Astronics Introduces Next-Gen Land Mobile Radio Service Monitor

Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ: ATRO), a provider of advanced technologies for the global aerospace, defense, and other mission critical industries, announced the Freedom R8200 Communications System Analyzer, a next-generation land mobile radio (LMR) test instrument for public safety, maritime, commercial, and critical infrastructure communications systems. The new service monitor is the first test instrument that combines comprehensive digital and analog LMR testing with the ability to measure important RF network characteristics, such as distance to fault (DTF), return loss, and voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR).

Featuring a vector network analyzer (VNA), the Freedom R8200 enables users to return communications assets to the field faster by reducing set-up time associated with multiple, stand-alone instruments when performing subscriber radio and infrastructure testing.

“As radio technology continues to evolve, our goal is to provide maintainers with the right tools to ensure optimal performance of critical communications systems,” said Jim Mulato, President of Astronics Test Systems. “Building on our Freedom legacy of LMR test equipment, we are pleased to offer this high-impact product designed to increase operational efficiency.”

The new FREEDOM R8200 includes several standard new features, plus a Process Automation Toolkit (PAT), which enables technicians at any level of expertise to compose automated test scripts. Additionally, the remote front panel allows users to monitor and control the analyzer from any networked PC and the extended generate output range simplifies operation by eliminating the need to switch ports for receiver testing.