3 Day Path Loss IV Link Planning Workshop

Duration: 3 Days

Workshop Overview

The offered course is a 3 day intensive microwave link planning workshop using Path Loss IV link planning software. To be able to participate in the hands-on activities, students are required to bring their laptops 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. The Canadian developed Path Loss link planning tool is vendor neutral.

Key Benefits

Upon completion of the 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

Good Knowledge of Microwave Link Planning that includes as a minimum, Link Budget generation, Microwave Propagation, ITU Prediction Models, Concept of Availability and Reliability, Frequency Planning and Interference Analysis. (Alternatively take 5 Day Path Loss IV Workshop).

Who should attend

This workshop is highly recommended for telecommunication practicing engineers, network designers, 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

PL IV Main Features

General Program Organization

Overview 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