Ubiquiti airFiber AF-5X User manual

5 GHz Carrier
Backhaul Radio
Model: AF-5X
DATA
MGMT
GPS
LINK
DATA
MGMT
GPS
LINK

Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Ubiquiti Networks® airFiber®
5GHz Carrier Backhaul Radio. This Quick Start Guide is
designed to guide you through the installation, show you how
to access the airFiber Configuration Interface, and explain how
to set up an airFiber link. This Quick Start Guide is for use with
the airFiber AF-5X.
Warranty terms, safety notices, and compliance information
are in the airFiber AF-5X User Guide, available at:
downloads.ubnt.com
Package Contents
airFiber AF-5X GPS Antenna
Mount
External GPS
Antenna
Metal Strap
5 GHz Carrier
Backhaul Radio
Model: AF-5X
DATA
MGMT
GPS
LINK
DATA
MGMT
GPS
LINK
Cable Ties
(Qty. 2)
airFiber PoE Adapter
with Mounting
Bracket
(24V, 1A)
Power Cord Quick Start
Guide
TERMS OF USE: Ubiquiti radio devices must be professionally installed. Shielded Ethernet
cable and earth grounding must be used as conditions of product warranty. TOUGHCable™
is designed for outdoor installations. It is the customer’s responsibility to follow local country
regulations, including operation within legal frequency channels, output power, and Dynamic
Frequency Selection (DFS) requirements.

Installation Requirements
The airFiber AF-5X radio operates only with an airFiber X
antenna or a converted RocketDish™ antenna.
airFiber X antenna models:
• AF-5G23-S45
• AF-5G30-S45
• AF-5G34-S45
Conversion Kit for RocketDish (RD-5G30/RD-5G34):
• AF-5G-OMT-S45
Other Requirements
• Clear line of sight between airFiber radios
• Clear view of the sky for proper GPS operation
• Vertical mounting orientation
• Mounting point:
• At least 1 m below the highest point on the structure
• For tower installations, at least 3 m below the top of
thetower
• Ground wires – min. 10 AWG (5 mm2) and max. length:
1m. Asa safety precaution, ground the airFiber radio to
grounded masts, poles, towers, or grounding bars.
WARNING: Failure to properly ground your
airFiber radio will void your warranty.
• (Recommended) 2 Outdoor Gigabit PoE surge protectors
Note: For guidelines about grounding and lightning
protection, follow your local electrical regulatory
codes.
• Outdoor, shielded Category 6 (or above) cabling and
shielded RJ-45 connectors are required for all wired Ethernet
connections.

Hardware Overview
Port Cover
LED
Panel
Connects to
External GPS
Antenna Chain 1:
Connects to
- 45° on
airFiber Antenna
Chain 0:
Connects to
+ 45° on
airFiber Antenna

Ports
Reset
Button
Management
Port
Data
Port
Management Port 10/100 Mbps, secured Ethernet port for
configuration. In-Band Management is enabled by default
in the airFiber Configuration Interface. When In-Band
Management is disabled, the MGMT port is the only port that
can monitor, configure, and/or update firmware.
Reset Button To reset to factory defaults, press and hold the
Reset button for more than 10 seconds while the device is
already poweredon.
Data Port Gigabit PoE port for handling all user traffic and
powering the device.

LEDs
Signal LEDs
Signal 4 LED will light blue when on.
Signal 3 LED will light green when on.
Signal 2 LED will light yellow when on.
Signal 1 LED will light red when on.
Bootup to airOS When powering on, the Power, GPS, LINK,
and Signal 1-4 LEDs light on. Once the CPU code takes over, the
GPS, LINK, and Signal 1-3 LEDs turn off. Signal 4 LED remains on
to indicate the boot sequence is underway.
Initializing airFiber Software When the airFiber application
begins to boot under airOS, the Signal 4 LED goes from solidly
on to a 2.5 Hz flash. This continues until the AF-5X is fully
booted.
Signal Level Once fully booted, the Signal 1-4 LEDs act as a
bar graph showing how close the AF-5X is to ideal aiming. This
is auto-scaled based on the link range, the antenna gains, and
the configured TX power of the remote AF-5X. Each Signal LED
has three possible states: On, Flashing, and Off. All Signal LEDs
would be solidly on in an ideal link. If the link has a 1 dB loss,
the Signal4 LED will flash; a 2 dB loss and the Signal 4 LED will
turn off. The full bar graph LED states are shown below.
dB
loss 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13
1F000000000000
111F0000000000
11111F F 0000000
1111111111FFF0
0 = Off, 1 = On, F = Flashing

