Helios® Multi Bands Digital Repeater

GSM900/WCDMA900/DCS1800/LTE1800/WCDMA2100

User Manual

Fujian Helios Technologies Co., Ltd.

www.heliostelecom.com

Copyright

© Copyright Helios Telecom. All rights reserved.

The copyright of this document is owned by Fujian Helios Technologies Co., Ltd. without the prior
written permission obtained from Fujian Helios Technologies Co., Ltd., this document shall not be
reproduced and excerpted in any form or by any means, stored in a retrieval system, modified,
distributed and translated into other languages, applied for a commercial purpose in whole or in
part.

Disclaimer
This document and the information contained herein is provided on an “AS IS” basis. Helios® may
make improvement or changes in this document, at any time and without notice and as it sees fit.

Fujian Helios Technologies Co., Ltd.

4/F, Helios Building, No. 12 Xiangyue Road,
Torch Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, Xiangan District,
Xiamen P.R.China 361100
Phone: +86-592-5785219, 5785229
Fax: +86-592-5785239
E-mail: info@heliostelecom.com
Website: http://www.heliostelecom.com

Local Representative:
Thanks for choosing Helios Multi Bands Digital Repeaters, please read the User
Manual carefully before using the device.
1 Overview

With the development of mobile communication technology,

more and more new communication technologies (like 3G &
4G) will be adopted nowadays. Hence, telecom operators
have to optimize their network and offer best service to
users to improve their competitive ability. However,3G or
4G signals attenuate severely when traveling through walls,
floors, and windows, leaving more than 40% of all indoor
spaces with inadequate coverage and poor data throughput.
Then the operators need a cost-effective solution to resolve
such coverage problems easily and rapidly.

Helios® Multi Bands Digital Repeater is a carrier-grade,

consumer-friendly digital smart signal booster that maximizes a subscriber’s indoor wireless
experience by eliminating in-building dead zones. It is real cost-effective and intelligent solution
to solve the last mile coverage problem, which is adopting SDR (Software Define Radio)
technology basis on FPGA& DSP (Digital Signal Processing) platform. It enables on-the-fly filter
be changed/upgraded by software without expensive hardware upgrading. It can support multi
sub-band selective (bandwidth tunable).
In fact, Helios® Multi Bands Digital Repeater is able to intelligently and automatically sense and
adapt to its dynamic RF environment. By continuously monitoring the gain and making real-time
adjustments, the system will never overdrive the base station or raise the noise floor.SOC&
Embedded architecture enables to delivery significantly improving network coverage with very
low power consumption.
It is connected via coaxial cable to Donor Antenna and Service Antenna, Donor Antenna is
placed outside the building where it has easy access to a BTS signal, and the Service Antenna is
placed in the building where it can extend radio coverage to the blind area.

2 Illuminating

Uplink: Communication link from handset to BTS.

Downlink: Communication link from BTS to handset.
Self-oscillation: An amplified signal being received & amplified again by repeater is called
self-oscillation that will cause components fault.
ICS: The Interference Cancellation System, which can automatically detect and eliminate all
multi-path feedback signals. It can moderate the requirements of isolation between donor
antenna and service antenna.
AGC: Automatic Gain Control.
DFS: Dynamic Frequency Selection.
OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
DSP: Digital Signal Processing.
SOC: A system on a chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) is an integrated circuit (IC) that
integrates all components of a computer or other electronicsystem into a single chip. It may
contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single chip
substrate. SoCs are very common in the mobile electronics market because of their low power
consumption. A typical application is in the area of embedded systems.
3 Product Overview A

