Mimomax TORNADO User manual

©MiMOMax Wireless Ltd
Tornado Product Manual
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TORNADO RADIO UNIT
PRODUCT MANUAL
This document contains proprietary information and
must not be provided or copied to third parties without
express permission from MiMOMax Wireless Ltd
FCC ID:XMK-MMXTRNB005

©MiMOMax Wireless Ltd
Tornado Product Manual
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MiMOMax Wireless Ltd
Issue 7 - June 2017
Product Manual for the Tornado Radio Unit
Firmware version 4.3.1
Disclaimer
Whilst every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this literature and it is believed to be correct at
time of issue, MiMOMax Wireless Ltd assumes no liability for errors or omissions or for any damages resulting
from the use of this information. Due to a policy of continuous technical improvement the contents of this
document and any specifications contained therein are subject to revision and may change without notice.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................................5
1TORNADO SYSTEM OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................................7
1.1 NETWORK DIGITAL LINKS (NDL).......................................................................................................................................7
1.2 MULTIPOINT DIGITAL LINKS (MDL)...................................................................................................................................8
1.3 OPTIMISED PROTECTION VARIANT (OPV)..........................................................................................................................9
2SAFETY WARNINGS ................................................................................................................................................ 11
2.1 MODIFICATIONS..........................................................................................................................................................11
2.2 TRANSMITTER ANTENNA ...............................................................................................................................................11
2.3 SAFETY DISTANCE ........................................................................................................................................................11
2.4 FCC RF EXPOSURE STATEMENT .....................................................................................................................................11
2.5 ELECTRICAL SAFETY CABLE SCREENING..............................................................................................................................11
2.6 MAINS CONNECTION....................................................................................................................................................11
2.7 FCC 15.19 STATEMENT ...............................................................................................................................................12
2.8 FCC 15.105(B)STATEMENT.........................................................................................................................................12
3TORNADO RADIO UNIT OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................ 13
3.1 CONNECTORS .............................................................................................................................................................13
3.2 DIGITAL PROCESSING SYSTEM ........................................................................................................................................14
3.2.1 Power supply ..................................................................................................................................................14
3.2.2 Central Processor Unit ....................................................................................................................................14
3.2.3 FPGA ...............................................................................................................................................................14
3.2.4 Receive Converters .........................................................................................................................................14
3.2.5Transmit Converters .......................................................................................................................................14
3.2.6 Reference & Clock Synthesisers ......................................................................................................................14
3.2.7 Dual Ethernet..................................................................................................................................................14
3.2.8 Dual Serial ......................................................................................................................................................15
3.2.9 GPIO................................................................................................................................................................15
3.2.10 Alarm ..............................................................................................................................................................15
3.2.11 Front Panel LEDs.............................................................................................................................................15
3.3 RECEIVER RF/IF SECTIONS ............................................................................................................................................15
3.3.1 Front End ........................................................................................................................................................15
3.3.2 Mixer and LO Buffer .......................................................................................................................................15
3.3.3 IF and AGC Circuitry........................................................................................................................................15
3.3.4 Local Oscillator ...............................................................................................................................................15
3.4 TRANSMITTER RF/IF SECTIONS ......................................................................................................................................16
3.4.1 Forward Signal Path .......................................................................................................................................16
3.4.2 Feedback Signal Path......................................................................................................................................16
3.4.3 Local Oscillator ...............................................................................................................................................16
3.4.4 Internal Duplexer............................................................................................................................................16
4SETTING UP ON THE BENCH....................................................................................................................................17
4.1 TESTING THE NETWORK SETUP.......................................................................................................................................18
5CONFIGURATION CONTROL AND MONITORING SYSTEM (CCMS) ...........................................................................21
6CHANGING OPERATING FREQUENCY AND POWER CALIBRATION........................................................................... 22
6.1 INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................................22
6.2 EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:POWER METER...........................................................................................................................22
6.3 PROCESS OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................................................22

