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What is Antenna Electrical and Mechanical Tilt (and How to use it)?

PostedbyleopedriniThursday,October13,201111:09:00AMCategories:Course

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The efficiency of a cellular network depends of its correct RatethisContent

configuration and adjustment of radiant systems: their transmit and
receiveantennas.

October2011

S M T W T

+
S

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24Votes

And one of the more important system optimizations task is based on correct adjusting tilts, or the
inclination of the antenna in relation to an axis. With the tilt, we direct irradiation further down (or
higher),concentratingtheenergyinthenewdesireddirection.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22
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30 31 1

Whentheantennaistilteddown,wecallit'downtilt',whichisthemostcommonuse.Iftheinclination
isup(veryrareandextremecases),wecall'uptilt'.
Note: for this reason, when we refer to tilt in this tutorial this means we're talking about 'downtilt'.
Whenweneedtotalkabout'uptilt'we'llusethisnomenclature,explicitly.

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The tilt is used when we want to reduce interference and/or coverage in some specific areas, having
eachcelltomeetonlyitsdesignedarea.

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But Before: Antenna Radiation Diagram

Before we talk about tilt, it is necessary to talk about another very important concept: the antennas
radiationdiagram.

Archives
November,2014(2)
October,2014(1)
February,2014(1)
October,2013(1)

Theantennairradiationdiagramisagraphicalrepresentationofhowthesignalisspreadthroughthat
antenna,inalldirections.

June,2013(1)

It is easier to understand by seeing an example of a 3D diagram of an antenna (in this case, a

directionalantennawithhorizontalbeamwidthof65degrees).

March,2012(1)

May,2013(1)
June,2012(1)
February,2012(2)
January,2012(1)
November,2011(1)
October,2011(1)
September,2011(1)

June,2011(1)
April,2011(2)
March,2011(3)
February,2011(5)
January,2011(1)
December,2010(2)

Therepresentationshows,inasimplifiedform,thegainofthesignaloneachofthesedirections.From
thecenterpointoftheX,YandZaxis,wehavethegaininalldirections.
Ifyoulookatthediagramofantenna'fromabove',andalso'aside',wewouldseesomethinglikethe
oneshownbelow.

These are the Horizontal (viewed from above) and Vertical (viewed from the side) diagrams of the
antenna.
But while this visualization is good to understand the subject, in practice do not work with the 3D
diagrams,butwiththe2Drepresentation.
So,thesameantennawehaveabovemayberepresentedasfollows.

Usually the diagrams have rows and numbers to help us verify the exact 'behavior' in each of the
directions.
The'straightlines'tellsusthedirection(azimuth)asthenumbers0,90,180and270inthefiguresabove.
Andthe'curves'or'circles'tellsusthegaininthatdirection(forexample,thelargercircletellsyouwherethe
antennaachievesagainof15db).

Accordingtotheappliedtilt,we'llhaveadifferentmodifieddiagram,i.e.weaffectthecoveragearea.
For example, if we apply an electrical tilt of 10 degrees to antenna shown above, its diagrams are as
shownbelow.

The most important here is to understand this 'concept', and be able to imagine how would the 3D
modelbe,acombinationofitsHorizontalandVerticaldiagrams.

Now yes, what is Tilt?

Right,nowwecantalkspecificallyaboutTilt.Let'sstartremindingwhatistheTiltofanantenna,and
whatisitspurpose.
Thetiltrepresentstheinclinationorangleoftheantennatoitsaxis.

Aswehaveseen,whenweapplyatilt,wechangetheantennaradiationdiagram.
Forastandardantenna,withoutTilt,thediagramisformedasweseeinthefollowingfigure.

There are two possible types of Tilt (which can be applied together): the electrical Tilt and Mechanical
Tilt.
Themechanicaltiltisveryeasytobeunderstood:tiltingtheantenna,throughspecificaccessorieson
its bracket, without changing the phase of the input signal, the diagram (and consequently the signal
propagationdirections)ismodified.

Andfortheelectricaltilt,themodificationofthediagramisobtainedbychangingthecharacteristicsof
signalphaseofeachelementoftheantenna,asseenbelow.


