User's Manual

Exalt Communications, Inc.
Exalt i-Series Installation and Management Guide
5000001 106
2007-04-15
Most importantly, monitoring radio system RSL over time indicates the performance of
the radio system. Address any long-term drop in RSL and erratic or unsteady RSL. Some
RSL changes are expected and weather patterns and the related multipath can cause
dramatic RSL changes resulting in system outage. However, that outage should not occur
at a significantly greater rate than the designed long-term performance. Consult the path
design engineer for more information about link reliability expectations and anticipated
RSL deviation.
In addition, regular inspection of the transmission system (RF cables and antennas) and
paying close attention to changes along the path, such as construction or tree height, or
new microwave radio installations nearby, can be extremely helpful and proactive.
When link performance is very poor, alarms on the radio front panel and within the
radio’s management system indicates particular failures. Consult this manual for more
information on the specific alarms and diagnostics, or contact Exalt Customer Care for
assistance.
Exalt Customer Care is primarily motivated to determine if the radio hardware is faulty
and require return for repair, and to help execute an effective and efficient repair and
return process for radio terminals believed to be faulty. However, Exalt Customer Care
provides advice regarding the total radio system and RF path engineering and
environment, and advises on troubleshooting.
End users should first contact the installer and/or designer of the system. In many cases,
an in-depth understanding of RF design is required, and on-site analysis and special test
equipment, may be necessary. Compared to phone support from Exalt Customer Care,
troubleshooting is much more expeditious if the professional installer and/or link
designer examines the system and reviews the management information in the GUI. In
turn, if the professional installer and/or link designer contacts Exalt Customer Care, the
process to rectify the system is much more expedient due to the in-depth knowledge
related to the implementation and the RF environment.
Improper RF Cable Termination
Improper RF cable termination is a very common problem. In many cases, this is a
problem that occurs during installation and is not a problem that suddenly appears.
However, if cables are moved or flexed, especially near the termination points, and radio
errors, changes in RSL, or other performance issues occur, this is a certain sign of this
issue.
Another relatively easy method to test for this condition is to decrease the output power
of the radio system (at each end, one end at a time). A poor RF cable termination may be
reflecting too much RF energy back into the radio system, and reducing output power
reduces the reflected energy at a faster rate than the transmitted energy towards the far
end. Be careful not to reduce the output power to the point where the radio’s threshold is
reached. Typically, a reduction of just 3 to 6dB is enough to determine if this is the issue.
If the reduction of output power clears the error condition, this is the likely cause.