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

[Destroyallcubes]

What are we suppose to look at?

bottom rack, the other two are Verizon, AT&T. The bottom ones are what look like to be the wimax equipment, with the RRUs behind the round panels

[lilotimz]

bottom rack, the other two are Verizon, AT&T. The bottom ones are what look like to be the wimax equipment, with the RRUs behind the round panels

 

I don't see any panels or RRUs. 

 

I do see some antennas that do not belong to Clearwire. 

 

OIC. Clearwire protection site. Not clear enough of a picture to determine whose equipment it is. Probably motorola or Samsung. 

Edited March 20, 2014 by lilotimz

[Destroyallcubes]

I don't see any panels or RRUs. 

 

I do see some antennas that do not belong to Clearwire.

 

What are those bottom level panels ? The RRU is attached to the back of the farthest right round panel. Kind of hard to see, didn't help it was dark. But it is the only level that resembles wimax. It is on a wimax protection site

[Destroyallcubes]

I don't see any panels or RRUs. 

 

I do see some antennas that do not belong to Clearwire. 

 

OIC. Clearwire protection site. Not clear enough of a picture to determine whose equipment it is. Probably motorola or Samsung.

 

It almost looks like an omnidirectional, did Clear use those?

[lilotimz]

It almost looks like an omnidirectional, did Clear use those?

 

Those are sector antennas. 

[S4GRU]

90% of the Protection Sites I've seen are Huawei gear. The ones in Lamesa Texas, Flagstaff Arizona and North Bend Oregon are the ones I recall off the top of my head that were different. At least of the ones I've seen. I have seen a couple others too. The other 50 or so Protection Sites I've seen are Huawei. All the ones in NM are Huawei.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

[MrZorbatron]

Hey I was wondering why Sprint will keep using microwave backhaul on clear sites and go to fiber on Sprint sites? I'm assuming it's a cost thing and why Fix something that isn't broke right? I'm assuming the microwave way is still very efficient back haul?. Thanks.

It can be. It works fine as long as the link has sufficient capacity. You can easily do 1Gbps full duplex at the distances required for 2500MHz site spacing.

 

The issue comes in with how many hops are required between points where the network is loaded. Ex. 3 sectors TD-LTE will require about 450 Mbps in a perfect world, about 250 in a more real world. This means that with a 1.5 Gbps connection, four or five microwave hops would be a practical maximum.

[MrZorbatron]

90% of the Protection Sites I've seen are Huawei gear. The ones in Lamesa Texas, Flagstaff Arizona and North Bend Oregon are the ones I recall off the top of my head that were different. At least of the ones I've seen. I have seen a couple others too. The other 50 or so Protection Sites I've seen are Huawei. All the ones in NM are Huawei.Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

I need to get you some Michigan pictures. Some are pretty odd.

[jthawks]

Thank you for that info Mrzorbatron

[Destroyallcubes]

I don't see any panels or RRUs. 

 

I do see some antennas that do not belong to Clearwire. 

 

OIC. Clearwire protection site. Not clear enough of a picture to determine whose equipment it is. Probably motorola or Samsung.

 

I got a better picture I hope.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/apthm9qbftlrozf/CAM00013.jpg

[caspar347]

I got a better picture I hope.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/apthm9qbftlrozf/CAM00013.jpg

Those look kinda like the stupid "stealth" sheath things that are on some towers in Charlotte. I don't know why they are used (consistency among carrier racks, I guess?), and I think they just slow down site upgrades. If you can get closer to the site, does it look like those are just cylinders that are open at the tops and bottoms with antennas inside?

[Destroyallcubes]

Those look kinda like the stupid "stealth" sheath things that are on some towers in Charlotte. I don't know why they are used (consistency among carrier racks, I guess?), and I think they just slow down site upgrades. If you can get closer to the site, does it look like those are just cylinders that are open at the tops and bottoms with antennas inside?

yes and you can kind of see the rru attached to the cylinders, i cant get closer to the other two protection sites In town, but this one I was literally Right underneath it.

 

Looks just like this

http://i.imgur.com/e1NvWPU.jpg

[caspar347]

yes and you can kind of see the rru attached to the cylinders, i cant get closer to the other two protection sites In town, but this one I was literally Right underneath it.

Ahh. I thought so. I guess you have to go off of the RRU for identification. Which is better than seeing the antenna in most cases anyway. It would be best if you could get a photo with a camera with a zoom lens just to be sure, but I don't know of any other carrier using antennas of that height with RRUs of that size. So it's probably safe to assume it's Clearwire.

