Workshop Overview

The offered course is a 5 day intensive microwave link planning workshop using Path Loss IV link planning software, combined with essential topics in Microwave Link planning techniques to allow students to develop an intuitive understanding of both the theoretical concepts and their practical application when planning links with Path Loss link planning tool. To be able to participate in the hands-on activities, students are required to bring their lap tops equipped with Path Loss IV software program.

(The Path Loss IV program is a comprehensive path design tool for radio links operating in the frequency range from 30 MHZ to 100 GHz. The program is organized into several path design modules. Canadian developed Path Loss link planning tool is vendor neutral.)

Key Benefits

As a minimum course participants will be able to:

• Understand General Program Operation and detailed functions of all the Path Loss software Modules
• Understand the meanings of different types of terrain data types, Geographic defaults, Datum and Ellipsoids, and their selection criteria
• Basic procedures to create terrain profiles from primary and secondary terrain data files
• Carry out antenna center line calculations and determine the minimum antenna heights which will result in acceptable diffraction loss at the lowest expected value of K with Path Loss diffraction Module
• Determine the optimal space diversity antenna spacing to avoid simultaneous signal nulls (Reflection Module)
• Generate Link Budgets and understand the significance of multipath propagation reliability and analyze microwave links
• Understand and apply fade probability models and how to use the in Path Loss link predictions
• Calculate diffraction loss of a radio wave propagating over irregular terrain using a number of diffraction models supported by path Loss program
• Conduct Interference calculations down to the composite threshold degradation of the victim receivers due to multiple interferers.

Pre-requisite

General Knowledge of Digital Microwave Radio Communications Engineering Concepts.

Who should attend

This workshop is highly recommended for telecommunication practicing engineers, network designers, engineering managers and IT professionals working in mobile operators and solution vendors who are responsible for planning, managing, optimization and maintenance of Transmission Network and systems.

Course Outline

Microwave Link Planning Engineering Considerations

• Analysis of Systems Requirements
• Network Configuration
• Map Study and Path Profiles Generation
• Field Survey and Site selection
• Path Calculations
• Performance Definition & Objectives
  • Threshold-to-Interference (T/I) Ratio
  • Link Availability
  • Transmission Time Classifications; Typical Per Hop Objectives
  • Performance Definitions
  • Outage Definitions
  • Quality Definitions
  • Performance Objectives
  • Unavailability Due to Rain Outage
• Frequency Planning
• Interference Calculations

Path Loss IV Link Planning Course Topics:

• PL IV Main Features
• General Program Organization
• Over view of PL IV Modules
• Terrain Data and Terrain databases
• Basic Procedure to Create a Terrain profile
• Manual data Entry
• Geographic Defaults
  • Datum Selection
  • Ellipsoid Selection
  • Latitude Longitude Formats
  • Grid Coordinate System
• Operations, Structures, Ground types and File Conversion
• Display Options
• Profile Printing Options
  • Flat Earth
  • Curved Earth (Straight axis)
• Creating links
  • Summary Module
  • Network Module
• Profile Insertion
  • Having a digital map
  • Inserting manually
  • Importing from a Text File
• Antenna Heights Calculations (VHF-UHF Applications)
  • Antenna Configuration Setting
  • Setting antenna Heights
  • Optimizing Antenna Heights
  • Setting Clearance Criteria
  • Reports (Clearance, Orientation, Antenna height Tradeoff Report)
• VHF-UHF Antenna Heights
  • Clearance Criteria
  • Antenna Height Considerations
• Microwave Worksheet
  • Reliability options
  • Including the Geoclimatic factor
  • Defining rain attenuation
  • Equipment definition
  • Antenna definition
  • Defining the waveguide
  • Inserting the branching losses
  • Choosing the frequency channels
  • Copying link data
  • Reports
  • Diversity
• Rain attenuation Calculations
  • Rain Models Selection
  • Polarization Selection
  • Fade Margin
  • Meaning of rain error Messages
• Passive Repeaters
  • Creating a Passive Repeater
  • Propagation reliability Calculations on Passive Repeater
• Diffraction Module
  • Overview
  • Total Loss Concept
  • General Operation of the Diffraction Module
  • Path Loss algorithms
• Reflection Module and Reflection Analysis
  • Reflective Plan definition
  • Dispersion Analysis
  • Diversity antenna spacing calculations
  • Fresnel Zone tests
  • Reports
• Multipath Operation
  • Overview
  • Variable gradient
  • Constant Gradient
• Network Module Overview
  • Basic Operation
  • Site List Data Imports
  • Use of layers
  • Link List
  • Network Operations
• Interference calculation procedure
  • Not correlated interferences
  • Partially correlated interferences
  • Fully correlated interferences
  • Co-channel interference
  • Adjacent channel interference
• Intensive Class Work using Path Loss Program
  • Microwave Antenna heights calculations
  • Reflection Analysis Examples
  • Diffraction Loss Calculations