LTE eNodeB Troubleshooting Guide utilizing Anritsus Handheld BTS Master, Cell Master or Spectrum Master with Options

s 0541, 0542 and 0546

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Troubleshooting Hints

Use Over-the-Air (OTA) tests to spot-check a These two tables provide guidance from the first indication of a fault, a poor Key Performance
transmitters coverage and signal quality. Use Indicator (KPI), to the BTS Master, Cell Master or Spectrum Master test, and finally, to the field
the Direct Connect tests to check transmitter replaceable unit.
power and EVM when the OTA test results are
Occupied
ambiguous.
Key Performance
Sync
RS
EVM
EVM
Freq
Rx Noise OTA EVM

Indicators vs. Test

Power

Power

BW,
ACLR, &
SEM

(pk)

(rms)

Error

Floor

Resource Block shortage

UL Interference

xx

xx
xx

Call/Session Drop
Radio Link Timeout

DL Interference

Test vs. BTS Field

Replaceable Units

UL Interference

To test an eNodeB Over-the-Air (OTA) it is

necessary to find a location with good Sync
Signal (SS) dominance. The SS dominance
measurements are ideal for this task. OTA
testing requires SS dominance readings higher
than 10 dB.

Sync Signal Power, Dominance, Cell ID,

and EVM

In some urban areas, locating a good OTA site

can be difficult. In these cases, it may be
quicker to connect to the BTS for testing.

Signal
Generation

MCPA

Sync Power

xx

RS Power

xx

Occupied BW

xx

xx

Adjacent Channel Leakage

Ratio (ACLR)

xx

Spectral Emission Mask (SEM)

xx

Error Vector Magnitude Peak

(EVM pk)

xx

Error Vector Magnitude EVM

(rms)

Frequency Error

Multiple Sector Coverage Checks

To find a good OTA test site, look for a place

squarely in the sector, a block or two from the
tower, and away from surfaces that may
reflect radio waves. A directional antenna will
help to screen out unwanted signals.

Call/Session Blocking
Power shortage

Locating Over-the-Air Test Spots

Freq Ref

Filters

Antenna
x
x

Dominance: The strength of the strongest SSS compared to the others.

Anritsu BTS Master

xx
x

OTA EVM

x=probable,xx=mostprobable

Sync Signal (S-SS) affects cell size. S-SS is

also used OTA to check coverage. It should be
highest near the tower, declining to a
minimum level at the handoff point. More
information on SS is provided elsewhere in this
guide.

Antenna
Down Tilt

Direct Connect Transmitter Tests

Cell, Group, and Sector ID: Identifies the

source of the OTA signals detected.

Transmitter tests can be run while connected

to the:

Guidelines:

Output of the eNodeB (Point A).

Test port (Point B) which is

essentially the output of the MultiCarrier Power Amplifier (MCPA).

Input to the MCPA (Point C) if the

signal is accessible

Frequency reference system (Point

D) for carrier frequency errors

The goal of these measurements is to increase

data rate and capacity by accurate power
settings, low out-of-channel emissions, and
good signal quality tests. Good signals allow
the cell to generate more revenue and provide
a better return on investment.

Pass Fail measurements simplify OTA and Direct

Connect Transmitter Test with user specified Limit sets

The antenna is the last link in the

transmission path. If connected at point A, it
is helpful to sweep the antenna(s) at the same
time, to ensure a high quality signal.

EVM, RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR all indicate the

quality of the received signal. In this screen,
EVM is measured on the PBCH signal, so as to
not be affected by traffic.

Dominance: Higher than 10 dB for OTA signal

quality testing.
EVM: Established from a known good base
station at a location where the dominance
figure is over 10 dB.
Cell, Group, and Sector ID: Should be set as
defined by engineering.
Consequences:
Poor Dominance: Poor spot to test the BTS
OTA. May be a result of excessive coverage,
which will result in a loss of system capacity
due to excessive co-channel interference.
Poor EVM: Call drops, call blocking, low data
rate, and low capacity.
Wrong Cell, Group or Sector ID: Dropped
handoffs and island sectors.
Common Faults: Antenna down tilt, damaged
antennas, control channel power settings, and
co-channel interference.

