RTX 2254 User manual

User Manual V1.10 RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester 1
RTX2254
Bluetooth RF Tester
Stand-alone Unit
User Manual
Version: 1.10
MVC 2018.08.07

User Manual V1.10 RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester 2
General
Information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. RTX A/S
makes no warranty of any kind regarding to this material, including, but not limited to,
the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
RTX A/S shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential
damages in connection with the furnishings, performance, or use of this material.
Warranty
This instrument is warranted against defects in material and workmanship for a period of
one year from date of shipment. During the warranty period, RTX A/S will at its option,
either repair or replace products, which prove to be defective. For warranty service or
repair, this product must be returned to a service facility designated by RTX A/S. The
Buyer shall prepay shipping charges to RTX A/S and RTX A/S shall pay shipping charges,
duties, and taxes for products returned to RTX A/S from another country.
RTX A/S warrants that its software and firmware designated by RTX A/S for use with an
instrument will execute its programming instructions when properly installed on that
instrument.
RTX A/S does not warrant that the operation of the instrument or firmware will be
uninterrupted or error-free.
Limitation of Warranty
The foregoing warranty shall not apply to defects resulting from improper or inadequate
maintenance by Buyer, Buyer-supplied software or interfacing, unauthorized modification
or misuse, operation outside of the environmental specifications for the product, or
improper site preparation or maintenance.
NO OTHER WARRANTY IS EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.
RTX A/S SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

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General information
This document and the information contained herein, is property of RTX A/S, Denmark.
Unauthorized copying is not allowed. The information in this document is believed to be
correct at the time of writing. RTX A/S reserves the right at any time to change said
content, circuitry and specifications.
The general safety precautions, according to the RTX2254 User Manual, must be
observed during all phases of operation. RTX A/S assumes no liability for the user’s/
customer’s failure to comply with these requirements.
The purpose of the document is to provide guidance to users of the RTX2254 Bluetooth
RF Test. The User Manual describes general functions of the tester and describes the use
of the Windows® based interface, as well as interfacing with a production application
program.
For further information about programming of the RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester, please
refer to the “Quick Guide” document
Documentation Information
This User Manual contains essential items of information needed for general-purpose use
of the test equipment along with a detailed description for high throughput production
purposes.
In this document, you will find valuable information on how to unpack, install and
operate your RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester using the supplied PC application or a test
program using the available programming API.
The User Manual provides programming guidance to users of the RTX2254 Bluetooth RF
tester who would like to write their own test programs.
Furthermore, you also find information on how to use the provided RTX2254 DLL file in a
sample application to show with a few examples on how to use the DLL function calls in
your source code are outlined.
However, please note that the examples and code fragments are included for
informational reasons only and should only be used as a guidance to ease test program
development. It is therefore strongly emphasized here that RTX A/S takes no
responsibility for debugging and verification of the actual test program developed by the
user/customer.

