Customer Support Application Note

Document Number: CSAN-001 Subject: General Installation Techniques

Synopsis
The scope of this paper is to provide an overview of installation techniques that should be followed in the deployment of outdoor Proxim equipment that is powered via Category-5 (Cat 5) Power over Ethernet (PoE) cables. Topics that will be covered are weather sealing techniques, grounding and lightning protection and installation of surge protection. Products that this document applies to are: All outdoor R versions of the Tsunami MP.11 models Tsunami MP.16 model All Tsunami QB.11 models All outdoor R version of the Orinoco 4000M and 4900M models

To prevent equipment damage from induced surge voltages and currents and from water intrusion, Proxim recommends the installation of external lightning/surge protection and the application of appropriate weather sealing techniques. In addition, proper earth grounding of the surge protectors and Proxim equipment is mandatory for proper operation and personnel protection. . The grounding issues and considerations discussed in this paper are solely limited to the protection of electronic communication equipment, and do not address safety code requirements which are beyond the scope of this paper. Since electrical, safety, and building codes vary with locality, it is the responsibility of the system integrator to determine what is required for compliance, wherever the system is being deployed

Revision History
Rev No. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Issue Date 10 Sept 08 27 Oct 08 30 Apr 09 Summary of Change Initial Draft Input from Team Members Include Titan Enclosure Authors Steven Chaganis Steven Chaganis Myron Mak

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Table of Contents
1. 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2. 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Weather Sealing Techniques ............................................................................................................ 3 Assembly of the Cable RJ45 Connector .......................................................................................... 3 Attaching Cable Connector Assembly to Equipment ....................................................................... 5 Weatherproof Connector.................................................................................................................. 6 Application of Anti-Corrosion ......................................................................................................... 10 Titan Enclosure....12 Grounding and Lightning Requirements ....................................................................................... 13 Lightning Protection Installation Components ............................................................................... 14 Lightning Rod ................................................................................................................................. 15 Co-axial and/or Cat 5 Cable Shield Grounding.............................................................................. 15 Grounding and Bonding ................................................................................................................. 17 Installation of Surge Protection ...................................................................................................... 18 Proxim Recommended Types of Surge Protectors ....................................................................... 18 Metal Enclosure Equipment ........................................................................................................... 20 Insulated Enclosure Equipment ..................................................................................................... 22 Antenna to Radio RF Surge Protection.......................................................................................... 23 Single Point Grounding Concept.................................................................................................... 25

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1.

Weather Sealing Techniques

Proxim recommends that appropriate weather protection sealing and the application of an antiseize material is applied to all outdoor installed elements of the system. Weatherproofing tape kits flawlessly seals the junction between two connectors. It not only protects the connection from water damage, it also prevents vibrations from loosening the interface. The following instructions are applicable to all products but for the ease of explanation, the product illustrated in this document is a Tsunami MP.11-R.

1.1

Assembly of the Cable RJ45 Connector

It is important to ensure that the following points are followed when the equipment is installed outdoors. 1) 2) 3) It is recommended that you should install an appropriate outdoor rated, shielded Category-5E (Cat 5) 100 Mbps Ethernet cable. It is recommended that you should install a shielded outdoor rated metal RJ45 cable connector. It is recommended that when you must use shielded Cat 5e cables it is important to ensure that the drain wire has a good contact with the metal RJ-45 connector

Full assembly instructions are provided in the relevant equipment Installation and Management Guide but the salient point to remember is: Apply two wraps of 0.5 wide Teflon tape (not supplied with unit, see figure 1) around the threads of the lock nut (B) that will go inside the sealing cap.

Figure 1 Teflon Tape

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Figure 2 illustrates where to apply the Teflon tape in the assembly of the connector and figures 3 and 4 demonstrates the application of the tape and the final assembly.

