Configuring the PTP820 for Install Per the Link Planner Install Report

As a RTM for Cambium we engage with customers on our product suite. In talking with a customer who was deploying a PTP820 Link they told me that they couldn't get the link within the tolerance that Link Planner was predicting. I asked the customer the steps they were taking with the antenna alignment and that was perfect. So I logged into the radio and noticed some settings. Once we corrected the settings the link was within tolerance of Link Planner. This begged the question of the interpretation of the Link Planner output file and the radio config.

If you currently use the PTP670 or the legacy PTP800 you know that when you enter the radio in the "Install Mode - Armed" the radio will automatically go to the lowest modulation and highest Tx power per the region. The PTP820 does not do this as it doesn't have an Install Mode. Below is an example of a install report output file

-- Link Planner shows the Predicted Receive Power based on the Tx Max Power inputed by the user and the lowest modulation mode. The catch here is that when users select Adaptive Modulation in Link Planner it shows that in the report.

So now when we look at the Link Planner results we know to use the Lowest Modulation and the Highest Tx Power per the License for alignment. When setting up the 820 via the Quick Configuration -> PIPE setup, when you get to the MRMC screen set the modulation for Fixed with the lowest modulation.

Fixed Modulation.png

Once the radio is aligned per the Link Planner spec go back into the 820 Link and change the MRMC Script from Fixed to Adaptive (if that is the desired configuration). Set the Min and Max profile and hit apply. The radio will reboot and will be in the Adaptive script mode.

Adaptive.png

Using these steps along with proper antenna alignment techniques should give you and the install crews better success on link alignments. If there are any questions let me know or your local RTM resource.

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thanks for sharing, it is very useful.