Investigation of Voltage Drop Indicator To Overcome The Current Failure of The Switch.

INVESTIGATION OF VOLTAGE DROP
INDICATOR TO OVERCOME THE CURRENT

FAILURE OF THE SWITCH.
Report of Industrial Training

by
D.H.M. Perera
(042039)
Major I: Electronics
Major II: Computing and Information Systems
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Wayamba University of Sri Lanka
Kuliyapitiya
April - 2009
2
INVESTIGATION OF VOLTAGE DROP

INDICATOR TO OVERCOME THE CURRENT
FAILURE OF THE SWITCH.
This report is submitted in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for

the four year Bachelor of Science (Joint Major) Degree
in ‘Electronics’ and ‘Computing and Information Systems’
D.H.M. Perera
(042039)
Principal Supervisor’s Name: Prof. CAN Fernando
Name of the Course Module: INDT421X Industrial Training

Training Period: 04/08/2008 to 04/02/2009
External Supervisor’s Name: Mr. U.T. Edirisingha

Sri Lanka Telecom,
Switching,
Katunayake.
Major I: Electronics
Major II:Computing and Information Systems
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Wayamba University of Sri Lanka
Kuliyapitiya
April - 2009
INVESTIGATION OF VOLTAGE DROP INDICATOR TO OVERCOME THE CURRENT FAILURE OF THE SWITCH
3
DECLARATION
I declare that:
a) except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that of the student
alone;
b) the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part, to qualify for any
other academic award;
c) the content of the report is the result of work which has been carried out since the
official commencement date of the Industrial training program of the faculty;
d) any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third party is acknowledge; and
e) procedures and guidelines of the faculty have been followed.
Signed:
…………………………
(D.H.M. Perera)
Date:
4
APPROVAL FOR SUBMISSION
External Supervisor : ……………………..

Mr. U.T. Edirisingha
Date :
Internal Supervisor : ……………………..

Prof. C.A.N. Fernando
Date :
Program Coordinator : ……………………..

Dr. K.D.D.N. Dissanayaka
Date :
Assistant Registrar : ………………………

Mr. L.M.C. Siriwardana
Date :
5
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This note of acknowledgment brings my warmest thanks to all those who helped me in
various ways to craft my project a success.
I would like to offer my deepest appreciation to Prof. CAN Fernando who gave the
patient guidance and advice throughout the project as my first supervisor, Dr. KDDN
Dissanayake who gave the patient guidance and advice throughout the project as the
course coordinator and Mr. U.T. Edirisingha who gave the patient guidance and advice
throughout the project as the external supervisor.
Their guidance throughout the project was really helped me to complete my project.
Their guidance on this project was very helpful in designing and analysis in this project.
I would like to be grateful for the employees at Sri Lanka Telecom who helped me to
collect necessary data.
In addition to that, I remember all persons who gave me their kind assistance in
completing this research project successfully.
6
ABSTRACT
Telecommunications is one of the most important and rapidly developing

technologies, and it has seen so many great inventions over the past fifty years. Perhaps
one specific and highly visible example of the recent change in the telecommunication
has been the rapid growth in mobility, for both business and residential use, and its
potential extension from speech into mobile internet and related data application.
From its humble beginning with the telegraph, Telecommunication with the use
of electricity has come a long way. Physical distance is conquered instantly, and any
telephone in the world can be reached through vast communication networks that span
oceans and continents. We use satellites in space, and sub-marine cables under the sea.
This report is the result of my Industrial Training, carried out at Sri Lanka
Telecom from 04th August 2008 to 04th February 2009. These training activities were
carried out at the Katunayake switching section, Negombo OPMC section and Padukka
Satellite – Earth Stations.
During my training at switching section Katunayake I was understand the most
probably reason for the failure of an exchange as power faults. And I was able to design
with help of Mr. Smith Wikramasingha, a simple circuit using PIC18F452 to indicate
voltage drops and immediately send the messages to responsible person via Ethernet.
This system was very helpful to Sri Lanka Telecom in minimizing their loss due
to power faults and also to me to improve my experience and knowledge in research.
7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
Chapter 1
1. Introduction 12
1.1 Organization, Structure and History 12
1.1.1 Organizational Structure 13
1.1.2 History 14
1.2 Nature of Business and Operations 16
1.3 Department(s)/ Division(s)/ Section(s) of Study 17
1.4 Background and Rational for the Research/ Study 18
1.5 Study/ Research Objectives 18
1.6 Scope of the Study / Research 18
1.7 Outline of the Report 19
Chapter 2
2. Literature Review and Theoretical Background 20
2.1 Literature related to area of study 20
2.1.1 Power in an Exchange 20
2.1.2 Rectifiers 21
2.1.3 Battery unit 22
2.1.4 Default power alarms in AXE 10 22
2.1.5 PIC18F452 microcontroller 22
2.1.6 MikroC 23
2.1.7 JDM Programmer 23
2.2 Similar Voltage Measurement Units, Develop with microcontrollers 24
2.2.1 The PIC LCD volt meter project 24
2.2.2 A Serial Voltage Meter 25
2.2.3 Low Power LED Voltmeter 25
2.2.4 High Accuracy High-Voltage Monitor 27
2.2.5 Expanded Scale Battery Volt Meter 28
2.3 Theories related to area of study 29
2.3.1 Ohm’s law 29
2.3.2 Voltage Divider 29
8
Chapter 3 Page No:
3. Research Questions / Problems 31
3.1 Research Questions / Problems 31
3.2 Rational to Select Research Questions / Problems 32
3.3 Potential Benefits to the Organization by Solving the Questions 33
Chapter 4
4. Research Approach and Methodology 34
4.1 Research Design with a Rational 34
4.2 Data Collection Strategy with a Rational 35
4.3 Details of Design and Development of Data Collection Tools/ Instrument 36
4.4 Data Analysis Strategy(s) with a Rational 37
4.5 Designing the Circuit 38
Chapter 5
5. Data Collection and Analysis 39
5.1 Details of Data Collection 39
5.2 Details of Data Analysis 41
5.2.1 Finding average call cost for Peak, Economy and Discount 41
5.2.2 Finding average loss on outage at all fault with normal customer
Capacity 42
5.2.3 Finding average loss on outage hours at Power fault with normal
customer capacity. 44
5.2.4 Compare and calculate the percentage value for average loss on
all faults with average loss on power faults 45
5.3 Results 46
Chapter 6
6. Identification of Causes and Alternative Solutions 47
6.1 Interpretation of findings 48
6.2 Alternative Solution - Default Alarm System in an Exchange 48
6.3 Comparative Analysis and Feasibility Study of Alternative Solutions 49
6.4 Selection of Best Feasible Solution and Rationale 49
9
Page No:
Chapter 7
7. Discussion and Conclusion 50
7.1 Limitations of this Research / Study 50
7.2 Problem Encountered and Alternative actions have been taken 51
7.3 Further / Future Research Opportunities 52
7.4 Discussion and Recommendation 53
7.5 Conclusion 54
References 55
Annexure 56
10
LIST OF FIGURES
Page No:
Figure 1.1 – Organization Structure of SLT 2

Figure 1.2 – Services of SLT 5
Figure 2.1 – A PIC LCD volt meter 13
Figure 2.2 – Low Power LED voltmeter 15
Figure 2.3 – High Accuracy High Voltage Meter 16
Figure 2.4 – Expanded scale Batery Volt Meter 17
Figure 2.5 – Voltage Divider 18
Figure 4.1 – Voltage Drop Indicator 27
Figure 6.1 - Basic Structure of an AXE10 Exchange 37
11
LIST OF TABLES
Page No:
Table 2.1 – Specifications for PIC analogue input 13

Table 3.1 – Subscriber capacity of Katunayaka MSU and its RSUs 21
Table 4.1 – Example of data collection paths 25
Table 4.2 – SLT tariffs 26
Table 5.1 – Collected Data 30
Table 5.2 – Calculating loss 32
Table 5.3 – Calculating loss due to power failures 34
Table 6.3 – Comparative Analysis 38
12
LIST OF ABBREVIATION
PIC - Programmable Integrated Circuit

IOG - Input/ Output Group
AXE - Version of an Ericsson exchange
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
CMOS - Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
ICD - In Circuit Design
PWM - Pulse Width Modulation
SPI - Serial Peripheral Interface
AUSART - Addressable Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter
IDE - Integrated Development Environment
ICSP - In Circuit Serial Programming
LVP - Low Voltage Programming
MCLR - Microcontroller Clear Register
PLD - Programmable logic device
13
CHAPTER 1
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Organizations, Structure and History.
The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) reputed as the national telecom service provides in
the country and ensures the provision of telecom services to every customer in the
country. It has the largest customer base in telecommunication in Sri Lanka, which
passed 700,000 and provides public telephone on a national basis. To achieve this target
it invested a massive sum of 44bilion rupees during the past years and from the national
perspective this is the most vital pieces of infrastructure development to facilitate the
economic development of the country.
The switching and the transport network of the SLT are supported by national an
international telecommunication links. Currently it operates 333 telephone exchanges
including four Tertiary Switching Centers (TSC), 28 Secondary Switching Centers
(SSC), 47 Local exchanges and 234 remote switching centers (RSC), in the island with
the line capacity of 796, 700.
The national transmission network mainly consists of a Digital Microwave
Transmission System. Fiber Optic Transmission Links have been introduced, with the
fiber optic PDH (Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy) transmission system covering the
whole Greater Colombo area. Under the ongoing projects, SDH (Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy) technology will be introduced in the Greater Colombo area. A fiber optic
SDH ring configuration transmission backbone covering four provinces has recently
been deployed.
SLT provides worldwide connectivity through its international gateways. Two
Digital Fiber Optic Cables SEA-ME-WE II and SEA-ME-WE III complement the two
Satellite Earth Stations. They are standard A earth stations located in Padukka. SLT's
three gateway exchanges also form part of this network, which provides access to the
global telecommunications network.
With these facilities, SLT is able to supply a reliable, high quality IDD link to
220 countries. This was possible after the commissioning of the SEA-ME-WE III
Digital Submarine Cable in mid 1999 and with the introduction of the third gateway
exchange to Sri Lanka. SLT also plans to upgrade its capacity for handling CCITT No. 7
signaling and intends to digitalize all its international routes, to further improve the call
handling efficiency.
14
1.1.1 Organizational Structure
The SLT network is divided into four major areas as Region1, 2, 3 & Metro.
 Region 1 covers Central, North Central & North West and northern part
of Western province.
 Region 2 covers Southern, Sabaragamuwa, Uva and southern part of
Western province.
 Region 3 covers Eastern province.
 Metro area covers field and commercial Regional telecommunication
offices (R.T.O.).
Chairman & Board
Chairman Office of Directors
Company
Secretary Corporate Strategy
CEO Office
CEO
Internal Auditor Senior Experts
Legal Division
Executive
Assistant
Security
Consultant
Metro
Int. Marketing
Customer
Services & IP IT Group
Services
Region 1 Group Group
Region 2
Region 3 Nw.Pl. & Human

Admin. Finance
Eng. Resource
Group Group
Group Group
15
Fig. 1.1 – Organization Structure of SLT
1.1.2 History
1858 - First Telegraphic Circuit established between Galle and Colombo.