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6.4 CCMS PROCESS .........................................................................................................................................................22
6.5 POWER CALIBRATION ...................................................................................................................................................24
6.5.1 Calibrating Tx (Coarse Step) ...........................................................................................................................24
6.5.2 Calibrating Tx (Fine Step)................................................................................................................................25
6.5.3 Complete calibration of one Tx.......................................................................................................................25
6.5.4 Complete both transmitter calibration...........................................................................................................25
6.5.5 Calibration fault..............................................................................................................................................26
7DUPLEXER TUNING GUIDE......................................................................................................................................27
7.1 DUPLEXER TUNING ......................................................................................................................................................27
7.2 400-470 MHZ DUPLEXER TUNING GUIDE .......................................................................................................................27
7.3 400MHZ INTERNAL DUPLEXERS.....................................................................................................................................27
7.3.1 Tools/Equipment Required .............................................................................................................................28
7.3.2 Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................29
7.4 RSSI CALIBRATION ......................................................................................................................................................30
7.5 REFERENCE CALIBRATION ..............................................................................................................................................31
7.5.1 Equipment required for reference calibration ................................................................................................31
7.5.2 How to calibrate the reference.......................................................................................................................31
8RADIO REFERENCE INFORMATION ......................................................................................................................... 33
8.1 MECHANICAL DIMENSIONS AND MOUNTING.....................................................................................................................33
8.1.1 Dimensions .....................................................................................................................................................33
8.1.2 Mounting........................................................................................................................................................33
8.2 INPUT AND OUTPUT.....................................................................................................................................................37
8.2.1 Connectors......................................................................................................................................................38
8.2.2 LED Behaviour.................................................................................................................................................38
8.2.3 Essential Power Requirements .......................................................................................................................39
8.2.4 Electrical Characteristics.................................................................................................................................42
8.2.5 Interface ports ................................................................................................................................................44
8.2.6 RF Specification ..............................................................................................................................................46
8.3 INSTALLATION.............................................................................................................................................................50
8.4 COMPLIANCES ............................................................................................................................................................51

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
AC
Alternating Current
ACMA
Australian Communications And Media Authority
ADC
Analogue To Digital Converter
ADPCM
Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation
AFC
Automatic Frequency Control
AGC
Automatic Gain Control
ANT
Antenna
BER
Bit Error Rate
BRU
Base Radio Unit
BW
Bandwidth
CAT
Category
CCMS
Configuration Control & Monitoring Software
CODECS
Coder Decoder
CPU
Central Processing Unit
CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Check
CSV
Comma Separated Value
DAC
Digital To Analogue Converter
DC
Direct Current
DFE
Decision-Feedback Equalizer
DIF
Digital Interface
DPLXR
Duplexer
DPS
Digital Processing System
DRU
Diversity Radio Unit
DSP
Digital Signal Processing
DTE
Data Terminal Equipment
EF
Express Forward
EMC
Electromagnetic Compatibility
ERM
Electromagnetic Compatibility And Radio Spectrum Matters
ESD
Electrostatic Sensitive Device
ETSI
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
FCC
Federal Communications Commission
FIFO
First In, First Out
FPGA
Field-Programmable Gate Array
FTP
File Transfer Protocol
GND
Ground
GPS
Global Positioning System
GRE
Generic Routing Encapsulation
HPF
High Pass Filter
HSSI
High Speed Serial Interface
HTML
Hyper-Text Mark-Up Language
IF
Intermediate Frequency
IO
Input Output
IP
Internet Protocol
ITU
International Telecommunication Union
LED
Light Emitting Diode
LNA
Low Noise Amplifier
LO
Local Oscillator
LPF
Low Pass Filter
LRU
Link Radio Unit
MAC
Media Access Control
MCAM
MiMOMax Cognisant Adaptive Modulation
MDAP
MiMOMax Data Acceleration Protocols
MDIX
Medium Dependent Interface Crossover
MDL
Multipoint Digital Link
MIB
Management Information Base
MIMO
Multi Input Multi Output
MRAP
MiMOMax Routing Adaptation Protocols
NDL
Network Digital Link
NIB
Network Interface Board

