Viavi Solutions Inc.

Scott Roy Pettygrove

Raleigh Benton Stelle, Iv

Hans Joerg Wolf

Karthik Subramanian

Eduardo Aries

Jim Neuens

Matthew Lamb

In addition to GNSS antennas, other azimuth measurement components such as magnetometers may be provided on antenna alignment devices. The GNSS based azimuth may then be compared against the azimuth measured by the other components and the difference (i.e., the delta) may be calculated. Using the calculated delta and or observing the delta over time, a quality metric is calculated. For example, a lower delta may correspond to a higher quality metric and the higher delta may correspond to a lower quality metric. The quality metric may then be displayed alongside the GNSS based azimuth. The quality metric may then be used by a technician to determine the level of trust (or confidence level) of the GNSS based azimuth.

Quality metric for GNSS based azimuth measurement in an antenna alignment device

An antenna alignment device includes an embedded (or is connected to) direct current (DC) voltmeter. In addition to using different sensors for azimuth and tilt alignment of an antenna, the DC voltmeter may be used to measure the DC voltage indicative of received signal strength at the antenna. The received signal may have a transmission pattern generated by a far side antenna. Particularly, the DC voltmeter may be used to detect peaks in the DC voltage and count the number of detected peaks as the antenna is moved changing its azimuth and the tilt. An odd number of peaks indicates the boresight of the antenna is in the main lobe of the transmission pattern, and an even number of peaks indicates otherwise. The highest peak in the odd number of peaks corresponds to the main lobe and the boresight of the antenna is aligned/tuned toward the highest peak.

Antenna fine tuning with a voltmeter associated with an antenna alignment device

An antenna alignment apparatus may include magnetic field sensors as an alternative to or in addition to GNSS sensors. The magnetic field sensors may measure the earth's magnetic fields at corresponding locations, and a processor may use the measurements to calculate at least one of a roll, tilt, or azimuth of an antenna. A declination based on GNSS based alignment and magnetic field sensor alignment may be stored for an adjustment of magnetic field sensor based azimuth calculations. For an optical alignment, the antenna alignment apparatus may, additionally or alternately, include a reference object (e.g., a printed mark or a physical stud) located within a field of view of a camera. A location of the reference object may indicate the alignment of the antenna vis-à-vis the structures within the field of view.

Antenna alignment apparatus

An antenna alignment device may have a camera that takes a line-of-sight image. For an antenna alignment device directed to a boresight of an antenna, the line-of-sight image is the 'view' from the antenna to the surrounding environment. An antenna radiation pattern, based on the antenna type, may be overlaid on the line-of-sight image. A technician and or other user can therefore observe the radiation pattern vis-à-vis the surrounding environment. Therefore, it can be determined during the initial alignment stage, whether the antenna alignment may have to be changed to account for structures and or other blockages in the surrounding environment rather than just relying antenna alignment based on an ideal model site. The overlaying also speeds up troubleshooting as it can be used to provide clear and specific alignment instructions prior to deploying crew to the antenna site.

Antenna pattern overlays on antenna line-of-sight images from an antenna alignment device

Disclosed are a test instrument and testing methods for audibly providing signal metrics (such as signal strength and/or signal quality) of fifth-generation network (5G) beams to assist installation of 5G Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) antenna at a premises. A test instrument may obtain signal metrics and provide audio output based on the signal metrics at various locations of the premises. The audio output may be transmitted to a headphone device worn by a user or a speaker. In this manner, the user may select an appropriate location on the premises at which to install the 5G CPE antenna via audible queues that are based on the measured signal metric at a given location. The test instrument may provide fine-tuning capabilities by also audibly providing directional information that indicates where the 5G CPE antenna should be pointed or moved to align the 5G CPE antenna to a 5G beam.

Test instrument for 5G CPE antenna installation

Disclosed are a test instrument and testing methods for audibly providing signal metrics (such as signal strength and/or signal quality) of fifth-generation network (5G) beams to assist installation of 5G Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) antenna at a premises. A test instrument may obtain signal metrics and provide audio output based on the signal metrics at various locations of the premises. The audio output may be transmitted to a headphone device worn by a user. In this manner, the user may select an appropriate location on the premises at which to install the 5G CPE antenna via audible queues that are based on the measured signal metric at a given location. The test instrument may provide fine-tuning capabilities by also audibly providing directional information that indicates where the 5G CPE antenna should be pointed or moved to align the 5G CPE antenna to a 5G beam.

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Leesburg, VA, United States of America

Scott Roy Pettygrove