Recently encountered a system where the PTP-820 Ae was not performing correctly. The user was not able to program the licensed TX power or Bandwidth. The problem was the radio was incorrectly provisioned for 40MHz Bandwidth and 400Mb/s. The FCC license was for 100Mb/s in a 30MHz bandwidth. After reprovisioning all the radios in the system, the links could be set to the licesned TX Power output with the data rate set for 100MB/s. The confusion was in how the equipment was ordered versus how the equipment was actually licensed.
Hi Bob, sorry for the confusion. The radios are tuned to work in a specific frequency range. The channel size that you are going to use needs to fall within that range (not just center frequency, but the entire channel). The PTP820i with RFU-Ae can support up to an 80MHz wide channel (frequency band dependent), but needs to be configured to use the appropriate channel size, frequency pair and Tx power for your license. We make use of scripts to configure the channel size and modulation being used.
You also want to verify that you have the 'Lo' radio configured with the 'Lo' frequency pair information, and vice versa. Incorrectly configuring the units will lead to installation issues (i.e. alignment being way off or not possible), and potential FCC implications.
Ensuring that you have the correct part number for the frequency range being used is an important step in the ordering process. The radios will allow you to input a channel size and frequency pairing that is outside the capability of the radio diplexer, and is one of the more common issues seen during alignment. I would highly recommend using our LINKPlanner design tool in order to determine the correct part number for your FCC license. Configure the unit per your license (e.g. frequency band and channel size), then enter in the frequency pair(s) assigned and it will generate the correct radio part number to be used.
The two most common installation issues that I troubleshoot are: incorrect part numbers for the channel size and frequency pairs being used, and swapping of the high/low radios (configuring the 'Lo' radio with the 'Hi' radio frequency information).
Hi Chris,
I already knew this. The radios were in the correct range, just provisioned incorrectly. I have been in the licensed microwave business for more than 40 years.
Thanks,