Figure 2 Where to apply Teflon Tape in the Connector assembly

Figure 3 Application of Teflon Tape in the Connector assembly

Figure 4 Assembled Connector

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1.2

Attaching Cable Connector Assembly to Equipment

It is important to ensure that the following steps are followed when physically attaching the cable plus connector to the unit. 1) Apply two wraps of the Teflon tape around the threads of the units RJ45 jack or PWR/ETHERNET and SERIAL RJ45 jack in a clockwise direction, refer to figure 5. It is important to apply the tape in a clockwise direction otherwise the tape may become loose when the sealing cap is locked into place.

Figure 5 Teflon Tape applied to RJ45 and Serial Connector on Equipment

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Figure 6 Attaching Cable Connector Assembly to Unit 2) 3) Make sure that the red rubber gasket is still seated in the sealing cap of the sealing cap/lock nut assembly (figure 6 part B). Slide the sealing cap/lock nut assembly (B) over the RJ45 jack (A) and thread onto enclosure. First hand tighten and then use a pipe wrench or similar tool to tighten one more quarter turn. CAUTION: Do not over-tighten. Tighten the lock nut (C) (Torque 4 N.m/35 in-lbs). Thread the sealing nut (D) onto the sealing cap/lock nut assembly (B) and tighten (Torque 3 N.m/25 in-lbs). CAUTION: The lock nut (C) on the sealing cap/lock nut assembly (B) must be fully tightened over the RJ45 connector before the sealing nut (D) is fully tightened. Otherwise, the Ethernet cable may twist and damage.

4) 5)

1.3

Weatherproof Connector

Due to variance in Cat 5 cable diameter, termination techniques of the installer, and the application of proper tightness of the connectors, it is strongly recommended that all cable connectors are secured by external weatherproofing. There are a range of commercially available weather protection kits that provide all the necessary components in addition to full instructions on how to weather protect. One kit that is recommended by Proxim is: Name: Part #: Description: Manufacturer: Distributor: Universal Weatherproofing Kit AND-221213 Weatherproofing tape kit. Each kit contains (6) rolls of 2-1/2" x 24" butyl tape, (2) rolls of 3/4" x 66' black electrical tape & (1) roll of 2" x 20' black electrical tape. Andrew Networks (P/N 221213) Hutton (http://www.huttoncom.com)

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The kit essentially consists of electrical tape and butyl tape (refer to figure 7).

Figure 7 - Butyl Tape Weather Protection

Also, Proxim provides a strip of self-fusing rubber-based weather sealing tape. This is provided at shipment with the equipment. In addition the installer will need ultraviolet (UV) rated electrical tape (Proxim recommends Scotch Super 33+ Vinyl Electrical Tape) to seal the weather seal the connection. The procedure to weather seal is detailed below. This procedure outlines how to weather seal using the Proxim provide tape but the same principles can apply to the Butyl tape. 1) Remove the film liner from the rubber-based tape strip, and stretch the tape until it is approximately half of its original thickness. This activates the self-fusing action of the tape, which will set up over time to create a single, waterproof mass (see figure 8).

Figure 8 Proxim Provided Weather Tape

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2)

Stretch and wrap the tape around the connector tightly, starting below the connector cap and against the unit and wrapping in a clockwise direction (refer to figure 9).

Figure 9 - Tape Applied to Connector 3) Wrap the tape once around the base of the connector cap. Continue to wrap the tape spirally around the connector in a clockwise direction, maintaining a 50% width overlap (refer to figure 10).

Figure 10 Further Tape Application 4) Continue wrapping the tape spirally upward until the tape extends onto the cable and you have used the entire length of tape (refer to figure 11).

Figure 11 Further Tape Application

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5) 6)

Seal the tape tightly against the connector and the cable (refer to figure 12). NOTE: Be sure to wrap the tape in a clockwise direction; wrapping the tape in a counterclockwise direction may loosen up the connector.

Figure 12 Tape Application Finished 7) In the same manner as described above, apply a layer of black electrical tape (not provided) over the rubber based tape for further protection. Make sure the electrical tape also extends beyond the rubber-based tape to seal it (refer to figure 13).

