Interference

Measurement SOP
SRAN 11.1
2-Tone Intermodulation Counter Detection

Huawei del Peru

Agenda
Introduction to PIM

Defining PIM and Sources

Interference Measurement Procedure

Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters

Huawei PIM Results Review

 Introduction to PIM
• Passive Intermodulation (PIM) is unwanted signals being created by high power Tx signals in
passive RF components, such as connectors, filters, antennas, splitters, combiners, and so on.

• PIM generates intermodulation products that can fall within the Rx band of the receiver of
adjacent bands in the base station or in user equipment and, therefore, interfere with the real
signals from/to the cellular users served by these systems.

• PIM will lead to reduced coverage, capacity, and data throughputs.

• PIM is a growing issue for cellular network operators, especially in IBS solutions, due to aging
and difficulty of maintenance.

• PIM issues may occur as existing equipment ages, when co-locating new carriers, or when
installing new equipment, like adding LTE to existing 2G/3G systems. PIM is a particular issue when
adding new carriers to old antenna systems.

• PIM can create interference that will reduce a cell’s receive sensitivity or even increase the call drop
rate.
Agenda
Introduction to PIM

Defining PIM and Sources

Interference Measurement Procedure

Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters

Huawei PIM Results Review

 Defining PIM
• PIM is a form of intermodulation distortion that occurs in components normally thought of as
linear, such as cables, splitters, combiners, filters, connectors, and antennas.

• However, when subject to the high RF powers found in cellular systems, these devices can
generate intermodulation signals at -80 dBm or higher.

• Intermodulated signals are generated late in the signal path, they cannot be filtered out and may
cause more harm than the stronger, but filtered, IM products from active components.

• The PIM test is a measure of the linearity of the antenna system and thus the installation and
material quality.

• PIM shows up as a set of unwanted signals created by the mixing of two or more strong RF
signals in a nonlinear device, such as a loose or corroded connector, or nearby rust.
 Defining PIM
• The following formulas can predict PIM frequencies for two carriers:

where f1 and f2 are the carriers’ center frequencies and the n and m are positive integers.

Frequency components and bandwidth generated by Intermodulation distortion order.

 PIM Sources
• PIM comes from two or more strong signals and a nonlinear junction.

• The strong signals normally come from transmitters sharing an antenna run, transmitters using
adjacent antennas, or nearby towers with conflicting antenna patterns.

• Damaged or poorly torqued RF connections, contamination, fatigue breaks, cold solder joints, and
corrosion can create nonlinear junctions.

• Since the nonlinear junction may be outside the cell cabinet, eliminating PIM by filtering may not be
possible.

• Often, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the root cause of the problem. Damaged connectors,
cables, duplexers, circulators, and antennas can all contain nonlinear components.

• In addition, nearby corroded objects, such as fences, barn roofs, or rusty bolts can cause PIM, as
long as the signals that reach them are strong enough. This effect is common enough to have its
own name, which is the “rusty bolt effect”. There are a number of different places to look for
nonlinear junctions.
Agenda
Introduction to PIM

Defining PIM and Sources

Interference Measurement Procedure

Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters

Huawei PIM Results Review

Interference Measurement Procedure – MML
U2000 has a software tool that allow measurement of Intermodulation Products’s Interference in
reception band. This procedure is make through insertion of two signals tones, generated by RRU,
in antenna system.

U2000 MML Command: Interference Measurement

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – MML
STEP 1: Insert MML Command by WebLMT (STR RFTEST)

a) Test Type: PIMON2TONE_2TONE(PIMON2TONE_2TONE)

b) Cabinet No.: 0
c) Subrack No.: XX (RRU Subrack)
d) Slot No.: 0
e) TX Channel No.: X (RRU Port)
f) Freq1(0.1 MHz).: XXXX (PIM Frequency 1*10)
g) Freq2(0.1 MHz).: XXXX (PIM Frequency 2*10)
h) PIM Product Threshold (dB): 148 (Max. Value)

b c d e
a

f g h
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 Interference Measurement Procedure – MML
STEP 2: Execute MML command and check result.

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Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
U2000 has a software tool that allow measurement of Intermodulation Products’s Interference in
reception band. This procedure is make through insertion of two signals tones, generated by RRU,
in antenna system.

U2000 Tool: Interference Measurement

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 1: Select Interference Measurement in U2000

Maintenance Antenna Management Interference Measurement

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 2: Choose 2-Tone Intermodulation Counter Detection as Interference Measurement Method.

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 3:

a. Select Search icon.

b. Introduce Site Name/Site code that will be test.
c. Choose site for PIM Test.

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 4: Choose antenna ports that will be measure. Ports selected must be of same frequency band.

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 5:

a. Select Parameter Settings in order to introduce measurement parameters.

b. Choose BTS3900 as Set detection parameters for each NE type.
c. Set detection detection frequencys for PIM Measurement according to frequency.
d. Put Ok for save the configuration.

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 6:

a. Press Test in order to Stat with PIM Measurement.

b. Confirm measurement with Yes in Warning pop-up. This measurement affects measurement per
line according to measurement progress (1 minute each system antenna line).

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 Interference Measurement Procedure – Huawei Tool
STEP 7:

a. Check PIM Measurement progress.

b. Check PIM Measurement result.
c. Save Results in .CSV file format.

b c

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 Agenda
Introduction to PIM

Defining PIM and Sources

Interference Measurement Procedure

Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters

Huawei PIM Results Review

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 Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters
• 700 MHz Band

Frequency 1 Frequency 2 PIM Rx Freq PIM Product

PIM Order
(MHz) (MHz) (MHz) threshold (dB)
762 788 710 5th 148

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 Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters
• 2600 MHz Band

Frequency 1 Frequency 2 PIM Rx Freq PIM Product

PIM Order
(MHz) (MHz) (MHz) threshold (dB)
2620 2665 2530 5th 148

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 Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters
• 1900 MHz Band

Frequency 1 Frequency 2 PIM Rx Freq PIM Product

PIM Order
(MHz) (MHz) (MHz) threshold (dB)
1930 1965 1860 5th 148

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 Agenda
Introduction to PIM

Defining PIM and Sources

Interference Measurement Procedure

Huawei PIM Measurement Parameters

Huawei PIM Results Review

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 Huawei PIM Results Review
• Once .CSV result is exported. PIM Rx Levels must be filter for 5th PIM Order in order to check
antenna system lines that not accomplish with PIM threshold.

• This procedure will help to debug lines than present high PIM Levels.

Test Result: PIM Measurement pass

Assistant data: More than 50

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