W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide: Huawei Technologies Co., LTD

Product name Confidentiality level
WCDMA RNP For internal use only

Product version
Total 57 pages
3.1
W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide

(For internal use only)
Prepared by Cheng Tangbai and Qiu Date 2006-10-20

Zhiyou
Reviewed by Xie Zhibin, Hu Wensu, Yao Date
Jianqing, Wan Liang, Wu
Zhong, and Song Zaiguo
Reviewed by Yao Jianqing Date
Approved by Date
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

All Rights Reserved
W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide For internal use only
Revision Records
Date Version Description Author

2006-03-12 3.00 Initial transmittal. Cheng Tangbai
2006-03-16 3.01  Optimized flow charts. Qiu Zhiyou
 Clarified the objectives for designing project
antenna-feeder and site antenna-feeder.
 Added cases about designing project antenna-
feeder; removed the case of designing RET
antenna.
 Modified some parts.
2006-03-21 3.02  Changed the document name to W-Antenna- Qiu Zhiyou
feeder Design Guide.
 Further optimized the flow chart for designing
project antenna-feeder.
 Modified the principia for antenna selection in
different scenarios.
2006-03-23 3.03  Combined the sections of project antenna Qiu Zhiyou
selection and site antenna selection; optimized
the structure of the whole document.
 Moved the section of RET antenna to the
appendix.
 Moved the section of splitting cell to the
appendix.
2006-03-24 3.04  Added the introduction to the basic knowledge Qiu Zhiyou
about antennas in the appendix.
 Supplemented the part with isolation of shared
antenna-feeder
 Removed the case of designing project
antenna-feeder
2006-10-20 3.1  Modified the principia of antenna selection in
(dense) urban area. Qiu Zhiyou
 Modified the principia for using TMAs
2007-04-04 Huawei Proprietary. No Spreading Without Permission. Page 2 of 57

Table of Contents
1 Introduction 9
2 Flow for Antenna-feeder Design 11
3 Antenna-feeder Design 13
3.1 Detailed Flow for Antenna-feeder Design 13
3.2 Antenna Selection 15
3.2.1 Antenna Selection in Different Scenarios 15
3.2.2 Principia for Antenna Selection 18
3.3 Reasons and Methods for Shared antenna and feeder Design 24
3.4 Principia for Selection of Shared Antenna 27
3.5 Feeder Design 28
3.6 TMA Design 28
3.6.1 Principia for Using TMAs 28
3.6.2 Typical TMA Specifications 29
3.7 Design of Other RF Device 31
3.7.1 Solution to Interference from Shared antenna and feeder 31
3.7.2 Solution to Interference from Four-port-shared Antenna 32
3.7.3 Solution to Interference from Two-port-shared Antenna 33
3.7.4 Specifications of Typical RF Device 33
4 Case of Selection of Dual Band Shared Antenna 36
5 Summary 38
6 Appendix 39
6.1 Main Specifications of Antenna 39
6.1.1 Work Band 40
6.1.2 Antenna Gain 40
6.1.3 Antenna Pattern 41
6.1.4 Beamwidth 42
6.1.5 Front-to-rear Ratio 42

6.1.6 Zero Point Filling 43
6.1.7 Upper Side Lobe Suppression 43
6.1.8 Relation Between Beamwidth and Gain 43
6.1.9 Polarization Mode 46
6.1.10 Down Tilt 46
6.1.11 VSWR 47
6.1.12 Port Isolation 47
6.1.13 Power Capacity 48
6.1.14 Input Port of Antenna 48
6.1.15 Passive Intermodulation (PIM) 48
6.1.16 Dimensions and Weight of Antenna 48
6.1.17 Wind Load 49
6.1.18 Work Temperature and Humidity 49
6.1.19 Lightning Protection 49
6.1.20 Three-proof Capability 49
6.2 Camouflaged Antenna Scheme for Sites 49
6.2.1 Customized Camouflage 50
6.2.2 Outlook Camouflage 51
6.2.3 Antenna Camouflage in Special Environment 52
6.3 RET Antenna 53
6.3.1 Functions of Common Parts in Electrical Tilting Antennas 53
6.3.2 Usage of KATHREIN 741 989 RET Antenna 55
6.4 Typical Design of Spliting Cell 57

List of Tables
Table 3-1 Detailed requirements on antenna selection in different scenarios 15
Table 3-2 Typical feeder specifications 28
Table 3-3 Typical specifications of WCDMA TMA 30
Table 3-4 Required isolation between WCDMA network and other systems (the receiver sensitivity
declines by less than 0.1 dB) 32
Table 3-5 Required isolation between WCDMA network and other systems (the receiver sensitivity
declines by less than 0.8 dB) 32
Table 4-1 Specifications of original GSM900 antenna with these of GSM900 antenna after sharing dual
band antenna in a trial office 36
Table 4-2 Case of replacing two GSM900 antennas with a dual band antenna 37

List of Figures
Figure 1-1 The antenna-feeder sub-system 9
Figure 2-1 Flow for antenna-feeder design 11
Figure 3-1 Detailed flow for antenna-feeder design 14
Figure 3-2 Variation of horizontal pattern with different down tilts 20
Figure 3-3 Different impact on the rear lobe due to different down tilt modes 20
Figure 3-4 Pattern of 8-shaped omnidirectional antenna 23
Figure 3-5 Pattern of heart-shaped omnidirectional antenna 24
Figure 3-6 Four-port antenna shared between the WCDMA network and GSM network 25
Figure 3-7 Two-port antenna shared between the WCDMA network and GSM network 25
Figure 3-8 Shared port between the WCDMA network and GSM network 26
Figure 3-9 Shared antenna and feeder between the WCDMA network and GSM network 26
Figure 3-10 Structure of a TMA 30
Figure 3-11 Signal flow of STMA 31
Figure 3-12 Specifications of LGP filter 34
Figure 3-13 Specifications of Allgon9281 35
Figure 6-1 Relation between dBi and dBd 41
Figure 6-2 Horizontal and vertical patterns of directional antenna 42
Figure 6-3 Relation among the antenna gain, vertical beamwidth, and horizontal beamwidth 45
Figure 6-4 Outlook of customized camouflaged antennas 51
Figure 6-5 The bottom chart of antenna 51
Figure 6-6 Painting camouflage 52
Figure 6-7 Flat panel antennas camouflaged by advertising board and road sign 53

Figure 6-8 Structure of a BT 54
Figure 6-9 Connectors of KATHREIN 741 989 RET antenna 55
Figure 6-10 Adjusting KATHREIN 741 989 RET antenna manually 56
Figure 6-11 Installing RCU of KATHREIN 741 989 RET antenna 57
Figure 6-12 Splitting cell when WCDMA and GSM systems do not share antenna and feeder 58
Figure 6-13 Splitting cell when WCDMA and GSM systems share antenna and feeder 58

W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide
Key words: antenna-feeder design, antenna, antenna selection, feeder, TMA, RF device, shared antenna
and feeder
Abstract: The outdoor antenna-feeder design includes project antenna-feeder design and site antenna-
feeder design. This document describes the flow for designing antenna-feeder. In addition, it
provides a case about antenna-feeder design.
Acronyms and abbreviations:
Acronyms and abbreviations Full spelling

RNO Radio Network Optimization
RNP Radio Network Planning
AISG Antenna Interface Standards Group
GSM Global System of Mobile Communication
RCU Remote Control Unit
RET Remote Electrical Tilting
RF Radio Frequency
RJ Rejection Filter
RRU Remote RF Unit
SBT Smart Bias-Tee
STMA Smart TMA
TMA Tower Mounted Amplifier
VSWR Voltage Standing Wave Ratio
WCDMA Wideband Code division multiple Access
FNE Fixed Network Element
HC Hybrid Coupler
CC Cross-band Coupler

1 Introduction
An antenna-feeder sub-system comprises the following device:
 Antenna
 Feeder
 Jumper
 TMA
Figure 1.1 shows the antenna-feeder sub-system.