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NTP
Network Time Protocol
OPV
Optimised Protection Variant
OSI
Open System Interconnection
OSPF
Open Shortest Path First
OTAC
Over The Air Configuration
OTAP
Over The Air Programming
PA
Power Amplifier
PC
Personal Computer
PCB
Printed Circuit Board
PECL
Positive Emitter-Coupled Logic
PIF
Power Interface
PIN
P-Type, Intrinsic, N-Type
PLL
Phase Locked Loop
PMR
Private Mobile Radio
PSU
Power Supply Unit
QAM
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QPSK
Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying
RF
Radio Frequency
RFI
Radio Frequency Interference
RRU
Remote Radio Unit
RSSI
Received Signal Strength Indication
RTP
Real-Time Protocol
RU
Radio Unit
RX
Receive
SCADA
Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition
SEPIC
Single Ended Primary Inductor Converter
SFE
Software Feature Enabler
SMB
Sub miniature Version B
SNMP
Simple Network Management Protocol
SPI
Serial Peripheral Interface
SS
Synchronous Serial
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol
TTR
Time To Repair
TX
Transmit
UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
UDP
User Datagram Protocol
UHF
Ultra-High Frequency
USD
United States Dollar
VCO
Voltage Controlled Oscillator
VCTCXO
Voltage-Controlled Temperature-Compensated Crystal Oscillator
VRMS
Volts Root Mean Square
VRRP
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
VSWR
Voltage Standing Wave Ratio

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1 TORNADO SYSTEM OVERVIEW
MiMOMax Tornado delivers the next generation of high performance true MiMO narrowband remote radios for SCADA,
Protection and Linking applications. The Tornado is the market leader for narrowband throughput and functionality with a full
duplex aggregate data rate of up to 640kb/s in 50kHz in its highest modulation mode.
Tornado radios provide a radio wireless infrastructure for connecting devices used by various applications to form a network
through which IP data, RS-232 serial data or RS485 synchronous serial data can seamlessly flow. Features include isolated
power supply with low power consumption, full duplex operation with built in duplexers and supporting a combination of
interfaces, with very high scalable data rates, remote over the air network management, optional SNMP, ModBus and DNP3
support and a very efficient random-access protocol.
Operating in the licensed frequency bands between 400-470MHz & 806-960MHz, 700Mhz Upper A-Block and VHF, with a
wide temperature operating range andoptional waterproof outdoormount. TheTornadoenables unrivalled performance while
maintaining MiMOMax’s renowned reputation for reliability and operational efficiency.
The MiMOMax Tornado radio platform is configurable in three types of system linking, Network Digital Links (NDL), Multi-
Point Digital Links (MDL) and an Optimised Protection Variant (OPV) of the NDL link. The one Tornado radio platform can
be configured differently for the different roles required by these links through the enabling and disabling of features and
functionalities.
1.1 NETWORK DIGITAL LINKS (NDL)
The MiMOMax NDL is a highly reliable and robust point-to-point wireless linking solution designed to support PMR Linking,
SCADA and Backhaul applications.
An NDL link is a simple point-to-point over-the-air connection between two Tornado radios in NDL mode. One is configured
as master, the other as slave. This link allows for very quick data transfer. Modulation can be fixed or adaptive.
Simple NDL Link Diagram
Utilizing the MiMO technology and full-duplex operation, this narrowband fixed wireless solution provides a reliable low-error
data transport service. A number of internal interfaces are available to support various SCADA applications and also
multichannel, conventional, analogue, simulcast, MPT, P25 and/or TETRA digital networks in trunked and simulcast
configurations.
For PMR applications, a separate high-quality Network Interface Box (NIB) with up to 6 x 32k ADPCM audio channels plus
9k6 RS232 signalling channel, supports analogue networks.
Multiple links can be cascaded to cope with difficult terrain and very long paths. Different mounting options provide the much-
needed flexibility for varied network requirements. Being fully compatible with the rest of the MiMOMax product types, NDL
can be incorporated into the MiMOMax MDL (point-to-multipoint) linking solution.
NDL links are well-suited for providing backhaul links between sites in P25, DMR and MPT networks. Each link can carry
multiple voice channels (the number varies with the modulation scheme) and have residual bandwidth for maintenance tasks.
A high priority queue is available to provide EF priority to voice and other critical data over the link. The following diagram
shows a simplified two-site trunked P25 network with an NDL link providing the backhaul between the remote site and the
central site.

