Professional Development Kit Series

Specifications, Installation & Operation

Doc. Rev. 2

c
Copyright 2013
Range Networks, Inc.
All rights reserved

Contents
1 Introduction

1.1

Scope and Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2

Disclaimers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2.1

Errors and Future Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2.2

Radio Interference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.3

Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.4

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.5

Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 Specifications
2.1

Mechanical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.1.1

Package Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.1.2

Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.2

Environmental Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.3

Electrical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.4

RF Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.4.1

RF Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.4.2

RF Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

3 BTS Operation

13

3.1

Installed Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

3.2

Source Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

3.3

Initial Power-Up Procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

3.4

System Access and Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14

3.5

Accessing the OpenBTS Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

CONTENTS

3.6

Safe GSM Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

3.7

Initial Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

List of Figures
2.1

Professional Development Kit front panel mechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.2

Professional Development Kit side view mechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

List of Tables
2.1

Professional Development Kit mechanical dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.2

Professional Development Kit environmental specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2.3

RF operating ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

2.4

Professional Development Kit model tyles and numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

Chapter 1

Introduction
1.1

Scope and Audience

This document describes the physical specifications and initial installation of the Professional Development Kit
series (part number 2110-xx1-x) units. This manual does not cover full unit configuration or any significant
aspects of GSM/VoIP operation. For those topics, see the OpenBTS software manual.
This document is intended for use by researchers, developers, and laboratory specialists. It assumes a general
familiarity with the Linux operating system and IP networking.

1.2
1.2.1

Disclaimers
Errors and Future Changes

Although the information in this manual has been carefully checked for accuracy, and is believed to be correct
and current, no warranty, either express or implied, is made as to either its applicability to, or its compatibility
with, specific requirements; nor does Range Networks, Inc. assume any responsibility for correctness of this
information, or for damages consequent to its use. All design characteristics, specifications, tolerances, and the
like are subject to change without notice.

1.2.2

Radio Interference

Operation of improperly configured cellular equipment can result in interference to existing services, possibly
interrupting public networks and public safety systems, even though the output power of the Professional
Development Kit is relatively low. Range Networks, Inc. cannot insure that any of the procedures in this manual
will not result in radio interference to other services and networks.

1.3

Abbreviations

ARFCN absolute radio frequency channel number

6

1.4. REFERENCES

dBm decibel milliwatts

MS mobile station (cellular phone or handset)
RF radio frequency
VDC Volts, direct current

1.4

References

This document references the following GSM specifications, which can be downloaded for free from
http://webapp.etsi.org/key/queryform.asp

GSM 03.40: Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Technical realization of the Short
Message Service (SMS) Point-to-Point (PP)
GSM 04.08: Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Mobile radio interface layer 3
specification
GSM 05.05: Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Radio transmission and reception
GSM 05.08: Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Radio subsystem link control

1.5

Contact Information

For additional information or products referenced in this manual, please contact:

Range Networks, Inc.
560 Brannan Street
San Francisco, California 94107
United States of America
telephone +1 415-778-8700
email support@rangenetworks.com

Chapter 2

Specifications
The Professional Development Kit consists of:
a mini-ITX computer with 16GB mSATA flash drive, and 2GB RAM,
a Range Networks RAD1 wideband or single-band digital radio,
a +12V, 5A power supply with a power cord,
two multi-band rubber duck antennas,
two pre-programmed SIM cards,
two test phones.

2.1

Mechanical Specifications

The Professional Development Kit is packaged in a desktop enclosure. The Range Networks Rack Mounting
Brackets (part number 8710-000-0) are available separately and allow you to mount your Professional Development Kit onto your existing rack (1U, 4.45 cm / 1.75).
8

2.1. MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Figure 2.1: Professional Development Kit front panel mechanical.

Figure 2.2: Professional Development Kit side view mechanical.