First international telegraph communication established between Ceylon and
India.
1880 - Postal and Telegraph services amalgamated under the control of the
Government of Ceylon.
1895 - First submarine cable laid between India and Ceylon.
1896 - Government of Ceylon took over Oriental Telephone Company with its
manually operated exchange.
1911 - Central Telegraph Office opened.
1931 - Installation of Automatic Telephone Exchange at Kahawatta in Ratnapura
District.
1935 - International Telephone Service inaugurated.
1941 - International operations handed over to Cable & Wireless Company.
1951 - Government of Ceylon took over Cable & Wireless Company.
1963 - Telex Service introduced.
1966 - Subscriber Trunk Dialing (STD) Service introduced.
1976 - First Earth Satellite Station (Standard A) commissioned in Padukka.
1980 - Postal and Telegraph services separated, forming two departments:
Telecommunications and Postal.
International Direct Dialing (IDD) service introduced.
1981 - First Digital Master Exchange installed.
1985 - Linked up with SEA-ME-WE I analogue submarine cable.
1991 - Sri Lanka Telecom Corporation formed.
1993 - Packet Switching Service introduced.
Second Satellite Earth Station (Standard B) commissioned in Colombo.
1994 - Linked up with SEA-ME-WE II digital fiber optic submarine cable.
1995 - Fully digital third Satellite Earth Station (Standard A) commissioned in
Padukka.
1996 - Internet and E-mail Services introduced.
Sri Lanka Telecom Corporation converted into a Public Company.
1997 - Sri Lanka Telecom privatized with the collaboration of Nippon Telegraph &
Telephone Corporation (NTT) of Japan.
16
1998 - Customer base reached 500,000.
1999 - Customer base reached 600,000.
2000 - First optical fiber rings transmission connecting 15 cities.
2002 - Sri Lanka Telecom acquired balance 60% of share of Mobitel(Pvt)Ltd
2003 - SLT ADSL Broadband Connections Shake Up Marketplace.
2004 - Sri Lanka Telecom receives the prestigious Fitch SL “AAA” rating.
Sri Lanka Telecom Launches its state-of-the-art Internet Data Centre.
2005 - SLT Citylink, Sri Lanka Telecom’s CDMA network launched in
Anuradhapura.
2006 - SLT and BSNL launch Bharat Lanka Submarine Cable System
SLT to roll out Metro Ethernet Services.
SLT officially inaugurates local operations of landmark SEA ME WE 4
submarine cable system.
2007 - SLT net goes 1 Giga bps in international backbone.
SLT launch volume base broadband Internet package.
2008 - SLT boosts distance education in Sri Lanka through broadband connectivity,
to National Online Distance Education System.
- NTT Communications Corporation of Japan who held 35.2% of the total
stated capital of the Company has sold their holding in its entirety, to Global
Telecommunications Holdings N.V. of Netherlands.
17
1.2 Nature of Business and Operations
SLT provides an assortment of services for the domestic and corporate

customers. These services are listed below.
SERVICES
Domestic Voice Services International Voice Services Operator Assisted Services

1. Customer Dialed Calls 1. IDD Calls
2. Operator Assisted Calls2. 1. Local Call Bookings (101)
International
3. SLT Plus package 2. Wakeup Calls (147)
Operator Assisted
Call Waiting 3. Directory Information (161)
Calls
Conference calling 4. Faults Reporting (121)
IDD without deposit 5. Billing information (122)
Call Forwarding 6. Operator Assistance Service

(100)
Hot line abbreviated Dialing
7. International Directory Service
(134)
8. Collect or Reverse Charge
Service
DATA SERVICES SLTNET ISDN Services
(Internet Access) 1. Fast File Transfer

1. Local Leased Circuit
2. Fast Internet Access
2. Internet Leased Line
3. Video Conferencing
3. Frame relay Network
4. Remote Network Access
4. International private 5. Remote Video Surveillance
leased circuits
5. Direct Invert & Outward 6. Network Connectivity
Dialing
6. IPVPN 7. E-Mail
8. Call Line Identification
9. Faxes (7 times faster)
Fig. 1.2 – Services of SLT
18
1.3 Departments/ Divisions/ Sections of Study
I have trained at Switching Section Katunayake, OPMC Section Negombo and

Padukka Satellite – Earth Station. I have studied the work carried out in above sections,
during my training period.
Switching Section Katunayake

I have learned the fundamentals of switching and switching networks when I
was at the Switching Section, Katunayake. Ericsson 10 switching system is there and it
has four remote subscriber switching units located at Raddolugama, Badalgama,
Minuwangoda and Katana.
Under the guidance of its switching engineer Mr. U.T. Edirisingha, the DIT and
the rest of the staff, I was able to learn about switching, signaling, traffic analysis and
various other details related to switching and subscriber management.
OPMC Section Negombo

At the OPMC section I got the opportunity to learn about how the various
equipments, methods and labor are combined together to provide reliable connections to
the subscriber. And also I got the opportunity to learn about ADSL connection and
configurations.
Under the guidance of its OPMC Assistance engineer Mr. Neil Fernando, the
DIT and the rest of the staff, I was able to learn about MDF functions, ADSL connection
& configurations, Cabling and CDMA technology.
Padukka Satellite – Earth Station

At this section I got the opportunity to learn about the Satellite Earth Stations,
located in Padukka. In there I learn about, that most of SLT services utilize INTELSAT
services. INTELSAT is a multinational consortium setup to develop satellite
communication. It was established in 1964 and currently has a fleet of over 20 satellites.
It offers Internet, Broadcast, Telephony and Corporate network solutions with coverage
of more than 200 countries. This is the widest distribution network.
Under the guidance of its Engineer Mr. Perera, the DIT and the rest of the staff, I
was able to learn about Satellite-Earth station’s functions and about Antennas.
19
1.4 Background and Rational for the Research/ Study
Normally the Exchanges are coming with alarm systems those are able to
indicate power faults. When a fault occurs it will be displayed on the alarm panel which
is situated at the Exchange. But there is a need of external indicator to indicate power
failures. Because
- If the alarms in Exchanges are working properly they will indicate power
failures. Then there should be an employee all the time at the Exchange. It is not
cost effective way to occupy employees at night. So there should be a method to
monitor the faults which occur any Exchange in a one place.
- As most of Exchanges were installed before 10 – 15 years, now a day’s most of
their alarm systems are faulty. So repairing or replacing circuit parts that are
responsible for alarm systems are expensive.
- How ever there is no island wide monitoring system for power faults. So it is
very necessary to build a system to monitor the power faults island wide from a
one place.
1.5 Study / Research Objectives.
- To find the average loss per a day due to power failures in Sri Lanka Telecom.
- Give a solution to minimize the loss due to power failures, using PIC18F452 IC.
- This system will minimize the loss,
● By monitoring the battery states continuously via Ethernet system
● By sending messages to responsible people via Ethernet
immediately when a power failure occurs.
- This system also will be able to create an automatic database including the
details of battery states.
1.6 Scope of the Study / Research

The major reason for the failing of Exchanges is power failures. So SLT Losses
their revenue due to power faults. Therefore Scope of the Research is to minimize the
loss due to power failure by,
- Taking necessary maintenances and actions to avoid failing of Exchanges by
observing battery states.
20
- Limiting the time of failure by informing to the responsible people immediately.
1.7 Outline of the Report
This research is aiming at minimizing loss at SLT due to power failures. So
in the second chapter it will be given literature review in details that were useful in
doing this research. Third chapter will be discussed the research problem in details.
Research design, circuit design, data collection strategy will be discussed in chapter
four.
Details of data collection and details of data analysis will be discussed under
chapter five. Results will be mentioned at the end of the chapter five. The chapter
six will be discussed interpretation of findings, alternative solutions, best feasible
solution.
Finally chapter seven will be discussed limitation of research, encountered
problem during research, future development and improvements, discussion and
conclusion.
21
CHAPTER 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A literature review was done to identify the main problems those are affect on
the Exchanges. For this research it is necessary to identify the equipments which are
supply power to the Exchange. By doing literature review I have got an idea on the
switch and it’s minimum working conditions.
And also literature review was useful to learn about the facts that are involved in
PIC programming. And also I was able to find out similar voltage measurement units
that were developed using microcontrollers.
2.1 Literature related to area of study
2.1.1 Power in an Exchange

As I covered most part of my training at Katunayake switch, I have thoroughly
studied about Ericsson AXE 10 switch. The following details were collected by
referring manuals on Ericsson AXE 10.
All electronic equipments used in AXE 10 required a stable power supply. AXE
10 switches are designed to operate with -48 Volts DC supply. Following equipments
are used to provide -48 Volts power supply.
- Rectifiers that are converting AC main power to – 48 Volts DC.
- Battery bank to provide backup power in the event of main power failure.
- Distribution units contain fuses or circuit breakers on each circuit feeding power
to exchange.
The two alternative power systems supplied by Ericsson are,

- The microprocessor controlled power supply (BZA 204)
Majority of electronic devices work on DC power source, so there
was a requirement of a reliable and customized power supply. Generally, the
requirements are not too varied, but still they require every time a new hardware
designing. The idea presented here is to build a microcontroller controlled power
supply that is flexible enough to meet different requirements, with minor software
22
changes and no corresponding hardware change. Hardware issues are discussed,
with a goal of developing a generalized power supply that has programmable output
voltage and current. It is able to recognize faults and take corrective actions to
prevent any permanent damage to the system. The system is capable of functioning
independently by its own without any intervention from the user. The system finds
application at remote sites to automatically manage primary (AC) and secondary
(Battery) power sources to provide smooth uninterrupted power output even during
switchovers between AC and DC power sources.
The main components of this power system are,
• Central unit
• High frequency Rectifiers, 28Amp
• Battery units with shelves for battery cell containers.
• Distribution units with automatic circuit breakers.
The Rectifiers are connected in parallel and maintain a constant DC
voltage across the batteries while at the same time supplying power to Exchange
(full float system).
- The Central Power Plant (BZA112)