Figure 13 Electrical Tape Applied over Weather Tape 8) Repeat the weatherproofing procedure for other connectors as appropriate

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1.4

Application of Anti-Corrosion

It is also suggested that a suitable anti-corrosion lubricant is applied to all exposed metal surfaces. Two suitable lubricants are recommended below. Name: Part #: Description: NEVER-SEEZ Regular Grade Lubricant 1OZ (figure 14) V057940-8A NEVER-SEEZ regular grade lubricant is an anti-seize compound and extreme pressure lubricant in a 1 ounce tube. Protect metal parts against rust, corrosion and seizure up to 1800F. Ellsworth Adhesives (http://www.ellsworth.com)

Distributor:

Figure 14 - Anti-Seize Lubricant

Name: Part #: Description: Distributor:

LOCTITE Silver Grade Anti-seize lubricant (figure 15) 76764 LOCTITE Silver Grade is a heavy duty, high temperature anti-seize thread compound with heavy pressure resistance. Ellsworth Adhesives (http://www.ellsworth.com)

Figure 15 LOCTITE Silver Grade Anti-seize Lubricant 1 lb

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To apply the material, the exposed metal surface is simply painted with the lubricant such that all exposed metal surfaces are completely covered (see figure 16). Note: These types of lubricants tend to be messy and sticky to apply due to the nature of their intended application. Always read the labels or instructions provided and take necessary pre-cautions during application. Some lubricants are non conductive and should be applied over the material that needs to be protected.

Figure 16 - Anti-Seize Applied

In addition to the anti corrosion material, it may be advisable to consider the use of weather protective sprays especially in areas that experience adverse wet weather conditions. A suitable coating could be applied by a product such a PlastiDip. The decision on whether to use such a product is entirely dependent on the Installer with can take into account due consideration of the long term underlying weather conditions. PlastiDip is a multi-purpose air dry, synthetic rubber coating that can be easily applied by spraying, brushing or dipping. PlastiDip resists moisture, acids, abrasion, corrosion, skidding/slipping, and provides a comfortable, controlled grip. It remains flexible, stretchy and will not become brittle or crack in extreme weather conditions. Name: Description: Distributor: PlastiDip (figure 17) Multi-purpose air dry, synthetic rubber coating Plasti Dip International (http://www.plastidip.com)

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Figure 17 Plasti Dip Additional Sealant

1.5

Titan Enclosure

During Q2-2009, Proxim introduced a new enclosure (internally referrer to as Titan, figure 18) for many ruggedized outdoor rated radios. Excluding the visual and dimension differences, there are two key changes for this enclosure, in comparison to the prior; IP66 rated connector assemblies for PoE (A) and serial port (B), and all cable connecting ports are repositioned to the bottom side of the radio, for improved access during installation and maintenance. With IP66 rated connector assemblies on both PoE (A) and serial ports (B), weatherproofing is no longer required and are optional in majority cases. However, proper weatherproofing and anticorrosion techniques must still be applied to antenna out (N-connector) port and grounding points (C).

Figure 18 Titan Enclosure (back view)

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2.