Additional LEDs
LED State Status
LINK
Off RF Off
Short Flash* Syncing
Normal Flash* Beaconing
Long Flash* Registering
On Operational
GPS
Off No GPS Synchronization
Normal Flash* Non-Operational (Weak Signal)
On Operational (Strong Signal)
MGMT
Off No Ethernet Link
On Ethernet Link Established
Random Flashing Ethernet Activity
DATA
Off No Ethernet Link
On Ethernet Link Established
Random Flashing Ethernet Activity
Off No Power
On Powered On
* Short Flash (1:3 on/off cycle)
Normal Flash (1:1 on/off cycle)
Long Flash (3:1 on/off cycle)

Installation Overview
We recommend that you configure your paired AF-5X radios
before site installation. Below is an overview of the installation
with specific details in the following instructions:
• Connect the airFiber PoE Adapter to the DATA port, and
connect your computer to the MGMTport.
• Configure the AF-5X.
• Install a ground wire and mount the AF-5X on an
airFiber X antenna.
• At the installation site, install the airFiber X antenna with the
mounted AF-5X radio (see the antenna’s Quick Start Guide
for installation instructions).
• Secure the ground wire and mount the GPS antenna.
• Establish and optimize the RF link.
Connecting Power over Ethernet
1. Lift the release latch on the bottom of the AF-5X and slide
the Port Cover off.

2. Connect an Ethernet cable to the DATA port.
3. Connect the Ethernet cable from the DATA port to the
Ethernet port labeled POE on the airFiber PoE Adapter.
WARNING: Use only the included airFiber PoE Adapter,
Model: GP-H240-100G-4. Failure to do so can damage
the unit and void the product warranty.
4. Connect the Power Cord to the power port on the airFiber
PoE Adapter. Connect the other end of the Power Cord to a
powersource.

airFiber Configuration
The instructions in this section explain how to access the
airFiber Configuration Interface and configure the following
settings:
• Wireless Mode Configure one AF-5X as the Master and the
other as the Slave.
• Frequency Setting The operating Frequency must be the
same on both the Master and the Slave.
1. Connect an Ethernet cable from your computer to the
MGMT port on the AF-5X.
2. Configure the Ethernet adapter on your computer with a
static IP address on the 192.168.1.x subnet.
3. Launch your web browser. Type http://192.168.1.20 in the
address field and press enter (PC) or return (Mac).

4. The login screen will appear. Enter ubnt in the Username
and Password fields. Select your Country and Language.
You must agree to the Terms of Use to use the product.
Click Login.
Note: U.S. product versions are locked to the U.S.
Country Code to ensure compliance with FCC
regulations.
5. The Main tab will appear. Click the Tools drop-down and
select Link Calculator. This tool will guide you on how to
best minimize bandwidth and power/interference issues.
6. Enter the requirements of your link, and then click
Calculate. Adjust the values as needed to get the optimal
result, and then write down the settings needed for your
configuration.
7. Click the Wireless tab.