B C D E

F G H

I J

A. LOGO
B. 12V: Connect to AC/DC power adapter, input voltage is +12VDC
C. SIM port: SIM card socket for mobile modem
D. Status LED: Shows the working status of the Pico Repeater
PWR: Green Lighting during internal power supply is normal after self-checking
(including +12V, +5V and +3.3V etc.)
WRK: It blinks every 4 seconds(2 seconds active and 2 seconds inactive) after 1 and
half minutes in case of power on.
ALM: Red Lighting on any Alarm when the corresponding alarm is enabled.
E. MODEM LED: Shows the working status of mobile modem. It’s active after 1 minute in
case of power on. It blinks every 1 second during modem initializing; SMS mode: It
blinks every 3 seconds; GPRS mode: It flashes fast.
F. MODEM Switch: Turn on/off Modem Antenna
G. USB port: Connect to laptop via USB cable for local control
H. Restart Button: Click this button to restart NMS board
 I. MS port: Connect to External Service Antenna or DAS
J. BTS port: Connect to External Donor Antenna

4 Main Features
 Support Tri-band systems .
 Support upgrading in case of frequency re-farming by software.
 Flexible Bandwidth Adjustable/Upgrade by Software.
 Better out of band rejection than analog SAW IF filter.
 Built-in USB interface for local control.
 Support isolation testing between donor antenna and service antenna
 Built-in GPRS modem for remote control.
 Compatible with baseband hoping and synthesized hopping.
 Built-in AGC & ALC function, “Plug & Play”
 High working gain as min. 70dB.

5 Application Diagram
6 Technical Specification
Items Helios® Tri-Band Digital Pico Repeater
900MHz 1800MHz 2100MHz
uplink 906.7~915MHz 1730~1750MHz 1920~1935MHz
Frequency Range
downlink 951.7~960MHz 1825~1845MHz 2110~2125MHz
Max Output Power 845 ≥20dBm 21
125MHz
8sub-bands,
4:sub-bands:
2 sub-bands:
Working Bandwidth 0.6-10MHz 3carriers
0.6-10MHz
4:sub-bands:
0.6-5MHz
Max Gain ≥70dB
AGC Control Range ≥51dB
Gain Control Range ≥ 31dB
VSWR < 2.0
Ripple in Band Max +/-
±400kHz Offset 2dB
≦55dB
Out of Band ±600kHz Offset ≦40dB
Gain(GSM/DCS) ±1MHz Offset ≦35dB
±5MHz Offset ≦25dB
2.7-3.5MHz
≦60dB
Offset
3.5-7.5MHz
≦45dB
Out of Band Offset
Gain(WCDMA) 7.5-12.5MHz
≦45dB
Offset
>12.5MHz
≦35dB
Offset
≧200KHz
≦60dB
Offset
Out of Band
≧1MHz Offset ≦45dB
Gain(LTE)
≧5MHz Offset ≦45dB
≧10MHz Offset ≦35dB
GSM/DCS Typical≦3~6dB(p-p)according to the bandwidth
Gain Flatness
WCDMA ≦2 dB /3.84MHz
RF Connector N-type Female
I/O Impedance 50 ohm
Noise Figure ≤8dB
Group Time Delay ≤ µS
Frequency stability ≤0.01ppm
Relative Humidity Max 95%
MTBF Min. 50000 hrs
Power Supply 200-220VAC; 50-60Hz
Backup Battery Chargeable battery with minimum 60 minutes backup
Power Consumption ≤55W
Dimension 368mm x 226mm x 80mm
Weight ≦10Kgs
Operating Temperature -25℃~+55℃
Relative humidity 5%-95%
Level of Protection IP40

Local Control PC via USB port

Remote Control Via SMS or GPRS

Controlled Parameters Gain, Frequency, Repeater ON/OFF, Alarm Enable, etc.

* Technical Specification subject to change without notice

7 Typical Applications
 Office, mini basement and so on.
 Meeting room, supermarket, marketplace and so on.
 Pub, net bar, dance hall, coffee hall, health club, entertainment place, house, office plant,
yacht, public security system and so on.

8 Installation
Donor Antenna Installation:
A. Recommended Donor Antenna is Yagi antenna or Log antenna (gain is higher than 10dBi).

