Product Information

Microwave System Specialists

There are several aspects of a person or company being a Microwave System Specialist. On what could be considered the “material” side would be most of what is considered the engineering portion.

The first step towards a successful microwave system is the initial design and surveys. Only someone experienced with path design and the available software should be employed for system design. This engineer can give initial design parameters based on such basic information as longitude, latitude and tower height. 

Once this information is inserted into the software, other factors such as frequency, antennas size, feedline length, etc. must be considered and inputted as well. A qualified path engineer will also have to have knowledge of geographic rain rates, factors of “K” and other items that are specific to microwave path engineering.

After the final design comes out of the software, actual “line-of-sight” should be field verified by a qualified tower contractor by usingbinoculars and/or “flashing” the path by reflecting the sun or using a spotlight at night towards the other end. This makes sure that there are no ground-based obstacles such as buildings or trees that do not show up in the software.

After the design, a specialist should also know exactly what material will be required for the installation. This would include antennas, feedlines, support hardware, connectors etc. The structures at each end would also have to be clearly identified so the proper mounting system can be installed.

The other major decision is choosing the radio manufacturer. There are many microwave radio manufacturers such as Harris, Alcatel, IMC, DMC and many others. Each of these is also a specialist in making radios exclusively for microwave communication. Virtually none of these also make PCS or cellular equipment such as Lucent, Nokia, Nortel, etc.

We recommend that you contact our valued design engineers, manufacturers and distributors for your site-specific requirements and pricing.