WhitePaper:

SimplifyingthePathAlignmentofMicrowaveCommunicationSystems ByFernandoTorrelio,AuroraGenesisCommunicationsInc.

FernandoTorrelio,BSEE,isPresidentandChiefEngineerofAuroraGenesisCommunicationsInc.amicrowave,cellular,PCS,&LMDS engineering,maintenance,installation,andtestingcompanysupportingthetechnicalrequirementsofthewirelesscommunications industry. Introduction Wherevermicrowavelinksexist,thepathbetweenantennashasalwaysrequiredaccurateantennaalignment.Thisprocessrequires highlytrainedtowercrewstophysicallyaligntheantennasaswellasgroundtechniciansandsophisticated,expensive,andcomplex test equipment to monitor the results. The process of optimizing the transmission path of microwave communication systems is about to undergo a significant development in process, simplification and cost benefit without compromising performance or accuracy. The process can now be accomplished with the use of the Pendulum (formerly XL Microwave) Path AlignR, Models 22002241, wave Antenna Path Alignment Test Sets. Tower installation crews can now perform the entire alignment process themselves, up the tower, at the antenna, without the need of additional ground technicians, equipment, or indeed, even the waveguidesorradiosinstalled. TheTraditionalProcess Thetraditionalprocess,moretypicallydescribedasmicrowavepathalignment,requirestheuseofatransmitterandareceiver located at each end of the microwave link. The transmitter generates the signalthat passes through the transmission line to the antenna,whichradiatesthesignaloverthefreespacelink.Thesignalpropagatestowardstheotherendofthepathandisreceived bytheantenna,forwardingthesignalthroughthetransmissionlinetothereceiver,connectingthetwosites.Thereceiverprocesses the signal, producinginformation onits valuerelativetotheamountthatwasoriginally generatedat thetransmitting end.Ifthe antennas are optimally pointed to each other (aligned), the largest concentration of signal (main beam) is emitted and received, reducingthefreespaceattenuationofthesignal.Providedthetransmissionlinesdonotlosetoomuchofthesignalbetweenthe antennas and the radios, maximum signal transfer is achieved. If the antennas are not optimally aligned, then signal transfer is degradedandreceiveddynamicrangeislost. Thereareseveralstepsinvolvedinthetraditionalpreparationandprocessofaligningtheantennasofamicrowavecommunication system. These steps may include making sure the cable or waveguide transmission line was properly installed, with minimal RF reflection of the microwave signal; that each antenna polarization is properly setup; and that the transmitter output power is calibrated.Avoicecommunicationlinkbetweenthepersonnelinsidetheradioroomofeachsiteandthetowertechnicians,located at each antenna, needs to be established using two way mobile radios or cellular phones. Some spread spectrum radios have an orderwireoverwhichtocommunicate,however,communicationtoeachofthetowertechnicianswillstillneedtobecompleted. TheengineeringprofileisreviewedtodeterminetheexpectedRSL(receivesignallevel)forthepathundertestandanyadjustments foroutputpowerareapplied.Oncethissetupiscomplete,thetowertechniciansareinstructedtocommencetheadjustmentofthe azimuthalignment(bearing)oftheantennas,oneatatime.Theantennasarepannedovertheirazimuthprofileandreadingsofthe receiver signal output power are taken. Careful observation of the output power reading is necessary to distinguish the antenna sidelobe to mainlobe response. Once the maximum signal is achieved, the antennas are aligned for elevation optimization. It is evidentthatthecommunicationbetweensitetositeandtowertechniciantoreceivertechnicianneedstobecontinuousandclear toensurethattheantennasoptimumalignmentsettingisachieved. AlternativeMethods Traditionally,theradiosthatwillbeplacedateachsiteareusedtocompletethetaskofoptimizingthepath.However,thereare severalreasonsfornotutilizingtheradiostocompletetheprocess.Theradiosmaynotbeavailableatthetimethetesthasbeen scheduledortheirreliabilitymaybequestionable,thusalternatemethodsareneeded.Anotherpossiblereasontheradiosmightnot beabletobeusedisthattheFCCpermitshavenotbeengranted,butthecontractorneedstocompletethepathtestontimeto meetthecustomersrequirements,oraheadofexpectedturbulentweather.Inaddition,iftheanticipatedpathisquestionable,a quick,costeffective,reliablemethodisneededtotestthelink,priortothesignificantinvestmentofconstructingtowers,purchasing radiosandotherexpensiveequipmentandhardware,etc. www.spectracomcorp.com 1| Test&MeasurementWhitePaper

