A new release of the LINKPlanner is available from https://support.cambiumnetworks.com/files/linkplanner
The key features of V4.5.3 are:
New or changed features
- PMP 450/450i
- Added 40 MHz bandwidth for Rel 15.1
This is available on PMP 450i APs and supported by both 450 and 450i SMs. It is also available on PTP 450i. The 40 MHz bandwidth is not supported for frequency bands and countries that require DFS.
- Added additional country options to PMP/PTP 450i at 5.4 and 5.8 GHz, updated regulations for PTP 450 for Vietnam and Norway.
PMP/PTP 450i now supports the same list of countries as PMP/PTP 450.
- Map
- Added American Tower locations to Google Map view and ability to create a network site from an American Tower location
American Tower locations are currently only available in the United States. To view the American Tower locations tick the box for American Tower sites on the Layers menu. The map resolution will determine whether you see individual sites or clusters with a number showing how many are in the cluster. As you zoom in to a higher resolution more of the individual towers will become visible. If you click on site it will show more details on the site and give an option to create the site as a network site by clicking the link “Create network site here”.
- Added ability to drag site locations to new positions on Google map for any sites not yet linked to anything else.
On the Google maps view you can now drag a site that isn’t yet connected to anything else and re-position it to a new location. Select OK to confirm the move or Cancel and it will go back to its original location. Once a site has been linked to another site or a hub site has been created at that location it cannot be moved.
- Added ability to use the preferences to control the site color, size and label size on the Google map as on the Offline map
You can now use the preferences (Tools – Options – Graphics) to change the site and link colors on the Google map view and the site size and line thickness controls on the Offline map view also control the same parameters on the Google map view.
- ePMP
- Added L-Com omni antenna at 5.8 GHz
This antenna uses a 2D to 3D conversion, which may not be as accurate as a measured 3D pattern. The use of this antenna has been restricted to 5.8 GHz as the performance outside of this band is likely to cause problems for dual stream modulation modes as there is a significant difference between the gain on the V and H ports.
- PTP 820
- Updated 7 and 8 GHz NTIA to offer FIPS modem for PTP 820G
The BOM now automatically includes the FIPS PTP 820G modem when the NTIA regulation is selected and also adds the 256 bit AES key. For all products and regulations the 256 bit AES key is now available as an optional extra.
- Updated PathLoss files in line with Rel 9.0
This also changes the minimum transmit power for some frequency bands and products. The emission designator now uses the channel bandwidth rather than the occupied bandwidth.
- PTP 800/810
- Notify IRFU parts as obsolete and PTP 800i/810i products as Retired
- PMP
- Improved AP Availability calculation to take advantage of ATPC at the SM. This can improve the Max Usable Mode at the AP if the SM is not using maximum power under typical conditions.
The SM controls its transmit power based on the receive level at the AP and therefore if the SM doesn’t need to use maximum transmit power to achieve the SM Receive Target Level, if the link should fade it can increase its transmit power to maintain the same receive level. This will give the link a higher fade margin and hence better availability. Some links will now show a higher uplink Max Usable Mode, which will increase the uplink throughput on the AP.
- Added Narrow Beam High Gain 5 GHz AP Antenna
This provides a narrow 10° high gain antenna (18 dBi) for use at an AP to support deployments with a very narrow range of angles between subscribers in the 5 GHz band. This antenna will support a modelled beamwidth up to 20°, but it is recommended to stay within a 15° beamwidth.
- Updated Split AP command to allow option to split to 2, 3 or 4 APs
The split AP command has been extended to allow the user to choose to split into 2, 3 or 4 APs and the default naming of the new APs is now based on the existing AP name, but with -2, -3 or -4 appended to the original AP name. This will make it easier to see which APs are related to which original if splitting multiple APs on a hub at the same time.
- General
- Reordered product choices to move retired products to the bottom of the selection list
This mostly affects the 5.4 and 5.8 GHz bands where there are a lot of retired products. These have now been moved to the bottom of the list to make it easier to see the current products at the top of the list.
Bug Fixes
- Changed upper limit for unlicensed cable lengths to allow cables longer than 100m
Removed the artificial limit at 99m for cable lengths. It is up to the user to determine the appropriate cable length based on the loss that can be tolerated on the link.
- Prevented BOM errors when a user creates an AP for 3 GHz with PMP450i and United States
This was fixed by a remote update on the parts list and so will also be available in earlier versions that support the remote updates.
- Fixed error when importing csv file if one or more SMs are out of range
If the PMP links csv file contains an SM that is more than the max range away from the AP, the AP is set to max range for the product and the SM link will show as invalid.
- Prevent errors when creating a custom antenna from an in-built antenna
This affected SM antennas when the antenna being cloned was an antenna originally created as a PTP antenna supporting the 5.9 GHz band, which isn’t an option for SM antennas.
- Fixed errors in channel plans to ensure that only channels within range are used and all channels in the range are shown
Extends the channels available in some 3 GHz channel plans.
- Improved custom fields so that additional options can be added to lists and default values changed without updating existing allocations.
In previous versions if the options in the lists or the default values were changed for the custom fields the existing selections were overwritten without warning. These options are now preserved and if a change is going to result in current values being overwritten a warning is given before the change is applied.