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Safety Information
General
The following general safety precautions must be observed during all phases of operation
and service of this instrument. Failure to comply with these precautions or with specific
warnings elsewhere in this manual violates safety standards of design, manufacture, and
intended use of the instrument. RTX A/S assumes no liability for the customer’s failure to
comply with these requirements.
DO NOT operate the product in an explosive atmosphere or in the pre-
sence of flammable gasses or fumes.
DO NOT use repaired fuses or short-circuited fuse holders: For
continued protection against fire, replace the line fuse(s) only with
fuse(s) of the same voltage and current rating and type.
DO NOT perform procedures involving cover or shield removal unless
you are qualified to do so –it is therefore strongly emphasized here
that operating personnel must not remove equipment covers or
shields. Procedures involving the removal of covers and shields are for
use by service-trained personnel at RTX A/S only.
Electrostatic Discharge
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage electronic test equipment. Working with
electronic components or test equipment should always be performed at a static-safe
place.
High Voltage
Some power supplies can generate high voltage, which can damage any of the ports of
the unit.
To prevent damage to the RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester please make sure that the device
is properly earthed. Connect the RF cable path before applying DC power to the test
device. Be careful when connecting RF connectors, i.e. avoid touching any unearthed
metal with the centre core.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1INTRODUCTION 8
2WORD AND ABBREVIATION LIST 9
3START THE APPLICATION 10
4TAB MENU OVERVIEW 11
5MAIN TAB 12
5.1 Setup 14
5.1.1 Measure Mode 15
5.1.2 PER Test - Packet Parameters 15
5.1.2.1 Number of Packets 15
5.1.2.2 Payload Length 15
5.1.2.3 Packet Type 15
5.1.2.4 Power Level 16
5.1.3 Select RF Physical Channels 16
5.1.4 Open Interface 16
5.1.5 DUT Port Selection 17
5.1.5.1 RF Select 17
5.1.5.2 Interface Select 17
5.1.6 Settings 17
5.1.7 Select Tests to Run 17
5.1.8 Test Run 18
5.1.8.1 Start / Stop 18
5.1.8.2 Loop Test Numbers 18
5.1.8.3 Test Delay 18
5.1.9 Test Status 19
5.1.9.1 Current Channel 19
5.1.9.2 Cable Loss 19
5.1.9.3 Test Completed 19
5.1.9.4 Test Limit Errors 19
5.1.9.5 Time Out Errors 19
5.1.9.6 Channel Test Time 19
5.1.9.7 Total Test Time 20
6DUT TAB 21
6.1 DUT RF Setup 22
6.1.1 Tx –Mode 22
6.1.1.1 Channel 22
6.1.1.2 Payload Length 22
6.1.1.3 Packet Type 22
6.1.2 Rx - Mode 23
6.1.2.1 Channel 23
6.1.2.2 Received Packets 23
6.2 DUT Port Selection 24
6.2.1.1 RF Select 24
6.2.1.2 Interface Select 24
6.3 DUT Status 24
6.3.1 Reset RF Mode 24
6.3.2 Reset DUT 24
6.4 Start Tx Burst Mode 25
6.5 Start Rx Burst Mode 26

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7TESTER TAB 28
7.1 Tester Setup –Burst Mode 29
7.1.1 Tx –Mode 29
7.1.1.1 Channel 29
7.1.1.2 Power Level 30
7.1.1.3 Payload Length 30
7.1.1.4 Packet Type 30
7.1.1.5 Number of Packets 30
7.1.1.6 Packets Sent 30
7.1.2 Rx - Mode 31
7.1.2.1 Channel 31
7.1.2.2 Received Packets 31
7.2 Tester Setup –Continuous Wave 32
7.2.1 Tx –Mode 32
7.2.1.1 Channel 32
7.2.1.2 Tx –Set Attenuation 33
7.3 Tester RF Input Power 34
7.4 Tester Analyzer Mode 35
7.5 Tester Status 36
7.5.1 Reset RF Mode 36
7.5.2 Reset Tester 36
7.5.3 Reset Ana+Gen 36
7.6 Start Tx Burst Mode 37
7.7 Start Rx Burst Mode 38
8SYSTEM TAB 40
8.1 System Status 40
8.2 Manufacture Info 40
8.3 Internal Temperature 41
8.4 Firmware Update 42
8.5 Manual Firmware Update 43
8.5.1 Tester Firmware 43
8.5.2 Analyzer Firmware 43
9MEASURE LOGS TAB 44
10 SETTINGS TAB 46
10.1 Tester Interface 47
10.2 DUT interface 48
11 CONFIGURATION TAB 49
11.1 Test Result Limits 50
11.2 DUT Configuration 50
12 HOW TO SETUP AUTOMATED TESTING 51
12.1 DUT Test Limits 51
12.2 DUT Test Setup 52
12.3 Starting the DUT Test 53
12.3.1 DUT - Within Test Limits 54
12.3.2 DUT –Outside of the Test Limits 55

