12. Description of the individual tests

Existence of the individual test in your phone depends on:

• phone model: generally, never and more complicated models (with more functions and options) have more tests (for example, Nokia 9110 has more tests than 5110, 7110 more than 9110). There is one (only ?) exception: less complicated Nokia 5110 has bigger NetMonitor than 6110 (and that's why I think that this model is better, even though it doesn't have some functions).
• software version - usually the newer version, the more options it has (software can be upgraded in service and its version can be checked in most models with *#0000# code, in Nokia 6130 with *#9999# and in 3110 with *#3110#) - for instance in Nokia 5110 in Menu 10-89 bbbbbb parameter is shown only from firmware 5.07. Firmware upgrade has also additional advantage: newer versions don't contain some bugs (also in NetMonitor).
• who uploaded firmware to the phone: it is usually written in C (and then translated (compiled) to the code of phone's microprocessor). According to my own private theory existence (and running) of an individual tests depends on some constants set (or not) in the source code (programmers :-) surely understand, what I'm trying to write). The best example for this can be Menu 10-38: according to the some English documentation it doesn't exist in phones to be sold, because DEV_FT_MEMORY_DUMP_IN_USE constant in file ftd_conf.h (one of the firmware source code files) wasn't set before compiling. I think, that the same applies to the help screens - their presence doesn't depend on firmware version but on where the phone was purchased (where it comes from - where was its firmware uploaded). How to solve this problem? Unfortunatelly, you can only download firmware again (compiled from source with set constants).

  Aha, I'm also not quite sure, whether DSP tests (Menu 10-70, 10-73, 10-74, 10-76 (except for ab parameter), 10-77, 10-78 and 10-79) don't have to be enabled this way (or whether their existence (or not) depends on the network).

Help screens for tests are written with bold font, concrete (example) values in tests with italic (I put them there, where I didn't have more details about test).

• sample screenshoots from Nokia 2110i, 5110, 6110 and 9110 (of course, with NetMonitor) are on the www.yaws.dk/communicator/faq/miscellanous/mbus/ or www.fan.net.au/~mrvfone/vfone/techtop/ page. First of them contains NetMonitor manual for Nokia 9110 signed with my and Michal Jerz (http://n9k.ats.pl) name. Unfortunatelly, author of this site doesn't want to update it and I suggest rather to read this FAQ..

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Menu 10-1
Information about communication with cell

abbb ccc ddd  e ff g mmmm  nnn     ppp     oooo

CH RxL TxPwr TS TA RQ RLT  C1     C2     CHT

• a - contains H, if frequency hopping is enabled (otherwise empty). This information can also be found in Menu 10-11 and Menu 10-12.
• bbb - CH (channel): number of the channel used in communication with cell (decimal). If frequency hopping is enabled, this number changes when the display gets refreshed. This parameter determines frequencies used in communication with BTS:

  carrier (middle) frequency of the transmission channel (MHz)	GSM 900	GSM 1800
  transmission phone-BTS	890 + CH * 0,2	1710 + (CH - 511) * 0,2
  transmission BTS-phone	935 + CH * 0,2	1805 + (CH - 511) * 0,2

  and informs, whether phone use cell working in GSM 900 or 1800 MHz (I write more about channel numbers in Menu 10-17).

• ccc - RX: minus is not show if <=-100. This parameter affects following functions:

  • if all channels' signal is weaker than -110 dBm, the phone doesn't monitor channels.
  • if the phone loses signal of your home network, it tries to monitor next available networks and if you don't have access to them, you'll see a network presence symbol and no signal strength bars (but you can make emergency calls)
  • if some other network has a very strong signal (say -85 dBm) and your home network is very weak on that area (for example, -100 dBm), your phone can have big problems with logging into it (you will have to use Menu 10-17 to manually force the phone to use proper channel).
  • RXLev parameter value:

    RX (from)	RX (up to)	RXLev
    less than	-110 dBm	0
    -110 dBm	-109 dBm	1
    -109 dBm	-108 dBm	2
    ...	...	...
    -49 dBm	-48 dBm	62
    -48 dBm	morej	63

  • signal strength indicator value on the left side of the display (approximately):

    RX (from - to)	amount of bars
    from -105 to -100 dBm	0
    from -100 to -95 dBm	1
    from -95 to -90 dBm	2
    from -90 to -85 dBm	3
    more than -85 dBm	4

• ddd - TX: level of the transmitted signal (only during connection). If the phone's transmitter is active, there is an * (asterisk) before the value. The lower value, the higher power level (also the one received by your head!) and energy consumption.

