ARGUS 125 Premium ISDN Tester:
The new multi-talent for convenient measurement of E1/2Mbit lines and all ISDN interfaces

Lüdenscheid, July 2007. PRI accesses and E1/2Mbit lines still play an important role in the telecommunications infrastructure, in particular in that of companies and public authorities. With the new ARGUS 125, intec GmbH addresses this requirement by introducing a premium tester that will substantially ease the day-to-day work of service technicians and engineers in the commissioning, maintenance and networking of PBXs. It also has test routines for both E1/2Mbit and PRI accesses and, on PRI accesses, also supports monitoring of the D-channel. In addition it has all of the functions required for the installation and service of BRI and U-interface accesses as well as those necessary for POTS accesses. Convenient operation is ensured by the large graphic display that is used to present the measurement results and its good-sized (16 Megabyte) internal Flash memory. Thanks to the large Flash memory, it is possible to record and store the monitoring data even if the ARGUS is not attached to a PC. An additional feature of this new ARGUS is a USB interface which supports the fast transfer of data between the tester and PC. Its excellent audio circuitry makes it easy to assess the quality of the voice connection in either handset or headset operation.
In addition to its new premium ISDN tester, intec has also developed one with an extended set of features; the ARGUS 126. The ARGUS 126 adds – to those of the ARGUS 125 – the following features: its own X.21 interface, an Ethernet option as well as an x 64 kBit-BERT. In the case of the x 64 kBit-BERT on an E1/2Mbit access, bit error tests can be performed on individual or multiple 64 kBit time slices simultaneously.

A broad selection of interfaces and measurement routines
The ARGUS 125 supports the testing of E1/2Mbit, PRI, BRI, U-interface and POTS accesses. Its spectrum of features begins with automatic access tests, service checks and supplementary services tests, and continues with support for physical measurements with evaluations, and bit error measurements on BRI and U-interface accesses. Furthermore, the ARGUS 125 supports TE/NT simulation on BRI and PRI accesses, TE simulation on POTS and U-interfaces as well as convenient monitoring of the D-channel on BRI and PRI accesses. As an option, a V5.x monitor is available; this can be used to record the V5.1 or V5.2 protocol, which can then be decoded in detail with the WINanalyse software. Additionally, when used together with the analysis software, the ARGUS 125 can also serve as a passive monitor on BRI accesses and record all of the D-channel data and – with convenient filter and search functions – decode it as clear text on the PC. The ARGUS 125 can also test digital leased lines (permanent circuits) and includes support for a bit error test on the D-channel.
An optional MegaBERT is available for the ARGUS 125. This option extends the bandwidth of the bit error rate test to a full 2 Mbit/s – either on all 32 time slots (2Mbit unframed) or with 1984 kbit/s on time slots 1 to 31 (2Mbit framed). On PRI accesses, the bit error rate test can be performed with a remote loopbox or as an end-to-end measurement with another tester at the remote end.

intec GmbH
intec GmbH has been engaged in the development of ISDN products for more than eighteen years. Since 1998, intec has specialized in the development and production of ISDN test equipment. It expanded in the last four years to include ADSL measurement equipment. The common thread over all these years has been equipment clearly designed to support users in their day-to-day work. ARGUS testers and analyzers are not only used by many German network operators such as Arcor, Deutsche Telekom, ISIS in Düsseldorf and HanseNet in Hamburg, but also worldwide – for example by Telefonica (the largest Spanish network operator) and Telecom Austria.