Planning tips when migrating frequencies from 10 Ghz, 13 GHz, 22 GHz and 25 GHz

Bill Williamson:

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

These are the subjects that I have been asked to address

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Frequency band Selection Dish size Dish position (height) Polarity TX power Natural clutter Reliability including fade margin. Instability Propagation Other topics which are continual causes of confusion have also been included.
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 2

1.1 DISTANCE Vs FREQUENCY

One of the first items to consider for any microwave path is the actual distance from antenna to antenna. The further a microwave signal must travel, the greater the signal loss. This form of attenuation is termed free space loss (FSPL). Assuming an unobstructed path, only two variables need to be considered in FSL calculations: The frequency of the microwave signal numerically higher frequencies require more power to cover a given distance. The actual path distance the greater the distance the greater the signal loss. A signal transmitted at a frequency of 6 GHz will have more available power than a signal transmitted at 11 GHz. For example, a microwave system at 6 GHz can expect to cover about 40 Km between communication points. The same system using a frequency of 11 GHz will only cover about 16 Km.
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Comparison of frequency Vs Free Space Path Loss

Frequency (GHz) 10 10 10 13 13 13 22 22 22 25 25 25 5 10 20 5 10 20 Distance 126.38 132.40 138.42 128.66 134.68 140.70 FSPL

5
10 20 5 10 20

133.23
139.25 145.27 134.34 140.36 146.38

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

Frequency Vs Distance with 64 QAM & 20 Db Fade

18 17 16

14
13.5 12

10 Distance 8

9.6 Series1 7

0 0 5 10 15 Frequency 20 25 30

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

1.2 FREQUENCY
The sensitivity of digital radio equipment to frequency-selective fading can be described by the signature curve of the equipment Use higher frequency bands for shorter hops and lower frequency bands for longer hops Avoid lower frequency bands in urban areas In areas with heavy precipitation , if possible, use frequency bands below 10 GHz.
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 6

2.0 Antennae in general

Adding a better antenna to a communications system is the single best way to increase performance in almost every parameter. Before you increase the power of your transmitter, you should first make sure your antenna system is the best it can be. A FAQ is Can you go through a window? The answer is yes but with added losses, a good starting point is allow 10dB as an initial guess this can be greater for metallic or tinted glass

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

3.1 Antennae height

Resolve excessive antenna height. Go only as high as required to give you 0.6 clearance of the first Fresnel zone above all obstacles. Use a larger antenna. Larger antennas have more gain, narrower beam width, and better side lobe suppression.

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

3.2 ANTENNAE TOO HIGH

When antennas are placed higher than required, unpredictable system outages can occur. Excessive height allows more sources of RF interference from distant sites as well as to multipath problems. For example, a 2.4 GHz system operating over a 48 Km flat-terrain path requires the antennas to be placed 48 m up a tower just to clear the earths bulge. And, using an antenna with beam width of 3.6 degrees, which, at 48 Km away, is 3.05 Km wide. The receiving radios window for receiving interference is enormous.

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

4.1POLARITY
By not having the same polarity on your network's antennas, you can receive a 20 -30 dB loss of signal strength. This is an enormous loss, but can also be very useful. It is worth considering changing antenna polarization because you can help eliminate certain types of radio interference, or allow many antennas in one location. Horizontal antenna polarization at microwave frequencies will generally provide less multipath and may also provide lower path loss in non line-of-sight situations. Horizontal polarity: attenuation tends to be a little higher than vertical because of the shape of falling raindrops
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 10

4.2 Polarization
Vertical polarization is far less susceptible to rainfall attenuation (40 to 60%) than are horizontal polarization frequencies On water paths at frequencies above 3 GHz, it is advantageous to choose vertical polarization

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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5.1 Too much power

Interference can be caused by energy that is at the same frequency as the signal that you wish to receive, or can be at a nearby frequency with enough energy to leak into the receiver Interference can also be caused by energy that is a completely different frequency from that which you wish to receive. The reason for this is that high powered transmitters can radiate harmonics where they are also inadvertently transmitting energy that is a multiple of the intended transmitter frequency
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 12

6.0 CLUTTER
Ground clutter is a term used to describe the amount of microwave energy scattered to the antennae from stationary objects on the ground like towers, hills, high tension lines, trees, buildings, etc. for example, scattering from the sea may be particularly strong at frequencies where there is some sort of match between the signal wavelength and the wavelength of the water waves - either the main waves which are immediately apparent, or the small waves that are superimposed on the main waves. These in turn will depend upon the wind strength and direction and the depth of the water, so that there will often be correlations between the clutter characteristics and the meteorological conditions
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7.1 SUMMARY OF LINK RELIABILITY

