PCTEL SeeGull

Scanners and
SeeHawk System

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RF Solutions
Scanning Receivers
SeeGull MX
High Performance Multi-Band Receiver for
LTE/WCDMA/GSM/CDMA/EV-DO MultiTechnology Networks

SeeGull IBflex
Variable bands, LTE, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM
WiMAX, CDMA/EV-DO, WiFi

SeeGull EXflex
Variable bands, LTE, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM
WiMAX, CDMA/EV-DO, WiFi

SeeGull EX/EX+
Fixed band, LTE, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM
WiMAX, CDMA/EV-DO

SeeGull CX
UMTS/HSDPA, GSM, TD-SCDMA

SeeHawk

Headquarter at
Germantown, Maryland
Global leader in developing
scanning receiver technology
for more than 15 years
Support for all major
technologies including GSM,
TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, LTE
(both FDD & TDD), WiMAX,
CDMA/EVDO
Hong Kong / China Sales and
Technical support
Calibration Centers in
Malaysia and China

Drive Test Application Suite Supporting all

Technologies, Bands, and Measurements for
the SeeGull Scanning Receiver Product
Lines
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PCTEL SeeGull Application

Applications of Scanner:
Network Benchmarking:

Show coverage and quality for multiple operators for benchmarking performance
against others

Network Troubleshooting:

Identify cause of problem, finding signals which test mobile cannot detect

Network Optimization:

Identify coverage of all sectors for GSM / WCDMA / LTE networks

Network Planning:

Verify coverage of proposed new site (CW testing)

Verify coverage of existing sites for propagation model optimization

Mobile Terminals Baseline Reference:

Provide baseline reference measurement in live network environment for UE

manufacturer to compare the UE performance

Phone manufacturers in APAC region also use PCTEL scanner for their
development

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SeeGull Scanner
High Capacity Scalable Receiver Platform
Support all defined cellular bands
Concurrent Measurements for Complex Tri-Mode LTE
Networks
Benchmark Among All Operators For Different
Technologies And Bands At The Same Time
Capture Technology-Related Key Parameters As Well
As Power Measurements With High Accuracy And
Dynamic Range

LTE / WCDMA / GSM

LTE / CDMA / EVDO
Benchmarking
LTE MIMO

High Detection Rate And Low False Detection Rate

Support LTE Measurement Up to 20MHz Channel
Bandwidth
True LTE MIMO Measurements
4
LTE
RF Path Measurement and Subband Measurement
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Why Technology Concurrency Matters

Data Points

SeeGull MX

Drive Test Route

Per-Technology Effective Scan Rate

Competitor A

Performance
Advantage

Per-Technology Effective Scan Rate

Technology 1

Technology 2

Technology 3

5
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PCTEL RF Solutions
Making use of scanning technology to detect different LTE related
problems:
Identifying cause of bad quality / low throughput
Due to Missing Neighbors
Due to Over-propagating Signals
Due to Presence of External Interference

Identifying presence of external signal source

By using Spectrum Analyzer feature for spectrum clearing.
Identify location of external interference source when using scanner
with the use of directional antenna

Identifying signal transmitted from other countries

Making use of Layer 3 decoding capability of scanner
Identifying disconnect / misconnect issue from eNodeB sites
Making use of RF path measurement
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EXflex Overview
The next step in the evolution of the PCTEL EX platform provides
the flexibility operators need to adapt to increasing network complexity.
Support for the predominate technologies utilized by carriers today

TD-LTE, LTE(FDD), WCDMA, GSM, CDMA, EV-DO, TD-SCDMA

Supports for any cellular band between 300 MHz to 3.8 GHz

300 MHz to 3.8 GHz,

Test signal power of WiFi or Public Safety networks.

Simplified expansion and upgradeability




All band additions can be done remotely

Add protocol licenses when and where necessary

Collect measurements simultaneously (sequentially) across up to seven

technologies and any combinations bands that are supported by 3GPP.
Need for a single RF antenna only.

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SeeGull IBflexTM: Features

Support simultaneous
data collection across all
major wireless network
bands and beyond.

In-building focused with

small form factor, lower
power and hot swappable
batteries.

Multiple platform support

for Windows laptop and
Android tablet or UE.
Simultaneously collect data
across 8 technologies LTEFDD, TD-LTE,WCDMA, GSM,
CDMA, EV-DO, TD-SCDMA &
WiFi.

Connect with Bluetooth

and USB.
Easy data storage on hard
drive, external USB drive,
Support for MIMO
SD drive on scanner.
measurements.
PCTEL Confidential Selected Customer Distribution
Only

SeeGull IBflexTM: Differentiation

Power:
Greater testing time and
hot swappable batteries.

