Xircom An Intel Company GEM3501 User Manual

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Core Engine GSM/GPRS Modem Developer Guide Preliminary Draft: 7/6/2001 
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Part Number: 07100026, Revision: 002 
Confidential
 
© 2001 Xircom, Inc., an Intel company All rights reserved.  
All trademarks and copyrights are the property of Xircom, Inc., an Intel company 
practices.  Emphasis on freedom from obstacles, and the aesthetic guidelines required by 
site management should be taken into consideration during the install.   
 
NOTE: Coaxial cables must be professionally installed. Coaxial cables must be 
routed and installed in a manner that insures that the jacket, dielectric and outer 
shield are not crushed, kinked, cut, scraped or otherwise damaged. 
15.4 Coaxial Cable Losses and Lengths 
There are some important factors to consider concerning coaxial cable length.  The FCC 
requires that for mobile applications, the maximum output power can be no more than 
W (+33 dBm) EIRP
, and for fixed applications, no more than  5W (+37dBm).  When 
using a directional gain antenna and short coaxial cable connections, it is possible to 
exceed either FCC requirement.  In such cases, additional attenuation must be added into 
the path gain.  This can be achieved with either in line attenuators, or by adding more 
cable length.     
To determine the amount of loss needed between the modem and the antenna, the 
following formula can be used. 
Attenuation needed  = g – p 
where 
g = antenna gain (in dB) 
g
 = maximum path gain allowed by FCC based on the modem maximum output power of 
+30 dBm, and where 
p
 = 3 dB for mobile applications, or 
p
 = 7 dB for fixed applications 
 
To determine the proper minimum cable length the following formula can be used. 
L = (g – p) / a 
where  
L = required minimum cable length 
g = antenna gain (in dB; per antenna manufacturers specifications). 
p = maximum path gain allowed by FCC based on the modem maximum output power of 
+30 dBm, p = 3 dB for mobile applications, or p = 7 dB for fixed applications 
a = attenuation per foot of cable (in dB; per cable manufacturers specifications).  
 
As long as installation and operating restrictions previously provided are observed, and 
antenna gain is limited to 7 dBi for fixed, or 3 dBi for mobile applications, there is no need 
to introduce RF loss between the modem and antenna in order to comply with FCC MPE 
limits.  
 
NOTE: Cable loss beyond that required to meet the FCC requirements, with the 
given antenna, will decrease the signal strength reaching the modem.  This will 
negatively impact the ability of the modem to communicate with the network. 
For more details and guidelines, please see Table 15 and Table 16 and the following 
examples.