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Simplified Two-Site Trunked P25 Network
1.2 MULTIPOINT DIGITAL LINKS (MDL)
The MiMOMax MDL is a highly reliable and robust point-to-multipoint wireless linking solution designed for mission-critical
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Telemetry applications. It consists of one or more Base Radio Units
(BRUs) that support up to 1020 Remote Radio Units (RRUs).
The MiMOMax MDL supportsboth native IP and legacy Asynchronous Serial RS232 Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) bymeans
of optional embedded Terminal Server software. A number of interfaces are available to support various applications.
Additionally, the system is capable of supporting remote outstations simultaneously on different modulation schemes to
accommodate various data rates and link paths.
Very high system gains and good receiver sensitivities mean that it is possible to achieve paths in excess of 100kms from
high radio sites at full speed.Furthermore, any branch of MDL can be extended by using the MiMOMaxpoint-to-point Network
Digital Link (NDL) radio communications solution.
Basic Point-to-Multi-Point Linking Diagram

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SCADA networks can use MDL links to connect remote RTUs to the central SCADA master. These links can be cascaded
with an NDL link to cope with difficult terrain or very long paths.
SCADA Network Example
1.3 OPTIMISED PROTECTION VARIANT (OPV)
The MiMOMax OPV is a highly intelligent point-to-point radio system that provides complete rural substation Tele protection
communications solution for both power line protection and SCADA applications. It is designed to meet CAT I, II and III
protection levels. Hence, can be employed to link power line protection relays (e.g. General Electric L90) withincritical network
infrastructure.
In addition to providing a low latency, low jitter 64kbps protection channel, it also provides at least 64kbps Ethernet capacity
over the same radio link. The protection relays typically use the radio link to exchange data packets at 64kbps, containing
power system voltage and current magnitude and phase angle information. This information is used to determine whether
there is an unexpected event or power loss on the line and to transmit information used to trip circuit breakers when a line
fault is detected.
The interface required for the protection relays is typically synchronous serial using V11 (RS422), X-21 or G703 signaling at
64kbps transmission rate. However, a number of other synchronous serial interfaces can also be accommodated.
Furthermore, multiple layers of security ensure that the mission-critical operations remain highly secure.

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OPV Example Network Diagram
.

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2 SAFETY WARNINGS
2.1 MODIFICATIONS
NOTE: THE GRANTEE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS NOT EXPRESSLY
APPROVED BY THE PARTY RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE. SUCH MODIFICATIONS COULD VOID THE USER’S
AUTHORITY TO OPERATE THE EQUIPMENT.
2.2 TRANSMITTER ANTENNA
Under Industry Canada regulations, this radio transmitter may only operate using an antenna of a type and maximum (or
lesser) gain approved for the transmitter by Industry Canada.
To reduce potential radio interference to other users, the antenna type and its gain should be so chosen that the equivalent
isotropically radiated power (e.i.r.p.) is not more than that necessary for successful communication.
Conformément à la réglementation d'Industrie Canada, le présent émetteur radio peut fonctionner avec une antenne d'un
type et d'un gain maximal (ou inférieur) approuvé pour l'émetteur par Industrie Canada.
Dans le but de réduire les risques de brouillage radioélectrique à l'intention des autres utilisateurs, il faut choisir le type
d'antenne et son gain de sorte que la puissance isotrope rayonnée quivalente (p.i.r.e.) ne dépassepas l'intensité nécessaire
à l'établissement d'une communication satisfaisante.
2.3 SAFETY DISTANCE
Minimum Safe Distance from Antenna: To comply with safety requirements for human RF exposure in the USA, Canada and
other countries, no person shall be permitted to remain in the vicinity of the antenna of an operational MiMOMax Tornado
system at distances closer than the following:
General Public/Uncontrolled Use: 0.16m when using an 8dbi Panel Antenna with a MiMOMax 700MHz radio.
The above distances are based on procedures defined by regulatory standards for equipment operating at maximum power
and 100% duty cycle with a person located directly in front of the antenna in the main radiation lobe.
2.4 FCC RF EXPOSURE STATEMENT
The transmitter must not be co-located or operated in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter. The equipment
complies with FCC RF radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment. This equipment should be installed
and operated with a minimum distance of 61cm between the radiator and any part of your body.
2.5 ELECTRICAL SAFETY CABLE SCREENING
Equipment connected to the protective earthing of the building installation through the mains connection or through other
equipment with a connection to protective earthing - and to a cable distribution system using coaxial cable, may in some
circumstances create a fire hazard. Connection to a cable distribution system has therefore to be provided through a device
providing electrical isolation below a certain frequency range (galvanic isolator, see EN 60728-11).
NOTE: In Norway, due to regulation for installations of cable distribution systems, and in Sweden, a galvanic isolator shall
provide electrical insulation below 5 MHz. The insulation shall withstand a dielectric strength of 1,5 kV r.m.s., 50 Hz or 60 Hz,
for 1 min.
Utstyr som er koplet til beskyttelsesjord via nettplugg og/eller via annet jordtilkoplet utstyr - og er tilkoplet et kabel-TV nett, kan
forårsake brannfare. For å unngå dette skal det ved tilkopling av utstyret til kabel-TV nettet installeres en galvanisk isolator
mellom utstyret og kabel-TV nettet.
Utrustning som är kopplad till skyddsjord via jordat vägguttag och/eller via annan utrustning och samtidigt är kopplad till kabel-
TV nät kan i vissa fall medfõra risk fõr brand. Fõr att undvika detta skall vid anslutning av utrustningen till kabel-TV nät
galvanisk isolator finnas mellan utrustningen och kabel-TV nätet.
2.6 MAINS CONNECTION
The Mains connection of the supply providing the DC supply to the MiMOMax Tornado unit shall be either:
•PERMANENTLY CONNECTED EQUIPMENT.
•PLUGGABLE EQUIPMENT TYPE B.