  TX (GSM 900)	16		15		14		13		12		11		10		9
  TX (GSM 1800)		9		8		7		6		5		4		3		2
  dBm	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26
  Watts	0,012	0,016	0,02	0,025	0,032	0,04	0,05	0,063	0,079	0,1	0,125	0,158	0,2	0,251	0,316	0,398

  and continue...

  TX (GSM 900)	8		7		6		5		4		3		2-0
  TX (GSM 1800)		1		0		31		30		29
  dBm	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43
  Watts	0,501	0,631	0,794	1	1,26	1,58	2	2,51	3,16	3,98	5	6,31	8	10	12	15,8	20

  Watt = 10^(dBm/10)*0,001
  dBm = 10*log(Watt/0,001)

  There are following classes describing max phone transmission power:

  GSM 900	GSM 1800
  20 W (not in use) 8 W (car/mobile phone) 5 W (car/mobile phone) 2 W (hand phone) 0,8 (hand phone)	1 W (hand phone) 0,25 W (hand phone)

  Min. phone transmission power in GSM 900 is 0,02 W and in GSM 1800 is 0,0025 W (4 dBm).

  Max BTS power level can be found in their description.

• e - TS (Time Slot): each radio channel used in communication between phone and BTS is divided into 8 parts (called TS - time slots). If in all BTSes (available for your phone) all time slots are in use, you won't be able to make/receive a call and you'll get a 'Network busy' message (information about reason of connection failure is given among others in Menu 10-39). Unfortunately, each type of connection has the same priority in networks not supporting GSM Phase 2+ (it isn't available in older GSM Phases) - so if you want to dial emergency number 112 and the network is busy, no other call will be interrupted and you won't get connected. This problem can also be solved by adding more BTSes (for example in dual GSM 900/1800 MHz network) or by modifying current stations to allow the use of HR channels (FR and EFR transmission uses whole assigned time slot, while HR (defined in GSM Phase 2) only half of it). Max data transmission speed using one TS is 9.6 kbit/sec (or 14.4 kbit/sec, but only in some additional conditions). There are new systems allowing higher transmission speeds (for example GPRS (Generic Packet Radio Services) or HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data), but they achieve this using several time slots at the same time (which decreases network capacity). This TS indicator shows number of the used time slot (0..7 for FR (EFR) or 0..15 for HR).

• ff - TA (Timing Advance): BTS informs the phone, when it should start transmission (so that it reaches BTS in time). This information is shown by this indicator. It lets us calculate approximate distance between phone and BTS, which is a value between TA*550 m and (TA+1)*550 m (remember, that sometimes signal is refracted and distance evaluated with this parameter can be wrong). This parameter is updated during communication with network (sending/receiving SMSes, calling, requesting services), for example when using SDCC and TFR channels. It ranges from 0 to 63 (up to 35 km) with FR and EFR channels. HR channels offer theoretically (for example with a car antenna (higher transmitting power) and a flat terrain) twice this range (up to 70 km) and TA contains value up to 128 (English descriptions which I use don't say a word about it - so, it's possible, that for values bigger than 64 phone (?) decreases 64 from it and displays such value in this menu).

• g - RXQUAL_SUB (rate of transmission errors with DTX active (DTX state can be checked in Menu 10-12)): it determines, how many errors during connection have to be corrected by the phone for the call to be possible. Range 0 - 7 (0 - means no errors; more than 5 - connection may be interrupted). The higher it is, the worse quality you have...