A common misunderstanding is that system availability numbers, such as 99.999%, derived from path analysis software, are achievable as long as the calculated fade margin is met. They do not include the effects of reflective fading (multipath) or interference from other intentional radiators.
The predicted amount of time the system will be operating without error the usual level is a BER <1 in 1x106) For example, 3 nines = 99.9% = 525.6 min/yr outage 4 nines = 99.99% = 52.56 min/yr outage 5 nines = 99.999% = 5.26 minutes per year outage 6 nines = 99.9999% = 31.5 sec/yr outage

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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7.2 RELIABILITY VARYING RSL

If the RSL varies periodically look at the surrounding topology. Is there a factory nearby which might have large impulses? Is there any building work going on in the LOS? Perhaps a crane is moving in and out of shot. Is the shot over water? Perhaps you are the victim of reflections at high tide. Is the dish loose? Look for RSLs which vary with high winds.
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 15

7.3 RELIABILITY RAIN

A common question regarding radio waves used for outdoor communications is in regards to the effect of rain, snow, fog or any inclement weather, there is a substantial difference in the effect of rain on systems operating at or below 6 GHz frequencies compared to 11 GHz or higher frequencies. In a cloudburst condition the attenuation of the signal level can be substantial.
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 16

EXAMPLE CALCULATION OF FADE MARGIN

For a vertically polarized 15 km 23 GHz link near London, calculate the fade experienced for more than 0.01 % of the time. London is in rainfall region E with a rainfall of 22 mm Hr-1 Dedd= 15/1+15/25.16 = 9.4 Km At 23 GHz and vertical polarization a = 0.09544 and b = 1.055 Lr = a x Rb(0.01%)X Deff = 22.6 dB. This is the require fade margin
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com 17

8. 1 System Instability.
The three leading causes of system instability, other than equipment failure, are as follows: 1. Excessive path length 2. Excessive antenna height 3. RF interference

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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9.1 PROPAGATION
A microwave beam can also be reflected by water or relatively smooth terrain, very much in the same way a light beam can be reflected from a mirror. Again, since the wavelength of a microwave beam is much longer than that of a visible light beam, the criteria for defining smooth terrain is quite different between the two. While a light beam may not reflect well off of an asphalt road, a dirt field, a billboard, or the side of a building, to a microwave beam these can all be highly reflective surfaces. Even gently rolling country can prove to be a good reflector. A microwave beam arriving at an antenna could effectively be cancelled by its own reflection, causing signal loss. Long microwave paths can also be affected by atmospheric refraction, the result of variations in the dielectric constant of the atmosphere. For relatively short 2.4GHz microwave paths, only reflection points and obstructions are usually of real concern. The effects of atmosphere and earth curvature will not usually come into play, so the engineering of these paths is quite straightforward. For long or unusual paths, however, all aspects of path engineering must be considered.

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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9.2 PROPAGATION TERRAIN CONSIDERATIONS

Mountainous terrain is best Many multipath reflections will not reach the other end, thus reducing the potential for out-of-phase reflected signals that may have degraded the integrity of the direct signal Flat, smooth terrain is worst Many multipath reflections may reach the other end, thus increasing the potential for out-of-phase reflected signals. Remember that Fresnel zones are three-dimensional. When designing a link that goes down a street between buildings, or between groves of trees, these are also potential sources of reflection points and need to be evaluated in the design.
Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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9.3 PROPAGATION.REFRACTION AND SCATTERING

Youve probably seen the apparently bent straw or spoon in a glass of water, or reached into water to touch something, and it is not exactly where you think it is. This is because the light waves refract through water compared to air. Again, radio waves behave in a similar manner. Scattering is best visualized by considering looking at a light source when it is foggy versus when it is clear. When it is foggy, you will see less energy overall because some of it is absorbed and/or reflected away from you by the water molecules and the light that you do see will be distorted in comparison. Again, radio waves behave in a similar manner.

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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A SET OF BASIC RULES

1. Always select the proper frequency band. Long links should use the lower frequency bands (e.g. 13 or 15 GHz), short links should use as high frequencies as possible (23, 38 or 58 GHz). In several countries there are local regulations forcing all the network operators for efficient band selection. 2. Avoid High-Low (H/L) conflict on sites to eliminate the near-field interference. Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) radios have high transmit/low receive and low transmit/high receive frequency sub-band variants. As a general rule, it is recommended to use always the same sub-band of the radio links on a given site. In some cases the near-field interference may be shadowed by obstacles, e.g. concrete walls on building rooftops and the H/L conflict rule can be disregarded. The rule is not relevant for TDD radios that transmit and receive in the same frequency.

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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3: Preferably use high gain and high performance antennae High antenna gain can compensate for low output power. High performance antennae reduce the transmission of power density into unwanted directions. 4: Use proper polarization to increase discrimination between neighbouring links.

5: Balance RSLat nodal points terminating several MW links. Decreasing the difference between RSL of different links reduce the probability of harmful interference.

6: Calculate interference with IQ Link. Use the correct set of interference matrices from real radio measurements.
Following these basic rules should keep you out of most difficult scenarios

Written and prepared by Bill Williamson billengineer@btinternet.com

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