Grounding and Lightning Requirements

There are several reasons to properly ground an outdoor wireless installation. Although Proxim cannot specifically state how a system should be earthed in any location relative to local laws, protecting a system by providing a proper ground path and earth reference are applicable in every situation. Many installers either fail to realize the importance of this, or they choose to ignore the documented warnings to properly ground these systems. Grounding and surge protection of a communications system depends on its deployment environment, it is important to remember that there are no standard sets of instructions that is applicable to all systems. The important thing to remember is that all communication equipment at a given installation site must share a common earth ground system. This means that the tower, station, and halo ground systems must all be bonded together to a common earth ground. If all outdoor equipment, surge suppressors, and terminating equipment indoors are bonded to different earth ground points, ground loop problems may result. Properly installed and grounded primary surge protectors will dramatically increase the surge withstanding capabilities of the Proxim equipment. Surges that exceed the maximum ratings of the primary protector devices will eventually cause them to fail, however these devices are generally designed to fail short or open, as the application warrants, such that further surges will not damage the end equipment. While a failed primary protector still results in a service outage, it does prevent further damage to the more expensive end equipment. Equipment that is installed outdoor on the tower or mast is especially vulnerable to lightning surges. Good surge mitigation practice starts with the lightning rod and its connection to a proper sized down conductor. The ground down conductor should be as straight as possible and avoid incidental contact with other conductors such that it represents the path of least resistance to earth ground from the lightning rod. The tower/mast is also earth grounded to keep its conductive elements at earth potential (0V) for personnel safety, and generally presents a less desirable path to ground to surge currents. Outdoor equipment and external primary protection devices are mounted to the tower/mast and should be bonded to earth ground at the same point on the down conductor. This practice is intended to avoid ground loop currents that may flow from differences in potential between the tower/mast structure and down conductor while large surge currents are flowing in them respectively. The cables should also be secured to the tower/mast at regular intervals to create physical separation from conductors which are carrying surge currents. This practice avoids incidental contact or possible insulation breakdown from high surge potentials. Typically most grounding problems involve tower mounted equipment, primarily due to the lack of proper tower grounding. Two or three 10-foot ground rods at the base of a tower do not constitute a proper or effective tower grounding system. Depending on soil conditions, locality, and tower height, several buried ground radials extending from the tower base, each with distributed ground rods attached, may be required to properly ground the tower. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a one size fits all tower ground system. Each tower is unique.

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Equipment that is installed indoor units requires similar protection as the outdoor installation. Primary protection devices are installed on all cables just prior to entry of the facility and bonded to an earth ground stake. Likewise, the cable shields are grounded at the entry panel which should be bonded to the same earth ground stake. Indoor equipment may also be vulnerable to surges entering via the AC power connection and steps should be taken to install a proper AC Surge Suppressor device to complete a well protected installation.

2.1

Lightning Protection Installation Components

The following are considered to be the main elements that constitute the components of a lightning protection scheme. Lightning Rod Base Station and Antenna Grounding Down Conductor Coaxial and/or Cat 5 Cable Shield Grounding

Figure 18, demonstrates graphically how these elements are applied to an overall lightning design. Please note that this is simply a generic diagram and that each individual installation may have its own specific requirements which may differ from the diagram. The main items will be outlined in more detail in the following sections.

Figure 19 - A Typical Lightning Protection Design

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2.2

Lightning Rod

The Lightning Rod must be welded to the mast structure and to a down conductor. This rod should be constructed of a steel pointed tip and is in general installed at the highest point of the tower. It operates to intercept the downward moving lightning strike by launching an upward going attachment spark. Once the attachment is achieved, the bulk of the lightning current follows the ionized path. In this way, the lightning rod diverts the lightning away from equipment on the tower. If the lightning rod is not installed at the highest point on the tower, the equipment that is connected to the highest point (usually a radio) is the most likely attachment point. A Class I lightning rod (air terminal) is 3/8-inch copper or 1/2-inch aluminum, while Class II calls for 1/2-inch copper or 5/8-inch aluminum. Conductor sizes vary accordingly, also depending on their composition (stranded or strips) and materials (aluminum or copper). Since most soils contain acid or alkaloid compounds that react with aluminum, any aluminum used must not come in contact with the soil. Lightning rods (air terminals) 24 inches or higher should be used. Referring to figure 17 above, the Height Above Antenna above the highest item of equipment (generally the antenna) must be at least twice the distance (2 x d) between the outer surface of the item and the tower. This will ensure a protection cone of 60 degrees around the tower (30 degrees each side from the lightning rod). In areas of high lightning activity, the Height Above Antenna should be increased to up 5 times the distance. The purpose of the down conductor is to provide the shortest and most direct path to the earth. The grounding of the down conductor to earth must be of ground resistance no more than 5 ohms.

