GRENTECH

GSM Repeater Engineering Guide

For outdoor project

Catalog
1. Site survey

2. Design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning
5. FAQ

Site survey
1.Site survey
1.1 Some information needed in advances

Confirmation of coverage requirements

Confirm existing coverage situation and customer requirements,
make sure the area to be covered and problems to be solved.

Confirmation of BTS information around the

coverage area.
Which BTS s capacity is enough ,and which one is not, and
the relative location to the aim coverage area. All this can be
done by checking from OMC

Site survey
1.2 Contents of site survey
1.2.1 Contents to be written down.
1Site name and Location
2The names of surveying people and the telephone numbers
3Longitude and latitude
4coverage requirements
Type : Road, Village, Community and so on.
Acreage: length , width;

5Surroundings
The typical picture of the coverage area
The geographic map of these area.

6 Electromagnetic environment:
we can get the information by Driving Test.

Site survey
7 The location of the equipment installed
a. Where will the donor antenna be installed
the place must been met the following requirements:

The signal should not be blocked from straight right direction

The signal level has to be stable and no less than -75dBm;
The signal quality is good.
Note: the neighbor list of the BTS sector should be written down

Site survey
b. How many service antennas will be installed ?

For within Band FSR repeater, also two Uni-direction antennas are
enough.
For Out Band FSR, there is no limited for quantity. we can use
Omni-direction or uni-direction antennas.
Normally, for RF repeater, two Uni-direction antennas are
maximum..

In order to make the best choice, the decision of

quantity of antennas is based upon real environment.

Site survey
c. Where should the service antenna be installed?
For RF repeater, the antenna must be installed at the edge
of the coverage area .

There isnt obstacle at least 100m from right straight direction.

The donor antenna and the service antenna must be met the
isolation requirement.
Isolation value > Gr+15dB ,Gr is repeaters gain.

For outdoor coverage, according to ours experiences,

Vertical lever:
> 15m or
Horizontal distance: >25m

Site survey

Site survey

Site survey

Site Survey
d. Where can the repeater be installed?
The host should be installed in a location where is convenient for the
adjustment, maintenance and heat dissipation of the main equipment.
If conditions are permitted, the host should be installed inside; If not,
protection measures must be taken to prevent rain, sunshine and other
damages.
The host should be installed in a location without the interference of
strong-electric circuit, strong-magnetic and corrosive equipments.
If the host is installed inside, no inflammable objects should be allowed
nearby; the indoor temperature and humidity should not be exceed the
normal operating range which is required regulations.

If the host is installed on the wall, its bottom should be 1.2 m above the
ground to maintain easily. If the host is installed at the ground, the distance
between them should be 0.8 m from the wall.

Site survey
8The power type
AC220v or DC-48v, and where we can get it.

9Is it easy to place the feeder cable?

As for the wiring route, the feasibility of the project should be specially taken
into account.

10 Population density
At the coverage area, how many people are staying in the location or the
traffic rate.

For example : there are 1,000 people in the area, 50 of them are
using mobile phone, and CMCC occupied 60 of them. So, total
users of CMCC are 300. During the busy time, there are 10 people
making a call, so, the users are 30. according to the Erlang Table,
just one carrier will be enough to meet the requirement.

Catalog
1. Site survey

2. Design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning
5. FAQ

Design
The outdoor coverage design is a system project, it not only
includes the host, but also includes the donor antenna, service
antenna, feeder cable, and so on. The following main items are
needed to consider particularly for outdoor coverage design:
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6

Repeater selection
Donor antenna selection
Service antenna selection
Feeder cable selection
Diagram
Material list

Design
2.1 Repeater selection
Sequence of selecting repeater

The Band Selective Repeater

The Frequency Selective Repeater
The Frequency Shifting Repeater
The Optical Fiber Repeater

Notes:
For frequency selective or shifting repeater, we need to
know the carrier and the connectors type of BTSs sector.
If there is one carrier, we just need to use one carrier
Frequency Selective Repeater, if there is two carriers, we
must to apply two carriers selective repeater.

Design
Sequence of repeaters output power choice
Generally, we need to think about two factors.
The coverage acreage
the path loss. Formula:

+
f: frequency in MHz
d: distance in km
: adjustment factor.

Normally, is 25dB, if there are plenty trees in the region,

the value should be 40dB; For suburb area, the value is 35
dB; for road coverage, is 30dB.
Usually, 10W repeater can be qualified for the most coverage
requirements.