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13 HOW TO SETUP MANUAL TESTING 56
13.1 DUT Tab 56
13.1.1 For example, “Test DUT Tx power” 56
13.2 Tester Tab 57
13.2.1 For example, “Test DUT Tx power” 57
14 HARDWARE DESCRIPTION 58
14.1 Test Interfaces 58
14.1.1 DUT RF Inputs 59
14.1.2 DUT Communication Interfaces 59
14.1.2.1 UART0 and UART1 Connector Pinout 59
14.1.2.2 2-Wire 60
14.1.2.3 USB0 and USB1 Connector Pinout 60
14.2 Test Protocols 60
15 TEST LIMITATIONS 61
15.1 TX power 61
15.2 Frequency Offset 61
15.3 PER Test 62
16 DEMO APPLICATION 63
16.1 Settings 63
16.2 Running the Demo Application 64
17 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 66

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1Introduction
The RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester is a highly-optimized, automated test solution for
calibration and functional test in the production of wireless Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
devices.
This User Manual will describe the different features and options which are available with
the RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester stand-alone unit, the configuration and some test
scenarios using the RTX2254 application.
The RTX2254 application uses the available API, i.e. it can be integrated into other test
systems which can interface to Visual Studio C++ API’s (standard DLL and header files).
The RTX2254 and RTX2300 BLE bundle API is described in the “BtTstInterface_V<version
number>.pdf” document.
RTX2254 with DUT on USB
Note that
RTX2254 is available as a single ported tester for one DUT (RTX no. 95101347) or as a
dual ported tester for two DUTs (RTX no. 95101348).
Please follow the instructions in the “RTX2254 Quick Installation Guide” on
how to install the RTX2254 software and setup your RTX2254 tester.

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2Word and Abbreviation List
The following words and abbreviations are used in this document:
▪2-Wire Bluetooth SIG specified test protocol where only Tx, Rx and GND is
used and 16-bit commands and events
▪API Application programming interface
▪BER Bit Error Rate
▪BLE Bluetooth low energy
▪BT Bluetooth
▪BTLE Bluetooth low energy
▪COM Serial communication port referred to by a number
▪CW Continuous Waveform
▪DLL Dynamic Link Library
▪Driver SW that interfaces to a HW unit
▪DTM Direct Test Mode, see Bluetooth test specification
▪DUT Device Under Test
▪EAI Enterprise Application Integration
▪ESD Electro-Static Discharge
▪GND Ground
▪GUI Graphical User Interface
▪HCI Host Controller Interface
▪HW Hardware
▪ID Identification
▪IRR Inquiry response rate
▪ISM Industrial Scientific and Medical
▪LL Link Layer
▪LQ Link Quality
▪MAC Media access control
▪PC Personal Computer
▪PDU Protocol data unit
▪PER Packet Error Rate
▪Pop-Up A smaller frame shown in windows
▪PPM Part Per Million
▪RF Radio frequency
▪RS232 Serial port with +-12V signaling
▪RSS Received Signal Strength
▪RSSI Received signal strength indicator
▪RTX2300 Test system with shielding, fixture and test HW
▪Rx Receive
▪SIG Special interest group for BT
▪SW Software (Programs)
▪TI Texas Instruments –Chip manufacturer
▪Tx Transmission
▪UART Serial port with logic level signaling (0-5V)
▪USB Universal Serial Bus

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3Start the Application
After following the RTX2254 Quick Guide, you are now ready to start.
Make sure that the RTX2254 RF Bluetooth Tester is connected to your PC with the USB
cable and power is on.
You can start the “RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester” application by pressing the Windows
start button and selecting:
“Start →All programs →RTX →RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester →V<version
number> →RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester”.
Or by clicking on the short cut on the desk top if the ‘Short cut’ option was enabled
during installation.
Start-up screen:

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4Tab Menu Overview
The RTX2254 Bluetooth RF tester application has the following tab menus with different
pages to setup and control the tester:
▪[Main] Different production tests which can be performed:
▪Frequency Offset measurement
▪Output Power measurement
▪Packet Error Test (PER)
▪[DUT] Manual control of DUT part
▪[Tester] Manual control of tester part
▪[System] Information about the tester, e.g. firmware version
▪[Measure logs] Log for the tests performed under the [Main] page
▪[Settings] System setup, e.g. tester and DUT interface
▪[Configuration] System configuration of tester limits and DUT setup
compensations
First startup with default settings:
Please note that:
The window can be resized or maximized depending on your screen resolution.
At startup, the application will be resized to the size selected when the application was
terminated.

