Monitoring

Monitoring the health of communications site equipment and RF performance is a vital requirement in wireless networks, especially in mission-critical applications to ensure that the communications service and the user experience are not impacted by faults or defects. The monitoring capabilities of the base station repeaters are mostly limited to the performance of the repeater itself and do not include the monitoring of the multicoupling system or site equipment. 

RFI's Antenna System Monitor (ASM) is an innovative solution that provides non-invasive 24/7 monitoring of the health of communications site equipment and the RF performance within the network. 

ASM can be accessed remotely at any time to check real-time measured values. In case a fault happens, ASM generates alarms and provides an insight into the potential nature of the fault. This helps to decide what spares and test equipment are needed to fix the fault before the service personnel are mobilised. Knowing the severity of the fault also helps to determine what impact it's having, and whether an urgent response is needed. With ASM data, fault reports can be generated outlining the number of faults, their type, the outage times, and durations until those faults can be cleared. 

RFI's ASM is available in four different bands: 132-174MHz, 380-520MHz, 746-870MHz, and 870-960MHz. 

ASM has the capability to measure and monitor channel-specific forward and reflected power values between multiple transmitter combiners and an antenna for up to 80 channels. It is also capable of measuring and monitoring up to 80 Rx channels where adjacent Tx channel monitoring may also be required. 

Another key site monitoring facility on the ASM is the ability to perform a full Tx-to-Rx loop system isolation (loop back) test. 

Summary alarms are presented via relays on the ASM, individual alarms may be presented via the optional Site Alarm Module (SAM). Email and SNMP alarm capabilities are also provided.