Figure 1.1 The antenna-feeder sub-system
The antenna-feeder system functions as a channel for transmitting and receiving RF

signals, detailed as below:
 Transmit the RF signals modulated by the NodeB.

 Receive the signals transmitted by UE.
In WCDMA network construction, the antenna-feeder design includes three stages as

below:
 Project antenna-feeder design. It is a general design due to incomplete

information before bidding.
 Site antenna-feeder design. It is a detailed design with the survey information of
each site after bidding. At this stage, engineers may modify previous project
antenna-feeder design according to actual situation.
 Antenna-feeder design in simulation of planning.
This document discusses the detailed process of antenna-feeder design to guide

engineers in antenna-feeder design of RNP.
This document includes seven chapters as below:
 Chapter 1: Introduction
 Chapter 2: Flow for Antenna-feeder Design
 Chapter 3: Antenna-feeder Design
 Chapter 4: Case of Selection of Dual Band Shared Antenna
 Chapter 5: Summary

 Chapter 6: Appendix
2 Flow for Antenna-feeder Design
Figure 1.2 shows the flow for antenna-feeder design.

Figure 1.2 Flow for antenna-feeder design
If a traditional mobile communication operator has a GSM network and requires co-
located sites with WCDMA network, the MI to be collected about antenna-feeder is
mainly the antenna configuration type of existing GSM sites (the FNE chart of antenna
and model of parts).
The A Supply Capability Report for Antennas in Stock, based on the requirements on
antenna selection, contains the antennas recommended by Huawei and the replacement
information and other requirements on antennas. This report, released by Huo Yue,
comes out periodically.
Some operators provide detailed requirements on antenna-feeder design in releasing

bidding documents, which shall be considered in project antenna-feeder design.
The project antenna-feeder design is according to the basic information about an

operator and the operator's bidding document in MI library, as well as A Supply
Capability Report for Antennas in Stock released by RNP Dept., Huawei. The project
antenna-feeder design includes overall requirements on antenna-feeder design, such as
antenna, feeder, and TMA selection, even shared antenna and feeder solution
sometimes.

The site antenna-feeder design is purposeful according to the survey information of

each site. You shall refer to the latest A Supply Capability Report for Antennas in Stock
in site antenna-feeder design.
In simulation antenna-feeder design, the engineers adjust the model of antenna, down
tilt, and azimuth of antenna according to actual simulation conditions so that the
simulation result meets the network indexes. You shall refer to the latest A Supply
Capability Report for Antennas in Stock in site antenna-feeder design.
3 Antenna-feeder Design
3.1 Detailed Flow for Antenna-feeder Design

Figure 1.3 shows detailed flow for antenna-feeder design.

Figure 1.3 Detailed flow for antenna-feeder design
Before WCDMA antenna specifications are determined, the operator's bidding

document is input into project antenna-feeder design while the site survey report is
input into site antenna-feeder design. The traditional operators with a GSM network
shall consider whether to use shared antenna and feeder between GSM and WCDMA

networks. If an operator has no GSM network, it does not need to consider the
problem.
Before site antenna-feeder design is complete, engineers shall input related design
parameters input Engineering Parameter Table for late installation and maintenance.
Whether to use other RF device like filter and diplexer is also involved in designing
shared antenna and feeder.
For the method of splitting cell used in some regions, refer to the appendix.
The following sections will explain the previous flow chat.
3.2 Antenna Selection

For the major technical specifications of antenna, see the appendix.
3.2.1 Antenna Selection in Different Scenarios
Table 3.1 Detailed requirements on antenna selection in different scenarios

Scenario Sector Recommended Selection Code for
Configuration Antennas
In a low band (450 MHz and 800 MHz), use the 15 dBi,
±45° dual polarization antenna with a horizontal
beamwidth of 60°–65°.
In a high band (1700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 1900 MHz, and
2000 MHz) network, use the 18 dBi, ±45° dual 99011255,
polarization antenna with a horizontal beamwidth of 27010284,
60°–65°. If there are high buildings to cover, the 99045372,
landform is uneven, and the dimensions of antenna are
restricted, you can use 15 dBi antennas. 27010286,
Dense urban 27010236,
3 sectors
and urban If it is difficult to access a site or to adjust the down tilt
on a site, use the RET directional antenna with a down 99048591,
tilt of 0°–10° (the ranges of down tilt for the antennas 27010278,
with different gains are different). If it is expensive to 99048592 ,
use RET directional antenna, you can use preset and so on
electrical down tilt directional antenna. The down tilt of
antenna depends on the site survey information. Confirm
this in planning. The preset down tilt is usually 2° or 6°.
In addition, the antenna pole shall have an adjustment
range of 0°–15°.

According to site configuration, use the antenna with the

horizontal beamwidth of 60°–65° or 90°. The network of
regular cells use 65° antenna; otherwise, use the 1.3 m
antenna with the horizontal beamwidth of 90°. Its
vertical beamwidth is 7°.
If the neighboring NodeBs are densely distributed, the 27010289,

Suburban 3 sectors principia for antenna selection are similar with that in 99048594,
urban areas. There are few NodeBs around with small and so on
potential of expansion, the principia for antenna.
The preset RET antenna is seldom used. If you use it, the
down tilt will be very small. The selection depends on
the site distance and the antenna selection in urban and
rural areas.
Use the vertical polarization antenna with space

diversity.
Use the 17 dBi antenna with a horizontal beamwidth of
90° and a vertical beamwidth of 6°. In special landform
areas, use the lobe antenna matching the landform for
coverage. For example, use 210° heart-shaped antenna,
omnidirectional antenna in a basin, and 8-shaped
3 sectors antenna.
Use the mechanical down tilt mode. For convenient
maintenance and draught-proofing, you can use the 27010151,
Rural antenna with an adjustable electrical down tilt of 0°–10° and so on
on the site on a high mountain.
When the antenna height is above 400 m and the near
end shall be covered, the feature of zero point filling
shall be selected.
It is a vertical polarization antenna with space diversity.
When the height of omnidirectional antenna with a gain
Omnidirectional of 11 dBi is above 200 m and the near end shall be
covered, the feature of zero point filling shall be
selected.
Use the vertical polarization directional antenna with a
high gain of 21–22 dBi and with a vertical beamwidth of
7°. 99044470,
Highway 2 sectors
When the antenna height is above 50 m and the near end and so on
shall be covered, the feature of zero point filling shall be
selected.

