Rohde & Schwarz USA, Inc.

Columbia, MD, November 30, 2011 — Rohde & Schwarz, a leading manufacturer of test & measurement, communications and broadcasting equipment, has developed an advanced portable receiver and directional antenna for interference detection and spectrum clearing of LTE and cable systems. The deployment of LTE networks in the 700 MHz band represents a new challenge for engineers in both the cable and cellular industries.  Unlike earlier cellular technologies, 700MHz LTE deployments overlap with the frequencies used in most cable systems..  The R&S®PR100 Series portable receiver operates in a wide frequency range from 9kHz to 7.5GHz, and when combined with the R&S®HE300 Series GPS enabled directional antenna, is ideal for quickly detecting and locating sources of interference disrupting LTE and cable systems.

 

“LTE differs from previous cellular technologies primarily in terms of frequency allocations, bandwidths and modulation types. This has important ramifications for operators of cable systems with regard to the possibility of both ingress and egress interference,” said Greg Kregoski, business development manager at Rohde & Schwarz.  “Reports of both types of interference have already been received from both cellular carriers as well as MSOs. The number and severity of these incidents are expected to increase as LTE becomes more widely deployed.  An understanding of LTE technology and the means by which LTE-related interference can be identified, localized and resolved is critical for the efficient operation of both cellular and cable networks.”

 

Featuring a compact and lightweight design, the reliable R&S®PR100 features state-of-the-art digital signal processing that delivers high receiver sensitivity to enable detection of extremely weak signals without loss in processing speed. The R&S®HE300 Series directional antenna features an integrated electronic compass, in addition to GPS, to quickly detect and assist in eliminating the source of interference.

 

Unwanted interference can affect signals in several ways.  Ingress interference can be most effectively mitigated by better equipment design (STB/modem) and improvement of outdoor and indoor cable plant. Egress interference can have a substantial impact on the operation of LTE services in licensed 700MHz spectrum and has both technical as well as regulatory consequences. Previous techniques and tools used to measure egress at a single frequency in the VHF aeronautical band have shown themselves to be insufficient for diagnosing or locating issues in the 700MHz band, although the mitigation methods for resolving egress remain the same for both frequency ranges. 

 

The R&S®PR100 portable receiver’s advanced functions and control concept have been optimized for RFI, electrical interference and intermodulation interference monitoring tasks. The receiver combines portability, ease of operation and direction finding capabilities to provide an ideal solution for tracking down unwanted interference.  Despite its compact design, the R&S®PR100 offers a wide range of functions otherwise available only in larger equipment with higher price points. Its favorable price/performance ratio makes it an indispensable instrument for all radio monitoring tasks where high mobility and cost efficiency are crucial.

 

The R&S®PR100 portable receiver features a built-in SD card for storage of measurements and provides LAN interface for remote control and data output.  A 6.5" color screen clearly displays spectrums and spectrograms (waterfalls).