Note: the electrical tilt can have a fixed value, or can be variable, usually adjusted through an
accessorysuchasarodorboltwithmarkings.Thisadjustmentcanbeeithermanualorremote,inthe
latter case being known as 'RET' (Remote Electrical Tilt) usually a small engine connected to the
screwstem/regulatorthatdoesthejobofadjustingthetilt.
With no doubt the best option is to use antennas with variable electrical tilt AND remote adjustment
possibility,becauseitgivesmuchmoreflexibilityandeasetotheoptimizer.
Howeverthesesolutionsareusuallymoreexpensive,andthereforetheantennaswithmanualvariable
electricaltiltoptionaremorecommon.
So, if you don't have the budget for antennas with RET, choose at least antennas with manual but
'variable' electrical tilt only when you have no choice/options, choose antennas with fixed electrical
tilt.

Changes in Radiation diagrams: depends on the Tilt Type

We have already seen that when we apply a tilt (electrical or mechanical) to an antenna, we have
changeofsignalpropagation,becausewechangethe3Ddiagramasdiscussedearlier.
Butthisvariationisalsodifferentdependingonthetypeofelectricalormechanicaltilt.Therefore,itis
veryimportanttounderstandhowtheirradiatedsignalisaffectedineachcase.
To explain these effects through calculations and definitions of db, null and gains on the diagram is
possible.Butthefollowingfiguresshowsitinaamuchmoresimplifiedway,ashorizontalbeamwidth
behaveswhenweapplyelectricalandmechanicaltilttoanantenna.
SeehowistheHorizontalIrradiationDiagramforanantennawithhorizontalbeamwidthof90degrees.

Of course, depending on the horizontal beamwidth, we'll have other figures. But the idea, or the
'behavior'isthesame.Below,wehavethesameresultforanantennawithhorizontalbeamwidthof65
degrees.


Ourgoalitthatwiththepicturesaboveyoucanunderstandhoweachtypeoftiltaffectstheendresult
incoverageoneofthemostimportantgoalsofthistutorial.
But the best way to verify this concept in practice is by checking the final coverage that each one
produces.
Todothis,thenlet'stakeasareferenceasimple'coverageprediction'ofasamplecell.(Theseresults
couldalsobeobtainedfromdetailedDriveTestmeasurementsinthecellregion).

Thenwewillgenerate2morepredictions:thefirstwithelectricaltilt=8degrees(andnomechanical
tilt).Andthesecondwithonlymechanicalof8degrees.

Analyzingthediagramsforbothtypesoftilt,aswellastheresultsofthepredictions(theseresultsalso
canalsobeprovenbydrivetestmeasures)wefindthat:
Withthemechanicaltilt,thecoverageareaisreducedincentraldirection,butthe
coverageareainsidedirectionsareincreased.

Withtheelectricaltilt,thecoverageareasuffersauniformreductioninthe
directionoftheantennaazimuth,thatis,thegainisreduceduniformly.
Conclusion:theadvantagesofonetilttypetoanothertilttypeareverybasedonitsapplicationwhen
oneoftheabovetworesultisdesired/required.
But in General, the basic concept of tilt is that when we apply the tilt to an antenna, we improve the
signal in areas close to the site, and reduced the coverage in more remote locations. In other words,
when we're adjusting the tilt we seek a signal as strong as possible in areas of interest (where the
trafficmustbe),andsimilarly,asignaltheweakestaspossiblebeyondthebordersofthecell.
Ofcourseeverythingdependsonthe'variables'involvedastiltangle,heightandtypeofantennaand
alsooftopographyandexistingobstacles.
Roughly,butthatcanbeusedinpractice,thetiltanglescanbeestimatedthroughsimplecalculationof
theverticalanglebetweentheantennaandtheareaofinterest.
Inotherwords,wechoseatiltangleinsuchawaythatthedesiredcoverageareasareinthedirection
ofverticaldiagram.
Itisimportanttocompare:
theantennaangletowardtheareaofinterest
theantennaverticaldiagram.

Wemustalsotakeintoaccounttheantennanulls.Thesenullpointsinantennadiagramsshouldnotbe
targetedtoimportantareas.
Asbasicformula,wehave:

Angle=ArcTAN(Height/Distance)
Note:theheightanddistancemustbeinthesamemeasurementunits.