Use the high-gain 8-shaped antenna. When there is a

small town with a small number of subscribers at a side
of highway, use the 210°–220° omnidirectional heart-
Omnidirectional shaped antenna.
The gain of 8-shaped antenna is 14 dBi while that of
heart-shaped antenna is 12 dBi.
Use the vertical polarization antenna with space
diversity.
The horizontal beamwidth is 90°. The gain is 15–18 dBi.
When constructing a site to cover submontane area on a
2 or 3 sectors mountain, use the adjustable or preset electrical antenna
Mountainous of zero point filling.
area
The preset down tilt depends on the relative height
between antenna height and the height of the area to be
covered, the distance, and the landform.
The gain is 11 dBi. The preset down tilt depends on the
Omnidirectional relative height between antenna height and the height of
the area to be covered, the distance, and the landform.
Use the high-gain vertical polarization antenna with a
vertical beamwidth of 6° and a horizontal beamwidth of
45° or above. In the blind area of near end, use the
Sea surface, antenna with a horizontal beamwidth of 90° and a
desert, and Directional vertical beamwidth of 7°.
grassland
Use the high-gain antenna (above 18 dBi).
Use the antenna with of feature of zero point filling.
If the tunnel is shorter than 2 km, mount 10–12 dBi

Yagi/logarithm period/flat panel antenna inside the
Tunnel entrance of tunnel to cover the tunnel.
If the tunnel is longer than 2 km, use leakage cable to
cover it.
Due to the construction principia of antenna, the gain, vertical beamwidth, and
horizontal beamwidth are interactive. For example, if the horizontal beamwidth is 65°,
the gain of antenna cannot be 19 dBi or above. Be aware of this upon proposing
requests.
If you have to use some antennas but their descriptions are not available in the latest A
Supply Capability Report for Antennas in Stock, you can submit a technical proposal
as a case.

3.2.2 Principia for Antenna Selection
Principia for Selecting Polarization Mode

The following paragraphs compare the vertical polarization antenna with the vertical
dual polarization antenna.
 In terms of transmitting, a vertical UE can easily match vertical polarization

signal, so a vertical polarization antenna is better in coverage than other non-
vertical polarization antenna, especially in open mountainous areas, plain, and
rural areas. As proved by tests, in these areas, the coverage by vertical
polarization antenna is better than vertical dual polarization. However, in urban
areas, the buildings are densely located, so the polarization direction changes
after numerous reflections on the surface of buildings, penetration into metal
object inside and outside buildings, and the metal oxide film glass. As a result,
there is no difference between vertical polarization and ±45° polarization antenna
in terms of coverage.
 In terms of receiving, the vertical polarization antenna realizes receiver diversity
with two antennas while the dual polarization antenna realizes receiver diversity
with only one antenna, so the polarization antenna needs more installation space.
In addition, the maintenance of polarization is heavier than that of dual
polarization antenna. The gain of space diversity and the gain of polarization
diversity are of little difference.
 In terms of size, the oscillators of different polarization direction in the dual
polarization antenna have enough large isolation though they overlap with each
other, so the dual polarization antenna is not larger than polarization antenna.
The following selections are recommended:
 In dense urban and urban areas, use the ±45° dual polarization antenna by
priority.
 In less prosperous urban areas and large towns, also use the ±45° dual
polarization antenna by priority.
 In suburban areas, rural areas, and highway, use the vertical polarization antenna
by priority.
Principia for Selecting Down Tilt Mode

1. Comparing mechanical down tilt with electrical down tilt
The down tilt of antenna lobe includes three modes: mechanical down tilt, preset
electrical down tilt, and adjustable electrical down tilt (RET antenna). When
adjusting the down tilt of RET antenna, an engineer changes the phase of antenna
oscillator with electrical signal and change the field strength of synthetic
component so that the radiation direction of antenna deviates from zero degree.
At the process, the antenna remains in the same location. The field strength of

each direction of antenna increases or decreases simultaneously so that the

radiation pattern of antenna changes a little and the horizontal beamwidth is
irrelevant to the down tilt.
When changing the down tilt of mechanical antenna, engineers need to adjust the
support behind the antenna, so the antenna moves. When the down tilt is large,
the coverage distance in the direction of main lobe changes obviously, but the
signal vertical to the main lobe changes little. As a result, the radiation pattern of
antenna distorts sharply and the horizontal beamwidth increases as the down tilt
increases.
The principia for preset electrical down tilt are similar to that of electrical down
tilt, but the preset down tilt is fixed (you can adjust mechanical down tilt). In
terms of cost, the RET antenna is the most expansive, the preset RET antenna the
second, and the mechanical down tilt antenna the cheapest.
The RET antenna has some advantages as below: when the down tilt is large, the
coverage distance in the direction of main lobe is shortened sharply, and the
shape of radiation pattern changes little, so the interference is reduced. Adjusting
the mechanical down tilt results in a distortion of the radiation pattern. The larger
the mechanical down tilt is, the sharper the distortion of horizontal pattern is, and
the more difficult it is to control the interference.
Figure 1.1 shows the variation of horizontal pattern with different down tilts. Of
course, the variation is relevant to the vertical beamwidth of antenna.
Figure 1.1 Variation of horizontal pattern with different down tilts
The electrical down tilt and electrical down tilt have different impact from the rear
lobe. The electrical down tilt helps control the impact from the back lobe while the
mechanical down tilt leads to greater impact from the back lobe. Figure 1.2 shows the
different impact on the rear lobe due to different down tilt modes.

Figure 1.2 Different impact on the rear lobe due to different down tilt modes
When the mechanical down tilt is large, the antenna will transmit signals by the back
lobe to the back high buildings. As a result, extra interference forms.
In addition, in network optimization, management, and maintenance, when you want

to adjust the down tilt of antenna, you do not need to power off the whole antenna-
feeder system when using electrical down tilt. In this way, you can monitor and control
the down tilt with RET unit so that the down tilt of antenna is optimal.
The step for adjusting electrical down tilt is 0.1° while that for adjusting mechanical
down tilt is 1° or above. After installing the electrical down tilt, the maintenance
engineers do not need to climb to where the antenna is mounted. Instead, the engineers
can adjust the down tilt on the ground, or even remotely adjust and monitor the down
tilt of the antennas mounted on a high mountain or in a backland.
When adjusting mechanical down tilt, you need power off the power amplifier of the
cell, so you cannot adjust the down tilt and monitor it simultaneously. The down tilt of
mechanical down tilt antenna is a theoretical value calculated by the emulation
analyzing software, a little different from the actual best down tilt. In addition, it is
difficult to adjust mechanical down tilt antennas, because maintenance engineers have
to clime to near the antenna for adjustment at night. Once some antennas are mounted,
it is rather difficult to adjust them, such as at the top of mountains or special buildings.
The RET antennas needs power supply and motor.
2. Comparing preset electrical down tilt and zero point filling

Both of them can eliminate the shadow right under the tower due to the zero point
of antenna in different ways. Using preset electrical down tilt results in shrink of
coverage range by the main lobe, but you can increase the adjustable range of
down tilt in the scenarios usually with large down tilt. The zero point filling, as a
shaping technique, can produce good pattern, and the upper side load is
suppressed, so the antenna will have no impact on other aspects. However, you
cannot extend the adjustable range of down tilt. Now each antenna vendors can
equip their antennas with the features of zero point filling and upper side lobe
suppression.

