input Connector | WECO 560A jack |
| Input Frequency | 44.736 MHz ± 100 ppm |
| Input Impedance | 75 ohms nominal, unbalanced to ground |
| Operating Range (HIGH Level) | +6 dB to -26 dB of flat loss from nominal high level |
| Operating Range (DSX Level) | +6 dB to -26 dB of flat loss from nominal DSX level |
| DS3 Output | |
| Output Connector | WECO 560A jack |
| Output Frequency | 44.736 MHz ± 10 ppm |
| Output Impedance | 75 ohms nominal, unbalanced to ground |
| Output Pulse (HIGH Level) | Rectangular pulse |
| Amplitude | 0.91 peak ± 0.11 volt peak |
| Width (at 1/2 amplitude) | 11.2 ns ± 1.1 ns |
| Rise/Fall Times (10%-90% amplitude) | 4.5 ns ± 1.5 ns, overshoot -10% pulse amplitude |
| DSX Level | Per CB119, Table 8 CCITT G.703 |
| Line Code | B3ZS |
| Error Insertion | |
| Logic Errors | Single insertion or insertion at specified rate |
| BPVs | Single insertion or insertion at specified rate |
| Logic and BPVs | Single or rate |
| Frame | Single insertion of 1-15 consecutive frame errors |
| Error Insertion Rates | FIREBERD 6000 = 1E-5 to 1E-9; FIREBERD 4000 = 1E-6 |
| Indicators | |
| Frame Sync | DS3 frame synchronization achieved |
| Code | Idle signal received |
| ALM1 | Yellow alarm received |
| ALM2 | Blue signal received |
| Alarm Criteria | |
| Yellow Alarm | Detects a far-end out-of-frame condition (i.e., framing is lost) (X1 and X2 bits set to zero) |
| Blue Alarm (AIS) | “Keep alive” pattern detects complete system failure (C-bits=0 and 1000 bits of 1010 pattern) |
| Signal Loss | |
| Signal Loss | 0.02 ms without valid input pulses |
| Patterns | |
| Fixed | 1111, 1100, 1010, and 3- to 24-bit programmable |
| Pseudorandom | 2^15-1, 2^20-1, and 2^23-1 |
| Pattern Synchronization Criteria | |
| Fixed Patterns | 64 consecutive error-free bits |
| Pseudorandom Patterns | 60 + n consecutive error-free bits for length 2^n-1 |
| Pattern Synchronization Loss Criteria | |
| Loss | 1,024 errors per 32,767 bits |
| Frame Synchronization Criteria | |
| Sync | 15 consecutive error-free F bits and two consecutive error-free M0-M1-M0 sequences |
| Frame Synchronization Loss Criteria | |
| Fast (selectable) | 3 of 15 F-bits in error, or two of three M0-M1-M0 sequences in error |
| Slow (selectable) | 6 of 15 F-bits in error |
Please review the Manufacturer's Data Sheet to verify published specifications. Feedback on this webpage is always welcome — please reach out to your Test Architect at any time for questions or concerns. Thank you, we truly appreciate you being our customer.
Model No
TTC
Condition
New
Manufacturer
Instek
30+ Years in Business
Secure Payments
Sell Test Equipments
Knowledgeable Staff
On-site Lab
30+ Years in Business
Secure Payments
Sell Test Equipments
Knowledgeable Staff
On-site Lab
Request A Quote