2.3

Co-axial and/or Cat 5 Cable Shield Grounding

The installation of shield twisted pair Cat 5 Ethernet cable makes a big difference in the total system grounding, both for surge protection and for immunity from inductive coupling from various interference sources inside and outside an installation site. Manufacturers of surge protection devices have widely documented the effects of various inductive interference and Ground Potential Rise (GPR) on Networking and Telecommunications Equipment. Ignoring these facts will often result in equipment outages and repeated troubleshooting efforts- that often seem like a searching for a ghost in the machine. The purpose of the Shield grounding is to minimize the potentials induced on circuit conductors plus keep the cable shields at earth potential (0V) for personnel safety. All ground lugs must be properly bonded to the grounding system of the protected components along with all Antenna cables. Prior to entry into any facility, the cables must be properly grounded to the building primary ground system at the building entrance panel. One of the problems associated with installing Cat 5 Ethernet cable is the proper twisted pair termination. An RJ45 connector has to be assembled such that the actual twist in each data pair is preserved. If the twist is reversed (opened) too far, the data pair becomes imbalanced, and the 100BaseTX signaling will fail to be properly propagated over the wires pair. This can easily result in flopping Ethernet ports, Auto-negotiation failures, and faulty Ethernet data signaling.

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When installing Cat 5 Surge Protectors, often it is often more appropriate to use the terminal screw blocks, rather than the RJ45 terminations. This is especially true if the shield twisted pair cable cannot be grounded at the RJ45 connection in the Surge Protection Device. Because of this fact, it is common to untwist the data and DC pairs in order to get a good length of wire for the terminal block insertion. Note: The maximum recommend length of untwisted data pair wire for 100TX is inch or 1.27cm. An example of incorrect Cat 5 100BaseTX pair termination is seen below in figure 20. The lengths of untwisted wire on the data pairs far exceed 1.3 cm, thus resulting in Ethernet port flopping issues and unexplainable data and signaling problems.

Figure 20 Incorrect Termination of Cat 5 Ethernet Twisted Pair Connections

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2.4

Grounding and Bonding

The National Electric Code requires that any accessible metallic surface of electronic equipment be connected to earth ground for personnel safety. Earth ground connections are achieved by direct connections to the AC power ground at the indoor unit and by a grounding lug on the outdoor unit. A Craftsperson must attach a proper size wire to the outdoor unit ground lug during installation; else the outdoor chassis will float at whatever potential appears at the shield connection of the coax. Bonded connections for reliable, gas tight joints between conductors require the removal of all paint from both contact surfaces and holding them together under high pressure such as with a bolt or screw. The use of toothed washers is also recommended to cause the conductive surfaces to bite into each other for improved connectivity and eliminate movement of the conductors due to vibration.

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Installation of Surge Protection

Lightning protection is used to maximize the reliability of communications equipment by safely redirecting current from a lightning strike or a power surge traveling along the Cat 5 Ethernet cabling to ground using the shortest path possible. Designing a proper grounding system prior to installing any communications equipment is critical to minimize the possibility of equipment damage, void warranties, and cause serious injury. The surge arrestor (sometimes referred to as a lightning protector) can protect your sensitive electronic equipment from high-voltage surges caused by discharges and transients at the PoE injector unit. The application of surge suppression in a communication system depends on the characteristics of the equipment. Equipment with metallic enclosures that are mounted onto a metallic structure should be properly grounded for safety reasons. Equipment with outdoor enclosures that are electrically insulated by design, will typically not be grounded, but allowed to float with the power and signal levels references provided via the Cat 5 cabling. It is known that the best ground system is the one having the lowest impedance to earth ground. It is also known that the reactive impedance (which has both a resistive and a reactive component) is as important as DC resistance. The lower is the inductance of the ground path the lower its reactive impedance. Generally, the larger the surface area of a conductor, the lower its reactive impedance tends to be. For this reason, tower members (provided they are electrically bonded together by ground strap or welding), and building steel represent the best conductors to ground. This is of course provided that they in turn bonded to a proper earth ground. Once the appropriate system ground bus has been identified, and implemented, the next decision is when and where to install surge suppressors.