A wide-coverage scenario is sensitive to the shadow right under the tower, so you
can choose the antennas with zero point filling, and upper side lobe suppression is
optional.
3. Planning and optimization of down tilt
The WCDMA network is sensitive to interference and noise. If there are over
three signals with close level in an area, pilot pollution will happen and the cell
capacity will decline. In dense urban and urban areas, the adjustable range of
down tilt is required large enough to control interference, so the priority is given
to adjustable electrical down tilt directional antenna in antenna selection. If this is
impossible due to high cost, use the preset electrical down tilt directional antenna.
In suburban and rural areas, coverage is the major issue, so the down tilt is
usually small and you can use mechanical down tilt directional antenna. If some
sites are high, you can use preset electrical down tilt directional antenna. Along a
long-shaped area like a highway, use mechanical down tilt directional antenna.
If you use preset RET antenna, ensure to deduct the electrical down tilt when
setting mechanical down tilt. If the required down tilt is smaller than the preset
down tilt, you may have to configure a mechanical up tilt.
Principia for Selecting Front-to-rear Ratio

When the sites are densely located, an over large rear lobe may result in pilot
pollution, so the network quality will decline. In urban areas, the front-to-rear ratio is
required at least equal to 25 dB. It can be lower in suburban and rural areas.
Principia for Selecting Antenna Size

The size of antennas shall be fit enough to install. In some areas with restricted
installation conditions, such as in a railway tunnel, the size is important, because it
may decide whether the antenna will be used.
 The size is relevant to the techniques of antenna vendors, so other specifications

of antenna from different antenna vendors may be the same except the size.
 The size of antenna is relevant to gain. The large the gain is, the more oscillators
the antenna needs, and the longer the antenna is.
Principia for Selecting Impedance of Antenna

The input impedance of combiner is 50 Ohm. To reduce standing wave ratio (SWR) of
antenna, the characteristic impedance shall match the SWR, namely, equal to 50 Ohm.
Antennas usually meet the requirement. However, you need pay attention to the
specification upon selection and certification.

Principia for Selecting Antennas for Special Scenarios

In some scenarios, the areas to be covered obviously differ from those not to be
covered, so you can select the lobe matching the shape and landform of these areas.
Select the shape of horizontal pattern of main lobe of antenna according to the
following factors:
 Required coverage around the NodeB

 Location of the NodeB
 Distribution and shape of covered areas around
Namely, the shape of antenna lobe must match the area to be covered. Common lobes
include 8-shaped and heart-shaped lobes. These antennas are developed from
omnidirectional antennas.
The 8-shaped omnidirectional shaped antenna comprises of an omnidirectional

antenna and two symmetrical auxiliary reflection metal tubes. The two metal tubes can
change the horizontal pattern of omnidirectional antenna by coupling. The horizontal
pattern is like a ∞. The traffic for pure-road coverage (referring to the coverage of
important level road in uninhabited areas) is low, so the O1 site configuration is
usually used to reduce the number of NodeBs and to cut construction cost. Therefore,
the 8-shaped antenna fits pure-road coverage well. The site location is important for
using the antenna. The extending direction should match the antenna pattern, as shown
in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1 Pattern of 8-shaped omnidirectional antenna
In rural areas, many towns are located at one side of a road, so you can cover these
towns with heart-shaped omnidirectional antenna when performing road coverage.
Improve the antenna gain to about 13 dBi in the direction of road and towns so that the
coverage of towns and road is stronger.

Figure 1.2 Pattern of heart-shaped omnidirectional antenna
3.3 Reasons and Methods for Shared antenna and feeder

Design
To save cost and tackle problems in actual construction, engineer shall consider shared
antenna and feeder between the WCDMA network and other systems. The WCDMA
network shares the antenna-feeder system with other networks due to the following
reasons:
 The owner forbids mounting new pole, antenna, or feeder.

 There is no space for mounting new antenna or feeder due to restricted
installation space, feeder window, and cabling rack.
 Mounting new antenna will affect the vision effect.
 This can save cost.
There are three modes of sharing antenna and feeder with other systems:
 Shared antenna only

 Shared feeder only
 Shared antenna and feeder
Further more, the WCDMA network shares the antenna with other systems in two
modes:
 Four ports shared

 Two ports shared

Figure 1.3, Figure 1.4, and Figure 1.5 show three typical solutions of sharing antenna
and feeder between the WCDMA network and other systems.
Figure 1.3 Four-port antenna shared between the WCDMA network and GSM network
Figure 1.4 Two-port antenna shared between the WCDMA network and GSM network

Figure 1.5 Shared port between the WCDMA network and GSM network
Figure 1.6 Shared antenna and feeder between the WCDMA network and GSM network
In designing shared antenna and feeder solution, to reduce the complexity of share
antenna and feeder, you are recommended to use the dual band antenna with four ports
in antenna selection.

3.4 Principia for Selection of Shared Antenna

When the WCDMA network shares antenna and feeder with the GSM network, you
can follow the principia as below:
 The length shall be about 1.3 m. Select four ports for dual band and six ports for
triband.
 The electrical down tilt of GSM shall differ from that of WCDMA, so you shall
configure them to different values.
 Pay attention to the size of shared antenna. If the antenna is 0.7 m long, the
WCDMA gain shall be 15 dBi, DCS gain 15 dBi, and GSM gain 12 dBi. If the
antenna is 1.3 m long, they shall be 18 dBi, 18 dBi, and 15 dBi respectively.
You must focus on the following specifications of shared antenna and feeder:
 Work band: the work band must match the GSM and WCDMA work band.
 Port isolation: the isolation of antenna ports must be over 30 dB.
 Gain: the antenna gain must be close to the gain of original GSM antenna.
Secondly, you shall consider whether the antenna can meet the requirements from
WCDMA network.
 Beamwidth: the following factors must be close to those of original GSM antenna
before meeting the requirement from the WCDMA network:
− Horizontal beamwidth
− Vertical beamwidth
− Horizontal pattern
− Vertical pattern
 Polarization mode: use the antennas with same polarization mode. There are a
small number of polarization antennas in GSM networks, but the majority of dual
band antennas in the market are 4-port dual polarization antennas. Therefore, you
can normalize them to 4-port dual band dual polarization antennas.
 RET equipment: Whether to install RET equipment must be considered. Installing
RET equipment facilitates RNO engineers in adjusting the electrical down tilt of
antenna remotely, but it adds to the cost on network construction. Therefore,
consider whether to install RET equipment based on manpower cost. If the
manpower cost is expansive in an area, install RET equipment. Otherwise, do not
install RET equipment.

3.5 Feeder Design

If the feeder is shorter than 50 m, use the 7/8'' feeder. Otherwise, use the 5/4'' feeder.
Each operator has different requirements on feeder size, so you shall determine the
feeder size according to the actual construction and the operator's requirements.
Table 6.1 lists the typical feeder specifications.
Table 6.1 Typical feeder specifications

Attenuation (dB/100m) and Curve
Model VSWR
Frequency (MHz) Radius (m)
1900 2,000 2100 2200
LDF5-50A(7/8") - 6.11 6.29 6.46 1.15 0.25
LDF6-50(5/4") - 4.43 4.56 4.69 1.15 0.38
RF7/8"-50 5.92 6.10 - 6.46 1.15 0.25
RF11/4"-50 4.44 4.58 - 4.86 1.15 0.35
3.6 TMA Design
3.6.1 Principia for Using TMAs

The following principia for using TMAs in various scenarios cater when the RRUs are
mounted far away from macro NodeB.
 The site distance is short in dense urban and urban areas, so the uplink coverage
is strong enough. It is recommended not to use TMAs. If the operator requires
covering the indoor areas with outdoor NodeB without any restriction on cost, use
TMAs. If the feeder loss is larger than 3 dB in dense urban and urban areas, use
TMAs. When the TMAs are used in dense urban and urban areas, the downlink
insertion loss of TMAs shall be smaller than 0.4 dB.
 In the areas with uplink restricted, such as rural area, suburban area, sea surface,
mountainous area, desert, and grassland, it is recommended to use TMAs.
 If the work environment is bad, do not use TMAs. For example, if the ambient
temperature may exceed the allowed work range (usually –40 °C to +65°C), do
not use TMAs.
 When the feeder loss is larger than 6 dB, the improvement of uplink sensitivity by
using 24 dB (gain) TMAs is about 1 dB higher than that by using 12 dB TMAs.