2.1.1

Package Dimensions

Figures 2.1 and 2.2 show front and side views with all measurements marked in inches and millimeters. The
mechanical dimensions are given in Table 2.1. Range units use standard metric-sized Phillips-head (crosspoint)
fasteners throughout.
Table 2.1: Professional Development Kit mechanical dimensions.
Dimension
width
height
depth
min. front clearance
min. rear clearance
min. side clearance
min. top clearance
min. bottom clearance
weight

Value
30.48 cm (12)
4.45 cm (1.75)
25.40 cm (10)
5.08 cm (2)
5.08 cm (2)
3.81 cm (1.5)
0 cm (0)
0 cm (0)
1.5 kg (3.3 lbs)

Comments
1U in optional rack mounting brackets

ventilation
ventilation
touching OK
touching OK
unit only

Starting from the left and moving across, the items on the Professional Development Kit front panel are:
Power switch with a LED indicator above it,
KEY/SSD USB socket for reset dongle or removable media drive,

10

CHAPTER 2. SPECIFICATIONS

ETHERNET Ethernet connector (RJ-45 socket),

Rx receive-side RF connector,
Tx transmit-side RF connector.

2.1.2

Ventilation

Do not block the Professional Development Kit unit on the sides, as they contain the ventilation openings. The
unit does not require forced air cooling.

2.2

Environmental Specifications

Table 2.2 gives the environmental requirements for the Professional Development Kit series. The Professional
Development Kit is designed for indoor use, either in a desktop or a rack-mounted installation. However, the
unit should not require refrigeration, even in the warm climates.
Table 2.2: Professional Development Kit environmental specifications.
Parameter
operating temperature
operating humidity
shock and vibration

2.3

Allowed Range
TBD
5% to 95%, non-condensing
normal truck transport

Electrical Specifications

The Professional Development Kit takes a 12V, 5A DC power supply.

2.4

RF Specifications

The Professional Development Kits come in single-band and multi-band configurations. The single-band units
run in one of the four standard GSM bands: GSM850, EGSM900, DCS1800, PC1900. The multi-band units
can be used in any of the four standard GSM bands, selected programmatically. The latter do not include any
band-specific filtering in the transmitter or receiver.
The receiver frequency range is given in Table 2.3.

2.4.1

RF Output

Depending on a model, the Professional Development Kit features a wideband, or a single-band Range Networks
RAD1 digital radio, and has the maximum output power of 100 mW (20 dBm). The actual output level is
controlled by the software.

2.4. RF SPECIFICATIONS

11

Table 2.3: RF operating ranges

Band
GSM850
EGSM900
DCS1800
PCS1900

Receive Range
824-849 MHz
880-915 MHz
1710-1785 MHz
1850-1910 MHz

Transmit Range
869-894 MHz
925-960 MHz
1805-1880 MHz
1930-1990 MHz

On any given ARFCN, the output bandwidth is 270.833 kHz. The spectrum mask is verified to comply with
GSM 05.05 Appendix A. All noise emissions in the downlink band are at least 50 dB below the main signal.

2.4.2

RF Input

The Professional Development Kit unit can demodulate GSM signals down to a power level of -110 dBm at the
RF connector across its entire receive band.

12

CHAPTER 2. SPECIFICATIONS

Table 2.4: Professional Development Kit model tyles and numbers

Model Type
2110-001-1
2110-851-1
2110-901-1
2110-181-1
2110-191-1

Operation band
Multi-band
850
900
1800
1900

Chapter 3

BTS Operation
In normal operation, there are two interfaces to the Professional Development Kit:
the Ethernet interface, for backhaul and administrative access, and
the air interface, Um, for subscriber services.

3.1

Installed Components

The Professional Development Kit comes with the following components installed and preconfigured:
OpenBTS the GSM stack from layer 1 forward error correction up through layer 3, commercial release;
Transceiver,
sipauthserve the SIP registration proxy;
SubscriberRegistry the subscriber registry database;
smqueue the SMS store and forward server;
Asterisk the SIP softswitch;
WebUI administrative web interface.

3.2

Source Code

The unit also comes equipped with the latest public release source code for the following Range Networks
components:
OpenBTS,
smqueue,
13

14

CHAPTER 3. BTS OPERATION

sipauthserve, and
RRLP aiding server.
The source code is located on the file system under /home/openbts/software/. All of the source code
directories are installed as SVN working directories, linked to the official public release repository. Any of them
can be updated using svn update command on the command line.

3.3

Initial Power-Up Procedure

1. Place the unit on your desk, or install in it a rack nearby (within 2-10 meters/6-30 feet).
2. Attach the provided antennas to the transceiver (Tx) and receiver (Rx). The receiving antenna must be
positioned at an angle of 90 to the transmitting antenna.
3. Power up the unit. It takes up to 3 minutes to load the operating system and all the applications.