WIFI Testing:
IBflex supports WIFI measurement
collection; single integrated
solution with full RF visibility.

Frequency Range:

CDMA/EVDO Holdover:

Wider band for higher

harmonics; interference hunting
and target spectrum
reallocation.

Full support for CDMA and EVDO

holdover option, critical for inbuilding testing and optimization.

Environmental:
Accuracy and Performance:
Greater accuracy and superior
performance when benchmarked
against the competition.

IBflex will run longer and hotter,

critical for in-building testing located
within environmentally challenging
conditions.

PCTEL Confidential Selected Customer Distribution

Only

Available Hardware Options

 OP641 CDMA and EVDO Holdover Option (for In-Building)
 WI-FI Wireless Adapter Options
 OP642 WI-FI Wireless Adapter US
 OP643 WI-FI Wireless Adapter World
 OP644 WI-FI Wireless Adapter Japan
Measurement Types
Technologies
WI-FI

Bandwidths
Up to 20 MHz

Protocol Measurements

Power Measurements

Signal Strength, Noise Level, CINR, Channel

Number, Channel Bandwidth, BSSID, Device
Name, SSID, Security Protocol

Signal Strength

Measurement Performance
Technologies
WI-FI

Measurements
Modes
Blind Scan Mode

Per-technology
Measurement Rates

Dynamic Range

Min. Detection Level

4 sec for 2.4 and 5 GHz

TBD

TBD

PCTEL Confidential Selected Customer Distribution

Only

10

Benefit & Walk Test Kit

 No band limitations

Support for all 3GPP defined bands

570 MHz to 3.8 GHz range

300 MHz to 2.7 GHz range (available 2H14)

E-UTRA bands sold as UL and DL pairs
 Simplified expansion and upgradeability
 All band additions can be done remotely
 Add protocol licenses when and where necessary
Battery Pack

 Walk Test Kit Features



Weight 3.7 lb

Battery life ~6 hours (Power Save mode)

Charge time ~4 hours

Hot Swappable Battery Unit w/ case



Also used as a charging unit

PCTEL Confidential Selected Customer Distribution
Only

11

Coverage Testing

PCTEL SeeGull scanner is an ideal tool to perform

coverage testing to show actual coverage of all
sectors with its high accuracy and dynamic range
performance for both outdoor drive test and indoor
walk test / lab test.
Telecom regulator uses scanner to monitor
coverage performance of local operators, one
device to measure all technologies and bands for
all operators, providing a fair-test results

FD-LTE 1800MHz Best Server RSRP

Plot for Operator S and K

These 2 plots show the best

server RSRP coverage of each
LTE operator, data collected by
the same scanner at the same
time.

MIMO Testing

Importance of measuring the two radio

path independently for MIMO 2x2 network
Importance of providing ECQI and
estimated throughput for different MIMO
modes, which UE cannot measure

MIMO Testing
For MIMO measurement, it is important to confirm if all antenna elements are installed
correctly and transmitting signals.
With PCTEL SeeGull scanners it is easy to observe the RSRP, RSRQ and CINR for each
antenna elements, which measured by each receiving antenna port.

TX
1

RF Path Measurement to
show RSRP / CINR for
each detected PCI

Ant ID 3
Ant ID 2
Ant ID 1
Ant ID 0

Ant ID 3
Ant ID 2
Ant ID 1
Ant ID 0

2D Bar Chart: showing RSRPi for each detected PCI

TX
2

Antenna ID 3 RSRP (Ant Port 1)

Antenna ID 2 RSRP (Ant Port 1)
Antenna ID 1 RSRP (Ant Port 1)
Antenna ID 0 RSRP (Ant Port 1)
Antenna ID 3 RSRP (Ant Port 0)
Antenna ID 2 RSRP (Ant Port 0)
Antenna ID 1 RSRP (Ant Port 0)
Antenna ID 0 RSRP (Ant Port 0)

3D Bar Chart: showing RSRPi for each detected PCI

MIMO Testing
For MIMO (2X2) measurement, it requires 2 RF receiving antennas to measure the signals.
In order to understand the MIMO performance, it is important to capture a complete picture
of the MIMO parameters for the LTE network.
With PCTEL SeeGull scanners, MIMO ECQI and Estimated Throughput are measured and
reported for all MIMO transmission modes, which provide a complete picture of the LTE
MIMO network, an ideal measurement tool for optimizing the RAN while UE cannot perform
the same degree of measurement as it only measure 1 MIMO mode at a time.

