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How to Spot Clearwire TDD-LTE / Wimax Antennas & RRUs (Samsung)

lilotimz

By lilotimz
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lilotimz Member Level: LTE Advanced

lilotimz

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I live out in the country. 15 miles east of the nearest decent size city that has a population of about 37,000 (Richmond, Indiana). I didn't think Sprint was adding Band 41 to rural areas that weren't densely populated. However, last week I saw a rope hanging from -----. It was getting dark so I could not see the antennas very well. Today, I took my new DSLR camera with me and the top image below is what I observed. The antenna on the right has been there since July 2013. The wider antenna on the left is new.

 

The bottom image is what it looked like in July 2013 after NV antenna was added, but before legacy was removed.

 

In addition, this week, I spoke to and verified a contractor for Time Warner has been running new fiber to the tower for Sprint.

 

So, am I correct in thinking this is new addition is a Band 41 antenna on this tower? (Band 25 & 26 run through the same antenna, and B41 requires an additional antenna, correct?)

 

Immediately go back there and take more pictures ASAP.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

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lilotimz
lilotimz

Samsung TDD-LTE gear which are being utilized in Clearwire priority sites. .   Clearwire - Samsung TDD-LTE RRH SLS-BD106Q & Antennas           Sams

el1117
el1117

I live out in the country.  15 miles east of the nearest decent size city that has a population of about 37,000 (Richmond, Indiana).  I didn't think Sprint was adding Band 41 to rural areas that weren

lilotimz
lilotimz

The new Band 41 TDD-LTE 8T8R Antenna and radio head!

Posted Images

lilotimz Member Level: LTE Advanced

lilotimz

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Is there something specifically you want that I didn't capture?

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Just need clear pictures of the radio head and connectors on the bottom of that and the antenna. There's never something as too many pictures for new equipment like what you found!

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el1117 Member Level: 1xRTT

el1117

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So, is this "new" as in newer than the other B41 equipment that has been deployed up to this point? I'll gladly go back and get more pictures, but that was already with 200mm zoom. That's as close as I can get. I can take other angles though, and maybe set it up on my tripod to eliminate all the blur I can. I like details, give me all the details on this you can, even if you need to PM me because of sponsor sensitive info. Thanks.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

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bucdenny Member Level: 4G WiMax

bucdenny

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So, is this "new" as in newer than the other B41 equipment that has been deployed up to this point? I'll gladly go back and get more pictures, but that was already with 200mm zoom. That's as close as I can get. I can take other angles though, and maybe set it up on my tripod to eliminate all the blur I can. I like details, give me all the details on this you can, even if you need to PM me because of sponsor sensitive info. Thanks.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

Yup they are the new ones.  Can you get closer to the site?

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lilotimz Member Level: LTE Advanced

lilotimz

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So, is this "new" as in newer than the other B41 equipment that has been deployed up to this point? I'll gladly go back and get more pictures, but that was already with 200mm zoom. That's as close as I can get. I can take other angles though, and maybe set it up on my tripod to eliminate all the blur I can. I like details, give me all the details on this you can, even if you need to PM me because of sponsor sensitive info. Thanks.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

Can't call yourself a true s4gru follower without being questioned by police and chased off by land owners like AJ & Robert!

 

Anyhow. The pictures you should definitely take is the new antennas and radio heads to the left. Get enough good quality pics  of them and I'll start a new thread. New radio head is from Samsung and antenna is from KMW. 

 

We've only seen diagrams but never the pics of actual equipment. You literally have the first confirmed B41 Sprint 8T8R equipment in your backyard. 

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el1117 Member Level: 1xRTT

el1117

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No kidding!? That's why the guy there working on it told me that this tower is the guinea pig for new equipment. I went back down there after you said to get some pics. He said it is the one that gets all the new equipment in this area first, which I find weird since it's not actually pumping out 4G yet. He told me it will be active by May.

 

He said they would be done in about an hour and would be out of there. It's only about 3 miles from my house so I told him I'd come back later. Headed there now to get some more pics. I'll update you soon.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

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el1117 Member Level: 1xRTT

el1117

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No kidding!? That's why the guy there working on it told me that this tower is the guinea pig for new equipment. I went back down there after you said to get some pics. He said it is the one that gets all the new equipment in this area first, which I find weird since it's not actually pumping out 4G yet. He told me it will be active by May.

 

He said they would be done in about an hour and would be out of there. It's only about 3 miles from my house so I told him I'd come back later. Headed there now to get some more pics. I'll update you soon.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

Can't call yourself a true s4gru follower without being questioned by police and chased off by land owners like AJ & Robert!

 

Anyhow. The pictures you should definitely take is the new antennas and radio heads to the left. Get enough good quality pics  of them and I'll start a new thread. New radio head is from Samsung and antenna is from KMW. 