In this situation, it is recommended to use 24 dB TMAs. Otherwise, use 12 dB

TMAs.
 It is recommended to use single TMA to match polarization antenna and dual
TMAs to match dual polarization antenna.
The following principia for using TMAs in various scenarios are recommended when
RRUs are mounted near the antenna:
 The site distance is short in dense urban and urban areas, so the uplink coverage
is strong enough. It is recommended not to use TMAs. If the operator requires
covering the indoor areas with outdoor NodeB, use TMAs. When the TMAs are
used in dense urban and urban areas, the downlink insertion loss of TMAs shall
be smaller than 0.4 dB.
 In the areas with uplink restricted, such as rural area, suburban area, sea surface,
mountainous area, desert, and grassland, it is recommended to use TMAs.
 If the work environment is bad, do not use TMAs. For example, if the ambient
temperature may exceed the allowed work range (usually –40 °C to +65°C), do
not use TMAs.
 When RRUs are mounted near the antenna, the improvement of uplink sensitivity
by using 24 dB (gain) TMAs is nearly the same as that by using 12 dB TMAs. In
this situation, it is not recommended to use 24 dB TMAs.
 It is recommended to use single TMA to match polarization antenna and dual
TMAs to match dual polarization antenna.
The previous principia are common for using TMAs in various scenarios. Determine
whether to use TMAs according to the actual antenna-feeder design and the operator's
requirements.
3.6.2 Typical TMA Specifications

Figure 1.7 show the structure of a TMA.

Figure 1.7 Structure of a TMA
A TMA comprises of a Tx channel and an Rx channel. The Tx channel comprises of a

Tx filter. The Rx channel comprises of an Rx filter B, low noise amplifier (LNA, when
working normally) or by-path (when LNA works abnormally), and an Rx filter A.
The RF transmission signal and the DC input to LNA are comes from the BTS port.
Wherein, the RF transmission signal travels through the Tx channel and is output to
the antenna by the ANT port. The DC travels from another port of BIAS TEE to LNA
unit. The signal received by the antenna is input to ANT port and amplified by the Rx
channel.
Table 7.1 lists the typical specifications of WCDMA TMA.
Table 7.1 Typical specifications of WCDMA TMA

No. Specification Value
1 Tx insertion loss ≤ 0.6 dB (typical value is 0.5 dB)
2 Rx gain 12 dB (typical value is 12 dB)
3 Rx noise figure ≤ 2.0 dB (typical value is 1.7 dB)
4 Insertion loss of by-path of Rx channel ≤ 2.5 dB (typical value is 1.5 dB)
When using RET antenna, use the smart TMA (STMA) simultaneously. The smart
TMA has an AISG port. Namely, an SBT is embedded into a common TMA (for SBT
information, see the appendix RET Antenna).
The STMA can translate the OOK signal from the feeder to RS485 signal and then
output the RS485 signal to RCU. It can translate the RS485 signal from RCU to OOK
signal and then output it to feeder. The STMA can supply RCU with the DC power
from feeder.
When connecting an STMA, do connect the NodeB0 port of STMA to the main
reception port, not the diversity reception port. For the BTS3812E, connect the

NodeB0 port of STMA to the TX/RXA port on the cabinet top. For RRUs, connect the
NodeB0 port of STMA to the TX/RXA port of RRUs.
Figure 1.8 Signal flow of STMA
3.7 Design of Other RF Device
3.7.1 Solution to Interference from Shared antenna and feeder

The interference from shared antenna and feeder by two systems forms when the
signal (spurious emission or intermodulation) of the NodeB of one system is received
by the antenna of the other system.
The non-ideal features and broadband noise of frequency mixer, filter, and power
amplifier in the transmitter produces abundant outband useless signals, which is called
spurious emission. When the spurious emission is transmitted out by the antenna, it
becomes interference to the receiver of the other system.
There are non-linear parts and units in the transmitter, such as the power amplifier.
When a strong signal is reflected back to the transmitter by the output port, it together
with the transmitted signal produces intermodulation. The intermodulation signal and
useful signal are transmitted by the antenna, and they will produce interference with

the receiver. Or when two or more strong signals of different frequencies are reflected
by some metal, the intermodulation occurs due to the non-linearity of metal.
Analyze the intra-RAT isolation according to the protocols or the actual RF indexes of
equipment.
Table 8.1 lists the required isolation between WCDMA network and other systems
when the receiver sensitivity declines by less than 0.1 dB.
Table 8.1 Required isolation between WCDMA network and other systems (the receiver sensitivity
declines by less than 0.1 dB)
Other Systems Value in Protocol (dB) Acceptable value (dB)
GSM900 92 60
DCS1800 92 60
lists the required isolation between WCDMA network and other systems when the
receiver sensitivity declines by less than 0.8 dB.
Table 8.2 Required isolation between WCDMA network and other systems (the receiver sensitivity
declines by less than 0.8 dB)
Other Systems Value in Protocol (dB) Acceptable value (dB)
GSM900 83 40
DCS1800 83 40
Actually, the RF values of each vendor are better than the value in protocol, so the
needed isolation between WCDMA and other systems in actual networks is smaller
than the value in protocol. The RF values of different vendors' NodeB are different, so
the isolation depends on the value of the existing equipment provided by the operator
(or according to actual test).
3.7.2 Solution to Interference from Four-port-shared Antenna

The four-port antenna has an isolation of 30 dB. If the isolation exceeds this value, you
can solve the problem by adding a filter at the receiver of WCDMA network or the
transmitter of other systems. Customize the filter according to actual requirement.
If the WCDMA network and GSM network share a four-port antenna, and the required
isolation between them is assumed to 60 dB, you need add a filter at the WCDMA
receiver to improve isolation. The isolation of filter at the GSM work band is equal to
60 dB minus 30 dB, namely, 30 dB. You can choose the RJ of the vendor LGP. For RJ,
see the section 3.7.3.

3.7.3 Solution to Interference from Two-port-shared Antenna

The solution to interference from two-port-shared antenna lies in a diplexer. The
detailed specifications of diplexer depend on the isolation.
If the WCDMA network and GSM network share a four-port antenna, and the required
isolation between them is assumed to 60 dB, the GSM isolation of diplexer must
exceed 60 dB. You can choose Allgon9281 diplexer. For details, see 3.7.4.
3.7.4 Specifications of Typical RF Device

You may use diplexers and filters in sharing antenna and feeder between the WCDMA
and GSM networks. In actual construction, choose the device by communicating with
the operator according to the actual need and the required isolation between two
networks.
Figure 1.9 shows the specifications of LGP filter.
Figure 1.9 Specifications of LGP filter
Figure 1.10 shows the specifications of Allgon9281.

