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brendanp
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Hardware RSSI output

Mon Jan 31, 2022 11:32 pm

Hello all!

When I was more in the large telco space, installing high capacity, high frequency microwave links (the likes of Ceragon, etc), quite a lot of emphasis was on properly panning the microwave links. We had one person at each end, you would do a full sweep left to right for each angle of tilt in the general direction of the other side. When you found the best point, the person at the other side would do the same. Back to the first to see if there's any better angle, etc.

Part of the ease of this was that a lot of these units we used to work with had a hardware output for RSSI. Rather than discrete LEDs, as in the Mikrotik links I've used, they had a voltage output. Usually on something like a capped off BNC, sometimes a little pluggable header inside the unit.

On this you'd plug in your multimeter which would show a voltage that was dependant on the RSSI (e.g. the higher the RSSI the higher / lower -depending on manufacturer- the voltage seen on the alignment terminal). The reason this was nice was that, rather than the discrete increments that the LEDs give you, you have a continuous display of the current signal strength. That way, you can pan the link in *really* tightly and get a good link.

Is this a feature that's available on any of the Mikrotik PtP products? It would be great, both on the low cost CPEs and the dedicated point to point bridges, to allow you to get a good link. If not, perhaps it could go on a list of features for future products? It's a very handy feature for very little extra cost - the most expensive thing would be the BNC connector on it. And you could get around that by using something like a JST connector inside the waterproofing, or even just a 2.54 mm pin header.

The reason this was nice was that, rather than the discrete increments that you get with the signal strength meter, you can see real time -often at the hardware level, so little to no delay on updating the signal strength- the current state of the link.

I know you could do something similar by logging into the device and monitoring the rssi value through the network, however if you're up at heights (e.g. on a tower, roof, etc) it's quite difficult and awkward to do while you're panning the unit. On the other hand, a lot of multimeters come with a magnetic clip to attach them to switchboards. This would often be clipped onto the pole. Alternatively, compact current clamp meters can often just be clipped onto feeder cables.

Cheers for reading, and thank you Mikrotik for making such a high quality product at an excellent price point, making the technology available to home users / power users / small business! I love the devices you make and I spruik them all the time when people ask me for recommendations!
 
AidanAus
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Re: Hardware RSSI output

Tue Feb 01, 2022 4:45 am

Good afternoon Brendanp,

Have you thought about using the Mikrotik app paired with a map-lite? The map-lite is a great small formfactor device with a magnet installed inside the case so you should be able to attach it magnetic surfaces next to the P2P equipment. The idea for this would be to bridge its 2.4ghz wireless and its ethernet port together then plug the map-lite into the Mikrotik P2P gear, from there you would connect a smart phone to the maps 2.4ghz wireless and use the Mikrotik app to connect into the P2P gear and look at the wireless interfaces statistic?

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