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5Main Tab
On the [Main] page, you can perform the different tests with the settings suited for your
DUT and your requirements:
▪Frequency Offset Measurement Measures the channel frequency offset.
This can be done on burst or CW signals.
▪Output Power Measurement Measures the DUT output power.
▪Packet Error Test (PER) Performs a packet error rate test on the DUT.
Status & error messages are shown here
Interface status with DUT address
–all must be green

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The [Main] page is divided into the following sub sections:
▪[Setup] Setup of parameters to use in the test.
Set the parameters suited for your test and click
save.
▪[Select Tests to Run] Enable the test measurements to perform.
Check a test box to enable it.
▪[Test Run] Start/stop the test.
▪[Test Status] Status information for the test run.
▪[Start test] The overall status of the last test run.
Please note that:
Window is resized to the previous stored setting and the RTX2254 tester and DUT are
connected and with default test parameters.

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5.1 Setup
On the [Main] page, you can setup the following parameters to use during the test:
Overview:
▪[Measure Mode] Select signal type to use: [Burst] or [CW]
(Continues Wave). Default is [Burst].
▪[PER Test –Packet Parameters] The parameters to use when running the PER
test. See more details below.
▪[Select RF Physical Channels] Enable up to 3 channels (RF1, RF2 and RF3).
Select the channels to use for testing.
▪[Open Interface] Check [DUT] box to open the DUT interface.
If checked it will automatically open on next
startup.
▪[DUT Port Selection] Select the RF port and communication port to
use with the DUT.
▪[Settings] Click [Save] button to store the settings.

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5.1.1 Measure Mode
Select signal type to use [Burst] or [CW](Continues Wave).
Please note that:
CW is chip vendor/customer specific and must be implemented by customer in the DUT
API.
5.1.2 PER Test - Packet Parameters
The following BLE packets parameters are supported by the RTX2254 Bluetooth RF
tester:
5.1.2.1 Number of Packets
[No. of Packets], the enter number of packets to send. Valid range between 0-65535.
5.1.2.2 Payload Length
[Payload Length], enter the number of bytes to send as payload in each packet. Valid
range between 0-37.
5.1.2.3 Packet Type
[Packet Type], select one of the following BLE packets types, defined by Bluetooth SIG,
to use.
Supported for HCI:
0x00 Pseudo-Random bit sequence 9 (PRBS9)
0x01 Pattern of alternating bits '11110000'
0x02 Pattern of alternating bits '10101010'
0x03 Pseudo-Random bit sequence 15
0x04 Pattern of All '1' bits
0x05 Pattern of All '0' bits
0x06 Pattern of alternating bits '00001111'
0x07 Pattern of alternating bits '0101'
Supported for 2-Wire:
0x00 Pseudo-Random bit sequence 9 (PRBS9)
0x01 Pattern of alternating bits '11110000'
0x02 Pattern of alternating bits '10101010'
0x03 Vendor Specific

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5.1.2.4 Power Level
[Power Level], the power level used by the RTX2254 tester when transmitting the
packets. Valid range between -40 to -100 dBm.
5.1.3 Select RF Physical Channels
[Select RF Physical Channels], select the RF channel to use with test loop 1, 2 and 3,
e.g. 0, 19 and 39.
Check the [RF Channel x] box to enable it in the test loop.
The following 40 RF channels for BLE is supported:
RF
Channel
Frequency
RF
Channel
Frequency
0
2402 MHz
20
2442 MHz
1
2404 MHz
21
2444 MHz
2
2406 MHz
22
2446 MHz
3
2408 MHz
23
2448 MHz
4
2410 MHz
24
2450 MHz
5
2412 MHz
25
2452 MHz
6
2414 MHz
26
2454 MHz
7
2416 MHz
27
2456 MHz
8
2418 MHz
28
2458 MHz
9
2420 MHz
29
2460 MHz
10
2422 MHz
30
2462 MHz
11
2424 MHz
31
2464 MHz
12
2426 MHz
32
2466 MHz
13
2428 MHz
33
2468 MHz
14
2430 MHz
34
2470 MHz
15
2432 MHz
35
2472 MHz
16
2434 MHz
36
2474 MHz
17
2436 MHz
37
2476 MHz
18
2438 MHz
38
2478 MHz
19
2440 MHz
39
2480 MHz
Please note that:
The channel number refers to the physical frequency and not the link layer (LL) channel.
5.1.4 Open Interface
[Open Interface], check [DUT] box to open the DUT interface if not already opened
manually. If checked and saved, the DUT interface will be automatically opened when
you go to the [Main] page. It can also be used to temporarily close the DUT interface by
removed in the check in the [DUT] box.
Click [Reset DUT] to send a reset command to the DUT.