8. Configure the Basic Wireless Settings:
a. For one AF-5X, select Master as the Wireless Mode. For
the other AF-5X, keep the default,Slave.
b. Enter a name in the Link Name field. This should be the
same on both the Master and the Slave.
c. If needed, change the Channel Bandwidth, (Master) Duty
Cycle, Output Power and/or Maximum Modulation Rate
settings.
9. Configure the Frequency Setting. The selected Frequency
must be the same on both airFiber radios.
10. Configure the Wireless Security:
a. Select the AES Key Type, HEX or ASCII.
b. For the Key field:
- HEX Enter 16 bytes (eight, 16-bit HEX values: 0-9, A-F,
or a-f). You can omit zeroes and use colons, similar to
the IPv6 format.
Note: The airFiber Configuration Interface supports
IPv6 formats excluding dotted quad and “::”
(double-colon) notation.
- ASCII Enter a combination of alphanumeric
characters (0-9, A-Z, or a-z).
11. Click Change and then click Apply.

12. In-Band Management is enabled by default, so each airFiber
radio must have a unique IP Address. (If the airFiber radios
use the same IP Address, you may lose access to the airFiber
radios via the DATA ports.) Click the Network tab.
a. For the Management IP Address option:
- DHCP Keep the default, DHCP, to use DHCP
reservation on your router to assign a unique
IPAddress.
- Static Change the IP Address, Netmask, and other
settings to make them compatible with your
network.
b. Click Change and then click Apply.
Repeat the instructions in the airFiber Configuration section on
the other AF-5X radio.
For details on the airFiber Configuration Interface, refer to the
airFiber AF-5X User Guide, available at:
downloads.ubnt.com

Hardware Installation
Install a Ground Wire
1. Remove the nut from the Ground Bonding Point located on
the back of the AF-5X.
Ground
Bonding
Point
2. Attach a ground wire (min. 10 AWG or 5 mm2) to the lug
and replace the nut to secure the wire.
3. At the installation site, secure the other end of the ground
wire to a grounded mast, pole, tower, or grounding bar.
WARNING: Failure to properly ground your
airFiber radio will void your warranty.
Note: The ground wire should be as short as
possible and no longer than one meter in length.
*640-00158-02*
640-00158-02

Mount to an Antenna
The AF-5X can be mounted to an airFiber X antenna or an
airFiber X converted RocketDish. The airFiber X Antenna
(AF-5G30-S45) is shown in the following steps:
1. Attach the AF-5X to the mounting bracket.
a. Align the mounting tabs on the back of the AF-5X with
the mounting bracket.
b. Slide the AF-5X down to lock it into place.

2. Attach the RF cables from the antenna feed to the RF
connectors on the AF-5X in this combination: + 45° to
Chain0 and - 45° to Chain 1.
3. Attach the External GPS Antenna to the RF connector labeled
GPS. Then place the magnetic External GPS Antenna on the
bracket (this is temporary; you will mount the External GPS
Antenna on the GPS Antenna Mount at the site).

4. Attach the protective shroud.
a. Align the hash mark on the top of the shroud with the
notch on the dish antenna.
b. Rotate the shroud clockwise until it locks into place.

Mount the External GPS Antenna
Locate a mounting point that has a clear view to the sky, and is
above and as far away as possible from the AF-5X.
1. Attach the GPS Antenna Mount to the pole using the metal
strap, or attach it to a wall using the appropriate fasteners
(notincluded).
2. Place the External GPS Antenna on the mount.
3. Secure the cable of the External GPS Antenna to the mount
with a Cable Tie.

Connecting Power over Ethernet
1. Lift the release latch on the bottom of the AF-5X and slide
the Port Cover off.
2. Connect an outdoor, shielded Ethernet cable to the
DATAport.

3. Connect the other end of the cable from the DATA port to
the Ethernet port labeled POE on the airFiber PoE Adapter.
WARNING: Use only the included airFiber PoE Adapter,
Model: GP-H240-100G-4. Failure to do so can damage
the unit and void the product warranty.
4. Connect an Ethernet cable from your network to the
Ethernet port labeled LAN on the airFiber PoE Adapter.
5. Connect the Power Cord to the power port on the airFiber
PoE Adapter. Connect the other end of the Power Cord to a
power source.