User Guide

PMP 450 Planning Guide
Avoiding Other Interference
Where signal strength cannot dominate noise levels, the network experiences
• packet errors and retransmissions.
• lower throughput (because bandwidth is consumed by retransmissions) and high latency (due to resends).
Regular spectrum analysis is critical to RF planning. The integrated spectrum analyzer can be very useful as a
tool for troubleshooting and RF planning, but is not intended to replicate the accuracy and programmability of
a high-end spectrum analyzer, which you may sometime need for other purposes.
When you enable the Spectrum Analyzer on a module, it enters a scan mode and drops any RF connection it
may have had. Scanning mode ends when either you click Disable on the Spectrum Analyzer page, or it times
out after 15 minutes and returns to operational mode.
For this reason:
1. do not enable the spectrum analyzer on a module you are connected to via RF. The connection will drop
for 15 minutes, and when the connection is re-established no readings will be displayed.
2. be advised that, if you enable the spectrum analyzer by Ethernet connection, the RF connection to that
module drops.
You can use any module to see the frequency and power level of any detectable signal that is within, just
above, or just below the frequency band range of the module.
Vary the days and times when you analyze the spectrum in an area.
The RF environment can change throughout the day or throughout the week.
pmp-0047 (March 2014)
1-107