  RQ value	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
  Max error amount	<0,2%	<0,4%	<0,8%	<1,6%	<3,2%	<6,4%	<12,8%	>12,8%

• mmmm - RLT (Radio Link Timeout): if it is negative, 0 is shown. Max value of this parameter is 64. If the phone uses a channel different than TCH or SDCC, xx is displayed

• nnn - C1 parameter

• ppp - C2 parameter. If network supports only GSM Phase 1, C1 value is displayed here.

• oooo - type of channel currently used by the phone (visit www.pins.co.uk/upages/stratfordc/ to find C programs containing algorithms used to encode different channels). With HR channels phone even show, if first or second part of TS is used (subchannel 0 or 1 is written):

  AGCH	(Access Grant Channel) - a channel used by BTS to inform the phone about what channel it should use (it is a BTS answer to RACH) - it assigns the phone to SDCCH
  BCCH	(Broadcast Control Channel) - a channel in direction BTS-phone, containing precise information about network (needed for identification and access) - for example how often the phone should inform network about its location (T3212 counter value - more detailed description in Menu 10-10) whether frequency hopping is supported by the network CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS parameter (see C2 parameter description) CELL_BARRED parameter (which informs, whether this cell is in test phase or is available for public use - but the phone can ignore this and use test cells too - see Menu 10-19)
  THR0	TCH HR subchannel 0
  THR1	TCH HR subchannel 1
  TFR	TCH FR
  TEFR	TCH EFR
  F144	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 14.4 kbit/sec.
  F96	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 9.6 kbit/sec.
  F72	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 7.2 kbit/sec.
  F48	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec.
  F24	TCH FR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec.
  H480	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 0
  H481	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 1
  H240	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 0
  H241	TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 1
  FA	TCH FR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel)
  FAH0	TCH HR -used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated ControlChannel), subchannel 0
  FAH1	TCH HR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel), subchannel 1
  SDCC	SDCCH (Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel) - used for system signalization of: establishing connection user verification Location Update executing assigning to TCH sending SMSes
  CCCH	(Common Control Channel ?) - used, when the phone is in standby mode (it doesn't transmit not receive data)
  CBCH	(Cell Broadcast Channel) - a channel in BTS-phone direction used for cell broadcast (for example in Nokia 5110 it can be enabled in Menu 2-5 and Menu 4-2-2, in Nokia 6110 in Menu 1-5 and Menu 4-4-2)
  CCHR	CCCH and CBCH joined in one
  SEAR	the phone is searching for network
  NSPS	(No Serve Power kbit/seE="Menu1">Menu 10-1 Information about communication with cell abbb ccc ddd  e ff g mmmm  nnn     ppp     oooo CH RxL TxPwr TS TA RQ RLT  C1     C2     CHT a - contains H, if frequency hopping is enabled (otherwise empty). This information can also be found in Menu 10-11 and Menu 10-12. bbb - CH (channel): number of the channel used in communication with cell (decimal). If frequency hopping is enabled, this number changes when the display gets refreshed. This parameter determines frequencies used in communication with BTS: carrier (middle) frequency of the transmission channel (MHz) GSM 900 GSM 1800 transmission phone-BTS 890 + CH * 0,2 1710 + (CH - 511) * 0,2 transmission BTS-phone 935 + CH * 0,2 1805 + (CH - 511) * 0,2 and informs, whether phone use cell working in GSM 900 or 1800 MHz (I write more about channel numbers in Menu 10-17). ccc - RX: minus is not show if <=-100. This parameter affects following functions: if all channels' signal is weaker than -110 dBm, the phone doesn't monitor channels. if the phone loses signal of your home network, it tries to monitor next available networks and if you don't have access to them, you'll see a network presence symbol and no signal strength bars (but you can make emergency calls) if some other network has a very strong signal (say -85 dBm) and your home network is very weak on that area (for example, -100 dBm), your phone can