Figure 1.10 Specifications of Allgon9281

4 Case of Selection of Dual Band Shared
Antenna
Table 10.1 compares the specifications of original GSM900 antenna with these of
GSM900 antenna after sharing dual band antenna in a trial office.
Table 10.1 Specifications of original GSM900 antenna with these of GSM900 antenna
after sharing dual band antenna in a trial office
GSM Antenna Dual Band Antenna Kathrein 742265
Specification
Allgon 7217.04 GSM900 band WCDMA band
Band (MHz) 824–960 824–960 1710–2170
Polarization mode +45°,-45° +45°,-45° +45°,-45°
Horizontal beamwidth
65 65 65
(°)
Vertical beamwidth (°) 13 9 5
Upper lobe suppression >14 14–16 14–16
Gain (dBi) 15.5 16 18.5
Front-to-rear ratio (dB) >30 >27 >27
Cross polarization
>20 >10 >10
isolation
Electrical down tilt (°) 0 0–10 0–6
Intra-RAT isolation
>30 >30 >30
(dB)
Inter-RAT isolation
- >45 >45
(dB)
Impedance (Ohm) 50 50 50
VSWR - <1.5 <1.5

Maximum input power

500 250 200
(w)
Intermodulation (dBc,
- <-150 <-150
2x43dBm carrier)
Dimensions (mm) 1320(H) 1916×262×139 1916×262×139
Weight (kg) 6 23 23
In antenna selection, consider the requirements from both GSM900 and WCDMA
networks. Pay attention to that there are a few types of dual band antennas, so some
features of the selected dual band antenna cannot be fully met. For example, the
vertical beamwidth of the original GSM900 antenna and the dual band antenna is
greatly different.
Due to purchase and maintenance cost, you must reduce the types of dual band
antennas and replace several GSM900 antennas of little difference with one or more
dual band antenna as possible. For example, Table 10.2 shows a case of replacing two
GSM900 antennas with a dual band antenna.
Table 10.2 Case of replacing two GSM900 antennas with a dual band antenna
Dual Band Antenna
GSM Antenna Allgon GSM Antenna
Specification Kathrein 742265
7217.04 Allgon 7217.03
(GSM900 Band)
Upper lobe
>14 >17 14–16
suppression
Gain (dBi) 15.5 15 16
Electrical
0 0–7 0–10
down tilt (°)
Other The same as Table The same as The same as Table
specifications 10.1. Table 10.1. 10.1.

5 Summary
This guide details the flow of antenna-feeder design, including the following aspects:
 Antenna selection
 Feeder design
 TMA design
 Design of other RF device in shared antenna and feeder between GSM and
WCDMA networks.
At the end, the guide provides a case of antenna selection about shared antenna-feeder
between the WCDMA and GSM networks.
This guide is intended to outdoor antenna-feeder design. For the indoor antenna-feeder
design, see W-Indoor Coverage Design Guide.
The replacement and change of antenna type, down tilt, azimuth according to
simulation process and result are involved in simulation antenna-feeder design. They
mains concerns simulation tools. They are similar with the principia for project
antenna and site antenna design, so this guide neglects this part.

6 Appendix
6.1 Main Specifications of Antenna

The technical specifications of antenna include:
 Work band
 Gain
 Polarization mode
 Beamwidth
 Preset down tilt
 Down tilt mode
 Adjustable range of down tilt
 Front-to-rear ratio
 Side lobe suppression ratio
 Zero point filling
 Echo loss
 Power capacity
 Impedance
 Third order intermodulation

The technical specifications of antenna include:
 Dimensions
 Weight
 Input ports
 Wind load
6.1.1 Work Band

It is the FDD work band of WCDMA system.
China and Europe

The work band in China and Europe is 1920–1980 MHz in uplink and 2110–2170
MHz in downlink.
North America
The work band in North America is 1850–1910 MHz in uplink and 1930–1990 MHz
in downlink.
6.1.2 Antenna Gain

The antenna is a passive device. It cannot strength the signal to be transmitted itself. It
concentrates the power to a direction by changing the combination of oscillators and
changing the feeder mode. Gain is a key index for antenna, standing for the capability
of concentrating the power to a direction. There are usually two units for antenna gain:
dBi and dBd. Their relations are as below:
0 dBd = 2.15 dBi
 dBi: the capability of concentrating power by actual directional antenna

(including omnidirectional) compared with the isotropic antenna. The i in dBi
means isotropic.
 dBd: the capability of concentrating power by actual directional antenna
(including omnidirectional) compared with half-wave dipole antenna. The d in
dBd means dipole.
Figure 1.1 shows the relation between dBi and dBd.

Figure 1.1 Relation between dBi and dBd
The antenna gain is relevant to the number of oscillator units, horizontal and vertical
beamwidth.
6.1.3 Antenna Pattern

The pattern is the electromagnetic field of antenna radiation distributed by coordinate
along fixed distance.
 If the pattern is represented by radiation field strength, it is called field strength

pattern.
 If the pattern is represented by power density, it is called power pattern.
 If the pattern is represented by phase, it is called phase pattern.
In mobile communication, the power pattern is the most common.
The antenna pattern is a cubic figure, usually represented by two patterns vertical to
each other in a main plane. This is the surface pattern. The surface pattern includes
vertical pattern and horizontal pattern. There are also omnidirectional antenna pattern
and directional antenna pattern. There are other special directional antennas, such as
heart-shaped antenna and 8-shaped antenna.
The directionality of antenna lies in the ranking of oscillators and the variety of feeder
phase, similar to the interferometric effect of optics in principium. As a result, the
power in some directions is strengthened while the power in some directions is
weakened. The lobes of various shapes and zero points form. The lobe with the highest

power is the main lobe. The lobes near the main lobe with the second highest power
are the first side lobdes. The second side lobes are those with the third highest
power…. The directional antenna produces a rear lobe.
Figure 1.2 shows the horizontal and vertical patterns of directional antenna.
Figure 1.2 Horizontal and vertical patterns of directional antenna
6.1.4 Beamwidth
The beamwidth is also called the half power beamwidth, including horizontal
beamwidth and vertical beamwidth. The horizontal beamwidth and vertical beamwidth
is the beamwidth between two points with a power difference of 50% (3 dB) in the
maximum radiation power. The common horizontal beamwidth of NodeB antennas
includes 360°, 90°, 65°, 60°, and 33°. The common vertical beamwidth of NodeB
antennas includes 6.5°, 7°, 10°, 13°, and 16°.
6.1.5 Front-to-rear Ratio

It is the ratio of signal radiation strength of main lobe to that of rear lobe, the
difference between the level of side lobe and the maximum beam in the range of rear
180°±30°, a positive value. The front-to-rear ratio of common antennas is between 18
dB and 45 dB. Choose the antenna with large front-to-rear ratio according to priority
in dense urban areas.

6.1.6 Zero Point Filling

When the antenna is designed with shaped beam, you need fill the first zero point of
the down side lobe to eliminate obvious shadow right under the tower and to equalize
the radiation level in the service area. The vertical beamwidth of a high-gain antenna is
narrow, so it especially need zero point filling to improve the near coverage. It is
usually defined that if the first zero point of down side lobe compared to main lobe is
larger than –26 dB, the antenna has the function of zero point filling. Some vendors
represent zero point filling in percentage. For example, the zero point filling of an
antenna is 10%. The relation of previous two representations is as below:
Y ( dB ) = 20 �
lg ( x % 100% )
If the zero point filling is 10%, namely, X = 10, the Y equals to

lg ( 10% 100% ) = -20 dB
Y = 20 �
6.1.7 Upper Side Lobe Suppression

In a cellular network, to improve the efficiency of frequency reuse and reduce the
intra-frequency interference with neighbor cells, for shaped-beam antenna, you need
lower the upper side lobe that radiates neighbor cells and improve the D/U ratio (the
ratio of strength of useful signal to that of interference signal). The level of the first
upper side lobe compared with main lobe shall be smaller than –18 dB. This is invalid
to the antennas of macro cell NodeB.
6.1.8 Relation Between Beamwidth and Gain

The antenna concentrates power. It strengthens the power of a direction while reducing
the power of other directions. You can usually reduce the horizontal beamwidth to
strengthen the power of a direction. When the antenna gain is fixed, the horizontal
beamwidth is in inverse proportion to the vertical beamwidth, with their relation as
below:
Ga �10 � 32400 ( q �
lg �
� b)�
�
Wherein,
 Ga: the antenna gain in the unit of dBi.

 β: the vertical beamwidth in the unit of dBi.
 θ: the horizontal beamwidth in the unit of dBi.

