MSL Circuits

The French company MSL Circuits is a specialist electronics manufacturer working within the automotive, energy management and medical sectors.

Learn how LabSat provided an end-of-line testing solution allowing the company to easily test over 20,000 GNSS devices a month from their production line in the Loire Valley.

The Problem

More and more manufacturers are now using record and replay technology to test GNSS applications.

The following offers an insight into the experience of how French electronics firm MSL Circuits are using LabSat devices to test high volumes of their Eco-Tax navigation devices as they emerge off the production line where each device integrates GPS, GSM and DSRC technology.

The challenge for MSL Circuits engineers was to find a test regime that was effective yet quick enough to cope with the production of 20,000 devices a month.

The Solution

Cyril Parrot, MSL Circuits Test Engineer, said: "To ensure the correct operation of each device we wanted to simulate a GPS signal from a single satellite. The challenge was in playing exactly the same signal for every single product to ensure consistency."

"When we searched the internet we found some products which could carry out these tests but they were all too expensive and complex," Parrot explained. "When we found the LabSat system we saw it could do everything we required at a better price."

"The radio frequency (RF) tests are completed using an RF chamber to avoid external noise, while the LabSat is securely integrated within a semi-automatic tester to ensure accurate tests are carried out as quickly as possible."

He added, "LabSat allows us to consistently replay the same test scenario over and over again in order to provide our customers with reliable products. The tests are done using both an internal product antenna and an external antenna in conductive mode to ensure the Eco-Tax devices are tested to the highest levels."