have big problems with logging into it (you will have to use Menu 10-17 to manually force the phone to use proper channel). RXLev parameter value: RX (from) RX (up to) RXLev less than -110 dBm 0 -110 dBm -109 dBm 1 -109 dBm -108 dBm 2 ... ... ... -49 dBm -48 dBm 62 -48 dBm morej 63 signal strength indicator value on the left side of the display (approximately): RX (from - to) amount of bars from -105 to -100 dBm 0 from -100 to -95 dBm 1 from -95 to -90 dBm 2 from -90 to -85 dBm 3 more than -85 dBm 4 ddd - TX: level of the transmitted signal (only during connection). If the phone's transmitter is active, there is an * (asterisk) before the value. The lower value, the higher power level (also the one received by your head!) and energy consumption. TX (GSM 900) 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 TX (GSM 1800) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 dBm 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Watts 0,012 0,016 0,02 0,025 0,032 0,04 0,05 0,063 0,079 0,1 0,125 0,158 0,2 0,251 0,316 0,398 and continue... TX (GSM 900) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2-0 TX (GSM 1800) 1 0 31 30 29 dBm 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Watts 0,501 0,631 0,794 1 1,26 1,58 2 2,51 3,16 3,98 5 6,31 8 10 12 15,8 20 Watt = 10(dBm/10)*0,001 dBm = 10*log(Watt/0,001) There are following classes describing max phone transmission power: GSM 900 GSM 1800 20 W (not in use) 8 W (car/mobile phone) 5 W (car/mobile phone) 2 W (hand phone) 0,8 (hand phone) 1 W (hand phone) 0,25 W (hand phone) Min. phone transmission power in GSM 900 is 0,02 W and in GSM 1800 is 0,0025 W (4 dBm). Max BTS power level can be found in their description. e - TS (Time Slot): each radio channel used in communication between phone and BTS is divided into 8 parts (called TS - time slots). If in all BTSes (available for your phone) all time slots are in use, you won't be able to make/receive a call and you'll get a 'Network busy' message (information about reason of connection failure is given among others in Menu 10-39). Unfortunately, each type of connection has the same priority in networks not supporting GSM Phase 2+ (it isn't available in older GSM Phases) - so if you want to dial emergency number 112 and the network is busy, no other call will be interrupted and you won't get connected. This problem can also be solved by adding more BTSes (for example in dual GSM 900/1800 MHz network) or by modifying current stations to allow the use of HR channels (FR and EFR transmission uses whole assigned time slot, while HR (defined in GSM Phase 2) only half of it). Max data transmission speed using one TS is 9.6 kbit/sec (or 14.4 kbit/sec, but only in some additional conditions). There are new systems allowing higher transmission speeds (for example GPRS (Generic Packet Radio Services) or HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data), but they achieve this using several time slots at the same time (which decreases network capacity). This TS indicator shows number of the used time slot (0..7 for FR (EFR) or 0..15 for HR). ff - TA (Timing Advance): BTS informs the phone, when it should start transmission (so that it reaches BTS in time). This information is shown by this indicator. It lets us calculate approximate distance between phone and BTS, which is a value between TA*550 m and (TA+1)*550 m (remember, that sometimes signal is refracted and distance evaluated with this parameter can be wrong). This parameter is updated during communication with network (sending/receiving SMSes, calling, requesting services), for example when using SDCC and TFR channels. It ranges from 0 to 63 (up to 35 km) with FR and EFR channels. HR channels offer theoretically (for example with a car antenna (higher transmitting power) and a flat terrain) twice this range (up to 70 km) and TA contains value up to 128 (English descriptions which I use don't say a word about it - so, it's possible, that for values bigger than 64 phone (?) decreases 64 from it and displays such value in this menu). g - RXQUAL_SUB (rate of transmission errors with DTX active (DTX state can be checked in Menu 10-12)): it determines, how many errors during connection have to be corrected by the phone for the call to be possible. Range 0 - 7 (0 - means no errors; more than 5 - connection may be interrupted). The higher it is, the worse quality you have... RQ value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Max