Introduction to Digital Microwave Communication Equipment

Chapter 3

Outlines
Microwave Equipment Category Split-Mount Microwave Equipment Microwave Antenna Antenna Adjustment Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU Split-Mount Microwave Equipment IDU

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Microwave Equipment Category

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Trunk Microwave Equipment

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All Outdoor Microwave Equipment

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment (1)

The RF unit is an Outdoor Unit (ODU)
The IF, signal processing, and MUX/DEMUX units are integrated in the Indoor Unit (IDU) The ODU and IDU are connected through an IF cable

The ODU can either be directly mounted onto the antenna

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment (2)

Its the most widely used microwave equipment
Although the capacity is smaller than the trunk, due to the easy installation and maintenance, and fast network construction

Unit Functions
Antenna: Focuses the RF signals transmitted by ODUs and increases the signal gain ODU: RF processing, conversion of IF/RF signals IF cable: Transmitting of IF signal, management signal and power supply of ODU IDU: Performs access, dispatch, multiplex/demultiplex, and modulation/demodulation for services
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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment Installation

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Microwave Antenna (1)

Antennas are used to send and receive microwave signals Parabolic antennas is common type of microwave antennas Microwave antenna diameters includes: 0.3m, 0.6m, 1.2m, 1.8m,2.0m, 2.4m, 3.0m, 3.2m

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Microwave Antenna (2)

Different frequency channels in same frequency band can share one antenna

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Antenna Adjustment (1)

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Antenna Adjustment (2)

During antenna adjustment, change the direction vertically or horizontally.
Use a multimeter to test the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) at the receiving end The voltage wave will be displayed as shown in the lower right corner. The peak point of the voltage wave indicates the main lobe position in the vertical or horizontal direction Large-scope adjustment is unnecessary Perform fine adjustment on the antenna to the peak voltage point
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Antenna Adjustment (3)

When antennas are poorly aligned, a small voltage may be detected in one direction
Perform coarse adjustment on the antennas at both ends, so that the antennas are roughly aligned

The antennas at both ends that are well aligned face a little bit upward
Though 12 dB is lost

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Antenna Adjustment (4)

During antenna adjustment, the two wrong adjustment cases are show here
One antenna is aligned to another antenna through the side lobe The RSSI cannot meet the requirements

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment Antenna (1)

Antenna gain
Ratio of the input power of an isotropic antenna Pio to the input power of a parabolic antenna Pi when the electric field at a point is the same for the isotropic antenna and the parabolic antenna

Half-power angle
The given antenna specifications contain the gain in the largest radiation (main lobe) direction (denoted by dBi) The half-power point, or the 3 dB point is the point which is deviated from the central line of the main lobe and where the power is decreased by half

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment Antenna (2)

Cross polarization discrimination Suppression ratio of the antenna receiving heteropolarizing waves, usually, larger than 30 dB
XdB10lgPo/Px Po: Receiving power of normal polarized wave Px: Receiving power of abnormal polarized wave

Antenna protection ratio

Attenuation degree of the receiving capability in a direction of an antenna compared with that in the main lobe direction An antenna protection ratio of 180 is called front-to-back ratio

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU (1)

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU (2)

Specifications of Transmitter
Working frequency band Generally, trunk radios use 6, 7, and 8 GHz frequency bands
11, 13 GHz and higher frequency bands are used in the access layer (e.g. BTS access)

Output power - The power at the output port of a transmitter

Generally, the output power is 15 to 30 dBm

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU (3)

Local frequency stability
If the working frequency of the transmitter is unstable, the demodulated effective signal ratio will be decreased and the bit error ratio will be increased The value range of the local frequency stability is 3 to 10 ppm

Transmit Frequency Spectrum Frame

The frequency spectrum of the transmitted signal must meet specified requirements
To avoid occupying too much bandwidth and thus causing too much interference to adjacent channels

The limitations to frequency spectrum is called transmit frequency spectrum frame

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU (4)

Specifications of Receiver
Working frequency band
Receivers work together with transmitters The receiving frequency on the local station is the transmitting frequency of the same channel on the opposite station

Local frequency stability

The same as that of transmitters: 3 to 10 ppm

Noise figure
The noise figure of digital microwave receivers is 2.5 dB to 5 dB

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU (5)

Passband
The passband and amplitude frequency characteristics should be properly chosen to effectively suppress interference and achieve the best transmission quality The receiver passband characteristics depend on the IF filter

Selectivity
Ability of receivers of suppressing the various interferences outside the passband
Especially the interference from adjacent channels, image interference and the interference between transmitted and received signals

Automatic gain control (AGC) range

Automatic control of receiver gain
With this function, input RF signals change within a certain range and the IF signal level remains unchanges 3 - 21

Split-Mount Microwave Equipment ODU (6)

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment IDU (1)

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment IDU (2)

IDU functions
Service access Service scheduling Multiplexing Modulation and demodulation

If an IF board is equal to the line board of optical network equipment

IDU is similar to the box-shape equipment of optical network

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment IDU (3)

Common IDU Specifications

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Split-Mount Microwave Equipment IDU (4)

Common IDU Specifications (cont..)

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