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•Or equipment intended to be used in a RESTRICTED ACCESS LOCATION where equipotential bonding has been
applied and which has provision for a permanently connected PROTECTIVE EARTHING CONDUCTOR and is
provided with instructions for the installation of that conductor by a SERVICE PERSON.
2.7 FCC 15.19 STATEMENT
THIS DEVICE COMPLIES WITH PART 15 OF THE FCC RULES. OPERATION IS SUBJECT TO THE FOLLOWING TWO
CONDITIONS: (1) THIS DEVICE MAY NOT CAUSE HARMFUL INTERFERENCE, AND (2) THIS DEVICE MUST ACCEPT
ANY INTERFERENCE RECEIVED, INCLUDING INTERFERENCE THAT MAY CAUSE UNDESIRED OPERATION.
2.8 FCC 15.105(B)STATEMENT
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of
the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee
that interference will not occur in aparticular installation.If this equipment doescause harmfulinterferenceto radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
—Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
—Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
—Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
—Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

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3 TORNADO RADIO UNIT OVERVIEW
3.1 CONNECTORS
Error! Reference source not found. shows each of the different connectors The Ethernet connectors are 10/100 Base-Tx
connected to a two-port switch (either port can be used). The operating input voltage range of the power supply is 10.5 to 64
VDC. The power supply must be able to supply at least 30 watts.
Warning: Do not power up the radio unit without a load (attenuator or antenna) connected to each of the N
connectors. Damage to the radio may occur otherwise.
Connectors
Each radio unit can operate as either a Base Radio Unit (BRU) or Remote Radio Unit (RRU) as part of a Multi-point Digital
Link (MDL) system or alternatively as a NDL unit as part of a Network Digital Link (NDL) system. The actual mode of operation
will depend on the Software Feature Enablers (SFEs) purchased and the product type configured.
A MDL system consists of one BRU,tuned to one Tx/Rx frequencypair, with a numberof RRUs, all tuned to the corresponding,
but opposite, Tx/Rx frequency pair. An NDL system consists of one ‘master’ NDL unit tuned to one frequency pair with its
corresponding ‘slave’ unit tuned to the opposite pair.
MiMOMax Tornado radios consist of the following modules.
•Digital Processing System (DPS)
•Transceiver (TRCVR)
•Duplexers (DPLXR)
These modules are described in detail in the sections that follow.
User data (Ethernet or serial) passes from the various interfaces into the Digital Processing System (DPS) where
sophisticated processing takes place to code the data into a MIMO signal. This MIMO signal is created completely digitally
inside the DPS. The DPS then generates two signals at an IF frequency. There are two signals because ultimately the
signals will pass onto separate elements on the antenna. The Intermediate Frequency (IF) signals are then passed on to
the Transmitter module which mixes the signals up to the desired frequency and also amplifies the signals to the required
levels. The signals then pass through the duplexers. The duplexers are special filters which prevent the transmitted signals
from feeding back into the receiver module. Next the signals are fed to the antenna.
The antenna is a special MIMO antenna which is able to transmit and receive on both the vertical and horizontal polarisations
at the same time. The MIMO antennas are essentially two antennas in one.
On the receive path, the radio signals are picked up by the MIMO antenna and fed through the duplexers and into the receiver
module. The receiver selects the radio frequency to receive and mixes this signal down to an IF. This IF signal is then
sampled by Analogue to Digital Converters (ADCs) on the DPS module. The DPS module then performs very complex MIMO
processing to decode the user data that was sent. This data is then passed to the appropriate interface.