 

We've only seen diagrams but never the pics of actual equipment. You literally have the first confirmed B41 Sprint 8T8R equipment in your backyard. 

 

As far as being chased off by the police, no worries there. I worked for the local Sheriff's Office for 14 years.  Land owners?  I've known them forever as well.  So now I'm really interested in any info you can provide on this new equipment.  I'm uploading the new pics now.  Also, I notice the site ID was redacted.  My bad on that, however, I do have a pic of it I can post to be in compliance with S4GRU guidelines.  Standby for new pics....the lighting may not be the best now as the sun is more in the west in the lens.  I'll head back down tomorrow morning, but in the mean time....these will have to do.

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el1117 Member Level: 1xRTT

el1117

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Here are the new pics.  Like I said, the lighting may be better in the morning.

 

Site ID sign on gate.

W7ZvwZy.jpg

 

 

The crewman told me this tower already has fiber, and it does have 3G/800, but there is new fiber waiting to be installed.  What is that all about?

FwuA2EV.jpg

 

9oAau5c.jpg

 

z6VWdxK.jpg

 

Iw8Heae.jpg

 

New antenna.

CTgSHNb.jpg

biABobz.jpgCMLhqdO.jpgwPozdJ6.jpg

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el1117 Member Level: 1xRTT

el1117

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!!

 

Gonna have to start checking locally for new stuff on the racks it seems

 

 

Most definitely! Like I said, this tower has had NV equipment since July 2013, but still no 4G, and this new antenna in just the last week.

 

The installer this morning told me an integration crew should be by next and it should be live by May.  He said once they leave the tower today they don't plan on coming back to it.  He said once it's fired up, it should be throwing out all 3 bands.  Music to my ears!!!

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lilotimz Member Level: LTE Advanced

lilotimz

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Most definitely! Like I said, this tower has had NV equipment since July 2013, but still no 4G, and this new antenna in just the last week.

 

The installer this morning told me an integration crew should be by next and it should be live by May.  He said once they leave the tower today they don't plan on coming back to it.  He said once it's fired up, it should be throwing out all 3 bands.  Music to my ears!!!

 

Good pictures. Probably wanna get a some closer shots (if possible) at the radio head mounted behind the antennas and the ports on the bottom. Excellent.. most excellent. 

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el1117 Member Level: 1xRTT

el1117

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Can't get any closer. I was resting my camera on the top of the fence for those pics, with 200mm lens maxed. I do, however, have a photographer friend. I have asked her is she has a 300mm zoom and I'm waiting to hear back from her.

 

 

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

 

 

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EXLINE Member Level: 1x Advanced

EXLINE

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Wow Richmond is only like an hour east of Indy. Are you closer to Indy or Dayton? Also did Dayton ever get WiMax? Indy did not....

 

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

 

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duddys31 Member Level: 3G EVDO

duddys31

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Cool so they picked that site to pretty much do testing for the network vision b41 deployment I'm guessing huh. Pretty cool nonetheless. I want to see some msn b41 sites. I'm in Ericsson territory so I'm so glad Nokia is doing Ares with as much good reviews there has been with them. But also glad to see y'all getting some b41 love also.

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dapiz987 Member Level: Smoke Signals

dapiz987

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This is my first post, but i have been following s4gru for quite some time now, you guys are awesome :). I have a quick question regarding what i am almost certain is a Samsung Clearwire TDD-LTE RRU. This site got it's NV upgrade about a year and a half ago, before this it was a Clearwire WiMAX site. During the upgrade, they ran new fiber to a nearby CenturyLink DSLAM site, installed the new ALU (I think) RRUs and panels for 800/1900 (second mast down), and installed new RRUs on the old Clearwire setup. Well i just finally got a tri-band device (Nexus 5), and went straight to this site to see if B41 was active. It is! This brings the questions.

Are these in fact new Samsung RRUs? (im pretty much positive, would just sleep better with a conformation  :P)

If so, since these were somewhat recently installed, does this make an 8T8R upgrade in the near future less likely?

And most of all, it seems as though my throughput is artificially limited, when i run a speedtest (full signal, line of sight to the tower), it pegs 6mbps down and just stays there, no more than .1 fluctuation, just doesnt seem natural.. To make things stranger, I get around 11mbps up. Whats going on here?

The site is in Clayton, NC (Hwy 42 & Barbour Mill Rd in case anyone is familiar with the area). Sorry for the terrible photo, only had my phone handy at the time. My area is pretty much entirely lte averaging around 20mbps download.

I know you cant really see the RRUs im talking about here, but i figured the label in the bottom right, color, and white connectors on the bottom edges of the panel make it look very much like the Samsungs ive seen.

MB4UlBz.jpg

post-6844-0-96415100-1404707370_thumb.jpg

post-6844-0-98571600-1404707371_thumb.png

post-6844-0-88271800-1404707501_thumb.jpg

Edited by dapiz987
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