According to the previous formula, if you have known the antenna gain and horizontal,
you can calculate the vertical beamwidth.
For example, for an omnidirectional antenna, the gain is 11 dBi, the horizontal
beamwidth is 360°, so the vertical beamwidth is calculated as below:
32400
b= 1.1
= 7.15o
360 �
10
Due to the deficiency of design and manufacturing process, the actual vertical
beamwidth of omnidirectional antenna is usually smaller than the calculated result.
The less difference between the two beamwidth, the better the antenna is designed.
Figure 1.3 shows the relation among the antenna gain, vertical beamwidth, and
horizontal beamwidth of an oscillator antenna.

Figure 1.3 Relation among the antenna gain, vertical beamwidth, and horizontal
beamwidth
According to Figure 1.3, when the antenna gain is low, the vertical beamwidth and
horizontal beamwidth are usually large. When the antenna gain is high, the vertical
beamwidth and horizontal beamwidth are usually small.
In addition, the antenna gain depends on the number of oscillators. The more the
oscillators are, the higher the gain is and the larger the aperture of antenna (the
effective receiving area) is. For an omnidirectional antenna, if the antenna gain
increases by 3 dB, the antenna length will double. Therefore, the antenna gain is
usually within 11 dBi.

6.1.9 Polarization Mode

The polarization is a radiation feature for indicating the vector special direction of
field strength of electromagnetic wave. If unspecified, the spatial direction of electric
field vector usually serves as the polarization direction of electromagnetic wave. The
spatial direction of electric field vector is the direction of maximum radiation by
antenna.
The electromagnetic wave of which the spatial direction of electric filed vector keeps
fixed any time is the linear polarization wave. With the ground as a reference, the
polarization of which the direction of electric field vector is parallel to ground is the
horizontal polarization wave and polarization of which the direction of electric field
vector is vertical to ground is the horizontal polarization wave.
The spatial direction of electric field vector is not always fixed.
 If the endpoint trace of electric field vector forms a circle, the polarization wave
is circular polarization wave.
 If the endpoint trace of electric field vector forms an ellipse, the polarization
wave is elliptical polarization wave.
The elliptical polarization wave and circular polarization wave have polarization
direction.
The electromagnetic wave of different bands caters for different polarization modes for
propagation. The mobile communication systems usually choose vertical polarization
while the broadcasting systems usually choose horizontal polarization. The elliptical
polarization usually applies for satellite communication.
The polarization modes of WCDMA antennas include the polarization and dual
polarization, and they are all linear polarization. The WCDMA polarization antenna
uses vertical polarization. The dual polarization antenna reduces the impact from
multi-path attenuation and improves the quality of signals received by the NodeB by
using polarization diversity. The dual polarization antenna in WCDMA networks
usually use ±45° cross polarization mode.
6.1.10 Down Tilt

The down tilt of antenna is an important means that you can enhance the signal level
of serving cell and reduce the interference with other cells. The common down tilt
modes include mechanical down tilt, preset electrical down tilt, and adjustable
electrical down tilt (RET antenna) as below:
 Mechanical down tilt: you adjust the mechanical down tilt by lowering the
support.

 Electrical down tilt: you adjust the electrical down tilt by adjusting the phase of
oscillators. After the preset electrical down tilt is sold out of the factory, the down
tilt cannot be adjusted. The adjustable electrical down tilt is adjustable.
You can adjust the mechanical down tilt and electrical down tilt simultaneously.
6.1.11 VSWR
In mobile communication systems, the VSWR of antenna is 1.5:1 at most. Assume
that:
 ZA: input impedance of antenna

 Z0: nominal characteristic impedance (usually equals to 50 Ohm in WCDMA
antennas)
So the reflection coefficient is calculated as below:
Z A - Z0
G =
Z A + Z0
1+ G
VSWR =
1- G
You can also represent the matching character of port with echo loss as below:
R.L.(dB ) = 20 �
lg G
If the VSWR is 1.5:1, the RL is 13.98 dB.
When the input impedance of antenna is unequal to characteristic impedance, the

generated reflected wave and incident wave form standing wave after overlapping on
the feeder. The ratio of the maximum adjacent voltage of standing wave to the
minimum adjacent voltage of standing wave is the voltage standing wave ratio
(VSWR). If the VSWR is over large, the communication distance will be shortened
and the reflected power will return the transmitter. As a result, the power amplifier
may be burnt and the communication system will work abnormally.
6.1.12 Port Isolation

For multi-port antennas, such as dual polarization antenna and dual band dual
polarization antenna, the isolation must exceed 30 dB when the Rx port is the Tx port.

6.1.13 Power Capacity

It is the average power capacity. The antenna comprises of coupling parts, such as
matching, balancing, and phase shift, so it can bear a limited power. If the power of a
carrier is 20 W and a port of the antenna can support four carriers at most, the
maximum input power of antenna is 80 W. therefore, the power capacity per port shall
exceed 150 W (in a 65°C ambient temperature).
6.1.14 Input Port of Antenna

To improve the reliability of passive intermodulation and RF connection, the input port
of antenna is 7/16 DIN-Female. Before the antenna is used, there shall be a protective
cap over the port to avoid generating oxide or absorbing impurity.
6.1.15 Passive Intermodulation (PIM)

The passive intermodulation is caused by non-linearity of the part when the passive
parts like connectors, feeders, antennas, and filters work under high power of multi-
carrier. The passive parts are usually considered linear, but they may have non-
linearity to some degree under high power due to the following factors:
 The contact between different metals

 The contact between the same metal with rough surface
 Incompact connection
 Magnetic objects
The intermodulation product interferes with communication systems, and especially

the intermodulation products in the receiver band have severe impact on the receiving
performance of system. As a result, there are strict requirements on the
intermodulation feature of passive parts like connectors, cable, and antennas as below:
 Passive intermodulation index of connects: ≤ –150 dBc

 Passive intermodulation index of cable: ≤ –170 dBc
 Passive intermodulation index of antenna: ≤ –150 dBc
6.1.16 Dimensions and Weight of Antenna

To facilitate storage, transport, installation, and safety, the antenna is required to have a
size as small as possible and a weight as light as possible when all the electrical
specifications are met.

The operators have more and more strict requirements on the dimensions, weight, and
outlook of antenna, so you must focus on both the technical and non-technical
specifications upon antenna selection. In urban areas, the antenna of NodeB shall be
light, small, and beautiful. In suburban and rural areas, there is no such restriction.
6.1.17 Wind Load

The antennas are usually mounted on high buildings or towers. In the littoral areas, the
wind is strong with high speed, so the antennas are required to work normally under a
wind speed of 36 m/s and to keep complete under a wind speed of 55 m/s.
The antenna can usually resist strong wind. In some windy areas, the antennas are
damaged due to unstable tower and pole, so you shall choose the antennas with small
surface area.
6.1.18 Work Temperature and Humidity

The antenna of NodeB shall work in a temperature of –40°C to +65°C and a humidity
of 0 to 100%.
6.1.19 Lightning Protection

A direct DC connection of each RF input ports of antenna to the ground is required.
6.1.20 Three-proof Capability

The antenna of NodeB must capable of damp-proof, salt mist-proof, and leaf mold-
proof. For an omnidirectional antenna, it can also be installed bottom up and meet the
three-proof capacity.
6.2 Camouflaged Antenna Scheme for Sites

A camouflaged antenna is beautiful, hidden, and according with technical
requirements. The camouflaged antenna aims to keep consistent with the environment
and to avoid being noticed so that the mobile communication project proceeds
smoothly. The camouflaged antenna applies for urban site construction and coverage
solutions for top grade residence area.
There are no fixed modes and methods for antenna camouflage. The antenna
camouflage changes to flexible forms in different scenarios. The antenna camouflage
aims to hidden it in the environment. You can choose proper beautification modes

according to the environment for actual installation. The following paragraphs focus
on some antenna camouflage schemes.
The antenna camouflage includes the following types:
 Customized camouflage
 Outlook camouflage
 Camouflage in special environment
6.2.1 Customized Camouflage

Some vendors provide special antennas (such as cluster antenna), and these antennas
usually include the three-side electrical tilting directional antenna. The customized
camouflaged antennas are various in shapes. The application of this camouflage is
narrow, because the customized antenna is expensive, as shown in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4 Outlook of customized camouflaged antennas
Figure 1.5 The bottom chart of antenna
6.2.2 Outlook Camouflage

For outlook camouflage, according to the special installation position of antenna, you
need design a scheme that the installed antenna accords with the environment and
residents can seldom identify the antenna. Paint the antenna with an ambient color so
that the residents take it as ornament of environment, as shown in Figure 1.6.

