1. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org1 Outdoor Radio Simulation An introduction to “Radio Mobile” Developed by: Alberto Escudero Pascual, IT +46

2. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org2 Goals ● To understand how a simulation software can help you to do a viability study ● Introduce the tool “Radio Mobile” ● Provide the “basics” or “building blocks” of the software to speed up your learning

3. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org3 The goal is NOT ● To provide a step-by-step guide to the software ● Cover all the “advanced” options

4. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org4 Table of Contents What is Radio Mobile? What is SRTM? Installing Radio Mobile Introduction to Radio Mobile (Building Blocks) Practical Demo

5. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org5 What is Radio Mobile? Free Software written in VB by Roger Coudé Used to predict performance in outdoor radio links Initially written for HAM radio (UHF/VHF) Uses a model known as Irregular Terrain Model (ITM) The model works in the range of 2 – 20 Ghz The software can be used in WLAN/WMAN simulations

6. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org6 What is needed? Knowledge of the GPS position of our site Digital cartography Technical datasheet of the equipment we want/plan to use Information about the type of terrain, weather of the area (advanced option)

7. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org7 What is SRTM? Stands for “Shuttle Radar Topography Mission” A type of digital cartography Radar images with a resolution of 30 - 90 meters Africa is sampled with 3 arc second Images are freely downloadable Requires to be online

8. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org8 Installing Radio Mobile Install the Visual Basic Runtime (SP6) Download and uncompress 6 ZIP files from:http://www.cplus.org/rmw/download.htmlhttp://www.cplus.org/rmw/download.html Radio Mobile has not an installer Radio Mobile does not have lots of documentation Radio Mobile is worth the effort to learn!

9. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org9 Radio Mobile Building Blocks ● Position and cartography – Where are we? – What maps do we want to use? ● Radio Network Properties and Topology – What equipment do we want to use? – Where do we place the units?

10. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org10 Radio Mobile Building Blocks ● Radio Link Budget Analysis – What performance has every link? ● Coverage Areas – What is the maximum distance served by an access point?

11. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org11 Position and Cartography

12. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org12 Position and Cartography

13. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org13 Previous Definitions INetwork: Logical Group of Units System: Specification of “radio kits”. Not the units. See them as “templates” Unit: The Physical units associated to a certain “system” type Membership: Define (1) the units belong to a network and (2) the type of system that each unit operates.

14. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org14 Radio Network Properties and Topology 1. Create a new logical network File > Network Properties > Parameters 2. Define the types of systems that will be in the network File > Network Properties > Systems 3. Create and place Units in a physical position File > Unit Properties 4. Associate Units to a network File > Network Properties > Membership

15. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org15 Network Parameters

16. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org16 Systems

17. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org17 Systems

18. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org18 Unit Properties

19. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org19 Unit Properties

20. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org20 Membership

21. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org21 Radio Link Budget Analysis

22. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org22 Radio Link Budget Analysis

23. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org23 Radio Link Budget Analysis

24. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org24 Coverage Area

25. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org25 Conclusions ● Consider including an “outdoor radio simulation” to your viability study ● A simulation software can be of great help to create your first network design and plan the initial field trials

26. Last updated: 12 May, 2006 Alberto Escudero Pascual ItrainOnline MMTK www.itrainonline.org26 Conclusions ● Learn to input your position and select the source and type of maps you want to use ● Define the “systems” that you want to implement in your network ● Place the radio units in the your target positions and associate a type of system and a role to each of them ● Study each of the simulated “Radio Link Budgets” and change your settings to optimize your design ● Use the Radio Coverage Tools to see your coverage areas and potential sources of interferences