Visit us at www.anritsu.com

LLTE eNod
deB Trou
ublesho
ooting Guide
G
uttilizing Anrritsus Hand
dheld BTS M
Master, Cell
C Master or Spec
ctrum Mastter with Options
O
05441, 0542 and 0546
C
Channel Spectrum
S

Tx
x Test

Ou
ut-of-Chan
nnel Emisssions

Sign
nal Qualitty Tests

O
Occupied Bandwidth
B

MIMO
M
Verific
cation

Adjjacent Channel Leaka

age Ratio (A
ACLR) Errorr Vector Ma
agnitude (EEVM)
Spe
ectral Emisssion Mask (S
SEM)

Tx
x Test measu
urement can be used OTA
A to
ve
erify low co-c hannel interfference, MIMO
O
op
peration, EVM
M and frequen
ncy error. It is
pa
articularly use
eful for Remo
ote Radio Hea
ad
(R
RRH) installattions where itts difficult to
o get
direct access to
o the transmitters. Howe
ever, it
ca
an also be use
ed directly co
onnected to v
verify
ea
ach MIMO tra nsmitter. Th
he MIMO indic
cator
ve
erifies which ttransmitter iss connected.

ACL
LR and SEM are used to measure how much
m
of th
he transmitte
ed signal leak
ks into adjace
ent
chan
nnels.

G
Guideline:Th
he defined LT
TE Occupied
B
Bandwidths are 1.4, 3.0, 5.0,
5
10, 15, and
a
20
M
MHz.

uideline: OT
TA as a qualitty indicator: o
one
Gu
ce
ell ID detected
d (use directtional antenn
na) or
>2
20 dB domina
ance, RS Delta power < 3 dB,
EV
VM < 10%. F requency Errror < 10 Hz (GPS).
Me
easure at ins tallation, tracck changes.

C
Consequenc
ces:Excessiv
ve Occupied BW
B
rresults in inte
erference with
h neighboring
g
c
carriers, drop
pped calls, and low capacitty.

C
Common Fau
ults: The Tx
x filters, MCPA
A,
S
Signal Processing, and anttennas may
c
contribute to Occupied Bandwidth faultts.

Supp
port Signa
als
Conttrol Channe
els and Syn Signal
(SS Power)

T
The transmittters signal sh
hould be centtered in
tthe display, which
w
indicate
es that the prroper RF
c
channel has been
b
chosen. This display is also
u
useful when looking for grross RF proble
ems.
O
Occupied Ba
andwidth me
easures the width
w
of
tthe frequency
y spectrum oc
ccupied by th
he
ttransmitters signal. The Occupied
O
Bandwidth
c
contains 99%
% of the signa
als power.

ACL
LR measures how much off the carrier gets
g
into neighboring RF channels and checks the
t
closest (adjacentt) and second
d closest
(alte
ernate) RF ch
hannels on LT
TE signals.

L
Look first for a high receiv
ved Rx noise floor by
u
using the LTE
E RF channel power measu
urement
o
on the uplink channel.
A
Also, use the spectrum analyzer to che
eck for
s
signals outsid
de the Rx channel but still passed
tthrough the Rx
R filter.

Contrrol Channels
s are used to
o allow user
equipment to find and use the LTE network
and to
o assess RF c
channel quality.

EVM is the most important

i
siggnal quality
meas
surement and
d is reportedd by modulation
type also in the Modulation
M
Suummary scre
een.

Powerr/RE is the Re
esource Elem
ment power,
which
h is often repo
orted by User Equipment.
Total Power per co
ontrol channe
el is often
reportted by e-Nod
deB equipmen
nt.

Guidelines: -45
5 dBc for the adjacent channels,
-45 dBc for the alternate
a
channels.

Guid
deline: 17.5%
% for QPSK m
modulation,
12.5% for 16 QAM modulationn, and 8% fo
or 64
QAM modulation when done hhooked up to the
eNod
deB.

Guide
eline: Contrrol Channels typically
t
are all
set to
o the same po
ower level. However, usag
ge
may v
vary as experrience with LT
TE increases.

Co
onsequence
es: Poor or no
o MIMO opera
ation
wiill result in po
oor throughput, low secto
or
ca
apacity, dropp
ped and block
ked calls. Lo
ow
do
ominance me
eans high co-cchannel
intterference wiith similar co
onsequences.