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5.1.5 DUT Port Selection
Select the RF port and communication port to use with the DUT.
5.1.5.1 RF Select
Select the RF port to use:
▪[DUT0 RF Select]
▪[DUT1 RF Select] (Dual port only)
5.1.5.2 Interface Select
Select the communication port to use:
▪[DUT0 UART]
▪[DUT1 UART] (Dual port only)
▪[DUT0 USB]
▪[DUT1 USB] (Dual port only)
Click [Select], when you have selected the RF port and communication port to use.
Please note that:
RTX2254 is available as a single ported tester for one DUT (RTX no. 95101347) or as a
dual ported tester for two DUTs (RTX no. 95101348).
5.1.6 Settings
Click [Save] button to store the settings entered.
5.1.7 Select Tests to Run
[Select Tests to Run], enable the test measurements to perform:
1) DUT Frequency Offset Measures the frequency offset on selected
channels.
2) DUT Tx Output Power Measures the Tx output power on selected
channels.
3) PER –Packet Error Rate Performs a packet error rate test on selected
channels.
Check a test box to enable it in the test run.

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5.1.8 Test Run
Here you can specify how many test loops you want to run and if a delay is required
between the test loops.
Step 1 -> Step 2 -> Step 3
5.1.8.1 Start / Stop
Step 1:
▪[Start] Click [Start] to start the test.
▪[Stop] No function –no test is running.
Step 2:
▪[Running] No function –test is already running.
▪[Pause] Click [Pause] to temporary pause the
running test.
Step 3:
▪[Continue] Click [Continue] to continue a paused test.
▪[Stop] Click [Stop] to stop the test.
5.1.8.2 Loop Test Numbers
[Loop Test No.], enter how many test loops to run on DUT.
5.1.8.3 Test Delay
Set [Test Delay] to add a short delay between each channel test. Delay is in ms.
Valid range is 0 to 30.000 ms.
Remember to setup the DUT testing requirements (limits). Refer to chapter 11
Configuration.

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5.1.9 Test Status
The [Test Status] sub section is updated during the test run:
5.1.9.1 Current Channel
[Current Channel], shows the current channel tested as the physical channel number
and the frequency in MHz.
5.1.9.2 Cable Loss
[Cable Loss], shows the current added cable loss. Refer to chapter 11 Configuration.
5.1.9.3 Test Completed
[Test Completed], shows the number of test loops completed including any faulty test
loops.
5.1.9.4 Test Limit Errors
[Test Limit Errors], shows the number of test results outside the test limits set by
user. Refer to chapter 11 Configuration.
Status error count for:
▪[Offset] DUT Frequency Offset
▪[Tx Pwr] DUT Tx Output Power
▪[PER] Packet Error Rate
5.1.9.5 Time Out Errors
[Time Out Errors], shows the number of test loops which failed due to time out in the
communication to tester or DUT.
5.1.9.6 Channel Test Time
[Ch. Test Time], the test time for one RF Channel:
▪[Last] Time for last finished channel test
▪[Avg.] The average channel test time for all completed test loops.

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5.1.9.7 Total Test Time
[Total Test Time], the total time running the specified test loops.
This include any user added [Test Delay] time.