The central power plant must be located in a separate room as it
requires Led acid batteries as backup power. So it is highly cost than
“microprocessor control power supply” And also this uses high noise rectifiers.
Each power unit is supervised by its own built-in-microprocessors,
which is in continuous communication with the central unit via a two way loop bus.
2.1.2 Rectifiers
The AC voltage is converted to DC voltage by Rectifiers and for the purpose of
indicating voltage drop we should consider the voltage value given by these rectifiers.
- Rectifiers supply – 48 Volts DC at 28 Amps, and is controlled by built in
microprocessor.
- The front panel of the rectifier displays output voltage and current.
- The rectifiers operate noiselessly as the conversion frequency is high.
- If a rectifier fails alarm from rectifiers are transmitted to the central unit.
- The number of rectifiers required by the Exchange depends on the expected peak
traffic
23
load ( maximum supply current 28Amps).
Ex: An exchange with APZ212 and equipped for about 40,000 subscribers will
approximately 400 Amps.
2.1.3 Battery unit
- During a main power failure or a rectifier failure the battery unit will take over
the power supply to the Exchange.
- The battery unit occupies three shelves at the bottom of the cabinet. The two
lower shelves can each holds three sealed batteries, while the top one contains a
microprocessor, circuit breakers and a maximum of two sealed batteries.
- The time for which the batteries will be able to supply power varies with the
capacity of the battery and power consumption of the Exchange.
- The internal microprocessor,
- Supervise the circuit breakers
- Measures the battery voltage
- Measures the battery current to and from the battery.
- communicate continuously with the central unit.
- At the lowest permitted voltage 39 V, a command is sent to the “battery
microprocessor” to trip the circuit breakers to disconnect the battery.
- It is usual to have diesel power generators stand by to give external power at
main power failure.
2.1.4 Default power alarms in AXE 10
All power system must be supervised by the alarm system in AXE 10. The alarm
connections from power equipments are connected to an external alarm device that is
located in the IOG (Input Output Group) cabinet. This device is then connected in
software, so power lamp will light on AXE alarm panel, if a fault occurs.
2.1.5 PIC18F452 microcontroller
As the PIC18F452 was used in this project it is needed to know well about this
microcontroller. The PIC18F452 is a microcontroller that uses powerful 10 MIPS (100
nanosecond instruction execution) is easy-to-program (only 77 single word instructions)
CMOS FLASH-based 8-bit microcontroller packs Microchip's powerful PIC
architecture into an 40 pin package and is upwards compatible with the PIC16C5X,
24
PIC12CXXX, PIC16CXX and PIC17CXX devices and thus providing a seamless
migration path of software code to higher levels of hardware integration. The
PIC18F452 features a 'C' compiler friendly development environment, 256 bytes of
EEPROM, Self-programming, an ICD, 2 capture/compare/PWM functions, 8 channels
of 10-bit Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter, the synchronous serial port can be
configured as either 3-wire Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or the 2-wire Inter-
Integrated Circuit (I²C) bus and Addressable Universal Asynchronous Receiver
Transmitter (AUSART). All of these features make it ideal for manufacturing
equipment, instrumentation and monitoring, data acquisition, power conditioning,
environmental monitoring, telecom and consumer audio/video applications.
2.1.6 MikroC
As it is needed to write the program for the PIC18F452, it is very easy to use MikroC,
which is high level language for the microcontrollers.
MikroC is a powerful, feature rich development tool for PIC microcontrollers. It

is designed to provide the customer with the easiest possible solution for developing
applications for embedded systems, without compromising performance or control. PIC
and C fit well together. PIC is the most popular 8-bit chip in the world, used in a wide
variety of applications, and C, prized for its efficiency, is a natural choice for
developing microcontroller applications. MikroC provides a successful match featuring
highly advanced IDE, ANSI compliant compiler, broad set of hardware libraries,
comprehensive documentation, and plenty of ready to run example programs.
2.1.7 JDM Programmer
Devices called "programmers" are traditionally used to get program code into
the target PIC. Most PICs that Microchip currently sell feature ICSP (In Circuit Serial
Programming) and/or LVP (Low Voltage Programming) capabilities, allowing the PIC
to be programmed while it is sitting in the target circuit. ICSP programming is
performed using two pins, clock and data, while a high voltage (12V) is present on the
Vpp/MCLR pin. Low voltage programming dispenses with the high voltage, but
reserves exclusive use of an I/O pin and can therefore be disabled to recover the pin for
other uses (once disabled it can only be re-enabled using high voltage programming).
There are many programmers for PIC microcontrollers, ranging from the
extremely simple designs which rely on ICSP to allow direct download of code from a
25
host computer, to intelligent programmers that can verify the device at several supply
voltages. Many of these complex programmers use a pre-programmed PIC themselves
to send the programming commands to the PIC that is to be programmed. The
intelligent type of programmer is needed to program earlier PIC models (mostly
EPROM type) which do not support in-circuit programming.
Many of the higher ends flash based PICs can also self-program (write to their
own program memory). Demo boards are available with a small bootloader factory
programmed that can be used to load user programs over an interface such as RS-
232 or USB, thus obviating the need for a programmer device. Alternatively there is
bootloader firmware available that the user can load onto the PIC using ICSP. The
advantages of a bootloader over ICSP is the far superior programming speeds,
immediate program execution following programming, and the ability to both debug
and program using the same cable.
2.2 Similar voltage measurement units, develop with microcontrollers
2.2.1 The PIC LCD volt meter project
This PIC LCD volt meter project uses a PIC micro and an HD44870 LCD
display. The analogue input is taken directly to the analogue input pin of the
microcontroller without any other processing.
Fig. 2.1 – A PIC LCD volt meter
So the input range is from 0V to 5V - the maximum source impedance is 2k5 (for
testing use a 1k pot). To improve the circuit adds an opamp in front to present greater
impedance to the circuit under test. The output impedance of the opamp will be low
which a requirement of the PIC analogue input is.
Specification
Voltage range 0V - 5V
Input signal level TTL
Maximum input impedance 2k5
26
Table 2.1 – Specifications for PIC analogue input
The LCD volt meter uses the microcontroller power supplies as reference
voltages and so it is not likely to be very accurate (e.g. a 7805 5V regulator has an
accuracy of 5%). It can make more accurate by setting the scaling value in the software
to match the power supply (measuring the supply using a voltmeter).
The most accurate way of all will be to use a voltage reference and feed this into RA3 as
the positive reference value but this project simply provides a quick and easy way of
measuring volts without circuit complexity.
The project mainly shows at above figure, how to read an analogue value from the first
analogue port RA0.
2.2.2 A Serial Voltage Meter
a serial voltage meter to measure from 0 to 5 volts DC using MeLabs PicBasic,

and Microsoft's Visual Basic Version 5 Pro is described in this project. It need Visual
Basic Pro version because it will have to use Basic's MSComm control. This control is
not available in the Visual Basic 5 "Learning" Edition. The PIC16C71 simplifies the
task even more by having a built in A/D converter. Pins 17,18,1,2 are the analog inputs
AIN0,AIN1,AIN2,AIN3 respectively.
The software for the serial voltmeter monitors the serial port for incoming
information sent by the PIC microcontroller. Once received, the displayed result is
calculated by taking the value received and multiplying it by 0.02. The PIC16C71 A/D
converter is the successive approximation type and provides an 8-Bit result. With only
an 8-Bit result our range is limited from 0 to 255 that represents from 0 to 5 volts
respectively.
2.2.3 Low Power LED Voltmeter
This is a low power voltmeter circuit that can be used with alternative
energy systems that run on 12 and 24 volt batteries. The voltmeter is an expanded scale
type that indicates small voltage steps over the 10 to 16 volt range for 12 volt batteries
and over the 22 to 32 volt range for 24 volt batteries. Power consumption can be as low
as 14mw when operated from 12V and 160mw when operated from 24V.It is possible to
set the meter to read equal steps across a variety of upper and lower voltages.
27
Fig. 2.2 – Low Power LED voltmeter
This is a low power voltmeter circuit that can be used with alternative energy
systems that run on 12 and 24 volt batteries. The voltmeter is an expanded scale type
that indicates small voltage steps over the 10 to 16 volt range for 12 volt batteries and
over the 22 to 32 volt range for 24 volt batteries. Power consumption can be as low as
14mw when operated from 12V and 160mw when operated from 24V.
It is possible to set the meter to read equal steps across a variety of upper and
lower voltages. The meter saves power by operating in a low duty-cycle blinking mode
where the LED indicators are only on and consuming power briefly during a repeating 2
second cycle. The circuit may be switched to a high power mode where the active LED
stays on at all times.
Different colored LEDs may be used for the voltage level indicators, this allows
the battery state to be read in the dark. With the new blue LEDs, it is possible to have a
nice looking rainbow of colors using two each of red, amber, yellow, green, and blue
LEDs. The circuit will also work with inexpensive and common red LEDs. If the circuit
28
is to be used in sunlight, ultra-bright LEDs should be used, although even those may be
hard to read without some kind of sun shield.
The circuit may be built with either the CMOS ICM7555 timer or the more
common bipolar 555 timer. The 7555 timer will provide much more efficient operation
and should be used for systems with small batteries. The volt meter works nicely with
the solar charge controller.
2.2.4 High Accuracy High-Voltage Monitor
Many applications call for measuring ac lines or high dc voltages. One common
technique uses a large voltage divider followed by a buffer. A third solution yields high-
accuracy, high-voltage measurements (Fig. 1). The integrator (OP177) supplies negative
feedback around the difference amplifier (AD629), forcing its output to stay at 0 V.
Fig 2.3 – High Accuracy High Voltage Meter
29
2.2.5 Expanded Scale Battery Volt Meter
This circuit is used to measure the voltage on a 12V (nominal) lead acid
rechargeable battery system. It was specifically designed for use in solar powered
systems, but is general enough that it can be used for automotive or other 12V systems.
Lead acid batteries normally spend their working lifetime in the voltage range of 11-15
Volts. This meter circuit was designed to show the voltage range of 10-15V on an
analog meter movement, it can be used to show the battery charge state from empty to
full.
Fig. 2.4 – Expanded scale Battery Volt Meter
The input voltage is filtered from transient voltage spikes via the 10 ohm resistor
and the 0.1uF capacitor on the input of the 78L08 regulator. The 1 Amp series fuse and
Transzorb protect the circuitry from short circuits and over-voltage conditions.
The 78L08 voltage regulator provides a constant 8V DC supply to the meter circuitry
through the 10-15V input voltage range. The dual op-amp is supplied with 0V and 8V
for the power rail inputs. The lower op-amp is set up as a buffer stage to provide a 4V
virtual ground reference voltage. The virtual ground is used as a current sink for the
meter, and as a reference point for the other op-amp.
A 78L08 regulators may be a difficult part to find, a good replacement would be
an LM317L adjustable regulator circuit set to 8V. Other dual op-amps should work well
30
in this circuit, the 1458 is a good substitution, an ultra-low power dual op-amp can be
used if power drain is a consideration.
2.3 Theories related to area of study
2.3.1 Ohm’s law
The relationship between electrical power, current, voltage, and resistance is

called Ohm’s Law. The mathematical formula is expressed:
P = EI or:
I = E/R (or E = IR, or R = E/I )
Where P = Power, in kW
I = current, in amperes (A)
E = electromotive force, in volts (V)
R = resistance, in ohms (Ω)
Ohm’s law can be applied to an entire circuit, or to any portion of it. This may be stated,
- The total current flowing in a circuit is equal to the total voltage applied to the
circuit divided by the total resistance of the circuit.
- The current flowing in any part of a circuit is equal to the voltage across that
part of the circuit divided by the resistance of that part of the circuit.
2.3.2 Voltage Divider
In electronics, a voltage divider (also known as a potential divider) is a

simple linear circuit that produces an output voltage (Vout) that is a fraction of its input
voltage (Vin). Voltage division refers to the partitioning of a voltage among the
components of the divider.
The formula governing a voltage divider is similar to that for a current divider,
but the ratio describing voltage division places the selected impedance in the numerator,
unlike current division where it is the unselected components that enter the numerator.
A simple example of a voltage divider consists of two resistors in series or
a potentiometer. It is commonly used to create a reference voltage, and may also be used
as a signal attenuator at low frequencies.
31
Fig. 2.5 – Voltage Divider
Applying Ohm's Law, the relationship between the input voltage, Vin, and the
output voltage, Vout, can be found.
Vin = I (Z1+Z2)
Vout = I.Z2
I = Vin / (Z1+Z2)
Vout = Vin . Z2 / (Z1+Z2)
A voltage divider referenced to ground is created by connecting two electrical

impedances in series, as shown in Figure 2.5. The input voltage is applied across the
series impedances Z1 and Z2 and the output is the voltage across Z2. Z1 and Z2 may be
composed of any combination of elements such as resistors, inductors and capacitors.
32
CHAPTER 3
3. RESEACH QUESTIONS / PROBLEMS
3.1 Research Questions/ Problems
Sri Lanka Telecom (PLC) is a main telecommunication provider in Sri Lanka.