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3.2 DIGITAL PROCESSING SYSTEM
The DPS is the heart of the radio unit. It provides an accurate and stable 40MHz system reference clock from which all the
required digital clocks and RF local oscillator frequencies for transmit and receive functions are derived. It processes signals
that have been transmitted or received and provides overall control and monitoring to the rest of the system via the built-in
Configuration, Control and Management Software CCMS software. Power supplies are also provided by the DPS.
3.2.1 Power supply
The power supply operates off a 10.5 to 60 VDC input and generates stable 13.5V, 5.4V, 5.0V, 3.3V, 2.5V,1.8V 1.2V and 18V
internal power supply rails, that all the other circuitry runs off. The input of the power supply is isolated from the rest of the
circuitry and the chassis. Input voltage monitoring is provided via CCMS.
3.2.2 Central Processor Unit
An ARM CortexA8 based microcontroller is used as the CPU in the DPSboard. It uses a reference clock of 26MHz. The CPU
provides external device connectivity through the built-in and external peripherals.
The CPU runs a Linux embedded operating system which provides various services such as scheduling, process
management, memory management, device and resource management, TCP/IP stacks and inter-networking, applications,
user interface, system configuration and control etc. An integral part of the Linux operating system is the MiMOMax specific
network driver, which configures the radio unit as a standard Ethernet device.
3.2.3 FPGA
An Altera Cyclone IV Field Programmable Gate Array is used to implement the physical layer TX and Rx signal processing,
MAC layer and signalling protocols on the serial interfaces.
3.2.4 Receive Converters
The 45.1MHz analogue IF signals from each receiver channel are fed to a dual 10-bit ADC. The signals are sampled using a
40MHz clock which is generated from the 40MHz system reference clock. The digital outputs from the ADC are fed to the
FPGA for processing.
3.2.5 Transmit Converters
The digital transmit signals from the FPGA are fed to a dual 14-bit DAC which uses a clock frequency of 40MHz to produce
the analogue IF signal for each transmitter channel. The IF output is 15.3835MHz. This is chosen in conjunction with the
transmitter local oscillator frequency to minimise the generation of spurious frequencies in the transmitted RF output spectrum.
3.2.6 Reference & Clock Synthesisers
The main system reference clock consists of a low-noise, voltage-controlled, temperature-compensated, crystal oscillator
(VCTCXO) operating at 40MHz. Factory calibration of this oscillator against an external GPS or other frequency reference is
provided by means of a non-volatile sample-and-hold facility which adjusts the VCTCXO DC control voltage to set the
frequency precisely to 40.0MHz. The VCTCXO may also be phase-locked to an external 10 MHz reference if required. If the
external reference input is not in use the internal reference divided down to 10 MHz can be provided as an output. External
reference in/out is provided via an isolated differential connection on the GPIO connector.
The 40MHz output from the VCTCXO is buffered and distributed to provide low-noise differential reference signals for the
transmitter and receiver local oscillators, transmit DACs, receive ADCs and the FPGA.
The 40MHz output from the VCTCXO also feeds a PLL IC which generates a 26MHz clock for the CPU and a 25MHz clock
for the Ethernet controller IC.
3.2.7 Dual Ethernet
The Ethernet is provided via a three-port managed Ethernet switch, one port is the internal connection to the CPU, and the
other two ports are available on the RJ45 connectors labelled ‘Eth1’ and ‘Eth2’ on the front panel. The Ethernet ports are both
10/100BASE-Tx ports, supporting full and half duplex, flow control, auto MDI-X and auto negotiation.