Alternative test instrumentation must be utilized, in lieu of the radios, whenever the previously mentioned circumstances arise. Scheduling of the path alignment test and installation of the associated hardware (cables, waveguide, antenna, etc.) can be facilitatedtoreduceexcessmobilizationcosts.Someofthemostwidelyusedequipmentforthisapplicationaresignalgenerators (usedasthetransmitter)andspectrumanalyzers(usedasthereceiver).Thesignalgeneratorshouldbeabroadband,synthesized device (phase locked to a reference clock) with accurate output power, equal to or greater than 0 dBm. The spectrum analyzer should be tunable, and have at least 100 dBm of sensitivity at the frequency band of interest. Signal acquisition speed of the receiver is essential to quickly spot subtle changes in antenna response or to support investigation of problem paths. Most importantly,easeofuseisvitalinordertoreducethetrainingcostsoftesttechnicians.Much ofthetestequipmentusedin this alternatemethodofpathalignmenttendstobeexpensiveandcomplicated. ApplicationSpecificSolution Recent test instrumentation has brought on feature rich, expensive systems that shoot for the stars in offering the latest and greatestintechnology.However,thesesystemsaremostlynotfit,noraretheypractical,forspecificapplicationssuchasantenna pathalignment.Themostsuccessfulnewinstrumentationintheindustryhasbeenequipmentthatisapplicationspecific,portable, battery powered, and easy to use, without compromising performance. The Path AlignR, is a new addition to this practical, applicationspecificcategory.Itisspecificallydesignedforuseasamicrowavepathalignmenttestset.Amongitsmanyfeaturesand functions,eightspecifictraitsfitthoseidentifiedasimportanttomicrowaveantennapathalignment. 1. PortableEachofthetwounitsinthePathAlignRTestSetweighsonly7pounds,fullyloaded,andis3.5x8.375x 13.1(HxWxD)insize.Thissignificantlyreducestheshippingcostsandlogisticsoftransportingtestequipmenttoandfrom thesite. 2. BatterypoweredArechargeableleadacidbatteryisfittedtoprovidefourtofivehoursofoperation.Notonlyisthisideal forfieldusebuteachunitcaneasilybetakenupthetower,initsweatherresistantinstrumentbackpack,andattached directlybehindtheantennausingacarabinerandanylonrunner,strap,orlanyard. 3. EaseofUseApairofunits(soldasaset),oneateachsite,readsoutthepathloss,identically,atbothendsofthelink. Simplyturnthemon,connecttheoutputtotheantennausingthesuppliedcable,tunethefrequency,connecttheheadset, andyouarereadytotest.Rarelyhasaninstrumentbeensoeasytousewithoutcompromisingonperformance. 4. PerformanceAPathAlignRtestsetprovides100dBofeffectivedynamicrange.Thisistheresultofthe100dBm sensitivityofthereceiverand0dBmoutputpowerofthetransmitter.Fourbands(1.82.5GHz,5.86.6GHz,1112GHz and18.119.4GHz)areprovidedinthestandardTestSet.Thespecificoperatingfrequencycanbetunedbytheoperator withinthesebandlimits,usingthethumbwheelswitches,toaresolutionof1MHz.Anantennasystemwhoselink frequencyisdesignedoutsidethefrequencybandedgeofthePathAlignR(e.g.6.8GHz)canstillhaveitspathalignment correctlyadjusted,aslongastheantennasystem(antenna,waveguide,etc.)canoperateatboththelinkfrequency(6.8 GHz)andanearbyfrequencycoveredbythePathAlignR(e.g.6.6GHz). 5. SpeedAnLCDreadoutofdirectpathloss,witha0.1dBresolution,automaticallyupdatesitsreadingevery300 milliseconds,andcanquicklyfindsubtlechangestotheantennaresponse,thusallowingforsmalladjustmentstoantenna azimuthorelevationforoptimumsignaltransfer. 6. VoiceChannelCommunicationbetweensites,andfromradioroomtotowertop,issignificantlyimproved,withafull duplexvoicechannel.Eachtowertechniciancanspeaktotheotherthroughtheincludedheadset,withouthavingtokeya radio.Voicecommunicationisenabledimmediatelyaftersetupandactivation.Theantennasdonotevenhavetobefully alignedforthevoicechanneltowork. 7. AccurateThePathAlignRsoutputisasynthesizedsourcethatprovidesaveryaccurateandstablesignal.When comparedtoasynthesizedsource(HP8360)andafullyfeaturedspectrumanalyzer(HP8594E),thePathAlignRtestset measurespathlosswithin1.0dBofeachother. 8. CostEffectiveThePathAlignRtestsetispricedfarbelowthatofasynthesizedsourceandspectrumanalyzer combination.However,priceisnottheonlysavingsachievedwiththeuseofthetestset.Thecostofcommunicating betweensitescanbecomequiteexpensivewhenusingcellulartechnology(about$300pereventwhenconsideringlong distance,roaming,andcallingtimechargesthataretypicallythecaseinaremotemicrowavetest).Theuseoftwo techniciansoperatingtheradios,andtwotowerclimbersworkingbehindtheantennas,canpotentiallybereducedtothree; withthesupervisorlevelonthegroundfloorandtwotowerclimbers.Thetransportationcostsofshippingthetestsetsto jobsitesfromthecentralofficecansignificantlyreducecompanyexpenses. ItisapparentthatthePathAlignRtestsetiswellfeaturedtoofferimpressiveresultsinaccomplishingthegoalofanoptimum solutionforthemicrowavepathalignmenttestprocess.

