Hey folks, with the imminent AFC certification of the F4625 allowing for full commercial use of e4k 6GHz, I thought I’d write up a little guide on how best to prepare for this transition.
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Make sure that you’re using the correct antenna gain and TX power on your e4k 6GHz connectorized radios. Remember that you’re limited to a maximum of 36dBm on both sides of the link, and that the AFC can reduce power to protect incumbent licensed 6GHz users.
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The F4625 SM recommended maximum LOS distance is around 3mi. You can get up to 5-6mi by using a F4600c + higher gain dish. Be warned however that the farther the distance the SM is out, the more likelihood of it bumping into one or more incumbent licensed 6GHz users and having its channel not be available and/or it’s EIRP reduced.
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Make sure that you’re scanning all channels and channel widths on your SM’s. You can do this by simply checking all the channel widths, and then making sure each channel list tab is blank (default is blank, which scans all channels). You want to do this just in case you get into a situation where when the AFC is activated, that there may be either less channels and/or lower EIRP then expected. Having all the channel options, while increasing SM registration times, gives you the greatest flexibility and chance for making sure that all SM’s connect if you have to reduce your channel width.
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With 6GHz, radio height isn’t always better… due to the way the AFC calculates the antenna coverage as omnidirectional, this can severely limit the number of channels and/or EIRP options available. It may actually be better to be lower down on the tower in order for your radios not to ‘bump’ into incumbent licensed 6GHz users.
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Make sure you use the AP’s built in spectrum analyzer to choose the quietest portion of the band that you can find. There will be a high likelihood that this will be available in the AFC… but not always.
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Make sure that all of your e4k 6GHz radios have working GPS! This is crucial!. If your SM’s don’t have working GPS, at best they’ll connect using a low TX power mode or at worse they may not be able to connect at all. You can check to see if your radios are getting good GPS by checking the Monitor → GPS page.
If you follow these guidelines you’ll have the highest chances for success when you go to enable the AFC.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments!