HUAWEI RTN600 XPIC RADIO IMPLEMENTATION

1) INTRODUCTION

In a project in ‘P’ country, Huawei RTN600 XPIC radio is used to serve as an

inter-province backbone for transmission network. None of engineers involved in this project
have experience on this type of radio before and were having hard time in finding source of
reference. Therefore, it is hoped that this article could help by providing reference for other
engineers for implementing Huawei XPIC radio in other projects in future.

2) PREPARATION

First of all, we need to have a good understanding on how XPIC system works. There are
a lot of documents that discuss in theory of how XPIC system works. Therefore, there is no
need to elaborate further on that. Good reference can be easily found in Huawei support
website (http://support.huawei.com).
Secondly, we need to identify the difference in term of hardware of XPIC radio. For start,
XPIC radio does not use IF card. It uses IFX card. Figure below shows an example of IFX
card:

Figure 1: Front Panel of IFX Card

At a glance, it is basically same as IF card except with 2 additional ports (as shown in red
circle) which represent ‘XPIC in’ and ‘XPIC out’. Details of how these ports should be
connected are shown in details in figure below:

Vertical

Horizontal
STANDBY MAIN

STANDBY MAIN

IFX (NCD-01-0004) M V I O IFX (NCD-01-0004) S V I O

IFX (NCD-01-0004) M H I O IFX (NCD-01-0004) S H I O
IDU 1
PXC SD1 1 2
PXC SCC

Figure 2: Four IFX boards being used to create one 1+1 HSB XPIC configuration
 From figure 2 we can see that 4 IFX boards being used to create a 1+1 HSB XPIC links
which provides 2 STM-1 link capacity. IFX board in slot 5 provides the 1st STM-1 while IFX
board in slot 7 provides the 2nd STM-1. These 2 boards go to different polarization at antenna
port. As XPIC system works by cancelling interference produced by opposite polarization, we
need to let these 2 boards communicate. This is where this XPIC port comes into place. As we
can see from Figure 2, ‘XPIC port in’ on IFX in slot 5 is connected to ‘XPIC port out’ on IFX
board in slot 7 and vice versa. This is how to connect the XPIC ports. The connection is made
by using XPIC cable. By standard, 2 pairs of IFX cable should be supplied for each IDU. One is
short cable while the other one is long cable. Short cable is used for XPIC port connection
between slot 5/7 or 6/8 while the longer one can be use for XPIC connection between slot 5/6
or 7/8.
Next are outdoor equipments. For XPIC microwave link, dual polarized antenna is used
instead of single polarized antenna. Dual polarized antenna can be identified from the number
of input port at the back. There will be 2 input ports, one for vertical and one for horizontal.
Arrangement of these ports may be different according to different manufacturer and antenna
specifications. For example, picture 1 and 2 shows the difference in input port arrangement for
Andrew VHLPX series and Andrew HPX series:

Vertical input

Horizontal input

Picture 1: Input Port for Andrew VHLPX series

 Vertical input

Horizontal input

Picture 2: Input Port for Andrew HPX series

As we can see from both pictures above, there are no clear labels to indicate the direction
of polarization for each input port. Therefore, before deploying installation teams, information
on which input port belongs to which polarization should be clearly relayed to team leaders.
Also, since there will be at least 2 ODU attached to each antenna, clearly there is no
space for direct mount configuration. Therefore, ODU adapter and waveguide are required for
ODU-antenna connection. Picture below shows how the ODU-antenna is made for XPIC radio:

Flexi waveguide

ODU adapter

Picture 3: Example on ODU-Antenna Connection for XPIC Radio

3) IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation steps for RTN600 XPIC system are basically the same as for normal
radio except when it comes to alignment and software configuration. Before starting, it is
generally easy for anyone to make mistakes with IF cable-ODU or ODU-Antenna connection
especially if 1+1 configuration are involved. There is no other way to avoid this except proper
labeling and understanding of the system. Therefore, it is important to stress once again, brief
explanation to installation team and proper labeling guide will help a lot in XPIC radio
installation. Proper labeling should clearly mention polarization and main/standby. Labels
should be placed on IFX board, IF cable, ODU and waveguide.
After all connections physically checked and verified, equipment can be power up and
start with initial configuration before proceed with antenna alignment. As this document will
only focus on XPIC related configuration, all other configurations such as NE and service
configurations are going to be omitted. For details of these configurations, please refer to RTN
configuration guide available from Huawei support website (http://support.huawei.com).
We will use link configuration as shown in Figure 3 as an example. IDU A and B refer to
site A and B respectively. To start with, we need to configure IFX board and ODU. In this stage,
just configure the IFX and ODU with all parameters such as IFX working mode, transmit
frequency, transmit power and TR spacing according to link budget. Don’t create IFX group or
protection group yet. We just need to play around with ODU switch or mute function while
doing the alignment.
 Vertical Vertical
MAIN MAIN

Horizontal Horizontal

Vertical Vertical

DIVERSITY DIVERSITY

Horizontal Horizontal

IFX (Standby Vertical) I O IFX (Standby Horizontal) I O IFX (Standby Vertical) I O IFX (Standby Horizontal) I O
IFX (Main Vertical) I O IFX (Main Horizontal) I O IFX (Main Vertical) I O IFX (Main Horizontal) I O
IDU A IDU B
PXC SD1 1 2 PXC SD1 1 2
PXC SCC PXC SCC

Figure 3: Sample of Board Arrangement for 1+1 SD XPIC Link

Figure 4: Vertical and Horizontal Polarization

 For alignment, there are different opinions whether to start with vertical or horizontal.
Practically, it does not matter because the purpose of initial alignment is just to get dishes from
both sites aligned. In this document, we will choose to start with vertical. There is no specific
reason, just author’s preference. So, we shall start aligning main dish of site A to main dish of
site B. To do this, ODU for standby vertical (IDU slot 7), main horizontal (IDU slot 6) and
standby horizontal (IDU slot 8) should be turned off, on both sites. Then proceed with
alignment as usual.
After both main dishes are aligned, next is aligning standby dish of site B to main dish of
site A. Same thing to do. Only turn on vertical ODU. In this case, it would be IFX board on slot
5 in IDU A and IFX board on slot 7 in IDU B. In SD link, main dish is aligned to main dish on
opposite site while standby dish is also aligned main dish on opposite site. Due to this, leave
the main dish on site A ‘untouched’ and only aligned the standby dish on site B. Next, we can
repeat the same thing with standby dish on site A aligned to main dish of site B.
After alignment is done, we will come to a stage where it is only unique for XPIC system. It
is called ‘feed horn tuning’. To further explain about why we need this ‘feed horn tuning’,
please refer to Figure 4. We need to remember that this is how the wave is coming out from
the antenna. Both waves with different polarization are transmitted at the same time. So,
besides aligning the antenna, we need to align these 2 polarizations as well. What it means by
‘aligning the polarization’ is that we need to ensure that horizontal and vertical waves are
separated by 90º. If not, horizontal wave will introduce interference to vertical wave and vice
versa.
The key of successful feed horn tuning is understanding on how XPIC system works and
good communication between team on top of the tower and team below the tower (with the
laptops). Referring back to our example (Figure 3), we should start with feed horn tuning for
main antenna. To perform feed horn tuning, one site need to transmit only on vertical, and the
other site need to transmit on horizontal. In this case, we will transmit vertically on site A and
transmit horizontally on site B. The respective IFX board to use is IFX board on slot 5 in IDU A
and IFX board on slot 6 in IDU B. The receive level should be differ by -30dB from what we
planned RSL in link budget. For example, if planned RSL is -35dB, we should get -65dB RSL
on each antenna. In voltage conversion, if RSSI during vertical to vertical alignment is 3.8V,
we should get half of it which is 1.9V. 30dB difference denotes half of the value in RSSI voltage
reading. If we cant get the required RSL (with 30dB difference), then the feed horn of the
antenna need to be adjusted. It can be adjusted by loosening the screw that holds the
antenna’s feed horn. This will normally allow fine adjustment around +/- 5º. For example,
Picture 4 and 5 will show which parts in Andrew antenna VHLPX series and HPX series that
needs to be loosen up in order to perform the feed horn adjustment.
By loosening up the screws, minor adjustment to feed horn can be done. By this time,
RSSI and RSL value should be closely monitored until required value is obtained.
Theoretically, the difference in RSL between vertical and horizontal polarization is called
‘Cross Polarization Discrimination’ (XPD). XPD value is usually determined by antenna
specification. Some high XPD antenna has the XPD value up to 40dB. If the required XPD
value can’t be achieved, received signal from opposite polarization will cause interference.
Common symptoms are wrong received link ID and generation of MW-LOF alarm. After feed
horn tuning for main dish on both sites are completed, we can proceed with the standby dish.
 Rotate +/- 5º adjustment