The SLT is the only one provider, who handles the fixed wire line connections. The
Telecom divides their network into many Master Switching Units (MSUs), and remote
switching units (RSUs) to provide a better service to their customers.
The Master Switching Unit needs 46v – 48v to run the exchange properly. When
the commercial power is available, the DC converters convert the AC power to DC and
provide 48 V to the exchange. At the same time this 48 V is connected to the battery
bank, in parallel. That mean the battery bank get charged, when the commercial power
is available.
The battery bank takes part in supplying current to the Exchange, when the
commercial power failure occurs. Then there is a possibility of voltage drop below 48V.
Because, when the power is supplied by batteries, the voltage value of batteries will
decrease with time. When the time is increased, the voltage of batteries may go down
below 48 V. And some times, if batteries are weak, they may not be able to handle the
work load for a long time at the commercial power failure. However the Exchange may
fail, if the voltage value decreases than 39 V.
The main problem is no island wide monitoring system to monitor the battery
voltages (With alarms at critical occasions). And also there is no method to identify
power failure and battery voltage level when the employees are not present at the
Exchange (At night and holidays). It improves the possibility of failure of the Exchange.
So if there is an island wide monitoring system, it is easy to identified faulty
batteries and easy to provide a solution efficiently.
33
3.2 Rational to Select Research Questions/ Problems
The main function of an Exchange to be handled is to make an electrical

connection between two subscribers. Switching systems are also responsible for issuing
of commands to control the operation of switching.
Switches are responsible not only for connect two telephones operates within
itself. There are subscribers who are connected to other switches situated remotely. To
make a connection between two subscribers who are own to different exchanges, a
connection between these two exchanges is required. These type of connections are
named as Trunk lines and are consists of several telephone channels. So a switch should
have the ability to handle trunk lines as well as normal direct connections.
The above mentioned switches, which are situated remotely, are known as
Remote Switching Units (RSU). These RSUs are connected to Master Switching Units
(MSU) and all the controlling part is done by MSU. Normally, a MSU in SLT handles
more than 15,000 subscribers. Some of these subscribers are directly connected to MSU
and others are connected via Remote Switching Units.
The subscriber capacity of Katunayake Master Switching Unit (MSU) and its
four Remote Switching Units (RSU) are as follows.
Name of SLT premises MSU/RSU Number of subscribers

Katunayake KN MSU 6533
Katana KTA RSU 1597
Minuwangoda MN RSU 6306
Raddolugama RAD RSU 3499
Badalgama BDL RSU 0684
Total number of subscribers 18619
Table 3.1 – Subscriber capacity of Katunayaka MSU and its RSUs
If a Master Switching Unit (MSU) fails, it may affect more than 15,000
subscribers including Remote Switching Unit (RSU)’s subscribers. It is a huge amount
and it is very necessary to avoid the failing of switch. At least it is necessary to
minimize the time of failure.
34
3.3 Potential benefits to the Organization by solving the Question / Problems
- By monitoring and observing battery states, they can identify weak batteries and
able to take necessary maintenance. The life time of batteries can be improved
through maintenance. Then the cost of replacing new batteries can be
minimized.
- By minimizing the failing of switch, the SLT can keep their service steadily. It
will improve the image of the Sri Lanka Telecom.
- SLT will be able to minimize their loss and increase revenue by minimizing the
failures of Exchanges due to power faults.
- The subscribers also get benefit of steady telephone network, which is available
always without faults.
35
CHAPTER 4
4. RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
4.1 Research Design with a Rational
The main parts of SLT are outside plant, Transmission and Exchange.
Outside plant is consists subscriber’s side. Normally the failure of outside plant is effect
on few customers or group of customers. The fault of outside plant never affected all the
customers connected to the outside plant. Transmission is receiving and transmitting
paths and technology between two or more Exchanges. Normally an Exchange is
connected to more other exchanges. Therefore there are more transmits paths from an
Exchange. So if a one transmit path is out of services the Exchange can use other
transmit path to send and receive data (can send and receive data indirectly via another
exchanges). The fault of a one transmission path is not affected every customers
connected to that MSU. Normally it is impossible to fall the every transmission paths.
But when we consider the Master Switching Unit (MSU), it is the Heart of the
system. So every other part is controlled by the MSU. The fail of the MSU affect every
customers those are connected to MSU. The major reason for the faults of the MSU is
the power faults. So it is very necessary to identify power failures immediately and
takes an action before the Exchange fails. And also it is very necessary to minimize the
outage time, if the switch fails.
The major problem is at most time it is not recognized power problems, until the
Exchange fall down. So this research is to identify the loss and damage that makes to
the SLT due to power faults, and to introduce a new system to detect power faults and
voltage drops immediately through intranet.
The data will be collected from Log books and from computer databases. The
mean loss per a day will be calculated, after analyzing the collected data.
36
4.2 Data Collection Strategy with a Rational
In research, Secondary data is collecting data from common sources of

secondary data such as censuses, large surveys, and organizational records. Advantages
to the secondary data collection method are provides a larger database.
In Sri Lanka Telecom, they maintain Log books in their every department and
sections. They keep records on every important things. They keep records about,
- Any failure of their Telephone network including switching, transmission
and out side plant.
- Any new installation in the Telephone network.
As my research is “Voltage Drop Indicator to Overcome the Failure of the

Switch”, I have to collect the data to find out following details,
- The dates and times when the failure of the Exchange occurs
- The reason for the failure of Exchange on above dates and times
- The premise that the failure occurs ( either it is MSU or RSU, and the place)
- The number of customers affected from the failure of the Exchange.
So it is possible to select “Secondary Data Collection Method” as the Data

Collection Strategy than “Primary Data Collection Method”. The main reasons to select
this method for data collecting in my research is it is needed to find out the dates and
times, when the Exchange failed due to power failure. It is impossible to do a primary
data collection. Because,
• Interviews – It is impossible to gather above data by interviewing, because
human been is not able to keep every above details in his brain, such as exact
dates, times and customers affected.
• Questionnaire – If we repair and give questionnaire to employees they also
need to refer Log books to find above details. So it is worthless.
I have used following Secondary Data sources for my research,

- The log books in MSUs, which are kept all the special records.
37
- Annual company reports.
4.3 Details of Design and Development of Data Collection tools/ Instruments
I have designed a table to collect the data including “Name of the MSU
area”, “Switch type”, “Name of the fault”, “Faulty part( SW / TX / Power)”, “Time and
date when the fault occurred”, “Time and date when the fault cleared”, “Total outage
hours” and “Number of customers effected”. The designed table was as follows,
Name of Switch Fault Fault Fault Total Number

the MSU Type occurred Reported Cleared Outage of
Date Time Date Time
area due to Hours customers
( SW/ TX/ affected
Power)
Table 4.1 – Example of data collection paths
I have decided to collect the data from the Log books within past two years (in
2007 and 2008).And also I have decided to get the help of SLT employees when the
data collects. Some times the SLT keeps computer databases on the fault occurred. The
use of these databases also can be used.
38
4.4 Data Analysis Strategy with a Rational
In SLT as mentioned before more than 15,000 subscribers are

connected to a one MSU. When we consider the Katunayake MSU 18,169 subscribers
are connected to Katunayake Exchange. So if the MSU failed, that mean whole 18,169
subscribers are out of service.
The tariffs for calls are divided in to three categories as Peak,
Economy, and Discount. The highest call capacity period is known as Peak, the
minimum call capacity is known as Discount and the call capacity between Peak and
Discount is known as Economy. The tariffs for calls are as shown below,
Per minute charge

Peak Economy Discount
Call category
SLT - SLT Local Rs. 2.80 Rs. 1.40 Rs. 0.50
SLT - SLT National Rs. 4.00 Rs. 2.00 Rs. 0.50
SLT - Other Fixed - Local Rs. 3.20 Rs. 1.60 Rs. 0.50
SLT - Other Fixed - National Rs. 4.60 Rs. 2.30 Rs. 0.50
SLT - Mobile Rs. 4.60 Rs. 2.30 Rs. 0.50
Internet dial-up access charge Rs. 1.40 Rs. 0.70 Rs. 0.25
Table 4.2 – SLT tariffs
If the fault occurred during peak hours the lost is highest. However it is
very necessary to avoid outages and to minimize the outage hours, to minimize the loss
and to protest the image of the SLT.
By analyzing collected data with tariffs we can get an idea about how
the outage effect on profit of SLT. The analysis strategy is,
- Finding average call cost for Peak, Economy and Discount.
- Finding average loss on outage hours at all fault with normal customer
capacity.
- Finding average loss on outage hours at Power fault with normal customer
capacity.
- Compare and calculate the percentage value for average loss on all faults
with average loss on power faults.
39
- Find mean lost per a day due to power faults.
4.5 Designing the Circuit
The “Voltage Drop Indicator” was designed using PIC18F452 IC.
The designed circuit was as follows,
J1
CONN-D9F
1
6
2
7
3
8
4
9
5
C4
C1 U1 10u
13 15
1
OSC1/CLKI RC0/T1OSO/T1CKI
16 1 3 U2
MCLR/Vpp RC1/T1OSI/CCP2A
10p 17
RC2/CCP1
2 18
RA0/AN0 RC3/SCK/SCL C1+ C1-
X1 3
RA1/AN1 RC4/SDI/SDA
23
CRYSTAL 4 24 11 14
RA2/AN2/VREF- RC5/SDO T1IN T1OUT
5 25 12 13
RA3/AN3/VREF+ RC6/TX/CK R1OUT R1IN
6 26 10 7
C2 7
RA4/T0CKI RC7/RX/DT
9
T2IN T2OUT
8
RA5/AN4/SS/LVDIN R2OUT R2IN
14 19
RA6/OSC2/CLKO RD0/PSP0
20 2
RD1/PSP1 VS+
10p 33 21 6
RB0/INT0 RD2/PSP2 VS-
34 22
RB1/INT1 RD3/PSP3
35 27
RB2/INT2 RD4/PSP4 C2+ C2-
36 28
RV1 37
RB3/CCP2B RD5/PSP5
29
RB4 RD6/PSP6
38 30 4 5 MAX232
RB5/PGM RD7/PSP7
39
RB6/PGC C3 C5 C6
40 8 10u 10u
RB7/PGD RE0/RD/AN5
9
RE1/WR/AN6
10
RE2/CS/AN7
10u
POT PIC18F442
Fig. 4.1 – Voltage Drop Indicator
The Program was written with MikroC language and the PIC 18F452
was programmed via JDM programmer using WinPic800.
40
CHAPTER 5
5. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
5.1 Details of Data Collection
The Time is in the 24 hour format and Negombo is listed

