Microwave link measurement has taken to the skies of Paraguay after a recently announced deal involving drones.
CONATEL, the regulatory authority of Paraguay, has chosen the R&S AMS aerial monitoring system from Rohde & Schwarz to efficiently verify the technical parameters of the ever-increasing number of microwave links in the country.
R&S AMS is a small, lightweight monitoring payload carried by a commercial drone. This solution allows easy, economic and effective measurements by flying inside the main lobe of microwave links that usually run horizontally tens of metres above the ground and are otherwise very hard to access.
The R&S AMS payload comprises a spectrum analyser, antenna, control computer, Wi-Fi unit and battery pack. Having its own battery and data link makes the payload independent from the drone's infrastructure. Weighing less than 4.5 kg, it can quickly be connected underneath the drone and can be used with various directional and omnidirectional antennas for different frequency bands.
The system is usually controlled by two operators, one drone pilot and one R&S AMS system operator. The system is also able to operate autonomously. All collected data can be easily transferred to the compatible R&S ARGUS database.
Rohde & Schwarz says it has delivered various systems and solutions to the Paraguayan regulatory authority and maintained a successful partnership with CONATEL over the decades.