B. Donor Antenna Location: Find the place (building exterior wall or roof parapet) where target
BTS’ RSCP (for WCDMA system) is higher than -80dBm (optimum RSCP is from -80dBm to
-50dBm) and Ec/No is higher than -9dB (cannot be less than -13dB) on the top or around the
building by using Drive Test Tools. Sometimes the location can be podium on the lower floors,
or stairwell with glass window.For GSM system, the Rx Level shall be higher than -70dBm
(optimum Rx Level is from -70dBm to -40dBm) and Rx Quality is less than 2 (cannot be
higher than 5). Below instructions are based on WCDMA system.

C. Install Donor Antenna with bracket on the selected location. Please note that users shall try
to lower the height of Donor Antenna as low as possible (RSCP>-80dBm) to get better Ec/No.
It’s better that the height of Donor Antenna is not higher than 20meters (7 floors).
D. Connect Donor Antenna to a Spectrum Analyzer or SiteMaster. Observe RSSI of target BTS.
Adjust Donor Antenna direction and lock the direction which gets the maximum RSSI. If
there’s stronger competitors’ BTS nearby, then the Donor Antenna cannot face to the
competitors’ BTS directly. Users shall change the antenna to the opposite direction
and find new target BTS. Target BTS’ RSSI shall be higher than the competitors’.
E. Fix and fasten the Donor Antenna on the bracket when antenna direction is locked.

Repeater Installation:
F. Find a suitable place where is near the power supply with weatherproof condition and good
airiness.
G. Fasten the brackets for installation onto the back side of the Pico Repeater as below:
H. Connect green-yellow wire to GND of the Pico Repeater.
I. Put the Pico Repeater on the wall and mark the points for screw plug.
J. Drill 4 holes on the marked points with M6 bit.
K. Pound the screw plugs into the drilled holes with hammer.
L. Drive tapping screws into the screw plugs and remain 5mm length of the screws outside of
the wall.
M. Carry and hang the repeater onto the screws, fix and fasten it.

Service Antenna (or DAS) Installation:

N. In order to ensure higher work gain and stable operation, users should improve isolation
between donor antenna and service antenna, such as increasing distance in vertical or in
horizontal and making full use of obstacles (such as buildings etc.)
O. Indoor DAS (Distributed Antenna System) includes omni-directional ceiling mount antennas
(3dBi), directional wall mount antennas (8dBi), splitters (2-way, 3-way and 4-way), directional
couplers (5-30dB) and feeder cable etc. Users shall survey and design the system as
uniform distribution to cover the whole building.

P. Confirm and fasten the indoor service antenna at suitable place (It is better to install the
omni-directional ceiling antennas at the center of coverage area and directional wall mount
antennas towards the aimed coverage area.
Q. Connect all passive devices with 1/2” feeder cable and fix the feeder cable on the wall or on
the ceiling. Ensure all connections are correct and lock them.

Cabling and Waterproofing:

R. Lay and fix 1/2” feeder cable (if the length is over 30meters, then 7/8” feeder cable is
suggested) from Donor Antenna to BTS port of the Pico Repeater.
S. Lay and fix 1/2” feeder cable (if the length is over 30meters, then 7/8” feeder cable is
suggested) from Service Antenna (or DAS) to MS port of the Pico Repeater.
T. In-building part of feeder cable is recommended to be sheathed in white PVC pipe and white
corrugated sleeve pipe.

PVC pipe Corrugated sleeve

pipe

U. All of the joints of the outside part in feeder antenna system shall have waterproofing
 process with PVC tape and Butyl rubber tape.

V. All of the joints of the inside part in feeder antenna system or DAS shall have dust-proofing
process with PVC tape.
W. Connect power supply cable to mains socket.

Grounding and Lightning Protection:

X. If Donor Antenna and/or Service Antenna is outside, then the corresponding input port of the
repeater is recommended to be inserted Surge Arresters.

Y. Connect GND of both Repeater and Surge Arrester to the nearest grounding bar with
green-yellow wire. Now, the primary installation is finished.