error amount <0,2% <0,4% <0,8% <1,6% <3,2% <6,4% <12,8% >12,8% mmmm - RLT (Radio Link Timeout): if it is negative, 0 is shown. Max value of this parameter is 64. If the phone uses a channel different than TCH or SDCC, xx is displayed nnn - C1 parameter ppp - C2 parameter. If network supports only GSM Phase 1, C1 value is displayed here. oooo - type of channel currently used by the phone (visit www.pins.co.uk/upages/stratfordc/ to find C programs containing algorithms used to encode different channels). With HR channels phone even show, if first or second part of TS is used (subchannel 0 or 1 is written): AGCH (Access Grant Channel) - a channel used by BTS to inform the phone about what channel it should use (it is a BTS answer to RACH) - it assigns the phone to SDCCH BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) - a channel in direction BTS-phone, containing precise information about network (needed for identification and access) - for example how often the phone should inform network about its location (T3212 counter value - more detailed description in Menu 10-10) whether frequency hopping is supported by the network CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS parameter (see C2 parameter description) CELL_BARRED parameter (which informs, whether this cell is in test phase or is available for public use - but the phone can ignore this and use test cells too - see Menu 10-19) THR0 TCH HR subchannel 0 THR1 TCH HR subchannel 1 TFR TCH FR TEFR TCH EFR F144 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 14.4 kbit/sec. F96 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 9.6 kbit/sec. F72 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 7.2 kbit/sec. F48 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec. F24 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec. H480 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 0 H481 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 1 H240 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 0 H241 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 1 FA TCH FR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel) FAH0 TCH HR -used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated ControlChannel), subchannel 0 FAH1 TCH HR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel), subchannel 1 SDCC SDCCH (Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel) - used for system signalization of: establishing connection user verification Location Update executing assigning to TCH sending SMSes CCCH (Common Control Channel ?) - used, when the phone is in standby mode (it doesn't transmit not receive data) CBCH (Cell Broadcast Channel) - a channel in BTS-phone direction used for cell broadcast (for example in Nokia 5110 it can be enabled in Menu 2-5 and Menu 4-2-2, in Nokia 6110 in Menu 1-5 and Menu 4-4-2) CCHR CCCH and CBCH joined in one SEAR the phone is searching for network NSPS (No Serve Power kbit/seE="Menu1">Menu 10-1 Information about communication with cell abbb ccc ddd  e ff g mmmm  nnn     ppp     oooo CH RxL TxPwr TS TA RQ RLT  C1     C2     CHT a - contains H, if frequency hopping is enabled (otherwise empty). This information can also be found in Menu 10-11 and Menu 10-12. bbb - CH (channel): number of the channel used in communication with cell (decimal). If frequency hopping is enabled, this number changes when the display gets refreshed. This parameter determines frequencies used in communication with BTS: carrier (middle) frequency of the transmission channel (MHz) GSM 900 GSM 1800 transmission phone-BTS 890 + CH * 0,2 1710 + (CH - 511) * 0,2 transmission BTS-phone 935 + CH * 0,2 1805 + (CH - 511) * 0,2 and informs, whether phone use cell working in GSM 900 or 1800 MHz (I write more about channel numbers in Menu 10-17). ccc - RX: minus is not show if <=-100. This parameter affects following functions: if all channels' signal is weaker than -110 dBm, the phone doesn't monitor channels. if the phone loses signal of your home network, it tries to monitor next available networks and if you don't have access to them, you'll see a network presence symbol and no signal strength bars (but you can make emergency calls) if some other network has a very strong signal (say -85 dBm) and your home network is very weak on that area (for example, -100 dBm), your phone can have big problems with logging into it (you will have to use Menu 10-17 to manually force the phone to use proper