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Tony Holmes

Technical Training Seminar on “Egress & Ingress Testing and Troubleshooting” for CCTA Member Companies August 25, 26 and 27, 2009 San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mario Sebastiani. Tony Holmes. Seminar Summary. How the Egress and Ingress of unwanted signals in the forward and reverse plant behave

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Tony Holmes

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  1. Technical Training Seminar on “Egress & Ingress Testing and Troubleshooting” for CCTA Member CompaniesAugust 25, 26 and 27, 2009 San Juan, Puerto Rico Mario Sebastiani Tony Holmes

  2. Seminar Summary • How the Egress and Ingress of unwanted signals in the forward and reverse plant behave • How they effect picture, data and voice quality • What to look for and how to fix it

  3. Technical Training Outline • Egress terminology • What is egress • Why do we test for egress • What causes egress • Egress characteristics • Locating source of egress • Signal Egress/Leakage Automation

  4. Egress Terminology • Leakage • Radiation (Never Say!!!) • µV/M • Squelch • Calibration • Tagging (CT-2 or CT-3)

  5. What is Egress/Leakage? • Definition: • Undesired emission of signals out of HFC networks • Egress is generally referred to as signal leakage

  6. Egress & Ingress • Ingress • RF or electrical energy that enters the coaxial environment • Egress • RF signal leaking out of the coaxial environment

  7. Why do we test for leakage?

  8. Reason #1 to Test for Leakage • Meet FCC Compliance

  9. Aircraft Radio & Navigation CH 98 CH 99 CH 14 CH 15 CH 16 Spectrum Chart • 108MHz 137MHz Off-air Cable

  10. Cumulative Leakage Index (CLI) • CLI is the net effect of the combination of all the leaks in the system added together • These cumulative leaks form an invisible cloud of unwanted RF energy over the cable system

  11. CLI Quarterly Rules • Ride out 100% of system and log all leaks • Log should include Date found and Date fixed • Documenting leakage levels isn’t required for this drive out • Actual practice for your system may vary!

  12. CLI Annual Rules • Ride out 75% of the oldest part of the system and log all leaks location and measured level • Must be performed within a reasonable period of time • Usually within 2 wks of due date

  13. Required Actions • All leaks 20µV/m must be logged and fixed • Only leaks above 50 μV/m are used in CLI calculation • All measurements taken outside 108-137 MHz must be converted as if they were taken within the band

  14. μV/M • Standard unit of measure for CLI • 50 Ohm off air measurement • Voltage developed in 1 meter of infinitely thin section of wire submerged in a leakage field produces 1µV of energy

  15. Acceptable Procedures for Leakage Measurement • Use a calibrated halfwave dipole antenna • Antenna must be elevated 3 meters off the ground and positioned 3 meters from the leakage source • Antenna must be rotated 360º in the horizontal plane for maximum reading • CLI Fly-over

  16. Reason #2 to Test for Leakage • Prevent Off-Air Interference

  17. Off-Air Interference • Aeronautical & Aircraft Communications • Amateur Communications • Broadcast TV signals (Analog & Digital) • Public and Emergency Communications • Radio Mobile Communications

  18. 400 300 500 700 900 800 Off-Air Spectrum (forward path) Frequency in MHz Source: NTIA

  19. Reason #3 to Test for Leakage • Improves System Performance • Reduces Repeat Service Calls • Locate Physical problems

  20. Common Causes • 70% of all leakage is caused by problems between the tap and entry to the house • Aging and environmental stress • Physical trauma to cables or connectors • Loose drop connectors • Inferior quality coaxial cable, passives, or connectors • Loose hard line connectors

  21. Other Causes of Leakage • Improperly installed connectors • Cracks in the trunk and feeder cables • Animal chews • Poorly-shielded drop cables • Bad connectors at the taps • Bad/loose port terminators • Corroded connectors

  22. Other Causes Continued • Customer installed equipment • Damaged amplifier housings • Loose amplifier housing lids • Broken tap ports • Poor installation of splices and connectors • Poorly-shielded customer premise equipment

  23. Polarization Angle Monopole Dipole

  24. Leakage Antennas-Whip

  25. Leakage Antennas-Dipole

  26. Signal phasing

  27. Standing Waves

  28. Electrical Noise

  29. Leakage Field Strength Amp Lowest Potential Highest Potential

  30. Distance Correction Reading x Distance (meters) ----------------------- = Corrected Reading 3

  31. Patrolling for Leakage 3 meters 20µVm 30 meters 2 μVm

  32. 5 – 10 meters Walking Out a Leakage Area

  33. Leakage Detection Tools

  34. Seeker Lite • Frequency Agile Leakage Detector • Built-in directional Antenna

  35. How to Automate the Signal Leakage Process

  36. Seeker GPS System LAW Client Serial GPS Rx Bluetooth GPS Rx Seeker LAW Server MCA BB-2

  37. Seeker GPS Data StorageGPS EquippedWiFi Upload CapableMapQuest MappingServer Based

  38. Driving Preparation • GPS • This icon is shown when the Seeker is placed in the mobile mount and a GPS connection is established with the MCA. When the icon is not shown, the Seeker is not in the mobile mount or the GPS connection cannot be established with the MCA. If the icon blinks the MCA is connected to the GPS but the GPS does not have a good position fix

  39. Seeker Data Paths Leak Readings From GPS Records Other Applications WIFI Port 24007 Records uploaded to client Law Server Port 80 Third Party Software

  40. Work Order Distribution • As leaks are uncovered, work orders will be assigned • to technicians assigned to a specific leakage territory • or to the supervisor responsible for the area • Work order sent to designated person via email • Techs can act on a leak reported via email, take the appropriate pre- and post-fix snapshots, upload the data in the usual manner and the work orders will then close themselves out as the leaks are repaired

  41. LAW Map Versatile Map Interface Sort-able Leak List Simple Work Order Generation

  42. Aerial Image

  43. Work Order Distribution

  44. Pre and Post-Fix Measurements • Snapshot Mode Use the Seeker’s Snapshot button to access the snapshot mode

  45. Demonstration Egress/Leakage

  46. Reason #4 to improve system quality • Eliminates forward and return Ingress • Prepares network for triple play deployments • To increase plant performance and reliability

  47. Ingress

  48. Ingress on Analog Channels • Lines in picture • Ghosting • Pay-per-view problems • High speed data problems • Interference with two-way radio services using the same frequencies • Repeat Service Calls

  49. Ingress on Digital Channels • Macro Blocking (Tiling) • Freeze Frame • Picture and Sound go to black • Robotic Voice • Data Packet Loss or slower speeds • Repeat Service Calls

  50. Increased implementation of services requiring return path activation • If a system has egress it will most likely have ingress • Ingress brings the viability of two-way services into question • VoIP demands higher network reliability

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