Estimated Throughput for

Different
MIMO Modes

ECQI for Different MIMO

Modes

Spectrum Testing
Need to address spectrum crunch using
scanners
Scanners are much more versatile, with
spectrum analyzer being one of its
features
Need to scan the entire bandwidth 20MHz
for interference checking

Spectrum Testing
For Spectrum Testing, user would need to understand what signals present on the spectrum,
and to observe if there is any unwanted signal (interference) present as well.
With PCTEL SeeGull scanners, Spectrum Analyzer is one of the functions, which user can use
to measure the waveforms along the entire spectrum and see if there is any interference
present, as well user can observe if the right signal is transmitting or not.
Besides Spectrum Analyzer, there are 2 more power measurement features, namely RSSI and
Enhanced Power Scan (EPS) features. SeeGull scanner can also capture the technologyrelated key parameters such as Received Power and CINR for both Reference Signal and
Synchronization Channels on LTE. Engineer would not need to bring multiple equipment to
the field as one scanner can do both LTE measurement and spectrum testing by the same
scanner.

Scanner Spectrum
Analyzer function to
capture the presence of
LTE signals along the
driven route

Spectrum Testing
To better understand the performance of the LTE network, it is important to measure the
entire channel bandwidth up to 20MHz.
UE and some other scanners in the market do not measure and report RP and RQ across the
entire channel bandwidth, hence user will miss a lot of useful finding by using those tools.
With PCTEL scanners, the entire channel bandwidth will be measured, and report not only the
wideband measurement on power and quality (such RSRP and CINR) but also on a sub-band
basis which user can easily identify if there is any interference issue or fading issue across
the entire channel bandwidth. This type of measurement cannot be obtained by using UE or
spectrum analyzer.

Wideband
measurement
can show
averaged
power and
quality of the
entire channel
bandwidth

Scanner Spectrum
Analyzer function can
only measure power

Sub-band
measurement can
show power and
quality of the channel
bandwidth on subband level

RF Interference Identification
Scanners most useful for identifying
interferences, both in band and out band
PCTEL scanners are able to find Mod 3
interference which is unique to LTE
network
SeeWave is a total solution for finding the
direction where interferences come from

RF Interference Identification
For interference identification, PCTEL scanners Spectrum Analyzer and EPS functions can
capture the signals including the modulated signals and interference. Especially useful to
identify external interference (example shown in below picture).
PCTEL scanners also equip with layer 3 decoding option, which can decode MCC and MNC and
identify if the signals are transmitted across country borders.

Scanner Spectrum
Analyzer function to
capture unwanted signal
(red circle) on the
2100MHz spectrum

RF Interference Identification
MOD 3 interference is also very common on LTE network, which cause impact of the Primary
Synchronization channel if multiple PCI are using the same sector ID, causing UE have
difficulty to resolve PCI and accessing LTE network, with scanner TopN measurement such
MOD 3 interference can be identified easily.

Scanner TopN
measurement shows the
best server and 3rd best
server are having MOD 3
interference

RF Interference Identification
PCTEL SeeWave system allow user to identify the presence of interference, and as well user
can locate the source of interference.
By using any of the PCTEL scanners (MX, EXflex, Ibflex) together with the direction-finding
antenna, user can easily identify the source and location of the interferer.

Proper eNodeB Installation

PCTEL RF path measurement can check
misconnect or cross-connect problems
with eNodeB

Proper eNodeB Installation

It is important to verify the eNodeB antennas are installed properly, any installation error will
cause the service quality drops. Hence getting an accurate device to verify eNodeB
installation become more important.
UE and some of the scanners in the market fails to identify eNodB installation problem. With
PCTEL scanners RF Path Measurement, it is easy to observe if there is any disconnected issue
or cross-feeder issues during installation.
PCTEL scanners can measure and report key parameters such as RSRP, RSRQ, CINR, etc for
each transmit antenna element, identify eNodeB installation problem which no UE or other
scanners in the market can detect.

Measurement showing one of the antennas

not transmitting, indicating possible
eNodeB installation problem.

Proper eNodeB Installation

Typically eNodeB installation problem involves antenna and feeder cable physical condition,
whether feeder cable is connected properly or not, or the correct feeder cable is connected to
the transmit antenna port. This can be easily identified by PCTEL scanner RF Path
measurement
Any error will cause the LTE network quality performance degrade.

