Because signal strength and quality can vary due to many factors, they may not give a true
indication of communications performance or range. However, they can be useful for activities
such as:
l
determining the optimal direction to aim a Yagi antenna
l
determining the effects of antenna height and location
l
trying alternate Yagi antenna (reflective) paths
l
seeing the effect of vegetation and weather over time
3.4.1 Signal strength
Signal strength is how strong the received signal is. The closer your CR300-CELL series is to the
cellular tower, the more signal the antenna will pick up. Signal strengths are lower the farther
away from the tower the CR300-CELL series is.
For 3G networks, signal strength is reported as RSSl (Received Signal Strength Indicator). For 4G,
it is RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power).
Signal strength units are –dBm; –70 is a stronger signal than –100.
Table 3-1: Signal strength
Strength estimate
RSSI (3G)
dBm
RSRP (4G)
dBm
Excellent
-70 or greater -90 or greater
Good
-71 to -85
-91 to -105
Fair
-86 to -100
-106 to -115
Poor
less than -100 less than -115
3.4.2 Signal quality
Signal quality shows how much interference there is between the cellular tower and CR300-CELL
series, or how noisy a band is. Cellular signal noise comes from reflections, ghosting and other
interference. Better signal quality is an indicator of more successful communications during
precipitation events such as rain and snow.
For 3G networks, signal quality is ECIO (Energy to Interference Ratio). For 4G, this is RSRQ
(Reference Signal Received Quality).
Signal quality units are –dBm; 0 is a better signal than –10.
3. Cellular communications option
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