3.1

Proxim Recommended Types of Surge Protectors

Proxim recommends two types of Ethernet Cat 5 surge protection devices. One is manufactured by Transtector (see figure 21) and the other is manufactured by Citel (see figure 22). Both of these devices have been designed to protect equipment against transient over-voltages generated by lightning or general industrial environment.

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Figure 21 Transtector Surge Protection Device

Figure 22 Citel Surge Protection Device

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3.2

Metal Enclosure Equipment

In the event that the Proxim equipment that is being installed is of the metal enclosure form then:

Note: Proxim recommends the installation of two approved lightning surge protection devices at the building ingress and close to the outdoor equipment as shown in figure 23.

Figure 23 Location of Surge Protection Devices

The surge suppressor should be installed as close to the equipment to be protected and in some cases directly onto it if possible. This will minimize and/or eliminate any differential ground reference problems between the surge suppressor and the protected equipment, since the surge clamping devices protecting the input power and signal interfaces will be referenced to the equipment chassis ground. Perform the following steps to ensure proper surge protection: 1) 2) Mount one surge protector near the building ingress and use 10 gauge wire or better to connect the protectors ground lug to earth ground. Mount another surge protector near the outdoor equipment and use 10 gauge wire or better wire to connect the protectors ground lug to the appropriate mounting ground point. The outdoor equipment and co-located surge protector should have a common grounding point using the shortest possible grounding cable. Using Outdoor-rated, UV protected CAT5 cable; connect an RJ45 terminated cable between the indoor equipment and to a port on the surge protector at the building ingress. Connect a short RJ45 terminated cable between the outdoor equipment and a port on the co-located surge protector. Finally connect an RJ45 terminated cable between the two surge protectors on their remaining ports.

3)

4) 5)

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For safety reasons a local ground reference has been applied to a piece of equipment with a metallic enclosure, this same ground reference must be used for the related surge suppression device. The equipment in turn should be grounded to the metallic mounting structure, whose sections should also be bonded together with short ground straps or by welding them together. The base of the mounting structure should then be bonded to a proper earth ground. In addition, installation of a properly grounded surge suppression device at the building cable entrance point should also be implemented to protect equipment and personnel inside the building. The earth ground for both surge suppressors and both the outdoor and indoor equipment should be the same in order to avoid ground loop as shown in the figure 24 below.

Figure 24 Location of Surge Protection Devices

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3.3

Insulated Enclosure Equipment

When deploying insulated enclosure equipment such as the Tsunami 5012 SUR, no specific equipment ground point is provided. This type of ground isolated equipment is referenced to the power, signal, and ground references provided by the connecting Cat 5 cable. This provides a measure of surge protection in itself for the equipment since the power, power return, and signal levels all rise together whenever a Voltage spike is induced onto the Cat 5 cable. In such an installation, the internal surge suppression circuitry within the unit in the insulated enclosure should be sufficient to avoid equipment damage, and an external suppressor is not required for the outdoor equipment (refer to figure 25). However, installation of a properly grounded surge suppression device at the building cable entrance point should still be implemented to protect equipment and personnel inside the building. The earth ground for this surge suppressor needs to be the same as that of the station ground inside the building, to which the internal equipment chassis should be grounded as indicated in the drawing below. Doing so is important to avoid a ground loop between the surge suppressor and the terminating equipment in the building.