as NG and Katunayake is listed as KN. The time period is between 2007/07/31 –
2009/01/07.
Name of Switch Fault Fault Reported Fault Cleared Total Number

the MSU Type occurred Date Time/ Date Time Outage of
area due to h Hours customers
( SW/ affected
TX/
Power)
1 NG NEAX Power 2007/07/31 07 30 2007/07/31 09 45 2.15 110
2 NG NEAX Power 2007/08/02 15 05 2007/08/02 16 15 1.10 80
3 NG NEAX TX 2007/08/09 00 33 2007/08/09 13 15 12.42 2705
4 KN AXE Power 2007/08/10 12 19 2007/08/10 1534 3.15 637
5 KN AXE Power 2007/09/12 00 08 2007/09/12 11 26 11.15 699
6 NG NEAX TX 2007/09/13 00 10 2007/09/13 11 10 11.00 1037
7 KN AXE Power 2007/09/13 23 04 2007/09/14 01 35 2.50 699
8 NG NEAX Power 2007/09/14 08 00 2007/09/14 14 30 6.50 200
9 NG NEAX Power 2007/10/27 07 00 2007/10/27 10 00 3.00 128
10 NG NEAX Power 2007/11/09 00 00 2007/11/09 04 38 4.38 7451
11 KN AXE Power 2007/11/09 00 00 2007/11/09 04 38 4.38 702
12 NG NEAX TX 2007/11/09 23 00 2007/11/10 01 45 2.45 10145
13 KN AXE TX 2007/11/09 23 00 2007/11/10 01 45 2.45 702
14 NG NEAX Power 2007/11/11 05 00 2007/11/11 11 30 6.30 1040
15 NG NEAX Power 2008/02/08 09 00 2008/02/08 10 00 1.00 250
16 NG NEAX Power 2008/03/14 00 00 2008/03/14 09 00 9.00 2726
17 KN AXE Power 2008/03/15 18 50 2008/03/15 20 32 1.40 512
18 NG NEAX Power 2008/03/18 08 30 2008/03/08 11 00 2.50 2726
41
19 NG NEAX Power 2008/03/21 14 30 2008/03/21 17 30 3.00 2726
20 KN AXE Power 2008/03/22 09 45 2008/03/22 12 00 2.15 126
the MSU Type occurred Date Time Date Time Outage of
area due to Hours customer
( SW/ s
TX/ affected
Power)
21 NG NEAX Power 2008/03/30 22 15 2008/03/31 09 30 11.15 10145
22 NG NEAX TX 2008/04/18 22 30 2008/04/19 17 00 18.50 10452
23 KN AXE Power 2008/05/24 01 30 2008/05/24 07 08 05.38 512
24 NG NEAX Power 2008/06/07 01 00 2008/06/07 23 00 22.00 1500
25 KN AXE Power 2008/06/07 07 00 2008/06/07 12 30 5.30 2048
26 KN AXE Power 2008/06/10 07 00 2008/06/10 12 30 5.30 2048
27 NG NEAX Power 2008/06/16 08 30 2008/06/16 09 30 1.00 128
28 NG NEAX Power 2008/08/25 04 00 2008/08/25 10 00 6.00 200
29 KN AXE TX 2008/08/30 23 00 2008/08/31 10 30 11.30 100
30 NG NEAX Power 2008/09/07 07 30 2008/09/08 09 00 26.30 200
31 KN AXE Power 2008/09/10 01 30 2008/09/10 07 08 05.38 512
32 NG NEAX Power 2008/09/15 01 00 2008/09/15 23 00 22.00 1500
33 KN AXE Power 200809/24 12 19 200809/24 1534 3.15 637
34 KN AXE TX 2008/10/01 23 00 2008/10/01 01 45 2.45 702
35 KN AXE Power 2008/10/18 18 15 2008/10/18 22 45 2.30 1876
36 KN AXE Power 2008/10/19 15 15 2008/10/19 15 45 0.30 256
37 KN AXE Power 2008/10/23 04 30 2008/10/23 05 00 0.30 1620
38 KN AXE Power 2008/10/24 06 45 2008/10/24 07 30 0.45 512
39 KN AXE Power 2008/10/25 07 15 2008/10/25 07 45 0.30 1620
40 NG NEAX Power 2008/11/30 22 00 2008/12/01 01 00 3.00 4955
41 KN AXE Power 2008/11/30 22 00 2008/12/01 13 00 15.00 2678
42 NG NEAX Power 2008/12/13 09 30 2008/12/13 11 30 2.00 150
43 KN AXE TX 2008/12/15 09 45 2008/12/15 10 45 1.00 512
42

the MSU Type occurred Date Time/ Date Time Outage of
area due to h Hours customers
( SW/ affected
TX/
Power)
44 NG NEAX Power 2008/12/18 07 30 2008/12/18 09 45 2.15 110
45 NG NEAX Power 2008/12/22 15 05 2008/12/22 16 15 1.10 80
46 NG NEAX TX 2008/12/26 00 33 2008/12/26 13 15 12.42 2705
47 KN AXE Power 2008/12/31 12 19 2008/12/31 1534 3.15 637
48 KN AXE Power 2009/01/02 00 08 2009/01/02 11 26 11.15 699
49 NG NEAX TX 2009/01/06 00 10 2009/01/06 11 10 11.00 1037
50 KN AXE Power 2009/01/07 23 04 2009/01/07 01 35 2.50 699
Table 5.1 – Collected Data
5.2 Details of Data Analysis
5.2.1 Finding average call cost for Peak, Economy and Discount.
- For peak hours
Average call cost per peak = Rs.(2.80 + 4.00 + 3.20 + 4.60 + 4.60 + 1.40)/6
= Rs. 3.43
- For Economy hours
Average call cost per Economy = Rs. (1.40 + 2.00 + 1.60 + 2.30 + 2.30 + 0.70)/6
= Rs. 1.72
- For Discount hours
Average call cost per discount = Rs. (0.50 + 0.50 + 0.50 + 0.50 + 0.50 + 0.25)/6
= Rs.0.46
- Average call cost at any time per minute.
= Rs. (3.43 + 1.72 + 0.46)/3
= Rs. 1.87
43
5.2.2 Finding average loss on outage at all fault with normal customer capacity.
By considering SLT databases on customer usage we can take an average value

for telephone usage as 10% of subscribers at a time.
The calculation of average loss on outage hours due to all faults are as follows,
Loss due to outage = Outage minutes * Affected customers * Average call cost) *10/100
Name Fault Date Outage Affected Outage Loss due to

