User's Manual

SkyGateway/SkyExtender Installation And Configuration Guide
1-2 September 2004
System Overview
SkyGateWay basestations and SkyExtender nodes form the backbone of a SkyPilot
System.
Both devices feature:
•A compact, lightweight design that permits easy installation in a wide range of loca-
tions.
•High-power, 360° coverage.
•An efficient single connection for both power and data.
SkyGateWay and SkyExtender units are virtually identical, differing only in their soft-
ware. SkyGateWay basestations use a superset of the SkyExtender software that
includes the necessary programming to communicate with an external network.
The SkyExtender is comprised of five separate modules: baseband
motherboard, mPCI radio module, switchboard, and antenna array.
Physical
Specifications and
Installation
Each SkyGateWay or SkyExtender is only 18 inches high, 12 inches in
diameter, and 14 pounds in weight. The compact size and light weight mean
that these units can be installed on existing structures such as utility poles,
commercial buildings, homes, billboards, and water towers. Each unit
comes with a mounting bracket that fits over a standard 1.25-inch-diameter
pole. Operating temperatures can range from -40°C to 55°C (-40°F to
130°F).
Power
Because they use Power over Ethernet (PoE) and draw only about 10 watts,
the only cabling these units require is CAT-5 Ethernet cable. There is no
need to lease dedicated poles or run power cables, and no special tools are
required for installation.
Antennas
The eight antennas in a basestation or node provide sectorized 360°
coverage. Each antenna has a horizontal beamwidth of 45°, a vertical
beamwidth of 6.5°, and a gain of 18 dBi.
Modules The motherboard has a PowerPC CPU, volatile and non-volatile memory, a
DC power interface, and interfaces to other system components.
An mPCI radio enables a SkyGateWay or SkyExtender to transmit and
receive in the 5.8GHz band using modulation rates of 6 to 54Mbps,
providing a peak EIRP of 44.5 dBm (28.2W). The radio currently supports a
range of center frequencies from 5745MHz-5805MHz. Each channel is
20MHz wide and can configured on 5MHz frequency granuality. Up to 4 non-