Recommendations
Themainrecommendationtobefollowedwhenapplyingtilts,istouseitwithcaution.Althoughthetilt
canreduceinterference,itcanalsoreducecoverage,especiallyinindoorlocations.
So, calculations (and measurements) must be made to predict (and check) the results, and if that
meanscoverageloss,weshouldreevaluatethetilt.
Itisagoodpracticetodefinesome'same'typicalvalues(default)oftilttobeappliedonthenetwork
cells,varyingonlybasedonregion,cellsize,andantennasheightsandtypes.
Itisrecommendednottousetooaggressivevalues:itisbettertostartwithasmalltiltinallcells,and
thengomakinganyadjustmentsasneededtoimprovecoverage/interference.
When using mechanical tilt, remember that the horizontal beamwidth is wider to the antenna sides,
whichcanrepresentaprobleminC/Iratiointhecoverageofneighboringcells.
Alwaysmakealocalverification,afterchanginganytilt,bylessthanithasbeen.Thismeansassessing
the coverage and quality in the area of the changed cell, and also in the affected region. Always
rememberthataproblemmayhavebeensolved...butanothermayhavearisen!

Documentation
The documentation is a very important task in all activities of the telecommunications area. But this
importanceisevengreaterwhenwetalkaboutRadiantSystemdocumentation(includingtilts).
It is very important to know exactly 'what' we have currently configured at each network cell. And
equallyimportant,toknow'why'thatgivenvaluehaschanged,oroptimized.

Professionals who do not follow this rule often must perform rework for several reasons simply
becausethechangeswerenotproperlydocumented.
For example, if a particular tilt was applied to remove the interfering signal at a VIP customer, the
sameshouldgobacktotheoriginalvaluewhenthefrequencyplanisfixed.
Other case for example is if the tilt was applied due to problems of congestion. After the sector
expansion(TRX,Carriers,etc),thetiltmustreturntothepreviousvalue,reachingagreatercoverage
area,andconsequently,generatingoverallgreaterrevenue.
Another case still is when we have the activation of a new site: all neighboring sites should be
reevaluatedbothtiltsandazimutes.
Ofcoursethateachcaseshouldbeevaluatedaccordingtoitscharacteristicsandonlythendeciding
toapllyfinaltiltvalues.Forexample,ifthereisalargebuildinginfrontofanantenna,increasingthe
tiltcouldendupcompletelyeliminatingthesignal.
In all cases, common sense should prevail, evaluating the result through all the possible tools and
calculations(asPredictions),datacollection(asDriveTest)andKPI's.

Practical Values
Aswecansee,there'snota'rule',ordefaultvalueforallthetiltsofanetwork.
Butconsideringthemostvaluesfoundinfield,reasonablevaluesare:
15dBigain:defaulttiltbetween7and8degrees(being8degreestosmallercells).
18dBigain:defaulttiltbetween3.5and4degrees(again,being4degreestosmallercells).

Thesevalueshavetipically3to5dBoflossonthehorizon.
Note:thedefaulttiltisslightlylargerinsmallercellsbecausethesearecellsareindenseareas,anda
slightlysmallercoveragelosswon'thaveasmucheffectasinlargercells.Andincasesofverysmall
cells,thetiltispracticallymandatoryotherwiseweruntheriskofcreatingverypoorcoverageareas
onitsedgesduetoantennanulls.
It is easier to control a network when all cells have approximately the same value on almost all
antennas: with a small value or even without tilt applied to all cells, we have an almost negligible
coverageloss,andagoodC/Ilevel.
Thus,wecanworryaboutandfocusonlyonthemoreproblematiccells.
When you apply tilts in antennas, make in a structured manner, for example with steps of 2 or 3
degreesdocumentitandalsoletyourteamknowthissteps.
As already mentioned, the mechanical tilt is often changed through the adjust of mechanical devices
(1)and(2)thatfixestheantennastobrackets.

Andtheelectricaltiltcanbemodifiedforexamplethroughrodsorscrews,usuallylocatedatthebottom
oftheantenna,whichwhenmoved,appliessomecorrespondingtilttotheantenna.