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SimplifyingtheProcess WehavelaidthegroundworkforestablishingthePathAlignRtestsetasaviableandeffectivesolutionforthepathalignment process.Wewillnowdescribehowthisprocessofaligningthemicrowavelinkisgreatlysimplified. 1. ReviewtheEngineeringProfiletodeterminetheexpectedRSL(receivedsignallevel,orpathloss)forthelinkundertest (thisshouldincludethefreespacepathlossandthegainoftheantennas).Notethatthelossexhibitedbytheinstalled cableorwaveguidetransmissionlinesarenotincludedinthisvaluebecausethePathAlignRtestsetsareconnected directlytotheantennaswithashortcoaxcablewithminimalinsertionlosstoimpactthetest. 2. Bothtowerclimbers(technicians)shouldgoovertheirchecklists,priortoclimbingthetower,toassurethat,includedwith thePathAlignR,theyhave: a. Achargedbatteryinstalled(possiblyaspareifyouareplanningtobeupforover45hours); b. Theproperwaveguidetocoaxadapterfortheantenna; c. Acoaxcable(SMAtocoaxconnectoronthecoaxtowaveguideadapter); d. Thesuppliedheadset;and, e. Acarabinerandanylonrunner,strap,orlanyardofappropriatelengthtoattachthebackpack's'D'ringtothe tower. 3. SetonePathAlignRunittoMasterandtheotherPathAlignRunittoSlave(itdoesntmatterwhichiswhich,aslong astheyredifferent). 4. Usingthefrontpanelthumbwheelswitches,selecttheproperlinkfrequency(Note:bothunitsmustbesettothesame frequency,e.g.6.2GHz). 5. Afterreachingtheantenna,checkthattheantennapolarizationisproperlysetup. 6. LocateeachAlignRunitnearthebackoftheantenna,withitsweatherresistantinstrumentbackpacksDringattached tothetowerstructureusingacarabinerandanylonrunner,strap,orlanyard. 7. Attachthecoaxtowaveguideadapteratthebackoftheantennaswaveguideflange. 8. ConnectthecoaxcablefromtheappropriateoutputconnectoronthePathAlignRtotheadapter. 9. ConnecttheheadsettothePathAlignR. 10. TurnthePowerSwitchON.AnLEDwillindicatewhichoutputconnectorisactive(makesurethecableisconnectedtothat connector)andbegintalking.Typically,theantennascanbeoffalignmentbyasmuchasseveralbeamwidthsandthevoice channelwillstilloperate. 11. Whileonetechniciansimplyobservesthereadingofthepathlossmeterathis/hersite,theothersitecommencesAzimuth (horizontal)adjustment.Asthevoicechannelisfullduplex(FM),eachtechniciancancommunicatewiththeotherduring thealignmentprocess.Checkforbothsidelobesaswellasthemainloberesponsetoensurethattheantennaisbeing alignedtothemainlobeandnotoneofthesidelobes.ThePathAlignRtestsetshaveenoughsensitivity(100dB)and updatespeed(300ms)toquicklycheckforsidelobeandmainloberesponse 12. OnceAzimuthhasbeenoptimized,theElevationadjustmentisperformed. 13. Whensteps11&12havebeencompletedatthefirstsite,thetechniciansswitchrolesandsteps11&12arerepeatedby theothertechnicianatthesecondsite. 14. Oncestep13iscompleted,forbothAzimuthandElevation,thelinkisaligned.Asarecord,notethefinalpathlossvalue displayedonthemeter. Summary The difficulties of scheduling an antenna alignment test with the radios can cause significant delays, as described earlier. Furthermore,traditionaltestmethodscanproducesignificantcostsinmobilization,deploymentandtestingoftheantennasystem. Ifthetransmissionlines(waveguides,etc.)connectingtheantennatotheradioweretohaveaproblem,thetestisinjeopardyuntil theyarecorrected.Ifthepathundertestisquestionable(duetositechoice,obstructions,etc.),thePathAlignRcansteprightin withminimalefforttoverifyifthereareanyproblems.UsingthePathAlignRtestset,theoverheadassociatedwithofferingpath alignment services (cost of equipment, level of expertise required, and training time) has been greatly reduced. Offering path alignmentserviceswiththePathAlignRtranslatestoprovidingmorerevenueopportunitiesforyourcompany.
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May19,2011WP04101(C)

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