of due to time customers Minutes Outage ( Rs.)
MSU
1 NG Power 2007/07/31 2.15 110 135 2776.95
2 NG Power 2007/08/02 1.10 80 70 1047.20
3 NG TX 2007/08/09 12.42 2705 762 385446.27
4 KN Power 2007/08/10 3.15 637 195 23228.20
5 KN Power 2007/09/12 11.15 699 675 88231.27
6 NG TX 2007/09/13 11.00 1037 660 127986.54
7 KN Power 2007/09/13 2.50 699 170 22221.21
8 NG Power 2007/09/14 6.50 200 410 15334.00
9 NG Power 2007/10/27 3.00 128 180 4308.48
10 NG Power 2007/11/09 4.38 7451 278 387347.68
11 KN Power 2007/11/09 4.38 702 278 36494.17
12 NG TX 2007/11/09 2.45 10145 165 313023.97
13 KN TX 2007/11/09 2.45 702 165 21660.21
14 NG Power 2007/11/11 6.30 1040 390 75847.20
15 NG Power 2008/02/08 1.00 250 60 2805.00
16 NG Power 2008/03/14 9.00 2726 540 275271.48
17 KN Power 2008/03/15 1.40 512 100 9574.40
18 NG Power 2008/03/18 2.50 2726 170 86659.54
19 NG Power 2008/03/21 3.00 2726 180 91757.16
20 KN Power 2008/03/22 2.15 126 135 3180.87
21 NG Power 2008/03/30 11.15 10145 675 1280552.62
22 NG TX 2008/04/18 18.50 10452 1130 2208612.12
23 KN Power 2008/05/24 05.38 512 338 32361.47
24 NG Power 2008/06/07 22.00 1500 1320 370260.00
25 KN Power 2008/06/07 5.30 2048 330 126382.08
26 KN Power 2008/06/10 5.30 2048 330 126382.08
27 NG Power 2008/06/16 1.00 128 60 1436.16
28 NG Power 2008/08/25 6.00 200 360 13464.00
29 KN TX 2008/08/30 11.30 100 390 7293.00
30 NG Power 2008/09/07 26.30 200 1590 59466.00
31 KN Power 2008/09/10 05.38 512 338 32361.47
32 NG Power 2008/09/15 22.00 1500 1320 370260.00
33 KN Power 200809/24 3.15 637 195 23228.20
34 KN TX 2008/10/01 2.45 702 165 21660.21
35 KN Power 2008/10/18 2.30 1876 150 52621.80
44
36 KN Power 2008/10/19 0.30 256 30 1436.16
37 KN Power 2008/10/23 0.30 1620 30 9088.20
38 KN Power 2008/10/24 0.45 512 45 4308.48
39 KN Power 2008/10/25 0.30 1620 30 9088.20
40 NG Power 2008/11/30 3.00 4955 180 166785.30
41 KN Power 2008/11/30 15.00 2678 900 450707.40
42 NG Power 2008/12/13 2.00 150 120 3366.00
43 KN TX 2008/12/15 1.00 512 60 5744.64
44 NG Power 2008/12/18 2.15 110 135 2776.95
45 NG Power 2008/12/22 1.10 80 70 1047.20
46 NG TX 2008/12/26 12.42 2705 762 385446.27
47 KN Power 2008/12/31 3.15 637 195 23228.20
48 KN Power 2009/01/02 11.15 699 675 88231.27
49 NG TX 2009/01/06 11.00 1037 660 127986.54
50 KN Power 2009/01/07 2.50 699 170 22221.21
Loss during 2007/07/31 – 2009/01/07 8,002,005.07
Table 5.2 – Calculating loss
Average loss per a day due to any fault = Loss / Number of days
= Rs. 8,002,005.07 / 522
= Rs .15329.51
5.2.3 Finding average loss on outage hours at Power fault with normal customer
capacity.
Name Fault due Date Outage Affected Outage Loss due to
of MSU to time customers Minutes Outage( Rs.)
1 NG Power 2007/07/31 2.15 110 135 2776.95
2 NG Power 2007/08/02 1.10 80 70 1047.20
3 KN Power 2007/08/10 3.15 637 195 23228.20
4 KN Power 2007/09/12 11.15 699 675 88231.27
5 KN Power 2007/09/13 2.50 699 170 22221.21
6 NG Power 2007/09/14 6.50 200 410 15334.00
7 NG Power 2007/10/27 3.00 128 180 4308.48
8 NG Power 2007/11/09 4.38 7451 278 387347.68
9 KN Power 2007/11/09 4.38 702 278 36494.17
10 NG Power 2007/11/11 6.30 1040 390 75847.20
11 NG Power 2008/02/08 1.00 250 60 2805.00
12 NG Power 2008/03/14 9.00 2726 540 275271.48
13 KN Power 2008/03/15 1.40 512 100 9574.40
14 NG Power 2008/03/18 2.50 2726 170 86659.54
15 NG Power 2008/03/21 3.00 2726 180 91757.16
16 KN Power 2008/03/22 2.15 126 135 3180.87
17 NG Power 2008/03/30 11.15 10145 675 1280552.62
18 KN Power 2008/05/24 05.38 512 338 32361.47
19 NG Power 2008/06/07 22.00 1500 1320 370260.00
20 KN Power 2008/06/07 5.30 2048 330 126382.08
21 KN Power 2008/06/10 5.30 2048 330 126382.08
45
22 NG Power 2008/06/16 1.00 128 60 1436.16
23 NG Power 2008/08/25 6.00 200 360 13464.00
24 NG Power 2008/09/07 26.30 200 1590 59466.00
25 KN Power 2008/09/10 05.38 512 338 32361.47
26 NG Power 2008/09/15 22.00 1500 1320 370260.00
27 KN Power 200809/24 3.15 637 195 23228.20
28 KN Power 2008/10/18 2.30 1876 150 52621.80
29 KN Power 2008/10/19 0.30 256 30 1436.16
30 KN Power 2008/10/23 0.30 1620 30 9088.20
31 KN Power 2008/10/24 0.45 512 45 4308.48
32 KN Power 2008/10/25 0.30 1620 30 9088.20
33 NG Power 2008/11/30 3.00 4955 180 166785.30
34 KN Power 2008/11/30 15.00 2678 900 450707.40
35 NG Power 2008/12/13 2.00 150 120 3366.00
36 NG Power 2008/12/18 2.15 110 135 2776.95
37 NG Power 2008/12/22 1.10 80 70 1047.20
38 KN Power 2008/12/31 3.15 637 195 23228.20
39 KN Power 2009/01/02 11.15 699 675 88231.27
40 KN Power 2009/01/07 2.50 699 170 22221.21
Loss during 2007/07/31 – 2009/01/07 4,397,145.3
0
Table 5.3 – Calculating loss due to power failures
Average loss per a day due to power faults = Loss / Number of days
= Rs. 4,397,145.30 / 522
= Rs .8423.65
5.2.4 Compare and calculate the percentage value for average loss on all faults with
average loss on power faults.
Percentage value for average loss on all faults
with average loss on power faults. =. (Rs. 8423.65/ Rs. 15329.51)*100

= 55%
46
5.3 Results
- The average loss (mean value) due to all faults in Sri Lanka Telecom is
Rs. 15329.51 per a day.
- The average loss(mean value) due to power faults in Sri Lanka Telecom is
Rs. 8423.65 per a day.
- The loss due to the power faults is 55% of all faults. So power faults are playing
a major roll on losses at Sri Lanka Telecom.
47
CHAPTER 6
6. IDENTIFICATION OF CAUSES AND ALTERNATIVE

SOLUTIONS
6.1 Interpretation of findings
The final outcome of my research was to make an island wide monitoring

system, using PIC18F452 IC by connecting to the database through network using
Ethernet protocol. And this system was made with the help of Mr. Smith
Wikramasingha at Peradeniya University and with the complete supervision of Engineer
Mr. U.T. Edidrsingha at Sri Lanka Telecom, Katunayake.
The access to the database and monitoring system was granted to authorize
persons through intranet using their username and passwords. After log on he/she can
view the battery voltage level of any exchange in SLT and if any fault found he/she can
take actions to fix them. And also it was made to give an alarm and a critical message
on computer's screen to the officers who are log on, when the voltage level is go down
under specified level in any Exchange.
The PIC18F452 was connected to the “Serial to Ethernet converter”. This
converter was responsible to send the data to a specified IP(internet protocol) address.
We can program the converter with two IP addresses such as client address and Host
address. When the host address was added, the converter connects with that computer at
SLT Head office and continues to send the data. Hyper Terminal can be used to view
data on the computer at SLT Head office after setting the parameters. The Host address
should be added correctly to connect with the converter. To set the Host address, we can
do it by adjusting the properties of the connection which can find under file menu. .
The communication path will be connected after setting the Host address. After
connecting both converter and computer, we can see every data on the screen of Hyper
Terminal those are send by the PIC18F452 via “Serial to Ethernet” converter.
48
6.2 Alternative Solution - Default Alarm System in an Exchange
There is a default alarm system in an Exchange which gives alarms at power

fails and at any fault. But these Exchanges are old about 10 – 15 years and now these
alarm systems are not working properly. So as an alternative solution we can repair
these alarm systems. But it will be a costly work, because now these Exchanges are out
of dates and spare parts are not made by the companies. And if we order from the
company they need to make relevant circuit card only for the ordered quantity. So this
will be highly cost. The structure of a AXE10 Switch is as follows,
+-------------------------------------------------------+
: .----------. .----------. .----------. :
: | APT | | SWITCH | | JUNCTION | :
.--- :--|-> <-|-----|-> <-|-----|-> ACCESS-|-------:------
>
|:::| : |__________| |__________| |__________| :
PHONE : | | | :junct-
: | APT: | | : -ions
: | customer | __________| :
: | access | | :
: | | | :
: | | | :
:.......|................|.....|........................:
: | | | : IOG :
: .----|----------------|-----|----. : .-----. :MM
COMS
: | | : | I/O
|-------:------->
: | APZ: CONTROL <-|--:--|-> | :OMC
: |________________________________| : |
_____|-------:------->
: : :ALARMS
:______________________________________:________________|
APT – Holds customer lines

APZ – Hold Exchange part
(IOG == Input Output Group)
Fig. 6.1 - Basic Structure of an AXE10 Exchange
The IOG is responsible for the alarms and any repair of IOG is highly cost.
49
6.3 Comparative Analysis and Feasibility Study of Alternative Solution
The Purpose Alarm System can be compared with the default alarm system as
follows,
Purpose Alarm System with

Repaired Default Alarm System
PIC18F452
1 Very cheap related to repairing default 1. Repairing cost is very high.
. system
2 Can be implemented as an island wide 2. Only able to monitor Exchange itself.
. monitoring system.
3 Can be used to make a database 3. Unable to make a database
. automatically. automatically.
4 No expert knowledge is needed to read 4. Expert knowledge is needed to read
. alarm messages. alarm messages.
Table 6.3 – Comparative Analysis
6.4 Selection of Best Feasible Solution and Rational
By considering details in chapter 6.3, It can say the best feasible solution is the
purpose alarm system with the PIC 18F452. It can be designed and develop at very low
cost, less than in thousand rupees. How ever it is required to purchase a “serial to
Ethernet converter”.
50
CHAPTER 7
7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUTION
7.1 Limitations of this Research / Study
It can identified followings as limitations of this Research,
 There are various types of Exchanges under various manufactures in Sri Lanka
Telecom. Those types are,
- Alcatel (1000E10 OCB 283, E10B OCB 181)
- AT&T (5ESS)
- Fujitsu (FETEX)
- NEC (NEAX 61E, Zigma)
- Nokia (DX)
- Ericsson (AXE)
- Motorola (EMX 2500)
There is an Ericsson (AXE) switch at Katunayake Telecom and the purpose
system was tested with that Ericsson switch. The system was not tested for
the other Exchanges.
 The purpose system was designed using microcontroller PIC18F452. Some of

microcontrollers are sensitive for electric sparks and magnetic fields. The system
will be very reliable if it designed with a Programmable Logic Device (PLD).
 The Exchanges in Sri Lanka Telecom is going to be replacing with NGNs (Next
Generation Networks), which are based on Packet Switching with Internet
Protocol (IP). This system is not being able to connect with these NGNs and
modification must be needed.
 The communication between the PIC18F452 and the monitoring computer is

done via Ethernet Protocol. It needs network connection. If the network
connection failed, the communication between these two equipments also failed.
51
7.2 Problems Encountered and Alternative Actions have been taken
When the system was designed, there were some problems encountered. Those
problems were solved by taking necessary decisions.
- To program the PIC, it needs high voltages. Normally these voltages are
supplied through Serial port (COM port) of the computer. But in some
computers, especially in Laptops, it is difficult to supply high voltages through
its Serial port. External power sources have to be used to give these high
voltages, at these cases.
- When a power fault occurs, the system that was designed using PIC should not
be out of work. So the power can provide by a rechargeable 9V battery, since
PIC18F452 does not need high current to operate.
- The baud rates of computer and the PIC 18F452 must be same, to receive and
transmit bits correctly. This can be adjust by saving necessary settings in Hyper
Terminal and by setting the relevant baud rate when the program is written using
MikroC.
- It is necessary to select Code Protection when the PIC18F452 is programmed.

By doing this no one will be able to copy the code by reading it through a JDM
programmer.
52
7.3 Further / Future Research opportunities
For the best working conditions of an Exchanges following margins should be

satisfied,
Recommended Range Permitted Range
Voltage 44V to 48V 39V to 52V
Temperature -150C to 250C -50C to 350C
Humidity 40RH% to 65RH% 20RH% to 80RH%
We can observe voltage levels by the designed system and able to take necessary
actions if the voltage value goes below recommended range. As future developments,
- This system can be developed to sense the temperature of the Exchange, and
give an alarm signal, if the temperature value goes beyond recommended 25 0C.
The temperature value should be kept between recommended ranges for the
better life time of the Exchange equipments. The temperature control by Air
Conditioners in an Exchange.
- And also this system can be developed to sense the humidity of the exchange,
and give an alarm signal, if the humidity value exceeds the limits of
recommended range. The Humidity value should be within recommended range
for the better performance of the Exchange.
- We can modify the designed system to detect voltage values of the NGNs (Next
generation networks.).
53
- It is very necessary to keep temperature values, humidity values, in
recommended range at the “Transmission Section”. This system can be
developed to monitor these values in transmission section.
7.4 Discussion and recommendations
- When designing the “Voltage drop indicator to overcome the power failure of
the Exchange”, it is very cheap to design using PIC18F452 microcontroller. It
can be develop within thousand rupees.
- The “Voltage drop indicator” should be checked for a period of time and should
do a research again to find how the purpose system affected on power faults.
- For the better stability, it can be developed using a PLD (programmable logic
device).
- There is a facility of accessing Ethernet parameters directly in the PIC18F452.