channel). RXLev parameter value: RX (from) RX (up to) RXLev less than -110 dBm 0 -110 dBm -109 dBm 1 -109 dBm -108 dBm 2 ... ... ... -49 dBm -48 dBm 62 -48 dBm morej 63 signal strength indicator value on the left side of the display (approximately): RX (from - to) amount of bars from -105 to -100 dBm 0 from -100 to -95 dBm 1 from -95 to -90 dBm 2 from -90 to -85 dBm 3 more than -85 dBm 4 ddd - TX: level of the transmitted signal (only during connection). If the phone's transmitter is active, there is an * (asterisk) before the value. The lower value, the higher power level (also the one received by your head!) and energy consumption. TX (GSM 900) 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 TX (GSM 1800) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 dBm 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Watts 0,012 0,016 0,02 0,025 0,032 0,04 0,05 0,063 0,079 0,1 0,125 0,158 0,2 0,251 0,316 0,398 and continue... TX (GSM 900) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2-0 TX (GSM 1800) 1 0 31 30 29 dBm 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Watts 0,501 0,631 0,794 1 1,26 1,58 2 2,51 3,16 3,98 5 6,31 8 10 12 15,8 20 Watt = 10(dBm/10)*0,001 dBm = 10*log(Watt/0,001) There are following classes describing max phone transmission power: GSM 900 GSM 1800 20 W (not in use) 8 W (car/mobile phone) 5 W (car/mobile phone) 2 W (hand phone) 0,8 (hand phone) 1 W (hand phone) 0,25 W (hand phone) Min. phone transmission power in GSM 900 is 0,02 W and in GSM 1800 is 0,0025 W (4 dBm). Max BTS power level can be found in their description. e - TS (Time Slot): each radio channel used in communication between phone and BTS is divided into 8 parts (called TS - time slots). If in all BTSes (available for your phone) all time slots are in use, you won't be able to make/receive a call and you'll get a 'Network busy' message (information about reason of connection failure is given among others in Menu 10-39). Unfortunately, each type of connection has the same priority in networks not supporting GSM Phase 2+ (it isn't available in older GSM Phases) - so if you want to dial emergency number 112 and the network is busy, no other call will be interrupted and you won't get connected. This problem can also be solved by adding more BTSes (for example in dual GSM 900/1800 MHz network) or by modifying current stations to allow the use of HR channels (FR and EFR transmission uses whole assigned time slot, while HR (defined in GSM Phase 2) only half of it). Max data transmission speed using one TS is 9.6 kbit/sec (or 14.4 kbit/sec, but only in some additional conditions). There are new systems allowing higher transmission speeds (for example GPRS (Generic Packet Radio Services) or HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data), but they achieve this using several time slots at the same time (which decreases network capacity). This TS indicator shows number of the used time slot (0..7 for FR (EFR) or 0..15 for HR). ff - TA (Timing Advance): BTS informs the phone, when it should start transmission (so that it reaches BTS in time). This information is shown by this indicator. It lets us calculate approximate distance between phone and BTS, which is a value between TA*550 m and (TA+1)*550 m (remember, that sometimes signal is refracted and distance evaluated with this parameter can be wrong). This parameter is updated during communication with network (sending/receiving SMSes, calling, requesting services), for example when using SDCC and TFR channels. It ranges from 0 to 63 (up to 35 km) with FR and EFR channels. HR channels offer theoretically (for example with a car antenna (higher transmitting power) and a flat terrain) twice this range (up to 70 km) and TA contains value up to 128 (English descriptions which I use don't say a word about it - so, it's possible, that for values bigger than 64 phone (?) decreases 64 from it and displays such value in this menu). g - RXQUAL_SUB (rate of transmission errors with DTX active (DTX state can be checked in Menu 10-12)): it determines, how many errors during connection have to be corrected by the phone for the call to be possible. Range 0 - 7 (0 - means no errors; more than 5 - connection may be interrupted). The higher it is, the worse quality you have... RQ value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Max error amount <0,2% <0,4% <0,8% <1,6% <3,2% <6,4% <12,8% >12,8% mmmm - RLT (Radio Link Timeout): if it is