Screws that hold feed

horns. Loosen up
these screws to allow
feed horn adjustment

Picture 4: Feed Horn Adjustment for Andrew Antenna VHLPX Series

Screws that hold feed

horns. Loosen up
these screws to allow
feed horn adjustment

Picture 5: Feed Horn Adjustment for Andrew Antenna HPX Series

 Next will be software configuration. The only difference between XPIC radio and normal
radio is that we have to create XPIC workgroup. However, it is advised to configure 1+1
protection group first before configuring XPIC workgroup so that XPIC workgroup only need to
be created for one time. To configure XPIC workgroup, we need to identify which IFX board
belongs to which polarization. By right, this should be determined at the very beginning of the
installation. Nothing complicated with creating XPIC workgroup. It can be found under ‘link
configuration’ menu in Web LCT or T2000. As shown in Figure 5, other information should be
available from link budget. Additional information required is only the corresponding board for
vertical and horizontal polarization. Also note that by default the link ID for vertical is 1 and
horizontal is 2.
After everything are configured, one should go back to ‘link configuration Æ IF/ODU
relation’ and check whether the received link ID matched for every IFX board. Vertical should
receive 1 and horizontal should receive 2. If vertical is receiving 2 or horizontal is receiving 1, it
mostly caused by 2 things. First is low XPD value which requires feed horn to be readjusted.
Most common mistake that usually this is forgetting to tighten up the feed horn screw after feed
horn adjustment. Second is faulty IFX board. However, check and recheck the XPD value
before replacing any IFX board. To check the XPD value, we can play around with
mute/unmute function on ODU or just switch off the ODU of opposite polarization.
Also, we need to monitor the stability of the received link ID for +/- 10 minutes. It should
be stable and not changing from 1 to 2 or otherwise MW-LOF alarm will popped up.

Figure 5: XPIC Software Configuration Example

4) SUMMARY

In summary, all the steps above, to configure link as in Figure 3 for our example, can be
summarized in the table below:

Site A Site B
Check all the cable connection
Configure IF/ODU (without XPIC and 1+1 protection group)
Power on ODU main vertical (IFX slot 5) Power on ODU main vertical (IFX slot 5)
Main to main alignment
Power on ODU main vertical (IFX slot 5) Power on ODU standby vertical (IFX slot 7)
Main to standby alignment (only move standby dish)
Power on ODU standby vertical (IFX slot 7) Power on ODU main vertical (IFX slot 5)
Standby to main alignment (only move standby dish)
Power on ODU main vertical (IFX slot 5) Power on ODU main horizontal (IFX slot 6)
Feed horn tuning for main to main dish
Power on ODU main vertical (IFX slot 5) Power on ODU standby horizontal (IFX slot 8)
Feed horn tuning for main to standby dish (only tune standby dish)
Power on ODU standby vertical (IFX slot 7) Power on ODU main horizontal (IFX slot 6)
Feed horn tuning for standby to main dish (only tune standby dish)
Power on all ODU
Create 1+1 protection group
Create XPIC workgroup
Check all the RSL and received link ID. Also monitor the stability.

Table 1: Summary of Implementation Steps of XPIC Link