But it was rather difficult to program, therefore “Serial Communication” was
used with the “Serial to Ethernet Converter”
- Received data to the computer was read via the Hyper Terminal which comes as
a communication tool in Windows. A java program can be written with more
facilities to do this job in a very user friendly environment.
- Using this system the loss due to the power faults is minimized. The percentage
value for the loss due to power faults over all faults can be recalculate using new
data after installing this system.
54
7.5 Conclusion
My training period at SLT lasted for approximately six months, from the 04th of
August 2008 to the 4th of February 2009. During this period I was able to conduct
myself in a professional manner.
During this period I was able to learn a great deal. This ranged from technical
subject matter related to Electronics and Telecommunication, to interpersonal
interactions.
During the time spent Sri Lanka Telecom, I was able to learn a great deal on
switching, signaling and traffic. In my opinion, this was the best place that I was
assigned to. The staff there was helpful and friendly. They were eager to help us out and
teach us. I was able to interact with field staff as well. This was an opportunity for me to
understand their mindset towards work and other persons in the establishment.
In this time period I was able to design a “voltage drop indicator” to overcome
the power faults in Exchanges under the guidance of the University. The engineer Mr.
U.T. Edirisingha at Sri Lanka Telecom, my first supervisor Prof. CAN Fernando and the
course coordinator Dr. KDDN Dissanayake were very helpful me in designing this
System. And also Mr. Smith Wikramasingha at Peradeniya University was helped me in
designing the circuit.
From my experience at SLT, I can state that the Training & Planning division of
SLT is doing a great job of organizing and coordinating activities of trainees. In my
opinion the industrial training program has been a very important part of my University
education. It has enabled me to learn about technological advancements and real
systems used in real life applications in a very short span on 6 months. Keeping this
training program for 6 months is adequate
Finally it could be concluded that the training that I obtained at SLT was very
valuable and that SLT has been successful in providing a good training place for the
Industrial Training Program, mainly due to the availability of state of the art technology
and equipment.
55
REFERENCES
- Dogan Ibrahim, (2008), Advanced PIC Microcontroller Projects in C: From USB to

RTOS with the PIC 18F Series, Newnes, London, p. 251 – 295.
- Worms C.O., (2009), PIC microcontroller,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIC_microcontroller#Device_Programmers, Accessed
on 12th December 2008.
- Biscuittin, (2008), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_divider, Accessed on 21st

February 2009.
- Christoffersen M. & Henten A., (1993), Telecommunication, IOS Press,

Netherlands.
- Robert B. Northrop, (2005), Introduction to instrumentation and measurements, 02nd

Edition, CRC Press, London.
56
ANNEXURES
Telecommunication System in SLT
In telecom they provided voice calls and internet / data facilities. Normally
telecom uses twisted pair copper wire to give connections to their subscribers except for
Citylink CDMA.
A simple architecture of Telecommunication system in SLT as follows,
OSP Radio wave/ Fiber optic
DP
Exchange Transmi-
(SW) -ssion To other exchanges
MDF
Direct feed line TX/RX
From other exchanges
Cab- UG cable
-inet (1000/500
pair)
DP
DP - Distribution Point
OSP - Outside plant / External line plant
UG - Under Ground
MDF - Main Distribution Frame
57
Direct feed line - if no cabinet between customer and MDF.
Cabinet - used to provide extra power to the system
Figure I
Telecommunication network is a system of interconnecting elements linked by

facilities (physical connections) over which traffic will flow. This telecommunication
network must also be able to control the interconnected elements.
Traffic - A flow of information or messages throughout the network. The traffic
may be conversations, information, or complex video or audio services.
The main parts of telecommunication network are,
- Exchange
- Out Side plant with MDF
- Transmission Media
Exchange
Exchanges are capable of switching any incoming channel to any outgoing one
in order to connect any two users. First exchanges were manually operated and then the
mechanical & electro mechanical exchanges came in to the arena. But the arrival of
fully electronic exchanges with Stored Program Control (SPC) supported by digital
technology revolutionized the field of telecommunications.
In Bell’s invention and first demonstration, telephone communication went from

one instrument to another a few rooms away. This type of private line service
characterized initial telephone installations, one telephone could only communicate with
one other telephone-not a particularly exciting form of communication. But when the
network starts to grow having that type of mesh was quite impracticable. That is why
these present exchanges were needed. Mainly the concept of exchanges was able to
avoid the discomfort of having dedicated lines between each and every node.
With the commercial deployment of telephone systems, it was impractical to
draw wires from every node in the network to every other node. Due to this a switching
arrangement was needed. A switching system basically avoids the need for having direct
and dedicated connections between all users. There are two main functioning parts of
58
any telecommunication switching system. The first part performs the actual switching
and connection of one circuit to another. This part consists of the switch themselves,
which are interconnected to create a network of switches, commonly called the
switching network. The second part of a telecommunication switching system is
responsible for issuing the commands necessary to operate the switches at the proper
time to make specific connections. This part is called the control function, or simply
control. Some kind of a signaling is also required to control and supervise the calls being
handled by the switch.
Manual switching
At first the switching was mainly done by a human called ‘operator’. But this process
was very slow and it was not practical as the number of subscribers increased. So people turned
to other methods as follows.
. Strowger switch ( step by step system )

The first electromechanical exchange was invented by A.B. Strowger in
1938 and the operation was fully mechanical. In this system a two motion selector is
used. This is an electro mechanical device, so it moves when a varying electrical
current is given. With this equipment we can select a particular path when a series of
pulses are supplied.
Crossbar switches
The rotary dial system was introduced with crossbar switching system. In this
system a pulse speed is introduced.
Pulse speed = 10 pulses per second
1 pulse = 0.1 seconds = 100 milliseconds
When there is time duration of more than 66.67 ms, the mechanical devices, Relays-
can identify them as different pulses and switch according to it.
Electronic switches
But the real revolution in telecommunication era was done by the arrival of
fully electronic switches which are utilized by SPC (Stored Program Controlled) and digital
technology. The first fully electronic system, an invention of France, was invented in 1981
and was named as E 10 B. In modern push button systems Dual Tone Multi-frequency
(DTMF) system is in operation. In this system we use five frequencies in dual combination,
and it is obvious that this method can give 32 combinations.
In all switching system mentioned above, the main function to be handled, is to make an
electrical connection between two subscribers. Modern switching systems are also responsible
59
for issuing of commands to control the operation of switching. Process of signaling is a must for
supervision and control of calls handle by the switch.
Switches are responsible not only for connect two telephones operates within itself.
There are subscribers who are connected to other switches situated remotely. To make a
connection between two subscribers who are own to different exchanges, a connection between
these two exchanges is required. These type of connections are named as Trunk lines and are
consists of several telephone channels. So a switch should have the ability to handle trunk lines
as well as normal direct connections.
The electromechanical switches had limitations over operation speed, quality of service,
reliability, capacity, etc. Most of these problems were eliminated with electronic switches. These
were controlled and monitored by an SPC computer and avoided most problems associated with
electromechanical systems.
The switching scheme used by electronic switching systems may be either space
division switching or time division switching. In space division switching, a dedicated path is
established between the calling and the called parties for the entire duration of the call. Space
division switching is also the technique used in the Strowger and Crossbar systems. In time
division switching, sampled values of speech signals are transferred at fixed intervals. Time
division switching may be analog or digital. In analog switching, the sampled voltage levels are
transmitted as they are, whereas in digital switching, they are quantized, binary coded and then
transmitted.
There are two major types of switching. They are circuit switching (as in public
switched telephone network) and packet switching (used widely for electronic mail and
data communication in general).
In circuit switching, end to end links are setup for the duration of a call. The
links remain reserved for the call even if unused during temporary lulls in transmission.
the overall transmission delay is the propagation time through the network – less than
few tenths of a second even if satellite links are involved.
In packet switching, messages are broken up or combined as appropriate into
packets of convenient length. Packets are sent individually, stored at nodes if necessary
until a link is free, and reassembled at the destination. The time taken depends on the
number of nodes involved, the levels of traffic, and the packet switching technique used
– it may be a few seconds (or even less), or up to several hours for crowded
international route. Since packets are sent only when needed, and the links are available
for other connections, packet switching improves the efficiency of the network
Components of a Modern Switching System
60
In electronic switching systems the operation is distributed among several
programmable microprocessors. Hence these systems are capable of control using a
program stored in it and that’s why they are known as SPC systems. Due to this, the
flexibility of adding new functions to the switch is increased. It can be done by just
changing the soft ware program.
A switch consists of several main parts.

1. Control unit
2. switching unit
3. connection unit
4. maintenance unit
Control
S
u
b
s S
c R W U Other
r S I R Exchange
i s
U T M
b C
e PCM Link H PCM Link PCM
r
s R
I S
T U
Mtc. Data Tone
A Generator
Processor
X Base
E Tone
R Receiver
RSU = Subscriber Connection Unit

