TSB 003: IF Cable Sweep Criteria for Dragonwave Link Installations Issued by: Microwave Engineering

Revision History Robin Hoffarth Robin Hoffarth 1-7-2010

Original document Lessons learned, troubleshooting tips

TSB 003: IF Cable Sweep Criteria for Dragonwave Link Installations

Sweeping a coaxial line, through the use of an Anritsu Site Master or other piece of sweep gear allows for detailed examination of the quality of the line and installation of associated connectors. In a typical scenario, the device used to conduct the sweep (Site Master in this example) is connected at one end of the cable to be swept, while a load matching the impedance of the line (50 typically) is connected on the other end. This Site Master sends a 1 Watt pulse to the load and measures how much of that 1 Watt is reflected. This measurement is called the return loss (RL). It is imperative that the cable sweep be performed on all section of cables including the surge suppression devices. Do not sweep just the coax from the bottom surge suppressor to the top of the tower or radio end, be sure and include the jumper that runs from the surge suppressor to the modem itself. In the case of a Clearwire DragonWave installation, this value indicates how much signal power will not be sent to the radio and is lost in reflection back to the modem. The IF cable carries TX and RX data at different frequencies and requires the following two simple sweep procedures to be conducted: Transmit Portion o Sweep Range = 300Mhz 800 MHz o Marker 1 and 2 set at 400MHz and 700MHz, respectively o Limit line set to -22 dB o All RL values between markers must fall below the limit line. RX Portion o Sweep Range = 1500Mhz 2000 MHz o Marker 1 and 2 set at 1600MHz and 1900MHz, respectively o Limit line set to -22 dB o All RL values between markers must fall below the limit line.

In addition to satisfactory RL values, Clearwire guidelines call for a Distance-to-Fault (DTF) measurement as part of installation verification. This particular metric is a calculated value to aid in troubleshooting, indicating how far along the line a problem may exist. DTF Test o Configure Site Master to perform DTF test o Set DTF Marker to PEAK o Returned value should be 115% of actual length or greater.

Values returned that do not meet the specifications above indicate an issue in cabling between what would be the modem and the radio, under normal condition. This means the technician and tower crew must inspects all connectors, connections, center-pin contacts, and the cable itself for any tears or kinks. The sweeps must then be redone until the specifications are satisfied.

Copyright 2008 Clearwire Corporation. All rights reserved. Confidential and Proprietary: Internal Use Only.

TSB 003: IF Cable Sweep Criteria for Dragonwave Link Installations Issued by: Microwave Engineering

Done properly at the time of installation, these steps will save Clearwire Operations and Engineering teams valuable time troubleshooting problem links. Sample sweeps and DTF measurements are attached below.

Sweep1.jpg

Sweep2.jpg

Dtf.jpg

Lessons learned, troubleshooting tips ( 1-7-2010) 1. RX frequencies are usually the first place we look when troubleshooting cable issues 2. Keep your RX sweep to (1600MHz-1900MHz) 3. Modem block errors

While the cable loss values are normally the first thing we look at when we suspect faulty cabling, the return loss is a more accurate indication of the cables true response. This is due to the fact that the RX cable loss is actually calculated or extrapolated from the measured TX cable loss value, so any notchfiltering that occurs at certain RX channel frequencies will not always be caught by the Excessive cable loss monitor in the system. This is why the RX frequencies are usually the first place we look when troubleshooting cable issues. While troubleshooting cable issues it was discovered that some techs have been sweeping the cables over the full TX and RX frequency range of the cable (0 2000MHz) and thus, were unable to see the RL spikes due to the broad range on the Site Master. If the techs are noticing cable related problems but arent seeing any spikes in the return loss make sure you verify that ONLY the RX frequencies (1600MHz-1900MHz) are being swept. Another issue has been found where modem block errors are accumulating on one channel (WP1) but not on the other (WP2). Approximately 90% (or more) of the time this is due to faulty cabling and/or connections and the RX sweep (RL and DTF) usually confirms this. In addition to that, one of the tricks Dragonwave has been showing the techs is to swap (reconfigure) the channels (WP1 to WP2 and vice versa) so that you can confirm the fault before sweeping the cable. If the channels are swapped and the issue jumps to the other wireless port, then there is likely notch filtering occurring at that specific frequency on the cable. If the issue stays on the same wireless port (channel) then the issue is likely due to a faulty IDU (modem).

Copyright 2008 Clearwire Corporation. All rights reserved. Confidential and Proprietary: Internal Use Only.