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3.2.8 Dual Serial
The two serial ports, ‘Serial 1’and ‘Serial 2’ on the front panel, operate as RS232 ports can eitheroperate via a terminal server
application (NDL and MDL) or providing a transparent end to end RS232 connection (NDL only). In a NDL system the serial
ports are also able to provide X-21, RS422, G703, C37.94 or MiMOMax HSSI2 via external interface converters.
3.2.9 GPIO
Four GPIOports are provided, these are able to be opencollector digital outputs capable ofwithstanding 70 VDC, and sinking
up to 100mA. Or theycan be used as eitherdigital or analogueinput ports,making use ofa 12-bitAnalogue to Digital converter.
The direction and mode of each can be set independently.
3.2.10 Alarm
A single set of voltage free change over contacts are provided as an alarm indication, these are current limited to 750mA. The
alarm port is also on the GPIO connector.
3.2.11 Front Panel LEDs
LEDs on the front panel indicate Power, RF link status and Alarm. A green LEDby the power connector is on when the internal
3.3 Volt power supply is on. A green LED labelled ‘Link’ is on when a RF link is active. A red LED labelled ‘Alarm’ flashes
during boot up. It will also flash when the alarm is active.
3.3 RECEIVER RF/IF SECTIONS
The receiver has two identical channels, each with separate RF, mixer and IF stages. A common local oscillator feeds both
channels simultaneously. RF input to each channel is by means of a PCB-mounted 50Ω SMB connector. With the exception
of the VCO/synthesiser sections the descriptions below apply equally to either receive channel.
3.3.1 Front End
The Front End resides on the duplexer board.Incomingsignals arefed through a band pass duplexer which provides effective
rejection of out-of-band frequencies beyond the centre frequency (approximately +/-3MHz). Following the filter, is the receiver
Low Noise Amplifier (LNA). This is followed by a fixed image reject filter to remove noise attributed to the LNA as the majority
of image rejection comes from the internal duplexers.
3.3.2 Mixer and LO Buffer
The RF signal from the front end is converted down to an Intermediate Frequency (IF) by means of a mixer and LO Buffer.
3.3.3 IF and AGC Circuitry
The signal from the mixer feeds a 45.1MHz 4-pole crystal filter. It then passes via a buffer amplifier to a second IF filter which
is a 2-pole crystal unit. This gives a total of 6 poles of analogue IF filtering. Primary rejection of adjacent channels is provided
by post-IF DSP filtering further down the receive chain.
Following the second IF filter are two-stage variable-gain AGC amplifiers which provide >100dB effective gain adjustment,
using a DC control voltage derived from a 10-bit DAC. The balanced output from the second stage amplifier is fed via an anti-
aliasing band pass filter to an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) and subsequent digital processing circuitry.
At maximum gain the 45.1MHz IF amplifier chain provides >90dB gain from 1st IF filter input to the balanced IF output (total
receiver gain from RF input to IF output: >100dB). In operation, the post-IF receiver processing circuitry adjusts the AGC
control voltage via the DAC to maintain the signal level into the receiver ADC within its linear operating region.
3.3.4 Local Oscillator
The receiver local oscillator consists of a programmable fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesiser, using a
stable reference frequency from an internal 40MHz temperature-compensated crystal oscillator located on the DPS PCB. The
required local oscillator frequency (i.e. receive frequency minus 45.1MHz) is programmed by the unit central processing
system which controls the synthesiser via a 3-wire serial interface bus. The frequency is settable in 6.25 kHz increments (5
kHz optional).