[Destroyallcubes]

Ahh. I thought so. I guess you have to go off of the RRU for identification. Which is better than seeing the antenna in most cases anyway. It would be best if you could get a photo with a camera with a zoom lens just to be sure, but I don't know of any other carrier using antennas of that height with RRUs of that size. So it's probably safe to assume it's Clearwire.

Oh i know it has to be clearwire gear. But finding the vendor is what im curious about, im going to try and borrow one to focus on the RRUs and possibly another sight or two. Thanks for the thought that it might be a stealth container. Never thought of it

[Destroyallcubes]

Ahh. I thought so. I guess you have to go off of the RRU for identification. Which is better than seeing the antenna in most cases anyway. It would be best if you could get a photo with a camera with a zoom lens just to be sure, but I don't know of any other carrier using antennas of that height with RRUs of that size. So it's probably safe to assume it's Clearwire.

Here are some better shots I got:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7r531luu25pbx4n/DSCN0087.JPG

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mogqbouqx56fqz/DSCN0089.JPG

 

And here is the closest I could get from another Protection site, without the stealth containers:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ip37j0gztalspqp/DSCN0091.JPG

[lilotimz]

Here are some better shots I got:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7r531luu25pbx4n/DSCN0087.JPG

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6mogqbouqx56fqz/DSCN0089.JPG

 

And here is the closest I could get from another Protection site, without the stealth containers:

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ip37j0gztalspqp/DSCN0091.JPG[/ur

]

Second one is Samsung. First one is unknown.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

 

 

[Destroyallcubes]

Second one is Samsung. First one is unknown.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

I figured it was Huawei or Samsung. The first set, those couldn't be Expedience equipment could they? 

[Destroyallcubes]

Second one is Samsung. First one is unknown.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5

Is this picture any better, I cant really tell, but it looks like maybe a small RRU inside of some sort of casing

 

 

[Joski1624]

The only really distinguishing feature I can really see is the what appears to be a microwave antenna of some kind that the Samsung equipment seems to lack. The antennas themselves look to be roughly the same size. I see a lot of these when I'm in Sprint's WiMAX footprint in Cleveland, OH.

 

While I'm thinking about it, is there a glossary of terms and acronyms somewhere on S4GRU? It took me about a month to figure out that a "RRU" was a remote radio head, and I still have no idea what a GMO is.

[cdk]

The only really distinguishing feature I can really see is the what appears to be a microwave antenna of some kind that the Samsung equipment seems to lack. The antennas themselves look to be roughly the same size. I see a lot of these when I'm in Sprint's WiMAX footprint in Cleveland, OH.

 

While I'm thinking about it, is there a glossary of terms and acronyms somewhere on S4GRU? It took me about a month to figure out that a "RRU" was a remote radio head, and I still have no idea what a GMO is.

Everything you want to know about GMOs --> http://s4gru.com/index.php?/blog/1/entry-340-sprint-deploys-special-ground-mount-option-network-vision-sites-in-some-low-capacity-and-high-engineering-locations/

[anthony.spina97]

The only really distinguishing feature I can really see is the what appears to be a microwave antenna of some kind that the Samsung equipment seems to lack. The antennas themselves look to be roughly the same size. I see a lot of these when I'm in Sprint's WiMAX footprint in Cleveland, OH.

 

While I'm thinking about it, is there a glossary of terms and acronyms somewhere on S4GRU? It took me about a month to figure out that a "RRU" was a remote radio head, and I still have no idea what a GMO is.

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1704-frequently-asked-questions/&do=findComment&comment=306087

 

-Anthony

[Joski1624]

Thanks! I just had trouble finding it for some reason.

[Vince]

Guys, can someone help tell me which one of these racks is WiMax? These are my local towers, and curiosity got me today, and I took a block long drive down a private drive to take pictures. This thread feels dormant, but hopefully sees this.

[lordsutch]

I think the second rack from the top is an example of Clear protection site equipment (it's the only one with one antenna per sector); it looks like the other Huawei pictures in this thread, but I can't tell definitively. No evidence of TD-LTE live here. (This is the Clear protection site on Russell Parkway in Warner Robins, Georgia.)

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lordsutch/14913366340/in/photostream/

[orangeblue]

Is there a number available how many Huawei radios / sites are still on air? What is the replacement priority for Sprint to comply with the .gov?