Forexampleintheabovefigure,wehaveadualantenna(twofrequencybands),andofcourse,2rods
(1)and(2)thataremovedaround,andhaveasmalldisplay(3)indicatingthecorrespondingelectrical
tiltoneforeachband.

And what are the applications?

In the definitions so far, we've already seen that the tilts applications are several, as to minimize
neighboringcellsunwantedoverlap,e.g.improvingtheconditionsforthehandover.Alsowecanapply
tilttoremovelocalinterferenceandincreasethetrafficcapacity,andalsocaseswherewesimplywant
tochangethesizeofcertaincells,forexamplewhenweinsertanewcell.

InANutshell:themostimportantthingistounderstandtheconcept,oreffectofeachtypeoftilt,so
thatyoucanapplyitasbestaspossibleineachsituation.

Final Tips
Thetiltsubjectisfarmorecomprehensivethatwe(triedto)demonstrateheretoday,butwebelieveit
isenoughforyoutounderstandthebasicconcepts.
Afinaltipiswhenapplyingtiltsinantennaswithmorethanoneband.
This is because in different frequency bands, we have different propagation losses. For this reason,
antennae that allow more than one band has different propagation diagrams, and above all, different
gainsandelectricaltiltrange.
Andwhat'stheproblem?
Well,supposeasanexampleanantennathathasthebandX,thelower,andabandY,highest.
Analyzing the characteristics of this specific antenna, you'll see that the ranges of electrical tilt are
differentforeachband.
Forexample,forthissamedualantennawecanhave:
Xband:electricaltiltrangefrom0to10degrees.
Yband:electricaltiltrangefrom0to6degrees.

The gain of the lower band is always smaller, like to 'adjust' the smaller loss that this band has in
relationtoeachother.Inthisway,wecanachieveacoveragearearoughlyequalonbothbandsof
courseifweuse'equivalent'tilts.
Okay,butintheexampleabove,themaximumis10and6.Whatwouldbeequivalenttilt?
Sothetipisthis:alwayspayattentiontothecorrelationoftiltsbetweenantennaswithmorethanone
bandbeingtransmitted!
Thesuggestionistomaintainanauxiliarytable,withthecorrelationofthesepredefinedvalues.
Thus,fortheelectricaltiltofagivencell:
XBandET=0(notilt),thenYBandET=0(notilt).Ok.
XBandET=10(maximumpossibletilt),thenYBandET=6(maximumpossibletilt).Ok.
XBandET=5.Andthere?Bycorrelation,YBandET=3!

Obviously, this relationship is not always a 'rule', because it depends on each band specific diagrams
andhoweachonewillreachtheareasofinterest.
But worth pay attention to not to end up applying the maximum tilt in a band (Y ET = 6), and the
'same'(XET=6)inanotherbandbecauseeventhoughtheyhavethesame'value',actuallythey're
not'equivalent'.
Afteryousetthiscorrelationtableforyourantennas,distributeittoyourteamso,wheninthefield,
whentheyhavetochangeatiltofabandtheywillautomaticallyknowtheapproximatetiltthatshould
beadjustedintheother(s).

And how to verify changes?

Wehavealsosaidpreviouslythattheverifications,ortheeffectsoftiltadjustmentscanbecheckedin
various ways, such as through drive test, coverage predictions, onsite/interest areas measurements,
oralsothroughcountersorKeyPerformanceIndicatorsKPI.
Specifically about the verifications through Performance counters, in addition to KPI directly affected,
aninterestingandefficientformofverificationisthroughDistancecounters.
OnGSMforexample,wehaveTAcounters(numberofMRperTA,numberofRadioLinkFailurebyTA).
Note:wetalkedaboutTAhereattelecomHall,andifyouhavemoreinterestinthesubject,clickhere
toreadthetutorial.
Thistypeofcheckisverysimpletobedone,andtheresultscanbeclearlyevaluated.
Forexample,wecanchecktheeffectofatiltappliedtoaparticularcellthroughcountersinasimple
Excelworksheet.

ThroughtheinformationofTAforeachcell,weknowhowfarthecoverageofeachoneisreached.So,
afterwechangeaparticulartilt,simplyexportthenewKPIdata(TA),andcomparethenewcoverage
area(andalsothenewdistributions/concentrationsoftraffic).
Another way, perhaps even more interesting, is plotting this data in a GIS program, for example in

GoogleEarth.Fromthedatacounterstable,andanauxiliarytablewiththephysicalinformationofcells
(cellname, coordinates, azimuth) can have a result far more detailed, allowing precise result checking
aswell.