8.Commissioning

1) Antenna isolation testing:

Isolation is the path loss between the BTS port and the MS port of the Repeater which will
influences Repeater system gain. If the isolation is not enough, it will be in self-oscillation
and cannot work normally.
According to practical engineering experience, the isolation must be 15dB greater than
system gain to prevent self-oscillation.
As below diagram, connect SG (Signal Generator) to the Donor Antenna, set Amplitude as
10dBm and Frequency as working frequency. Connect SA (Spectrum Analyzer) to the
Service Antenna and test the output power Po, then Isolation will be:
Iso = 10 - Po
In order to prevent self-oscillation, Isolation should be 15dB greater than corresponding
Repeater’s UL or DL gain at least.
 For example, if the repeater working gain is 65dB, then requested Isolation is at least 80dB.

Donor Antenna

Service Antenna

Signal Generator
Spectrum Analyzer

2) Test VSWR both Donor Antenna and Service Antenna with feeder cable via SiteMaster,
VSWR shall less than 1.5. Otherwise, users shall check the connection between antennas
and feeder cable.

3) Insert SIM card into the socket (chip side down).

4) Plug in the power supply cable to the nearest 220VAC mains socket.
5) Power On.
6) Check the green PWR LED indicator of the Repeater should be light on.
7) According to the tested Isolation between Donor Antenna and Service Antenna, users shall
log into LCT software and configure suitable work gain in Advance page. Work gain of each
band shall be less than (Isolation - 15dB).
8) Configure working frequency band in Channel page for each band. The unused sub-bands
shall be switched off.
9) Downlink output power: The rated downlink output power of SBFG09G18U21P20G70 is
20dBm (total power). In normal circumstances, the downlink output power of the UMTS
repeater is for pilot power. In order to ensure stable audio or video call, users shall
remain 3~6dB space for traffic. That is to say, users shall modify Downlink ATT so that
Downlink output power showed in NMS is less than 16dBm. At the same time, users
shall modify Uplink ATT the same value as Downlink to balance the uplink and
downlink. Otherwise, sometimes it’s difficult to establish video call or other data
service within repeater coverage range.
10) The Digital RF Repeater can run normally after above process. Users can have a Walk Test
or CQT Test to check the working status and compare the coverage performance between
before and after.
11) Check remote control via Netview (Helios NMS based on Browser/Server configuration).
12) More details, please refer to below chapters about Local Control and Remote Control.

8 Local Control& Maintenance by Software

8.1 Hardware Connection

Connect USB Port of Multi Bands Digital Repeater with laptop via USB cable (USB A type
Male to USB B miniMale 5 pins).

8.2 System Requirements

It needs to install client software for local control based on USB interface. The minimum
system requirements as below:
Hardware:
 Processor Speed: Minimum 2.0GHZ; Recommended: 2.5GHZ or faster
 Processor Type: Pentium III-compatible processor or faster
 Memory: Minimum 2.0GB; Recommended: 4GB or more
 Hard Disk: Minimum 50GB
 Monitor: Super-VGA (1280x800) or higher resolution monitor

Software
 Operation System: Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 2007 or above
 Framework: .NET Framework 4.0
  Visual C++: Microsoft Visual C++ 2010x86 Redistributable

8.3 Software Installation

If .NET Framework 4.0 is not installed in the computer, users shall download the setup files
from Microsoft official website and install them firstly.

Click Setup.exe to install the LCT software for local control.

 Click Close to finish the installation of LCT software for local control.
8.4 Log on
Double click SignalTouch shortcut on the desktop to open the LCT software.

Figure 1Logon Window

Access Level User ID Password

Administrator admin 123456

 Administrator: has the right to set and query all information& parameters.
After successful logon, it will enter into the main windows of SignalTouch, and shows the
default page of “Basic Information”. If login by Administrator, The main window includes five
pages, such as “Basic Information”, “Channel”, “Advance”, “Hardware” and “OMC”. Please
refer to “Figure 2”. Click close button on the top right corner of the main window to log out.