negative, 0 is shown. Max value of this parameter is 64. If the phone uses a channel different than TCH or SDCC, xx is displayed nnn - C1 parameter ppp - C2 parameter. If network supports only GSM Phase 1, C1 value is displayed here. oooo - type of channel currently used by the phone (visit www.pins.co.uk/upages/stratfordc/ to find C programs containing algorithms used to encode different channels). With HR channels phone even show, if first or second part of TS is used (subchannel 0 or 1 is written): AGCH (Access Grant Channel) - a channel used by BTS to inform the phone about what channel it should use (it is a BTS answer to RACH) - it assigns the phone to SDCCH BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) - a channel in direction BTS-phone, containing precise information about network (needed for identification and access) - for example how often the phone should inform network about its location (T3212 counter value - more detailed description in Menu 10-10) whether frequency hopping is supported by the network CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS parameter (see C2 parameter description) CELL_BARRED parameter (which informs, whether this cell is in test phase or is available for public use - but the phone can ignore this and use test cells too - see Menu 10-19) THR0 TCH HR subchannel 0 THR1 TCH HR subchannel 1 TFR TCH FR TEFR TCH EFR F144 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 14.4 kbit/sec. F96 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 9.6 kbit/sec. F72 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 7.2 kbit/sec. F48 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec. F24 TCH FR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec. H480 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 0 H481 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 4.8 kbit/sec., subchannel 1 H240 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 0 H241 TCH HR - data transmission, speed 2.4 kbit/sec., subchannel 1 FA TCH FR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel) FAH0 TCH HR -used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated ControlChannel), subchannel 0 FAH1 TCH HR - used only for quick signalization, for example in case of handovers (FACCH - Fast Associated Control Channel), subchannel 1 SDCC SDCCH (Stand-alone Dedicated Control Channel) - used for system signalization of: establishing connection user verification Location Update executing assigning to TCH sending SMSes CCCH (Common Control Channel ?) - used, when the phone is in standby mode (it doesn't transmit not receive data) CBCH (Cell Broadcast Channel) - a channel in BTS-phone direction used for cell broadcast (for example in Nokia 5110 it can be enabled in Menu 2-5 and Menu 4-2-2, in Nokia 6110 in Menu 1-5 and Menu 4-4-2) CCHR CCCH and CBCH joined in one SEAR the phone is searching for network NSPS (No Serve Power kbit/seE="Menu1">Menu 10-1 Information about communication with cell abbb ccc ddd  e ff g mmmm  nnn     ppp     oooo CH RxL TxPwr TS TA RQ RLT  C1     C2     CHT a - contains H, if frequency hopping is enabled (otherwise empty). This information can also be found in Menu 10-11 and Menu 10-12. bbb - CH (channel): number of the channel used in communication with cell (decimal). If frequency hopping is enabled, this number changes when the display gets refreshed. This parameter determines frequencies used in communication with BTS: carrier (middle) frequency of the transmission channel (MHz) GSM 900 GSM 1800 transmission phone-BTS 890 + CH * 0,2 1710 + (CH - 511) * 0,2 transmission BTS-phone 935 + CH * 0,2 1805 + (CH - 511) * 0,2 and informs, whether phone use cell working in GSM 900 or 1800 MHz (I write more about channel numbers in Menu 10-17). ccc - RX: minus is not show if <=-100. This parameter affects following functions: if all channels' signal is weaker than -110 dBm, the phone doesn't monitor channels. if the phone loses signal of your home network, it tries to monitor next available networks and if you don't have access to them, you'll see a network presence symbol and no signal strength bars (but you can make emergency calls) if some other network has a very strong signal (say -85 dBm) and your home network is very weak on that area (for example, -100 dBm), your phone can have big problems with logging into it (you will have to use Menu 10-17 to manually force the phone to use proper channel). RXLev parameter value: RX (from) RX (up to) RXLev less than -110 dBm 0 -110 dBm -109 dBm 1 -109 dBm -108 dBm 2 ... ... ... -49 dBm -48 dBm 62 -48 dBm morej 63 signal strength indicator value on the left side of the display (approximately): RX (from - to) amount of bars from -105 to -100 dBm 0 from -100 to -95 dBm 1 from -95 to -90 dBm 2 from -90 to -85 dBm 3 more than -85 dBm 4 ddd - TX: level of the transmitted signal (only during connection). If the phone's transmitter is active, there is an * (asterisk) before the value. The lower value, the higher power level (also the one received by your head!) and energy consumption. TX (GSM 900) 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 TX (GSM 1800) 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 dBm 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Watts 0,012 0,016 0,02 0,025 0,032 0,04 0,05 0,063 0,079 0,1 0,125 0,158 0,2 0,251 0,316 0,398 and continue... TX (GSM 900) 8 7 6 5 4 3 2-0 TX (GSM 1800) 1 0 31 30 29 dBm 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Watts 0,501 0,631 0,794 1 1,26 1,58 2 2,51 3,16 3,98 5 6,31 8 10 12 15,8 20 Watt = 10(dBm/10)*0,001 dBm = 10*log(Watt/0,001) There are following classes describing max phone transmission power: GSM 900 GSM 1800 20 W (not in use) 8 W (car/mobile phone) 5 W (car/mobile phone) 2 W (hand phone) 0,8 (hand phone) 1 W (hand phone) 0,25 W (hand phone) Min. phone transmission power in GSM 900 is 0,02 W and in GSM 1800 is 0,0025 W (4 dBm). Max BTS power level can be found in their description. e - TS (Time Slot): each radio channel used in communication between phone and BTS is divided into 8 parts (called TS - time slots). If in all BTSes (available for your phone) all time slots are in use, you won't be able to make/receive a call and you'll get a 'Network busy' message (information about reason of connection failure is given among others in Menu 10-39). Unfortunately, each type of connection has the same priority in networks not supporting GSM Phase 2+ (it isn't available in older GSM Phases) - so if you want to dial emergency number 112 and the network is busy, no other call will be interrupted and you won't get connected. This problem can also be solved by adding more BTSes (for example in dual GSM 900/1800 MHz network) or by modifying current stations to allow the use of HR channels (FR and EFR transmission uses whole assigned time slot, while HR (defined in GSM Phase 2) only half of it). Max data transmission speed using one TS is 9.6 kbit/sec (or 14.4 kbit/sec, but only in some additional conditions). There are new systems allowing higher transmission speeds (for example GPRS (Generic Packet Radio Services) or HSCSD (High Speed Circuit Switched Data), but they achieve this using several time slots at the same time (which decreases network capacity). This TS indicator shows number of the used time slot (0..7 for FR (EFR) or 0..15 for HR). ff - TA (Timing Advance): BTS informs the phone, when it should start transmission (so that it reaches BTS in time). This information is shown by this indicator. It lets us calculate approximate distance between phone and BTS, which is a value between TA*550 m and (TA+1)*550 m (remember, that sometimes signal is refracted and distance evaluated with this parameter can be wrong). This parameter is updated during communication with network (sending/receiving SMSes, calling, requesting services), for example when using SDCC and TFR channels. It ranges from 0 to 63 (up to 35 km) with FR and EFR channels. HR channels offer theoretically (for example with a car antenna (higher transmitting power) and a flat terrain) twice this range (up to 70 km) and TA contains value up to 128 (English descriptions which I use don't say a word about it - so, it's possible, that for values bigger than 64 phone (?) decreases 64 from it and displays such value in this menu). g - RXQUAL_SUB (rate of transmission errors with DTX active (DTX state can be checked in Menu 10-12)): it determines, how many errors during connection have to be corrected by the phone for the call to be possible. Range 0 - 7 (0 - means no errors; more than 5 - connection may be interrupted). The higher it is, the worse quality you have... RQ value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Max error amount <0,2% <0,4% <0,8% <1,6% <3,2% <6,4% <12,8% >12,8% mmmm - RLT (Radio Link Timeout): if it is negative, 0 is shown. Max value of this parameter is 64. If the phone uses a channel different than