Con
nsequences: The eNodeB
B will create
interference for neighboring
n
carriers.
c
This is
also
o an indication
n of low signa
al quality and
d low
capa
acity, which can
c
lead to blocked calls.

sequences: Poor EVM leaads to dropped

Cons
calls, low signal quality,
q
low ddata rate, low
w
secto
or capacity, and
a
blocked ccalls. This is tthe
single most important signal qquality
surement.
meas

Control chann
nels set at the
e
Consequences: C
g levels may prevent user
r equipment
wrong
from detecting the
e cell or registering. This
may in turn cause dropped calls or data
sessio
ons and block
ked calls.

Co
ommon Fau lts: disconne
ected or interrse
ector cross co
onnected MIM
MO transmitte
ers,
faulty MCPA, p
poor antenna installation.

mmon Faults
s: Check Tx filter,
f
MCPA and
a
Com
chan
nnel cards. Also,
A
the antenna system can
c
generate intermo
odulation due
e to corrosion
n.

Com
mmon Faults
s: EVM faults can be cause
ed
by distortion in th
he channel caards, power
amplifier, filter, or
o antenna syystem.

Comm
mon Faults: Improper se
ettings in the
signal processing a
and control section of the
eNode
eB.

SEM
M checks clos
ser to the sign
nal than ACLR
R
does
s. It also is sensitive to ab
bsolute power
leve
els. Regulatorrs in many co
ountries requiire
regu
ular measurements of spe
ectral emissio
ons.

Sync Signal (SS)

) Power sets
s cell size. Its
s
the av
verage of P-S
SCH and S-SC
CH. A 1.5 dB
chang
ge means 15%
% change in coverage are
ea.

R
Rx Noise Floor
F
W
When looking
g for uplink in
nterference a good
ffirst step is to
o check the Rx
R Noise Floorr. To do
tthis, connect to an Rx testt port, or the Rx
a
antenna, for the
t
affected sector
s
and make
m
measurementts when calls are not up.

EVM
M is the ratio of
o errors, or distortions, in
the actual
a
signal, compared too a perfect
signa
al. EVM, in th
his screen, m
measures the
PBCH
H, if there is no data traffific, and the
PDSC
CH if there is traffic.

uideline: Lesss than appro

oximately 8
80 dBm
Gu
received noise floor when n
no calls are up. This
lev
vel varies witth the LTE RF
F channel
ba
andwidth.
Co
onsequence
es: Call blocking, denial off
se
ervices, call d
drops, low datta rate, and llow
ca
apacity.
Co
ommon Fau lts: Receiverr desensitizattion
fro
om co-chann el interferencce, in-band
intterference, o
or passive inte
ermodulation
n.

Guideline: Below the mask. Power levels

s
mattter; use correct external attenuation
a
value.
v
Con
nsequences: Failing this test
t
leads to
interference with
h neighboring
g carriers, leg
gal
liabiility, and low signal quality.
Com
mmon Faults
s: Check amp
plifier output
filtering first. Als
so look for inttermodulation
n
disto
ortion or spectral re-grow
wth.

OTA
A
Map
pping,
with Google
Maps
s, allows
analy
ysis of
signa
al quality
at a
particular
locattion, or
serie
es of
locattions.
This is an
excellent
way to find
cove
erage and inte
erference prooblems.

SS is an in-service
e measureme
ent if the BTS
has a test port.
Use th
he high accurracy power meter
m
and a te
est
signal for the bestt accuracy (0.16 dB)
eline: The signal should be
b within 2.0
Guide
dB of specification
n under normal conditions.
Consequences: H
High values create excessive
cell ov
verlap leading to interfere
ence and low
capac
city. High or low values will cause low
capac
city, dropped and blocked calls.
Comm
mon Faults: Check MCPA
A calibration
follow
wed by large V
VSWR faults and damaged
d
conne
ectors.

Anritsu. All tra

ademarks are reg
gistered tradema
arks of their resp
pective companie
es. Data subject to change witho
out notice. For th
he most recent specifications
s
visiit: www.anritsu.c
com

D
Document No. 11
1410-00566, Rev
v C Printed in thee United States 2012-06