Egress & Ingress Testing
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Technical Training Seminar on “Egress & Ingress Testing and Troubleshooting” for for CCTA CCTA Member Member Companies Companies August August 25, 25, 26 26 and and 27, 27, 2009 2009 San San Juan, Juan, Puerto Puerto Rico Rico Mario Sebastiani Tony Holmes Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Egress Terminology Leakage Radiation (Never Say!!!) uV/M Squelch Calibration Tagging (CT-2 or CT-3) Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 What is Egress/Leakage? Definition: – Undesired emission of signals out of HFC networks – Egress is generally referred to as signal leakage Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Egress & Ingress Egress – RF signal leaking out of the coaxial environment Ingress – RF or electrical energy that enters the coaxial environment Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Why do we test for leakage? Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Reason #1 to Test for Leakage Meet FCC Compliance Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Spectrum Chart 108MHz Aircraft Radio & Navigation Off-air Cable 137MHz CH 98 CH 99 CH 14 CH 15 CH 16 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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! Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Reason #2 to Test for Leakage Prevent Off-Air Interference Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Off-Air Interference Aeronautical & Aircraft Communications Amateur Communications Broadcast TV signals (Analog & Digital) Public and Emergency Communications Radio Mobile Communications Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Source: NTIA 900 800 Frequency in MHz 700 500 400 300 Off-Air Spectrum (forward path) Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Reason #3 to Test for Leakage Improves System Performance Reduces Repeat Service Calls Locate Physical problems Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Polarization Angle Dipole Monopole Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Leakage Antennas-Whip Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Leakage Antennas-Dipole Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Signal phasing Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Standing Waves Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Electrical Noise Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Leakage Field Strength Amp Highest Potential Lowest Potential Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Distance Correction Reading x Distance ----------------------- = Corrected Reading 10 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Patrolling for Leakage 3 meters 20µVm 30 meters 2 µVm Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Walking Out a Leakage Area 5 – 10 meters Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Leakage Detection Tools Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Seeker Lite Frequency Agile Leakage Detector Built-in directional Antenna Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 How to Automate the Signal Leakage Process Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Seeker GPS System LAW Client Bluetooth GPS Rx Serial GPS Rx Seeker BB-2 MCA LAW Server Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Seeker GPS Data Storage GPS Equipped WiFi Upload Capable MapQuest Mapping Server Based Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Seeker Data Paths Leak Readings From GPS Records WIFI Port 24007 Other Applications Records uploaded to client Law Port 80 Server Third Party Software Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 LAW Map Versatile Map Interface Sort-able Leak List Simple Work Order Generation Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Aerial Image Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Work Order Distribution Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Pre and Post-Fix Measurements Snapshot Mode Use the Seeker’s Snapshot button to access the snapshot mode Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Demonstration Egress/Leakage Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Reason #4 to improve system quality Eliminates forward and return Ingress Prepares network for triple play deployments To increase plant performance and reliability Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Ingress Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 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 Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Forward and Return Ingress Troubleshooting Tools Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 QAM EVS Troubleshooting in-channel ingress is easy with the QAM EVS mode – Typical ingress areas Loose connector Tap plate loose Home wiring Sometimes – CSO/CTB from an over driven amplifier Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Constellation Good MER Poor MER Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 BER Digital signals work well until very close to the point of failure Measurement of digital carriers critical to determine the system margin – Signal level – MER – BER The BER Mode helps to find problems Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Demonstration Interferences from VHF/UHF sources Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Return Path Ingress Troubleshooting Techniques Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Ingress Funnelling Effect Bi-directional system return path funnelling effect Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Impairments Radio Communications and Transient Noise Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Off-Air Spectrum (return path) 3MHz 9MHz 10MHz 30MHz Source: NTIA 40MHz Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Ingress Mitigation Test This is a test where you can quickly check the drop and home wiring for ingress Set Ref level so as to not over-load the meter Detector set for averaging RBW at 300 KHz 10 db/div Spectrum 5-108 MHz Use peak hold Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Ingress Mitigation Test What you should see is NOTHING! Just the noise floor Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Ingress Mitigation Test Look for ingress by using the “Peak Hold” function Identify the problem by working back towards the house Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Ingress Mitigation Test Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Using the I-Stop Probe Press the button on the side of the probe – If the ingress decreases by 4-6 dB when the button is depressed, the source of the ingress is farther from the node than you are – Ingress that doesn't decrease is entering the system nearer to the node than you are. The I-Stop Probe has little or no visible effect on forward path signals. Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Preparing for Return Path Monitoring Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Network Topology Viewer II Clients TCP 24007 Live Spectrum UDP 24008 UDP 24008 Multicast on Multicast on 224.1.2.3 224.1.2.3 TCP 80 and/or 443 Viewer II Services UDP 162 SNMP Traps SST 9581 R4s TCP 24007 SST Data Viewer II Server UDP 161 SNMP 9581 SST Return Path Analyzer Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Monitoring Thresholds Alarm threshold information is stored in the 9581 SST Five degrees of severity – For Ingress levels Critical to Warning – For Outages No Signal Warning Persistence Settings – Authenticate alarm conditions Traffic Curve – Identifies the frequency and amplitude of carrier Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Viewer II User Interface Components – – – – – – Status Tree Incident Log Alarm History Node Reporting Spectrum Display ADIA Web View Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Node Status Tree Geography – Groups nodes by City Headend Hubsite Services – Groups nodes by CMTS Blade Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Incident Log Displays Current Node Alarm Events based on – SNMP Traps received by the Guardian II Server Traps Originate in the 9581 SST based on – Alarm Threshold Violations – Persistence Settings Displayed information is based on Status Tree Configuration, but typically includes – – – – Node ID Severity Elapsed Time Total Alarm Time Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Alarm Management Prioritize Alarm Information – Sorting Tools Organize alarm information into logical groupings for managing service interruptions Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Alarm Troubleshooting To investigate alarm conditions NOC operators can click on alarm events in the incident log – Brings up Spectrum view with Alarm threshold and ingress signature that caused the alarm event Allows operator to correlate alarm data from other monitoring sources Evaluate the effect of ingress on system services Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Reporting Node Service Report – Returns Alarm Activity over user specified time periods and locations Provides correlation of service interruptions and return path ingress events Identifies and prioritizes nodes in need of maintenance – Selection Criteria Alarm severity Number of nodes per location Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Node Service Report Summary View – Includes selection criteria – Lists nodes meeting selection criteria Grouped by location Number of nodes per location or top X nodes Number of alarm events per location Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Spectrum Display View – Max/Min/Avg ingress spectra over reporting period – Pass/Fail Threshold – Pass/Fail Tolerance Ratio (dB) between threshold & ingress spectra Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 ADIA Web View Real time access to headend ingress levels – Max/Min/Avg Traces – Markers with Frequency Amplitude Delta Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Demonstration Impairments from : • Digital TV Transmitters • Return Path Ingress Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Response to Your Question!!!! s Technical Training Presentation – CCTA 2009 Thank you-Gracias-Merci-Masha danki… Trilithic Applications Engineering support@trilithic.com Tel: 800-344-2412 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Incospec Communications Inc. Your Value Adder Trilithic Re-Seller for the Caribbean Mario Sebastiani (msebastiani@incospec.com) Bernard How (bhow@incospec.com)
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