User's Manual

44 MDS Mercury 16E Technical Manual MDS 05-6302A01, Rev. A
NOTE: The authority to operate th e transceiver may be void if
antennas other than those appr oved by the applicable regula-
tory authority are used. Contact your factory representative for
additional antenna information.
GPS Cabling & Antenna
The antenna to be used with the transceiver’s built-in GPS receiver
should be a 16 or 26 dBi active antenna designed for the GPS satellite
band. The GPS antenna connector delivers a 3 Vdc supply to power the
electronics in the active antenna.
6.7 Conducting a Site Survey
If you are in doubt about the suitability of the radio sites in your system,
it is best to evaluate them before a permanent installation is underway.
This can be done with an on-the-air test (preferred method); or indi-
rectly, using path-study software.
An on-the-air test is preferred because it allows you to see firsthand the
factors involved at an installation site and to directly observe the quality
of system operation. Even if a computer path study was conducted ear-
lier, this test should be done to verify the predicted results.
The test can be performed by first installing a radio and antenna at the
proposed Base Station (BS) site (one-per-system). Then visit the Sub-
scriber site(s) with another transceiver and a hand-held antenna. (A PC
with a network adapter can be connected to each radio in the network to
simulate data during this test using the PING command.)
With the hand-held antenna positioned near the proposed mounting
spot, a technician can check for synchronization with the Base Station
(shown by a lit LINK LED on the front panel) and measure the reported
Table 6-1. Length vs. Loss in Coaxial Cables at 1800 MHz
Cable Type
10 Feet
(3.05 m)
50 Feet
(15.24 m)
100 Feet
(30.48 m)
500 Feet
(152.4 m)
RG-214 1.52 dB 7.6 dB Unacceptable
Loss
Unacceptable
Loss
LMR-400 0.78 dB 3.9 dB 7.8 dB Unacceptable
Loss
1/2 inch HELIAX 0.46 dB 2.3 dB 4.58 dB Unacceptable
Loss
7/8 inch HELIAX 0.26 dB 1.28 dB 2.56 dB Unacceptable
Loss
1-1/4 inch HELIAX 0.20 dB 0.96 dB 1.9 dB 9.5 dB
1-5/8 inch HELIAX 0.16 dB 0.8 dB 1.6 dB 8.00 dB