Figure 25 Location of Surge Protection Devices

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3.4

Antenna to Radio RF Surge Protection

If the equipment is installed outdoors and it is a connectorized version (i.e. a cable is used to connect to an external Antenna), then it is recommended to install an RF surge protection device between the equipment and the Antenna. Such a device will provide protection to the equipment in the event of a surge event entering the equipment through the RF port. It is important to ground the Surge device using the ground lug that is provided. Note: An RF Surge Protection device is not required if the equipment comes with an integrated antenna. Proxims recommended RF Surge Protection device is manufactured by SmartAnt. This is a DC to 6GHz in-line surge filter. It is a bi-directional device and therefore it can be installed in any direction (see figure 26). The device has two female N-type connections and therefore to connect between the unit and the antenna will require two N-type male to male jumper cables to be used. .

Figure 26 Proxim RF Surge Protection Device An alternative device is a PolyPhaser Model AL-LSXM-ME (see figure 27). This is a 2GHz to 6GHz in-line surge filter with a DC block. This is a uni-directional device and therefore care must be undertaken when installing the surge protectors. It must be installed to ensure that the protected side of the surge protector is connected to the equipment. For this Polyphaser device the RF Surge Protector can be connected directly to the equipment RF output port and the N-type female connection is connected to the Antenna jumper cable.

Figure 27 Alternative Polyphaser RF Surge Protection Device

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Another important consideration is to ensure that the RF Surge Protection device and the connectors are completely weather sealed. The installer will not need to use the Teflon tape but weather sealing is achieved by using the weather sealing kits that were described in section 1.3. It is always advisable to cover the weather sealing tape with an additional layer of black electrical tape over the weather sealing tape for further protection. Make sure the electrical tape also extends beyond the weather sealing tape to seal it. Figure 28 shows an RF Surge Protector that is connected to a unit. A N-type to N-type connector has been used to connect to the Surge Protector but a N-type to N-Type jumper cable could easily be used. The other end of the Surge Protector is connected to an N-type to N-Type jumper cable that is used to connect to the actual antenna.

Figure 28 RF Surge Protection Device Connected to Equipment

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To completely weather seal the RF Surge Protector assembly then all the components including the N-type connectors and the heat shrink material that is part of the N-type to N-Type jumper cable must be completely covered by the weather sealing components. Please ensure that the weather sealing tape fully extends up the cable past the connectors and the heat shrink material, refer to figure 29 for an example.

Figure 29 Fully Weather Sealed RF Surge Protection Device

3.5

Single Point Grounding Concept

Extensive analysis and investigation of installations has led to the belief that the root cause at the heart of the majority of the failures is likely to be the presence of multi-point grounding of equipment on the towers and in the huts. Single point grounding these elements will eliminate ground voltage differentials and this will dramatically increase the equipment survivability during surges.

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Single point grounding requires that the grounding leads from the antenna, Base Station and Surge Protection devices for a particular sector, are bonded together at the same point on the tower down conductor. It is not necessary to bond all the sectors together but to ensure the components of any individual sector have the same ground point on the tower. In the equipment hut, in the event of an indoor installation of the Base Station then the chassis ground of the Base Station and all the Surge Protection Devices grounds must be grounded at The same point (see figure 30).

Antenna

Single Point Ground

Proxim Unit

Surge Protector

Figure 30 - Single Point Grounding Concept

It is important to note that the following ground guidelines are followed during installations: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Surge Protection devices generally connect to ground by using a ground wire. Cut any extra ground wire length when finished connecting it to the single point earth ground Never loop or coil up the ground wire, always connect it straight to ground. A good earth ground impedance is less than 1.0 ohm. Measure ground impedance at the point where the protector ground wire is connected and not at the ground rod. Avoid sharp bends. Connect the ground wire as straight as possible. Connect the protector ground wire and equipment ground (both power ground and telecomm. ground) to a single common ground. Make sure all connections are fastened securely and are tight. Never install protectors during a storm and always follow your local safety codes.

Note: Please ensure that appropriate weather protection is applied to all outdoor Surge Protection devices.

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