Severalotherinterestinginformationcanbeobtainedfromthereport(map)above.
When you click some point, we have its traffic information. The color legend also assists in this task.
Forexample,inregionsaroundthereddots,wehaveatrafficbetween40and45Erlangs.Inthesame
logic,lightyellowpointsbetween10and15resultingErlangsaccordingtolegendseewhathappens
whenweclickatthatparticularlocation:wehave12.5Erlangs.

Anotherpieceofinformationthataddsvaluetotheanalysis,alsoobtainedbyclickinganypoint,isthe
percentage of traffic at that specific location. For example, in the yellow dot we have clicked, or 12.5
Erlangs=14%outofatotalof88.99Erlangsthatcellhas(thesumofallpoints).

Also as interesting information, we have the checking of coverage to far from the site, where we still
havesometraffic.Intheanalysis,thedesignermusttakeintoaccountifthecoverageisruralornot.
Ifaruralcoverage,itmaybemaintained(dependsoncompanystrategy).Suchcasesinsiteslocated
oncities,aremostlikelysignal'spurious'andprobablyshouldberemovedforexamplewiththeuse
oftilt!


The creation and manipulation of tables and maps processed above are subject of our next tutorial
'Hunter GE TA', but they aren't complicated be manually obtained mainly the data in Excel, which
alreadyallowyoutoextractenoughinformationandhelp.

Conclusion
Todaywe'veseenthemaincharacteristicsoftiltsappliedtoantennas.
Agoodtiltschoicemaintainsnetworkinterferencelevelsundercontrol,andconsequentlyprovidesbest
overallresults.
Theapplicationoftiltalwaysresultsinalossofcoverage,butwhatoneshouldalwaysbearinmindis
whetherthereducedcoverageshouldbethereornot!
Knowing well the concept of tilt, and especially understanding the different effects of mechanical and
electricaltilt,youwillbeabletoachievethebestresultsinyournetwork.
Asalways,wedothatourlasteverrequest:Ifyoulikedthistutorial,pleaseshareitwithyourfriends:
soyougiveusreasontocontinuepublishingnewarticleslikethis!Thankyou!

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AbdoAlSomainWorksatSabafonTelecommunicationCompany
Manythanksforsharing,IthinkanyGSMOptimizationEngineer,
needtothisimportantinfornationabouttilting
ReplyLikeFollowPostJanuary16at2:11am
TakundaEverstoMundwa
Thanksforsharing,buthowdoiplotTAinaGISprogram.
ReplyLike

1FollowPostNovember28,2014at4:17pm

FaizanSiddiqui
&Technology

FollowSirSyedUniversityofEngineering

thanksforsharingthisveryusefulandveryeasytounderstandable..
ReplyLike

1FollowPostNovember28,2014at2:10pm

SatbirSinghRana FollowAssistantManageratEricssonIndia
GlobalServicePvt.Ltd.
thankxforsharingthis
ReplyLike

1FollowPostNovember25,2014at9:43pm

DineshDhiman

FollowNagpurUniversity

ilikethatinformationitclearsallmydoughts.....abouttilting
ReplyLike
ArifBinJalal

1FollowPostNovember4,2014at11:22pm
FollowJessorePolytechnicInstitute,Jessore

AwesomeInformation
ReplyLike

1FollowPostOctober26,2014at12:24am

EngrAbidHassaanShaikh
Eventorganizer

FollowManagingDirectoratI.T

ReallyItsinformative
ReplyLike

1FollowPostOctober13,2014at6:52pm

PaviAsadiRANEngineeratKorekTelecom
thanksitisveryuseful
ReplyLike

1FollowPostSeptember30,2014at2:15pm

YashwantPatilWorksatStudentOfTheYear
verygood................
ReplyLike

1FollowPostSeptember28,2014at8:33pm

AbhishenSinghRaja

FollowEngineeratZTEIndia

howtoreducedthecoverageareabyuseoftilt
ReplyLike

2FollowPostJuly16,2014at10:45am
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