The Full PLC Check captures a snapshot of the PLC (Power Line Communication) status in a guided workflow across all 3 phases. Within minutes, a comprehensive overview of the network status is automatically generated - immediately available on the mobile device and archived in the web portal.

The result is shown as a detailed view in the mobile app, and as a PDF document that is available both in the app and the web portal. It includes charts for noise levels and signal-to-noise ratios, a list of reachable devices, as well as photos and entered data.

Example PDF report of 2 Full PLC Checks in a measurement campaign

Measurement Campaign Workflow

Enter Data

At the beginning of a Full PLC Check, freely configurable extra fields can also be filled in (e.g., measurement location).

Additionally, a photo of the measurement point must be taken.

If both FCC notched and unnotched bands are used, this can be selected again at the beginning of the Full PLC Check.

Measurement

On each phase:

The noise level of the non-communication band is measured
The system switches to the communication band and sends a beacon request
The system waits for packets. It waits a certain time until the response traffic has subsided. Measurement is considered complete once 10 seconds have passed after the last beacon response. Additionally, there’s a configurable total duration limit of 30 seconds. The wait time can be extended with the press of a button.
While on the communication band, packet statistics are displayed
Finally, the devices in the hearing domain and the signal-to-noise ratio distribution are recorded. The noise level on the communication band is also measured during this process.

During measurement, the user sees a live overview of incoming data - similar to the nBox-Tool interface: extended - short - PANs - packets per minute.

At the end of the measurement, another beacon request can be sent to repeat the beacon request and measurement.

The total duration of a Full PLC Check depends on network traffic and whether any steps are manually extended or repeated. Ideally, it takes about two minutes.

If a Full PLC Check is not completed, it can be resumed from the last fully measured phase.

Dual-Band Measurement

If both FCC and CENELEC-A bands are used for communication in your network, dual-band support can be enabled via configuration. With this setting, noise is measured on both bands, a beacon is sent, and devices and signal-to-noise ratio are captured equally on both bands.

Result

After measuring all three phases, the result is displayed.

The various parts of the result can be shown or hidden via the filter bar at the top.

In the SNR chart, individual PANs can be toggled. PANs are color-coded consistently across the 3 phases in the SNR charts.

In the top list of reached devices (sorted by SNR and RSSI), the strongest gateway is always shown at the very top.

Report

In addition to the result view, the Full PLC Check can be opened as a PDF (requires internet connection). The selected filters also control which data is included in the PDF report.

The format of the report is configurable in the portal as an HTML template - we’re happy to help with any customization.

Example PDF report of 2 Full PLC Checks in a measurement campaign

Convert Full PLC Check to Noise Investigation

If a noise source has already been found during a Full PLC Check, a noise investigation can be created from the Full PLC Check.

Procedure:

In the result view of the Full PLC Check, there is a button to create a noise investigation
Matching extra fields from the Full PLC Check (e.g., measurement point) are pre-filled in the noise investigation
The current measurement campaign is also transferred to the noise investigation

For 3-Phase Measurements: If the Full PLC Check has 3 phases, you can select on which phases the noise source was present (for the noise source database). All 3 phases are always available in the report.

Portal View

Completed Full PLC Checks can be viewed in the portal grouped by measurement campaign and downloaded as PDF reports either individually or for the entire measurement campaign.

In the extended report, devices from all 3 phases are displayed. The standard report only contains devices from the first logical phase.

Configuration

The following App Settings must be enabled in the portal:

Measurement Campaigns
Full PLC Check itself
Dual-band measurement - whether one or both bands are used for communication and whether beacons are sent and responses collected on one or both bands. If only one frequency band is used in your network, it’s recommended not to use dual-band measurement as it takes slightly longer.
The primary frequency band in your network - which frequency band is used for PLC communication. Only on this band is the beacon sent and responses awaited. Only relevant if dual-band measurement is not active.
Optional: Full PLC Check maximum wait time in seconds (default 30 seconds)
Convert Full PLC Check to Noise Investigation

It is also possible to use extra fields shared between measurement campaigns and noise investigations - data from the measurement campaign is then automatically transferred to the noise investigation.

We’re happy to help you with the configuration.