Design
Take an example, in village area, if the receiving signal level gate is 90dBm, the capability of service antenna is to cover 5km, according
to the formula
for GSM1800MHz system,
f=1800MHz
d=5km
=35dB
So, PL=139.5dB.
Assumption, the repeaters output power is X dBm,
the cables loss is 3dB;
the service antennas gain is 16dBi,
So X-3+16-139.5 = 90
X = 36.5dBm

Normally ,when the repeater is operating , we adjust the output

power, it has redundancy, such as 3dB, the total output power is
39.5dBm (36.5+3). So, 10W repeater is just demanded for this site.

Design
Donor antenna selection:
Three main parameters need to know:

Antenna gain:
If the signal level is lower than the standard input level, then we can

use a high gain antenna.

Half power width:
If the signal is not stable, it will be handovered by testing phone, then
our advise is to use the antenna with a narrow beam width.

Front-back rate
If the isolation is not enough ,we can apply the high front-back rate
antenna.

Design-Antenna type
Grid antenna
This type of antenna is often be used for outdoor coverage as a
donor antenna.
its gain, half power width and front back rat are working well .

Design
Service antenna selection
In General, different antenna will be used in different coverage areas.
For road coverage, back fire antenna or Yagi antenna can be
applied. The use of antenna is based the road situation, like
directness or wriggle.

Design-Service Antenna type

Panel antenna
For village coverage, we can use panel antennas to match the
requirements.
There are two important parameters of panel
antenna we need to pay attention.
Gain
Normally, more higher gain,
more better signal quality.

Half power width

there are 60. 90 and 120 panel antennas.
To decide which one is better, it is based on the
coverage acreage.

Design-feeder cable
Usually, two types of cable can be used frequently.

feeder cable
The loss of these types of cable are below:
800MHz/900MHz,
7dB/100m
1800MHz/1900MHz, 10dB/100m
2100MHz
11dB/100m

7/8 feeder cable :

Feature: lower loss, but installation is little bit difficult, parameters like follow:
800MHz/900MHz,
4dB/100m
1800MHz/1900MHz
7dB/100m
2100MHz
8dB/100m
So, the question for which type of cable is matched to the project is not only
according to the cable loss, but also whether easy to actualize.

Design- Diagram

Where to set up a pole.

Where to install the donor antenna
The direction of antennas
The height of donor and service antenna.
In here, it means effective , the antennas height is above ground

The down tilt of service antenna.

The place to install the repeater
The place to connect the power

All these information are needed to appeal distinctly in the

diagram.

Design-Diagram
Example

Catalog
1. Site survey

2. Design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning
5. FAQ

Installation
3.1 Picture of ports in the bottom
3.2 Antenna installation
3.3 Feeder cable installation
3.4 Host machine installation
3.5 Installation of accessories

Picture of ports in the bottom

No.

Name

Description

Donor interface

For connection to the donor antenna

Ground terminal

For connection to the external earth

AC input interface

For connection to the power supply

Retransmit interface

For connection to the retransmit antenna

Power indicator

The indicator illuminates when the repeater works.

Antenna installation
Requests
1. Floor load should be qualified; iron pole and antenna arm
should be firmed and fixed with pole vertical and arm
horizontal, all the iron materials should be oxidized
(waterproof and airproof).
2. Donor antenna stand screws (including setscrew, lightning rod
connection screw, grounding screw) should be waterproof and
airproof.
3. A weep bend is to prevent water from leaking into engine
room.
4. The feeder cables are forbidden to lay along lightning
protection network of the building.
5. Avoid no signal output in case the input and output ports are
not correctly connected.

Feeder cable Installation

Requirements:
Feeder cabling should be smooth with no crossover or space
jumper.
Cables can not be bundled with other power cables while they are
laid.

Feeders should be laid far from the strong-current high-voltage

pipe and fire control pipe to ensure no strong-current and strongmagnetic interference.
Feeders not laid in the equipment room, cable cell and suspended
ceiling should be put in PVC pipes. All cabling pipes should be laid
tidily and neatly and the bends should be connected with bending
connectors.

Feeder cable Installation

If the cabling pipes are unable to lean against the wall (for example, in
an underground parking lot or on a refugee floor), Multiple-purpose
angle blocks should be used as feeder hanging holders in feeder
cabling, and the distance between suspenders should be 1.5 m.
The wall holes of the feeder inlet and outlet should be sealed with
waterproof and fireproof materials.

When the feeder connector is connected with the host/trunk amplifier,

the antenna, the coupler and the power splitter, The feeder must go
straight for 50 mm from the connector before it can be bend.
The lightning arrester should have a diameter of 12-14 mm and a length
of 500-600 mm, with good electrical and grounding performance.

