ADTRAN 5045 system manual Receiver Sensitivity, Antenna Information, Antenna Alignment

Section 2 Microwave Path Engineering Basics TRACER 5045 System Manual

Table 3 lists path loss values for various path lengths for the TRACER 5045 5.8 GHz system. Values not listed in the table can be interpolated from those listed.

Table 3. Path Loss for Given Path Lengths

Path Length	Path Loss
(miles)	(dB)
1	112
2	118
3	121
4	124
5	126
10	132
15	135
20	138
25	140
30	141
35	143

5.RECEIVER SENSITIVITY

Receiver sensitivity is a value expressed in decibels referenced to one milliwatt (dBm) that corresponds to the minimum amount of signal power needed at the receiver to achieve a given bit error rate (BER). Receiver sensitivity is usually a negative number of decibels and smaller receiver sensitivity (higher quantity negative number) is better for a given BER. Several factors affect receiver sensitivity including the data bandwidth of the wireless link, and the amount of additional signal degradation introduced in the receiver electronics. The receiver sensitivity of the TRACER 5045 is -78 dBm at 10-6BER.

Should an interferer be present nearby, three software selectable bandplans are provided for frequency agility. Changing the TRACER 5045 bandplan does not require additional components, or opening of the radio. See TRACER System Configuration > RF Bandplan on page 47 for additional details.

6.ANTENNA INFORMATION

The overall wireless system is directly affected by the antenna selection and installation. The following sections discuss several factors concerning antenna selection and installation.

Antenna Alignment

With line-of-sight microwave communications, optimum system performance requires that the transmitting and receiving antennas are properly aligned. This ensures maximum received signal power at each receiver. Antenna alignment must be achieved in both azimuth (along a horizontal plane) and elevation (along a vertical plane). A received signal strength indicator (RSSI) aids the equipment installer in determining when alignment is maximized by simply ensuring maximum RSSI.

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