Copyright RF Industries Pty Ltd 2014. Subject to change without notice.
rfiwireless.com.au
8
Copyright RF Industries Pty Ltd 2014. Subject to change without notice.
rfiwireless.com.au
9
Antenna Change-Over
Another application for the Site Alarm Module (SAM) is to
control an automatic Antenna Change-Over unit (ACO).
Antenna performance can be monitored by the Tx forward
power and VSWR measurement cycle of the ASM.
If an alarm is detected on one (or more) transmitter antennas,
the output of the SAM can be used to activate a coaxial
relay to switch in a stand-by antenna (or antennas). SAM
outputs can also be manually activated and de-activated via
the GUI if the manual change-over or testing of antennas is
desired. This capability is beneficial on remote sites where
access to the site could be restricted for prolonged periods
due to seasonal weather.
Remote Base Station Control
The relay outputs of the Site Alarm Module (SAM) can be
controlled via the ASM GUI. These outputs can be used to
control external equipment items – including base stations.
Coverage drive-testing can be assisted by activating test
transmitters remotely via the ASM GUI. The ease of access
of the GUI, and the Site Alarm Modules presented in it,
provides flexible control functionality that can be used to
facilitate remote control capabilities at a communications
site.
Non-Intrusive Periodic Maintenance Inspections (PMIs)
The Antenna System Monitor (ASM) is non-intrusive to a network once its sampling coupler is installed.
The ASM measures and reports on the monitored RF performance parameters on a continuous “24x7”
basis, allowing the measured values to be logged during normal network operation and without impacting
its users. In addition, alarm events (when the programmable alarm thresholds are exceeded) can be
reported back to a Network Operations Control Center (NOCC) or maintenance personnel via the Alarm
Relays, SAMs, SNMP, Emails or Manager Messages interfaces.
Using the ASM’s collected History and Alarm event data, in conjunction with accessing the unit and
its current performance measurements “real-time” via its friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) when
required, provides the ability to measure and confirm most network RF performance parameters without
a planned or unplanned network outage. In many circumstances, this capability can remove (or greatly
reduce) the need for regular PMIs - and their associated network outages and the impact these have on
operations-critical network users.
The benefits in network maintenance cost reductions in minimising the number of visits to sites,
particularly ones that are remote or that have otherwise limited access, can be significant. The availability
of downloadable data that can be formatted and presented in regular reports further improves network
availability, fault and mean time to repair (MTTR) monitoring and KPI measurement.
Coupled with the capability to more intuitively assess network RF performance problems and the “network-
availability” effects of alarm events as they unfold, the Antenna System Monitor offers a very attractive
Return-On-Investment (ROI) proposition for its inclusion in every network or site build.
Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)
A Distributed Antenna System (DAS) can also be monitored
using an Antenna System Monitor. Like any antenna, the
DAS can have the forward power and its VSWR performance
measured – on a per-channel basis.
An ‘off-air’ antenna can also be fitted to monitor the radiated
signal level from the DAS – with this level having an alarm
threshold value set to detect any “coverage-impacting”
drop in signal levels within the system.
New Features, Upgrades, and Documentations
There is an active product development plan for the Antenna System Monitor. New features are available
in regular firmware releases. Firmware updates can be easily uploaded (locally or remotely) to an ASM.
Firmware update files, SNMP MIB files, Service Bulletins and User Manuals are available in the ‘Monitoring’
products category at