Figure 2 Main Window of Pico Repeater by Administrator Log on

12.4 Basic Information

This page shows the basic information about working status such as input power, output
power, isolation, temperature, Donor antenna status, alarm status and USB communication
status etc. as Figure 2.
 Device Status: Working status of the Pico repeater, normal or alarm.
 UL Input Power: Uplink input power in dBm.
 UL Output Power: Uplink output power in dBm.
 DL Input Power: Downlink input power in dBm.
 DL Output Power: Downlink output power in dBm.
 Isolation: Isolation between Donor Antenna and Service Antenna, for ICS repeater only,
not applicable for this type repeater.
 Temperature: Working temperature of Pico Repeater.In case the temperature is over
80 degrees Celcius, it will shut down Pico Repeater and it will return to normal working
when the temperature is lower than 60 degrees Celcius. In case the temperature is
lower than -20 degrees Celcius, PA won’t work until the temperature is over -15
degrees Celcius.
 BTS Antenna: Shows External Donor ANT (ExDA) or Embedded Donor ANT (EmDA).
In case power on or reset, it will judge it’s connected to ExDA or EmDA, even this type
repeater is ExDA type only.
 If input power is less than -90dBm, then it will be in EmDA mode. It shows
“Embedded Donor ANT”. Users shall connect an ExDA to Pico Repeater and power
off on it again.
 If input power is more than -90dBm, it will be in ExDA mode. It shows “External
Donor ANT”.
 PA On/Off: PA Working status of Pico Repeater.
 Alarm: Shows alarm information.
 System Standard: shows current technology(GSM or DCS or WCDMA or LTE)
 Communication: Shows communication status via USB cable.In case it shows “USB
Communication Failure”, users shall check the connection with the computer.

12.5 Hardware

This Page shows hardware information of Pico Repeater. Most of the information is
reserved for the manufacturer. Users don’t need to concern. But before monitor and control,
users need to select which technology to be checked by 485 address configuration.
 Figure 3Hardware

For example: if you want to check GSM system, you should select GSM 0 in the module 485
address .

Note: DCS system have two 485 address, DCS 0 and DCS 1.

12.6 Channel

This Page shows all detailed parameters for each channel/sub-band.

This repeater adopts sub-bands design: In Channel page, CH1 is start frequency and
CH2 is stop frequency of Sub-band I…CH7 is start frequency and CH8 is stop frequency of
Sub-band IV…
Please make sure correct frequency settings for both uplink and downlink. All of the channels/
sub-bands shall be configured as frequencies with 0.1MHz recommended resolution but not
ARFCN or UARFCN.

Figure 4Channel

Channel / Sub-bands Configuration

 CH#: Channel or Sub-band Number.Odd channel is for start frequency, and even
channel is for stop frequency
 UL Freq. MHz: The center frequency point of each channel or start/stop frequency
point of sub-band (uplink) which can be revised by users. Minimum resolution:
0.01MHz, recommended resolution: 0.1MHz (Note: it will be valid only within the
device’s preset working frequency range).
 DL Freq. MHz: The center frequency point of each channel or start/stop frequencypoint
of sub-band (downlink) which can be revised by users. Minimum resolution: 0.01MHz,
recommended resolution: 0.1MHz (Note: it will be valid only within the device’s preset
working frequency range).
 Channel SW: Switch On/Off CH# or Sub-band (both uplink and downlink).
 UL I/P PWR dBm: Uplink input power of CH# or Sub-band in dBm.
 UL O/P PWR dBm: Uplink output power of CH# or Sub-band in dBm.
 DL I/P PWR dBm: Downlink input power of CH# or Sub-band in dBm.
 DL O/P PWR dBm: Downlink output power of CH# or Sub-band in dBm.
 UL Freq. Read: Read Uplink frequency of all of CHs or Sub-bands in MHz.
 DL Freq. Read: Read Downlink frequency of all of CHs or Sub-bands in MHz.
 Channel SW Read: Read Channel Switch Status of all of CHs or Sub-bands (both
uplink and downlink).
 UL I/P PWR Read: Read Uplink input power of all of CHs or Sub-bands in dBm.
 DL I/P PWR Read: Read Downlink input power of all of CHs or Sub-bands in dBm.
 UL Freq. Set: Set Uplink frequency of all of CHs or Sub-bands in MHz.
 DL Freq. Set: Set Downlink frequency of all of CHs or Sub-bands in MHz.
 Channel SW Set: Set Channel Switch of all of CHs or Sub-bands (both uplink and
 downlink).It’s recommended to switch off all of the unused channels/sub-bands to
ensure the output power for each channel/sub-band as maximum as possible.
 UL O/P PWR Read: Read Uplink output power of all of CHs or Sub-bands in dBm.
 DL O/P PWR Read: Read Downlink output power of all of CHs or Sub-bands in dBm.
 Center Freq. F1: Center Frequency of Uplink. It’s for advanced users only. It’s
recommended to keep the default settings.
 Center Freq. F2: Center Frequency of Downlink. It’s for advanced users only. It’s
recommended to keep the default settings.