Feeder cable Installation

The bending angle should be kept smooth when the RF
line is to be bent, and curvature radius cannot exceed the
listed specs. below.
Radius

2nd bending radius

1st bending radius

inch

210 mm

70 mm

7/8 inch

360 mm

120 mm

Feeder cable Installation

The feeder cable should be fixed in the wall (or stair) with
feeder clamp; For feeder cable with different radius, the
suggested feeder clamp distances are as follows:

type
Fixed distance between
horizontal feeder cable
Fixed distance between
vertical feeder cable

inch feeder cable 7/8 inch feeder cable

1.0 M

1.5 M

0.8 M

1.0 M

Host machine installation

Requests:
The installation site should be met the request of design
document, and be vertical and firm; if the installation site needs
to be altered, it should get the approval of the designer and in
case the alternation will not affect the system design.
Wall hanging, the distance between the host machine bottom
and the ground is 1.2 M, which is easy for maintenance.
Floor model installation, distance between host machine and
wall is 0.8 M.

Host machine installation

Installation diagram of host machine

4-M18 expansion bolt

50-70mm long
With certain number
of flat and spring washers
Wall

Repeater

Installation of accessories
Accessories efer to power distributors,electric meters,
power sockets, current protection switches and ground
bars.
Requirements:
1. The installation location of power distributors should meet the
requirement of design.
2. Electric meters, power sockets and current protection switches
should be installed in the special positions inside the power
distributors.
3. The power cables between the host/extension and the power
distributor can be connected directly to the residential current
protection switch without using a socket.

Installation of accessories
4.

Ground bars should be firmly installed on the wall with expansion

bolts, horizontally at the bottom of the host at the left/right side .

5.

For grounding cables 16 mmcopper-core rubber cables should be

used. And all the active equipment must be grounded with 16
mmgrounding cables and main grounding busbar (or the main
grounding cable of the building).

6.

Power and ground line should be fixed with cable tie

Fixed distance is 0.3 M, the path of the lines should be straight and
be kept in order

Ground line should be connected to the ground along with the

direction of feeder cable downlink, upward direction is forbidden;

Bending of ground line should be over 90 , curvature radius over

130mm.

Installation of accessories
9.
10.

The passive modules should be fixed by cable tie, and cannot be

hanged in the air.
The two ends of the equipment and each component and cable should
be labeled according to equipment name, No. and cable track.

Note:
The distribution of power to the host should be forbidden before it
is not confirmed that the host can be debugged and tested to avoid
unexpected results.

Installation of accessories
Installation diagram of host and accessories

Catalog
1. Site survey

2. Design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning
5. FAQ

Commissioning
4.1 Adjustment Tools
Testing handset

pcs

Spectrograph

set

VSWR analyzer

set

Connector
female-female

3 pcs

Laptop

set

Jump cable

3 pcs

Coupler-10dB

1 pcs

Digital camera

set

(with drive test software)

(with battery)

Commissioning
4.2 Donor antenna parameters checking
Using standing wave ration analyzer to check the VSWR of
the donor antenna. The value must less than 1.5, if
not ,please make the connector and check it again.
Using the spectrum analyzer checking the Downlink signal
level to get the best direction ,at which direction the signal
level is the best one within band, other side it meets the
requirement, This process should be repeated several times
before the antenna fasteners are screwed tightly.
Normally, the input power of repeater is at the middle of -50
to -55dBm.

Commissioning
If the input signal level is not normal, either high or low. Then
we can using the attenuator or changing a high gain antenna
to solve the question.
But for a repeater, the best way to understand it is to read the
specification of the repeater and check the repeaters gain.
According to the gain. We can get how much of the input
power is good.

Commissioning
Donor antenna VSWR testing

service antenna interface

Donor antenna

Donor antenna interface

VSWR

Notes:
Must be calibration
before testing

Commissioning
Donor antenna Signal level testing

service antenna interface

Spectrum analyzer

Donor antenna

Donor antenna interface

Commissioning
4.3 Service Antenna checking
1.

Checking the direction and down tilt of the Service

antennas.

2.

Checking the VSWR by standing wave ratio analyzer.

3.

Checking the connectors and making sure it is good

against water.

4.

Checking the cable connected between the host and

Service antenna, make sure the connection is in good
position to repeater s ports.

Commissioning
4.4 The host device checking

Checking the power- AC or DC, Examining the host to

see if its current supply is normal.
Making sure the donor cable and service cable are right
for the ports.
Checking whether the ground line has been connected
correctly, for repeater, its important factor for protection
of the device.

