User's Manual

Table Of Contents
Exalt Installation and Management Guide
EX-i Series GigE (FDD) Digital Microwave Radios
202675-008 7
2016-06-01
Pre-installation Tasks
This section describes the steps necessary to prepare a site for the installation of the Exalt Digital
Microwave Radio.
Link Engineering and Site Planning
The reader is referred to the Exalt document, Guidance for Engineering and Site Planning of
Terrestrial Wireless Links and the ExaltCalc path calculator. This document and calculator aid in the
pre-planning and engineering required to determine following attributes:
Antenna type/gain at each end of the link
Antenna mounting height/location for proper path clearance
Antenna polarization orientation
RF cabling type, length, connectors, route, and mounting
Antenna system grounding
Lightning arrestor type(s), location(s), and grounding
Radio mounting location and mechanisms
Radio grounding
Radio transmitter output power setting
Anticipated received signal level (RSL) at each end
Anticipated fade margin and availability performance at each end
Radio settings for modulation and occupied bandwidth
Anticipated throughput performance (TDM circuit support and Ethernet)
With respect to radio path and site planning, these radios are generally identical to other microwave
terrestrial wireless systems. Engineering of these systems requires specific knowledge about the
radios, including:
RF specifications (transmitter output power, receiver threshold, occupied channel bandwidth, and
carrier-to-interference tolerance)
Regulatory limitations on transmitter output power setting and antenna type/gain
Noise/interference profile for the intended location (where applicable)
Familiarization with the EX-i Series GigE (FDD) Radios
The EX-i Series GigE (FDD) radios utilize frequency division duplex (FDD) radio transmission. This
means that the signal transmits on one center frequency in one direction frequency, and in the opposite
direction on a different center frequency. These frequencies are typically in predefined pairs, and are
designated as ‘Low’ or ‘Lo’ for the radio transmitting on the lowest frequency, and ‘High’ or ‘Hi’ for
the radio transmitting on the highest frequency.
The two radio terminals are identical hardware, except for the configuration of externally-mounted
diplexer filters on the rear panel. Both ends of a link use the same type of diplexer filter, but the
diplexer filter is inverted with respect to how it is physically installed on the radio. Once the diplexers
are connected on the radio terminals, the radio must be configured (through the browser-based GUI or