12.7 Advance

This Page shows advanced parameters of Pico Repeater.

Figure 5 Advance
 UL AGC Threshold: Uplink AGC Threshold in dBm. It will control uplink output power
not to exceed the threshold automatically.
 UL Input Overpower Threshold: Uplink Input Overpower Threshold in dBm. In case
uplink input power exceeds the threshold, PA will be off and LED shows alarm with
error number “2”.
 UL ATT: Uplink Attenuation in dB..
 UL Squelch On/Off: It’s reserved for ICS Pico only
 UL Squelch Threshold-High: It’s reserved for ICS only.
 UL Squelch Threshold-Low: It’s reserved for ICS only.
 DL AGC Threshold: Uplink AGC Threshold in dBm. It will control uplink output power
not to exceed the threshold automatically.
 DL Input Overpower Threshold: Downlink Input Overpower Threshold in dBm. In
case downlink input power exceeds the threshold, PA will be off and report “LNA Fault
Alarm” to OMC.
 DL ATT: Downlink Attenuation in dB. 1dB step. It’s recommended to configure the
same ATT for both uplink and downlink.
 ICS On/Off: ICS function On/Off.(only suitable for ICS Pico Repeater)
12.8 OMC

This Page shows configuration of remote control. it supports built-in GPRS modem. After
right configuration, it will contact with OMC (Helios Netview) and create a new site in
Netview automatically.

Figure 6 OMC

 Site Name:Repeater Site Name.

 Site Add.:Repeater Site Address.
 Site Number:Repeater Site Number.
 APN:Access Point Name of UMTS network.
 OMC Server IP:OMC (Netview) Server IP Address.
 OMC Server Port:OMC (Netview) Server Listen Port.
 UL Max Gain:Uplink Maximum Gain. Please keep the default settings. Users don’t
need to concern.
 DL Max Gain:Downlink Maximum Gain. Please keep the default settings. Users don’t
need to concern.
 Longitude:Longitude of repeater site (format: xxx.xxxxx degrees).
 Latitude:Latitude of repeater site (format: xxx.xxxxx degrees).
 Altitude:Altitude of repeater site (unit: meters)
Note: users shall input right values for all of above 3 items, otherwise the repeater site
cannot be visible in the Google map.
 OMC SIM Card:SIM card number of the backup modem for Netview. It’s for sending
command in SMS mode.
 Alarm SIM Card:SIM card number of the backup modem for Netview. It’s for receiving
alarms in SMS mode, and it can be the same number with OMC SIM Card.
 GPRS/SMS: Set modem as GPRS mode or SMS mode.
 Try Connection:In case GPRS is offline, if the option is “Yes”, then it will restart modem
and try GPRS connection (Cycle) times continuously. If GPRS still not available, it will
change to SMS mode. After (Time Span) hours, it will try GPRS connection again as
above procedure. If the option is “No”, it will always try GPRS connection and never
change to SMS mode.
 Cycle:Try GPRS connection times in case GPRS is offline.
 Time Span:Time span for Try GPRS connection if GPRS still not available.
Helios® Sub-Bands Digital Tri Band
Pico Repeater
User Manual
Edition 1.0 (OCT 2015)

© 2015 Fujian Helios Technologies Co., Ltd.

All rights reserved.
Information in this guide is subject to change without notice.