3.4

System Access and Control

The Professional Development Kit runs Ubuntu Linux operating system. The primary interface to the Professional Development Kit is the UNIX shell, accessed via ssh from the Ethernet connector on the front panel. The
units Ethernet interface is auto-sensing, requiring no hub or crossover cable. It is shipped with the default IP
address of 192.168.0.22.
Once the unit is connected to another computer or a network on the 192.168.0.x subnet, it can be accessed via
ssh using openbts account name with password openbts. The account is sudo-enabled. The command to
issue on any UNIX system, including OS X, is:
ssh openbts@192.168.0.22
From a Windows machine, an ssh client, like PuTTY, can be used.
Note: Make sure to change the password for user openbts before you connect the Professional Development
Kit to the public network.
In order to reboot the unit, type the following command at the UNIX command line prompt:
sudo reboot
Following the reboot, OpenBTS and its related services will start automatically. This process takes about 3
minutes.
The IP address of the unit is controlled by the Linux configuration file /etc/network/interface. The unit is
preconfigured to have two IP addresses, 192.168.0.21 and 192.168.0.22.
The 192.168.0.22 address should be changed to match your local network for administrative access. In order
for the new network parameters to take effect, reboot the unit.
The 192.168.0.21 address is defined as a virtual interface in the event something goes wrong with the network
setup, and you lose access to the unit. It is highly recommended that you do not modify it.

3.5. ACCESSING THE OPENBTS CONSOLE

3.5

15

Accessing the OpenBTS Console

OpenBTS command line interface (CLI) is used to access (or attach to) the running OpenBTS software. Log
in to the unit via SSH as user openbts and type the following at th command line:
cd ~; ./CLI
To exit the command line interface, type quit and hit Return. Doing so does not stop the OpenBTS
software. Refer to the OpenBTS software manual for instructions on how to access and modify the OpenBTS
settings and runtime information.

3.6

Safe GSM Configuration

The Professional Development Kit is preset with the initial safe configuration. Before engaging up the unit,
be sure that the OpenBTS configuration is compatible with the surrounding GSM networks so as to prevent
disruption of service for existing cells. At a minimum, confirm appropriate values for the following parameters:
GSM.Identity.MCC mobile country code. Set to 001.
GSM.Identity.MNC mobile network code. Set to 01. The MCC/MNC tuple uniquely identifies a mobile
phone operator/carrier. 001/01 is traditionally used for test networks.
GSM.Identity.BCC base station color code. Should not match the BCC of any nearby cell.
GSM.Radio.Band operating band. Should be 850, 900, 1800 or 1900. On single-band units this number
must match the units band.
GSM.Radio.C0 radio channel number. Should not conflict with any cell in the surrounding area.
GSM.Radio.ARFCNs number of ARFCNs to use. Set to 1.
Control.LUR.OpenRegistration Be sure this is NULL.
Control.LUR.UnprovisionedRejectCause cause code to report for failed location updates. Should be set
to 0x04 IMSI not in VLR.
GSM.RACH.AC access classes. Should be set to 0x0400 to indicate no support for emergency calls.
GSM.Radio.PowerManager.MinAttenDB minimum output attenuation. This parameter limits the maximum output power of the unit. The value is an attenuation, so the bigger it is, the less the maximum
output power. For initial testing, use a value of 20.
This is not necessarily a configuration that you will use for normal operation, but this set of parameters will
minimize the likelihood of interference with existing services while the unit is tested and configured. See the
corresponding software manual for further information.

16

CHAPTER 3. BTS OPERATION

3.7

Initial Testing

The default Professional Development Kit configuration provides several tests that can be run independently of
the network, with no backhaul:
1. location updating test,
2. mobile-originated loopback test,
3. mobile-originated call,
4. mobile-terminated delivery of SMS, with and without a parallel call, and
5. autoprovisioning of an handset via SMS.
See the Test Procedures chapter in the corresponding software manual for detailed description of these test
procedures.

Document History
Date
14 August 2013
4 October 2013
28 October 2013
12 November 2013

Doc. Rev.
0
1
2

17

Changes
initial draft
working draft
Initial release revision
IP settings correction