URM = Multiplex Connection Unit
Figure II
In electronic switching systems the operation is distributed among several

programmable microprocessors. Hence these systems are capable of control using a
program stored in it and that’s why they are known as SPC systems. Due to this the
61
flexibility of adding new functions to the switch is increased. It can be done by just
changing the software program.
Functioning of a Switching System
The internal configuration of a switching unit is illustrated in Figure III, with

sub units that perform switching, control and signaling functions.
Incoming outgoing
Trunk Trunk
Interface Interface
J
Subscriber u
Subscriber
Line Interface
Line n
Switching Interface c
Network
t
Service Service
u
Circuit Circuit
r
Interface Interface
e
s
Scanning
Scanning and
Control and
Distribution
Distribution
Figure III
Normally a switching system has to perform three functions. They are Call
Processing, Switching and Signaling. The main function in the system is call -
processing.
Subscriber lines are terminated at Subscriber Line Interface Circuits and trunks
in Trunk Interface Circuits. There are some service lines included for operation and
maintenance services and for testing. As can be seen from Figure 2.3, the control unit
lies outside the switching network. This kind of an arrangement is known as Common
Control. In the other method, Direct Control, the control unit is an integral part of the
62
switching network. Strowger system is a direct control system, whereas all SPC systems
are indirect control systems.
In call processing first the system identifies whether the customer is off hooked
or not by scanning the system. If it realized that the customer is off hook, then it finds
the equipment number to identify the class of service (COS) of the sub and then send
signal regarding to dial tone to indicate the customer that the exchange is now ready to
receive dialed digits. Here it should notify that the dial tone is supplied only after the
register finder is able to find an empty register for the particular subscriber. As soon as
the initial digits, which identify the exchange, are received in the register, they are
passed to the translator for processing, simultaneously, the register continues to receive
the remaining digits.
The translator determines the route for the call through the network and decides
whether a call should be put through or not according to the services allocated to the
subscriber. If the processor decided that the call is to put through, it decide weather this
particular call is to be connected to the called party within itself or is it to be done by
another switch. If the call is going to another exchange, the switch sees for a vacant
trunk circuit and then a time slot is allocated for the particular call.
It also determines the charging method and the rates applicable to the subscriber.
Such decisions are based on the class of service information, which specifies details
such as the following.
Call barring: A subscriber may be barred from making certain calls.
Call priority: When the exchange or network is overloaded, only calls from the
subscribers identified as priority-call subscribers may be put through.
Call charging: It is possible to define different charging rules for different subscribers
in the same exchange.
Origin based routing: Routing or destination of certain calls may depend on the
geographical location of the calling subscriber. For example calls to emergency services
are routed to the nearest emergency call center.
No dialing calls: These calls are routed to predetermined numbers without the calling
party having to dial.
Call processing is the main purpose of the call processing software and, in all
cases, the ability to handle calls is an important criterion in judging an exchange. The
system software of an SPC system performs the usual operating-system functions such
63
as control of timing, interrupt handling, control of overload etc. Detection of faults and
handling of error messages are among the main tasks performed by the maintenance
software. In SPC exchanges, a call record is created in software for every call and, when
the call has been cleared all or some of the data in the call record may be stored for later
use and that require dedicated administrative software.
Software functions of a modern SPC switching system can be categorized as follows

• Call processing software
• System software
• Administrative software
• Maintenance software
MDF & TEST ROOM

The Main Distribution Frame (MDF) provides the main point of cross
connection between the OSP cable pairs and the exchange. It provides a great flexibility
over the line testing functions as well as electrical protection. This is normally a rack of
tag blocks, which are used for line termination.
There is a well-defined method for identifying all the cables from line side and
exchange side. They are coded as A, B, C… Z, AA, AB… ZZ and so on. To avoid
mistakes - when referring to these cable codes - words are used instead of letters. For
example A, B, C, D and E cables are referred to as Arthur, Burty, Charley, David and
Edward cables respectively. The arrangement of MDF is given in Figure IV.
Apart from the normal analog telephone lines, Data, Telex, fax lines and PCMs,
digital pair-gain line termination units are also situated within the MDF. In addition to
those lines the lines from other private telecommunications operators and payphone
operators are also terminate at the MDF.
At the MDF, fuses and lightning arrestors are used for protecting the exchange
from outside surges and lightening. These are mainly high voltage fuses and Gas
Discharge Tubes.
As can be seen from the illustration, Colombo MDF is actually a combination of
2 MDFs, connected together using interconnection cables. This allows jumpering a line
from MDF I to an equipment of MDF II, or vice versa, via tie blocks.
64
MDF I MDF II
Underground Line Line Underground
Cables Side Side Cables
Tag Blocks Tag Blocks

MDF
Tie Blocks Interconnection Tie Blocks
Cables
Exchange Exchange
Side Side
Tag Blocks Tag Blocks
Exchange Exchange
Equipment Equipment
Figure IV
Test Room Functions
The Test Room, which located next to the MDF, is used for testing outside lines
when faults occur. These faults include,
• Disconnection (DIS)
• Earth (ETH)
• Short Circuit (S/C)
• Current On Line (COL)
• Short On Reverse (SOR)
The test equipment at the test room consists of a specially designed panel with a
switchboard, set of cables and a galvanometer. There are three keys in this switchboard
and the above tests are done by changing the position of those keys.
• 1st key (Voltmeter key) – apply on A leg
V
65
• 2nd key (Earth key) – apply on B leg
• 3rd key (Reverse key) – Reverse the keys applied

Condition (A B)
(B A)
• 2nd key upper – remove the battery
The interpreted test results are,

• Right When Test (RWT)
• Tested OK (TOK)
• Attended Tested OK - (Attd TOK)
• No Reply (NR)
• Found OK (FOK)
• Right to Point (Rt to Pt)
• Right to Distribution Point (Rt to DP)
• Faulty to Distribution Point (Faulty to DP)
• Underground Fault (UG Fault)
• Main Distribution Frame Fault (MDF Fault)
When a subscriber complains of some faulty condition on his circuit (to the
Fault Repair Line on 121), the complaint is noted and is entered to a computer system.
At the test room, all this information can be downloaded to its computer using a modem
line. This data contains the CCC (Cross Connect Cabinet), DP (Distribution Point) and
the subscriber number and other details of the Main Distribution Frame (MDF). The
66
details of previous complaints made by that subscriber are also referred when the
corrective testing procedure is carried out. These are all available in the computer
database. When this information is received by an IPT, he obtains access to the faulty
subscriber line via the Main Distribution Frame verticals and traces the fault.
OUTSIDE PLANT MAINTENANCE CENTER (OSP)
Outside Plant Network mainly deals with the connection from the exchange to
the subscriber premises. The amount of equipment employed depends on several factors
and obviously it involves very high costly equipments for providing underground ducts
and manholes.
Subscriber lines from the exchange are terminated at the Main Distribution
Frame (MDF). This is mainly to allow easy configuration and testing of lines. These are
then taken on a primary cable down to the cable vault and then through manholes to a
cabinet, where they are terminated again. These lines are further extended on a
secondary cable, through manholes and hand-holes to a distribution pole. A Distribution
Point (DP) on the pole takes in 10 copper loops. These loops are then extended to
customer premises via aerial cables and drop wires. This is illustrated in Figure V.
Main Junction cabbies

From adjacent Exchanges
(Fiber, Co – axial, copper wires)
DP
EXCHANGE DISCHARGER
POLE
MDF CC
To other CABINET To other ROSETTE
Cabinets DP’s
T/P
CHAMBER SECONDARY
(CABLE VAULT) MH CABLE MH HH
PRIMARY
CABLE
UNDERGROUND CABLE PART DROP CUSTOMER
WIRE PREMISES
Figure V
As illustrated in Figure V, the drop wire connects to a discharger at the

customer premises. This is a protective device, included in the network to protect
67
customer-end equipment. The output of the discharger is connected to a telephone via a
rosette.
RADIO TRANSMISSION
Microwave radio links are still famous for point-to-point communication.

Therefore, microwave radio links play a major role in the national transmission network
of SLT. Different frequency bands have been allocated for use by the common carriers
for the transmission of the telephone traffic. Microwave radio beams follow a line of
sight path.
Microwave radios propagate signals through Earth’s atmosphere between
transmitters and receivers often located on top of towers spaced about 25km to 50km
apart. Therefore, microwave radio systems have the obvious advantage of having the
capacity to carry thousands of individual information channels between two points
without the need for physical facilities such as coaxial cables or optical fibers. In
addition radio waves are better suited for spanning large bodies of water, going over
high mountains, or going through heavily wooded terrain that imposes formidable
barriers to cable systems.
Radio Transmission Systems basically deals with using microwave links for
terrestrial trunk transmissions. The Radio Transmission System gets it feeding from the
PCM Room. These radio systems modulate the signal, up-convert and amplify the
signal using power amplifiers. It is then carried to the antenna via wave-guides. This is
illustrated in Figure VI. On the receiving end, the exact reverse procedure is in
operation.
Antenna
Wave Guide
Power Amplifier
From Transmission
Room MUX
(HDB3 CODED Line Code
2M lines) Modulator Up-Converter
INVESTIGATION OF VOLTAGE DROP INDICATOR TO OVERCOME THE CURRENTIF
Converter FAILURE OF THE SWITCH
68
Figure VI

Investigation of Voltage Drop Indicator To Overcome The Current Failure of The Switch.

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INVESTIGATION OF VOLTAGE DROP

INDICATOR TO OVERCOME THE CURRENT

Report of Industrial Training

INVESTIGATION OF VOLTAGE DROP

This report is submitted in a partial fulfillment of the requirements for

Principal Supervisor’s Name: Prof. CAN Fernando

Name of the Course Module: INDT421X Industrial Training

External Supervisor’s Name: Mr. U.T. Edirisingha

External Supervisor : ……………………..

Internal Supervisor : ……………………..

Program Coordinator : ……………………..

Assistant Registrar : ………………………

Telecommunications is one of the most important and rapidly developing

Figure 1.1 – Organization Structure of SLT 2

Table 2.1 – Specifications for PIC analogue input 13

PIC - Programmable Integrated Circuit

1.1 Organizations, Structure and History.

Region 3 Nw.Pl. & Human

1858 - First Telegraphic Circuit established between Galle and Colombo.

1.2 Nature of Business and Operations

SLT provides an assortment of services for the domestic and corporate

Domestic Voice Services International Voice Services Operator Assisted Services

IDD without deposit 5. Billing information (122)

Call Forwarding 6. Operator Assistance Service

DATA SERVICES SLTNET ISDN Services

(Internet Access) 1. Fast File Transfer

8. Call Line Identification

9. Faxes (7 times faster)

Fig. 1.2 – Services of SLT

1.3 Departments/ Divisions/ Sections of Study

I have trained at Switching Section Katunayake, OPMC Section Negombo and

Switching Section Katunayake

OPMC Section Negombo

Padukka Satellite – Earth Station

1.4 Background and Rational for the Research/ Study

1.5 Study / Research Objectives.

1.6 Scope of the Study / Research

2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Literature related to area of study

2.1.1 Power in an Exchange

The two alternative power systems supplied by Ericsson are,

- The Central Power Plant (BZA112)

2.1.3 Battery unit

2.1.4 Default power alarms in AXE 10

2.1.5 PIC18F452 microcontroller

MikroC is a powerful, feature rich development tool for PIC microcontrollers. It

2.1.7 JDM Programmer

2.2 Similar voltage measurement units, develop with microcontrollers

2.2.1 The PIC LCD volt meter project

Fig. 2.1 – A PIC LCD volt meter

2.2.2 A Serial Voltage Meter

a serial voltage meter to measure from 0 to 5 volts DC using MeLabs PicBasic,

2.2.3 Low Power LED Voltmeter

Fig. 2.2 – Low Power LED voltmeter

2.2.4 High Accuracy High-Voltage Monitor

Fig 2.3 – High Accuracy High Voltage Meter

2.2.5 Expanded Scale Battery Volt Meter

Fig. 2.4 – Expanded scale Battery Volt Meter

2.3 Theories related to area of study

2.3.1 Ohm’s law

The relationship between electrical power, current, voltage, and resistance is

2.3.2 Voltage Divider

In electronics, a voltage divider (also known as a potential divider) is a