User Manual

Exalt Communications, Inc.
Exalt i-Series Installation and Management Guide
5000001 90
2007-06-25
Troubleshooting
This section provides information regarding troubleshooting of common issues and
alarms on these radios. Exalt Digital Microwave Radio systems are designed by Exalt’s
expert engineers with extensive experience through multiple generations of microwave
radio design. These new-generation systems contain extensive diagnostic tools, alarm
indications, and troubleshooting aids. And, as compared to other systems in their class,
are easier to install, maintain, and troubleshoot. The GUI provides information to aid in
troubleshooting (see Diagnostic Charts Page on page 85).
Contact Exalt Customer Care for further assistance with issues with your Exalt radio and
with suggestions on how the radio and documentation can be improved.
General Practices
Troubleshooting a microwave radio link can be a complex task. Approach
troubleshooting as a process of elimination, and first determine which portions of the
system are operating properly.
In a vast majority of cases, failures or poor performance of microwave links is attributed
to something other than the microwave radio hardware. In this respect, the back-to-back
bench test (see Back-to-back Bench Testing on page 104) is very important to determine
if radio hardware is operating properly and eliminate many variables in the
troubleshooting process.
If a back-to-back bench test fails, then the radio hardware is either broken or the radios
are improperly configured. Upgrade the radio to the most current release of firmware,
and/or reset the radio to its critical factory settings, following the quick start guide
instructions and those in Configuration and Management, helps to confirm if
configuration issues cause failure. The most common issues with microwave radio links
are:
• An improperly terminated RF cable
• Multipath propagation
• RF interference
• Path obstruction
• Misaligned antenna
• Faulty antenna
• Improper grounding
• Insufficient link margin in the design/implementation
• Moisture in the transmission system (antenna feed and/or RF cable)