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The synthesiser control loop incorporates a low noise op-amp active filter and level shifter, the output of which feeds the
voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The VCO uses a LC resonator tuned by high-Q varicap diodes to minimise phase noise
and jitter. The required local oscillator frequency ranges from 354.9 to 424.9MHz.
The output of the VCO passes through an RF cascade buffer IC, which amplifies the low-level signal from VCO whilst providing
high reverse isolation to minimise any variations in VCO loading. The output feeds the splitter network and in turn feed the
mixers of each receiver channel.
3.4 TRANSMITTER RF/IF SECTIONS
The transmitter hastwo channels, each with separate RF, up/down converter, and IF stages.The powersupplies andstepped
attenuatorsettingscan be independentlycontrolled. A common local oscillator feeds both channels simultaneously. RF output
from each channel is by means of a PCB-mounted 50Ω SMB connector. With the exception of the VCO/synthesiser sections
the descriptions below apply equally to either transmit channel.
3.4.1 Forward Signal Path
The transmitter employs a fixed frequency ‘direct IF’ with single up conversion to the final RF. It includes a fixed and manual
tuned IF filters to attenuate DAC spurs. The mixer is a quadrature up converter and also provides an image reject function
due to 90deg phase splitting of the input signal. The adjustment of gain is provided by a 1.5-33.5dB stepped attenuator
programmable in 0.5dB steps. Power amplification follows consisting of devices biased to provide a reasonably linear
characteristic to support the required modulation types. A directional coupler on the PA output provides a sample of the signal
for the feedback path. The PA bias is controlled via DAC outputs. The PA bias tracks temperature based on a predefined
tracking curve. An ADC monitor measures PA final and driver current, forward and reverse power. PA temperature is
monitored for each channel by dedicated temperature sensors.
3.4.2 Feedback Signal Path
The RF signal from the directional coupler has adjustment of gain provided by a 1.5-33dB step attenuator programmable in
0.5dB steps. An image reject mixer provides attenuation of any external signal on the down converter image frequency. The
RF signal is down converted to a 15.3835MHz IF feedback signal which is the same as the forward path signal. This IF signal
is amplified and summed with the forward path to close the loop.
3.4.3 Local Oscillator
The transmitter local oscillator consists of a programmable fractional-N phase-locked loop (PLL) frequency synthesiser. This
uses a stable reference frequency derived from the DPS 40MHz clock. The required local oscillator frequency (i.e. transmit
frequency minus TX IF) is programmed via a serial interface bus from the DPS. The LO frequency can be set in 5 kHz
increments.
The synthesiser control loop incorporates a low noise op-amp active filter and level shifter, the output of which feeds the
voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The VCO uses a LC resonator tuned by high-Q varicap diodes to minimise phase noise
and jitter. The required local oscillator frequency range is 384.6165MHz to 454.6165MHz (70MHz total).
The output of the VCO passes through a resistive attenuator into a buffer amplifier which raises the power level. This is
followed by two Wilkinson splitter networks, resulting in four 50Ω outputs. These outputs feed the up conversion and down
conversion mixers for each of the two transmitter channels.
3.4.4 Internal Duplexer
The duplexer takes one receiver and one transmitter and duplexes them onto a single antenna port. Two duplexers are used
in each radio unit. The antenna port connector is a waterproof N-type. Connections to the receiver and transmitter printed
circuit assemblies are made internally via two 50Ω SMB connectors and interconnecting semi-flexible coax cables. Each
duplexer has two band pass filters with notches and an LNA for the receive path. The notch frequency of each element is
tuned by a trimmer capacitor.
Electrically the two duplexers in each radio unit are identical. Physically they are different and present almost a mirror image
of the other. These are referred to as ‘Channel 1’ and ‘Channel 2’. The duplexers cannot be swapped over.

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4 SETTING UP ON THE BENCH
The radio units can be interconnected for bench-based testing or configuration. Attenuators with the appropriate value and
power handling must be used. The
RF Wiring Diagram shows the interconnection of attenuators, cables and splitters for a standard bench test.
Note: If an NDL system or an MDL system with only one RRU is desired then the splitters, second RRU and corresponding
attenuators can be omitted. MiMOMax can supply a splitter that provides 4 ports and ~30dB attenuation.

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RF Wiring Diagram
Recommended equipment:
6x high power attenuators (30 dB, >10 W)
2x low power attenuators (30dB)
2x splitters
Sufficient cables and adaptors to connect the above devices to the radio units
4.1 TESTING THE NETWORK SETUP
Once the RF setup has been completed the radio units can be powered up, networking on associated devices configured and
the units logged into. Refer to the label located on the underside of the radio unit to identify the configured IP address and
subnet mask. The image below shows an example IP diagram of the network in Router mode. The following one shows an
example of same network in Bridged mode. We generally recommend setting up MDL in Bridged mode because the network
settings are simpler however it depends on your IP planning for the multipoint network.
First, we connect to each radio unit locally. To do this, configure the IP address, subnet mask and gateway of the connected
device or laptop. It is crucial that the laptops/devices are on the same subnet as the Tornado’s and also that their gateway is
set to the Tornado’s IP address. This means you will need to reconfigure the IPinformation if moving the laptop between radio
units.

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Example IP diagram using 192.168.x.x subnets (Routed mode)
Example IP diagram using a single subnet (Bridged mode)
Next confirm network connectivity by pinging each radio unit from the connected laptop. If this is not successful, use ipconfig
to check your networking settings. Once we have network connectivity with the local radio unit, type the appropriate IP address
into your web browser to access the unit.

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Figure 1 Ipconfig on the left (In this case the gateway has not been set properly!) and on the right Pinging 192.168.0.1 (the BRU)
from Laptop A
You are now ready to log in, configure, and monitor the system.