Figure 1.6 Painting camouflage
6.2.3 Antenna Camouflage in Special Environment

Residents are sensitive to antennas in some special scenarios, such as part, community,
and indoor areas. Especially in a community, the residents reject installing antennas on
the roof.
You can camouflage antennas with the previous methods. In addition, you can use the
following methods. In communities or on streets, you can use the flat panel antenna, as
the advertising board and road sign shown in Figure 1.7.
Figure 1.7 Flat panel antennas camouflaged by advertising board and road sign

6.3 RET Antenna
6.3.1 Functions of Common Parts in Electrical Tilting Antennas
RCU
RCU is the driving motor and controlling unit of RET antennas. It receives and carries
out the controlling commands from NodeB. It controls the step motor to adjust the
adjustable phase shifter through driving mechanism. In this way, it changes the down
tilt. The controlling port of RCU is RS485 port. The connection between RCU and
antenna is mechanical not electrical.
SBT
SBT supplies AC power and controlling commands to RCU through feeder. It
translates the controlling commands modulated by OOK (On-Off-Keying) from the
feeder, and then transmits the RS485 signal to RCU. It also translates the RS485 signal
from RCU to OOK signal, and then transmits the OOK signal to the feeder. The AC
current from the feeder are provided to RCU through SBT.
When installing SBT, you can directly connect it to the antenna connector only (DIN
female connect), not the feeder connector. You can connect SBT to the main reception
only, not the diversity reception. For the BTS3812E, SBT connects to the TX/RXA
port on the cabinet top. For RRUs, SBT connects to the TX/RXA port.
BT
BT is passive. It couples AC current or OOK signal to the feeder. It only serves RRUs.
The BTS3812E contains Bias Tee, so it does not need BT. When the RRU uses TMA
or RET, far away from the antennas (more than 20 m), and when 7/8'' or 5/4'' feeder is
necessary, you need BT.
You can directly connect BT to the DIN female connector of feeder, not on the connector of
RRU.
Figure 1.1 shows the structure of a BT.

Figure 1.1 Structure of a BT
6.3.2 Usage of KATHREIN 741 989 RET Antenna
Connector Description
Figure 1.1 Connectors of KATHREIN 741 989 RET antenna

Manual Adjustment
Figure 1.1 Adjusting KATHREIN 741 989 RET antenna manually

Installing RCU
Figure 1.1 Installing RCU of KATHREIN 741 989 RET antenna
6.4 Typical Design of Spliting Cell

The splitting cell referred here is splitting a cell to several sectors for coverage.
When splitting cell only in the WCDMA network, you can split a cell's signal into two
sectors' signal with HC. When the WCDMA network shares antenna and feeder with
the GSM network, you can combine the WCDMA and GSM signals and then split a
cell's signal into two sectors' signal. Whether to split cell depends on the result of site
survey and the operator's requirements.

Figure 1.2 Splitting cell when WCDMA and GSM systems do not share antenna and
feeder
Figure 1.3 Splitting cell when WCDMA and GSM systems share antenna and feeder

Items Type Model No.

CC Cross-band Coupler CD604
TE Termination N-50JR
HC Hybrid Coupler
Reference

[1] WCDMA RNP Antenna Type Selection Guidance-20040716-A-1.0.

W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide: Huawei Technologies Co., LTD

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide: Huawei Technologies Co., LTD

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Product name Confidentiality level

WCDMA RNP For internal use only

W-Antenna-feeder Design Guide

Prepared by Cheng Tangbai and Qiu Date 2006-10-20

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Date Version Description Author

2007-04-04 Huawei Proprietary. No Spreading Without Permission. Page 2 of 57

2 Flow for Antenna-feeder Design 11

3.2 Antenna Selection 15

3.2.1 Antenna Selection in Different Scenarios 15

3.2.2 Principia for Antenna Selection 18

3.4 Principia for Selection of Shared Antenna 27

3.5 Feeder Design 28

3.6 TMA Design 28

3.6.1 Principia for Using TMAs 28

3.6.2 Typical TMA Specifications 29

3.7 Design of Other RF Device 31

3.7.1 Solution to Interference from Shared antenna and feeder 31

3.7.2 Solution to Interference from Four-port-shared Antenna 32

3.7.3 Solution to Interference from Two-port-shared Antenna 33

3.7.4 Specifications of Typical RF Device 33

4 Case of Selection of Dual Band Shared Antenna 36

6.1.1 Work Band 40

6.1.2 Antenna Gain 40

6.1.3 Antenna Pattern 41

6.1.5 Front-to-rear Ratio 42

2007-04-04 Huawei Proprietary. No Spreading Without Permission. Page 3 of 57

6.1.6 Zero Point Filling 43

6.1.7 Upper Side Lobe Suppression 43

6.1.8 Relation Between Beamwidth and Gain 43

6.1.9 Polarization Mode 46

6.1.10 Down Tilt 46

6.1.12 Port Isolation 47

6.1.13 Power Capacity 48

6.1.14 Input Port of Antenna 48

6.1.15 Passive Intermodulation (PIM) 48

6.1.16 Dimensions and Weight of Antenna 48

6.1.17 Wind Load 49

6.1.18 Work Temperature and Humidity 49

6.1.19 Lightning Protection 49

6.1.20 Three-proof Capability 49

6.2 Camouflaged Antenna Scheme for Sites 49

6.2.1 Customized Camouflage 50

6.2.2 Outlook Camouflage 51

6.2.3 Antenna Camouflage in Special Environment 52

6.3 RET Antenna 53

6.3.1 Functions of Common Parts in Electrical Tilting Antennas 53

6.3.2 Usage of KATHREIN 741 989 RET Antenna 55

6.4 Typical Design of Spliting Cell 57

2007-04-04 Huawei Proprietary. No Spreading Without Permission. Page 4 of 57

Table 3-1 Detailed requirements on antenna selection in different scenarios 15

Table 3-2 Typical feeder specifications 28

Table 3-3 Typical specifications of WCDMA TMA 30

2007-04-04 Huawei Proprietary. No Spreading Without Permission. Page 5 of 57

Figure 1-1 The antenna-feeder sub-system 9

Figure 2-1 Flow for antenna-feeder design 11

Figure 3-1 Detailed flow for antenna-feeder design 14

Figure 3-2 Variation of horizontal pattern with different down tilts 20

Figure 3-4 Pattern of 8-shaped omnidirectional antenna 23

Figure 3-5 Pattern of heart-shaped omnidirectional antenna 24

Figure 3-10 Structure of a TMA 30

Figure 3-11 Signal flow of STMA 31