Loopback Signal Evaluation for Radio Head Cable Performance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless communication networks face challenges in balancing coverage and capacity, with small cells leading to increased handovers and costly indoor coverage, and there is no known method to detect or mitigate interference in cables between radio base stations and remote radio heads.
Innovation Solution
A method involving sending a loopback signal to remotely located test radio heads to evaluate performance by comparing transmission and received signals, with interference reduction techniques such as temporarily limiting uplink transmissions and using mute signals to isolate interference sources, allowing for identification of issues like cable breaks or cross-talk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a loopback signal is sent to remotely located radio heads to evaluate cable performance, then measurement precision is improved, but interference from uplink transmissions degrades the measurement accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by sending a mute signal to radio heads before evaluating them, which prevents uplink transmissions from occurring during the evaluation period. This proactive suppression of interference sources ensures that the loopback signal measurement is not contaminated by simultaneous uplink transmissions, thereby maintaining high measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts and isolates the evaluation process by using loopback signals that circulate only within the cable under test. By routing the test signal through the cable and back without involving other radio heads' transmission paths, the system separates the measurement from potential interference sources, enabling precise cable performance evaluation.
2Device complexity
If multiple radio heads share the same cell to improve coverage, then device complexity is reduced, but interference detection capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary evaluation mechanism using loopback signals to detect cable interference. By inserting a test signal that travels through the cable and returns to the same radio head, the system creates a dedicated measurement path that can detect interference without requiring separate physical test equipment or increasing the number of radio base stations.
Solution Approach 2:
Each radio head performs self-diagnosis by sending loopback signals through its own cable connection and evaluating the returned signal. This self-service approach allows individual radio heads to detect cable interference independently, maintaining system simplicity while enabling interference detection capability across multiple shared radio heads.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for evaluating performance between a network node and at least one test radio head, each one of the at least one test radio heads being located remotely from the network node. The method is performed in the network node, and comprises sending a loopback signal to at least one test radio head to add a loopback of its transmission signal on its receiving signal; sending a transmission signal to the at least one test radio head; receiving a received signal from the at least one test radio head; and determining a performance by comparing the received signal with the transmission signal.