PCI
81

Ant ID 1

Ant ID 0

Ant ID 1

Ant ID 0

Measurement showing cross-connected issue

(feeder cable not connected to the correct
transmit antenna port)

Ant ID 3
Ant ID 2
Ant ID 1
Ant ID 0

PCI
325

PCI
15

Ant ID 3
Ant ID 2
Ant ID 1 (Disconnected)
Ant ID 0

Measurement showing dis-connected issue

(feeder cable not connected properly or antenna
physical damaged)

PCI
91

FD-LTE 1800MHz Best Server RSRP Plot

In general the RSRP level is high along the entire drive route, 98.66% of
the data have RSRP > -80dBm. No obvious coverage issue has been
observed.

FD-LTE 1800MHz Best Server CINR Plot

Consider CINR level 10dB or above is good, the above plot show 57.2% with good quality
coverage, those areas can provide good data service and possibly good VoLTE service as
well.
However there are several spots which require attention, as from previous slide show no
weak coverage issue, but those spots (in red circles) CINR are considered low.

FD-LTE 1800MHz Best Server Cell Identity Plot

With MX Layer 3 capability, it can also decode Cell

Identity of other operators and observe their
performance. From the Best Server Cell Identity plot
above, it is obvious to see they have more eNBs have
signals present along the entire drive route.
A total of 174 servers have been identified. When there
are more eNBs installed, it is important to plan more
carefully otherwise all kind of problem such as overpropagating issue, non-dominant server, MOD 3
interference would occur.

3G - Channel 10663 Best Server RSCP & Ec/Io Plot (S1)

By looking at the RSCP and Ec/Io plots,

it is seen that this channel serves most
of the area fairly good except there are
several areas (red circles) that the
Ec/Io arent that good. suspect caused
by coverage.

3G Channel 10663 Single Pilot Plot (S1)

Problem:
Single Pilot: total of 15062 counts
out of a total of 31320 data points,
its almost half of the points only
have single pilot detected, for
those areas, there is only 1 serving
sector, in case out outage or
scheduled maintenance, there will
be no WCDMA coverage.

Recommendation:
1. For single pilot issue, engineer
should look for the neighbor
sites and adjust antenna angle
to cover that area, or pick an
antenna with wider beamwidth.

3G - Channel 10663 Best Server RSCP (S1)

There is an area which is quite

problematic, serving cell with SC 246 (Cell
ID 56284), RSCP is not too low but the
Ec/Io is bad, also down south there is
another SC 138 (Cell ID 52515) is having
the same issue. S1s engineer should focus
on these 2 sectors, seeing if these 2
sectors should be serving or not, if
necessary, conduct a site visit as this could
be equipment issue or interference issue.

32

CW Transmitter Features &

Benefits
400MHz

2.7 GHz

Support CW data
transmission from 400
MHz to 2.7 GHz

Multiple transmission
ports, inject up to 4
simultaneous CW
signals

Customizable and field

upgradable, simple intuitive
menu interface and software
options to upgrade from 2 port
to 4 port configuration

In-building focused
with a small form
factor, portable and
light weight design
PCTEL Confidential

33

CW Transmitter - Specifications
RF Characteristics
Active RF Ports
Internal Frequency Accuracy
Frequency Bands
Frequency Step
Modulation
Min Output Power

Max Output Power

Power Accuracy
Off Transmit Power
Non-Harmonic Spurious
RF Output
Power Supply
Input Power
Charger
Battery Operating Time
(continuous maximum output
power)
Battery Standby Time
Physical Characteristics
External Dimensions
Weight
Operating Temp
Standard Package
07012 or 07014

2 (PN 07012)

4 (PN 07014)

1.1 ppm
Customized bands from 400 MHz to 2.7 GHz
100 KHz
Continuous Wave (CW )
-10 dBm
400 MHz < 15 dBm 1900 MHz
1900 MHz < 12 dBm 2170 MHz
2170 MHz < 10 dBm 2700 MHz
+/- 1 dB
-100 dBm
-40 dBc
50 ohm SMA Female
9 to 14 VDC
110/220V AC, 50/60 Hz 12V Car Charger
105 minutes
450 minutes
7 L x 3.1 W x 1.7 H [179 mm L x 80 mm W x 43 mm H]
1.5 lb [0.7 kg] including battery
-10 to + 40 C
Handheld transmitter (includes battery), charger, and manuals

PCTEL Confidential

34

Thank you
Mike Siu
+852-9021-7866
mike.siu@pctel.com
RF Solutions Group
PCTEL, Inc.
rfsolutions.pctel.com
Disclaimer:
This presentation (including this Disclaimer) has been translated into Japanese. If there is any inconsistency or
ambiguity between the English version and the Japanese version, the English version shall prevail. PCTEL is
not responsible for the quality of the translation or any errors in the translation

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