Commissioning
4.5 Repeater adjustments
Isolation testing
Uplink gain adjustment

Downlink gain adjustment

Coverage area testing

Isolation testing
ISO (dB)= PA- PB
PA: Signal generator output power
PB: Spectrum analyzer receiving
signal level.
The repeaters gain must less than
the ( ISO - 15 ) in order to avoid
the Self-Excitation

Uplink Gain Adjustment

Principle: bottom noise of the equipment will not affect the

base station ,and also this is the aim of uplink attenuation
adjustment. The uplink gain must meet the requirement of
isolation.

The bottom noise which reaches the base station receiver

must be lower than -120 dBm

Uplink Gain Adjustment

If output power at BS top is Pout, repeater input signal intensity is
Pin, therefore, spatial loss
Formula:
L= Pout-Pin
Uplink output base noise Po satisfies
Po-L-120dBm,
and can be adjusted by uplink gain.
Example:
The BTS output power is 20W, when there is no traffic, power
consumption is 20 ,and the output power of BTS top is 4W(36dBm),
and the received signal level is -55dBm, so, the space path loss is 36(55)=91dB, so, the base noise should be 91-120=-29dB

Commissioning
panel antennas

Remote module

UP

Connecting the equipment

according the left picture, and
switch on the uplink power amplifier.
Setting the analyzers center
frequency, SPAN is 10MHz, the
signal bandwidth is 200KHz, and
MARKER reading the bottom noise
value Pnoise, at the same time
setting the Uplink attenuation until

Pnoise-Ploss<-120dB

Downlink Commissioning
First, making the downlink attenuation the same to the
uplink attenuation.
When we need to expand the coverage area, we can
adjust the downlink attenuation.

Normally, Keeping the link balanced while the gain is

adjusted. The difference between uplink and downlink
should be kept within 5 dBIndoor.
Inappropriate uplink base noise level adjustment may
cause serious problems in the Base Station.

Commissioning
Measurement of repeater output power
Donor antenna

Attenuator
30dB

RF repeater
donor
antenna port

RF repeater
repeat
antenna port

Use
spectrograph

Testing and optimization

Testing Tools

GPS
Testing phone
Testing software
analysis software

Testing and optimization

Testing items

Uplink/Downlink coverage acreage .

Rx. Tx.
BER
Access ratio
BCCH information
Handover success ratio

Catalog
1. Site survey

2. Design
3. Installation
4. Commissioning
5. FAQ

Q&A
Items

Malfunction phenomena

Possible Reasons

Solutions

Repeater not working

Checking the power

Antenna and cable malfunction

Checking the direction and the VSWR

Downlink module malfunction

Changing the module

Power amplifier self-protection

Adjusting the parameters reasonable

BTS malfunction

Solve the BTS question or change the

source BTS

Up/Dn link imbalance

Adjust the parameters

Uplink gain not enough.

Add the uplink gain.

outside Interference

Solve outside interference question or

change the source BTS

forward amplifier index not meet the

requirement.

change the equipment

Self-excitation

Adjusting gain reasonably

the isolation

Coverage area no signal

Tx height at coverage
area.

or adding

Q&A
3

Difficulty to make phone

call normally

The signal is not stable in

coverage area.

UPlink module malfunction

Change the module

Donor BTS malfunction

Search window is narrow

Solving the question or choosing other

BTS
Change the Search_window

Strong interference of coverage area

Isolation of interference source

Checking the service antenna and cable.

Re-connecting to the service antenna

The ALC is low

Resetting the ALC again

The module is not stable

Checking and changing

module
Adding the isolation.

Self-excitation
BTSs signal is not good.

Drop call, one

communication.

way

the

blooey

Donor link multiple-path effect

Solving question or choosing other

BTS
Changing the donor antennas direction

Lightly self-excitation

Adding the isolation

Outside interference.

Checking the outside interference.

Donor BTS parameters isnt functional.

Change the parameters of source BTS

Imbalance of up/down link

Reset the up/down link

PN pollution

Adjustment the Donor antennas direction.

Repeaters performance is going down

Change the equipment

New BTS has been added

Optimization the net.

Q&A
6

The size of coverage

area is reduced. .

Accessing time in
coverage area is more
needed.

Often handover in
coverage area.

DNlink output power is reduced.

Change the Downlink attenuation

Problem of Service antennas and

cable

Checking the service antenna and

cable.

The input power is weak

Checking the link from BTS to donor

antenna

Coverage area interference.

Checking and isolating the source.

Imbalance of UP/DN link

Changing repeaters attenuation.

Reverse link interference

Checking and isolating the source.

The donor signal is not functioning

Change donors direction

Change donor s site
Change to FSR repeater.

Net optimization
New BTS has been built
9

Phone call cant be

made.

Serious self-excitation

Adding the isolation or changing the

parameters reasonably.

Thank you