The Cingular build-out is installing Emerson/Lorain power plants that are
the latest of the latest
in Cell-Site DC Power. The Monitoring, Control and Alarm computers in
these bays have
RS-232 ports for the commissioning techs to connect to.
The Carrier Access CSU devices that mount in these bays recreate the T-1
and channelize the
T-1 to allow the various alarms, GPS, LMU and BTS bays to share the T-1
line. These devices
have just hit the market and they have RS-232 ports to allow the
commissioning techs to hook up.
The techs use a dumb terminal routine called ProComm to communicate.
Remember ProComm
from before the internet? We used to use ProComm to allow our computers
to talk to BBS sites.
The bays that handle the radios are made by Nokia in Finland. Each of
these bays have two
different RS-232 ports, but mostly the one used is connecting to the
master controller card.
In four years of doing this I've seen BTS hardware, computer hardware,
BTS firmware,
computer operating system, computer BIOS and SiteManager software
changes, but the
one feature that stays is the RS-232 port.
As we approach true 3G here in America the next phase of cellular upgrade
will be the
UMTS technology. The Nokia BTS bays will be upgraded with newer
controllers
and Multi-Carrier Power Amplifiers will be added. All the UMTS bays and
MCPA bays have RS-232 ports for commissioning and integration.
We use terms like "Why reinvent the wheel?" and "If it's not broken
don't fix it." There was a time two years ago when the Win2000 O/S
collided with the Nokia Firmware, but that was upgraded fast.
There was also an application where the field commissioners and
integrators were given USB-based bar code readers to collect data,
and that program saw many field failures when the gear didn't work.
No opinions here, just observations of what is being produced
and used out there.
Hal Mandel,
W4HBM
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