System Manual

EkoTek System Installation and Configuration Manual

9261-8173 issue: 8 Page 21

5. How to survey

Decide on the location for the hub. It is desirable to mount the first repeater close to

the hub location since radio transmissions can be affected by people close by.

Ask the customer which locations are critical for accurate call location reporting and

mark on the plan those places as locations for repeaters. It may be every room, a

defined area or different floors. In very large rooms use more than one repeater.

Also mark on the plan the positions for repeaters at the top and bottom of all

stairwells, to allow location tracking between floors.

The customer may also want to have a location change when persons leave a critical

area. If so, mark repeaters on the site plan at the exit of those critical areas.

When all the likely places for repeaters have been marked, inspect the site plan to

estimate if the distance between repeaters exceeds the 10-15 metre maximum

separation rule. If there appears to be a long gap between repeaters, consider if

there are repeaters on the floor above or below that can form a path for the network.

If a repeater appears to be isolated, use survey pagers to check the RSSI. Place a

pager at the repeater and measure the RSSI at its nearest neighbour. Remember its

nearest neighbour may be on a different floor. If the nearest neighbour is the other

side of a thick wall, other marked locations may provide a more viable route. If in

doubt it is best to place in-fill repeaters, as the more repeaters in a network the more

robust the network is liable to be. If the RSSI is below 20, then consider placing

another repeater in between.