Cel-Fi WAVE PRO App Release 1.5 – Cel-Fi Support

Release date: April 21, 2022

Nextivity is excited to release WAVE PRO App version 1.5, which includes numerous improvements, including:

Full support for Cel-Fi SOLO RED half-watt ERCES public safety BDA.
A new Band Selection feature that improves scan efficiency for both Cellular and Public Safety.
An Antenna Pointing feature to locate your High Site for Public Safety installations.
Introduction of DAQ Equivalent calculations to reduce deployment time and support AHJ acceptance.
Critical Area designation on floorplans to notate Areas of Refuge.

Please read on to learn more about these and many more improvements now available in the WAVE PRO App on both Android and iOS. Also review the WAVE Portal version 1.5 Release Notes for information on related improvements to the WAVE System.

Band & Control Channel Selection

WAVE PRO version 1.5 includes a new Band Selection feature that works with your Cel-Fi COMPASS to narrow scan scope, making scan operations even faster.

When you connect to a Cel-Fi COMPASS, the WAVE PRO App will automatically detect the COMPASS band capabilities and present the Band Selection window on the relevant functions. Band Selection is available when performing a Full Signal Report, Grid Test, and Antenna Positioning.

By selecting only those bands needed for the task at hand, the COMPASS will complete its scans faster. WAVE PRO will even remember the last-used cellular band selections for quick confirmation.

In addition to cellular band selections, WAVE PRO will allow the user to select which Public Safety Control Channels to include for COMPASS RED scans when performing a Grid Test or Full Signal Report. This is particularly useful because, while a Site Installation Package will contain all potential Control Channels, often only one Control Channel is in use.

Now you can select which specific Control Channel is specified by the AHJ and complete your Site Survey much quicker without collecting data for inactive channels.

Band Selection can be used to perform targeted Cellular and Public Safety scans at the same time.

Public Safety High Site Antenna Pointing

Antenna Pointing is a new feature located on the Installation Package page. This tool helps you to easily determine the direction to point your external Public Safety antenna. Using the High Site Heading from the selected Installation Package, along with the compass sensor within your mobile device, the WAVE Pro App will point the way.

Using the Antenna Pointing feature on location is easy. Rotate your device to align the High Site Heading (identified by an orange triangle noting the angle) with the stationary line indicating the direction you’re pointing. As the dial aligns, the High Site indicator turns green. Your device is now pointing in the direction of the High Site for the selected Installation Package.

Please note that the compass angle and Antenna Pointing calculation automatically adjust for true north, based on the site’s Longitude and Latitude. Also, while this new “Antenna Pointing” feature is specific to public safety installations, the “Antenna Positioning” tool is unchanged and continues to be available for the positioning of cellular donor antennas.

New Metric Added: DAQ Equivalent

Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ) Equivalent values have been added to the WAVE PRO in version 1.5.

DAQ is a required component of ERCES Acceptance Testing by AHJs in many jurisdictions. Collecting this data can be a time-consuming, subjective process. With the addition of DAQ Equivalent calculations, installers will further reduce installation time and improve AHJ acceptance, streamlining receipt of Certificate of Occupancy.

To include DAQ data collection in your scans, confirm the “Include SINR and DAQ for LMR” box is checked in the bottom tray when beginning a Grid Test. DAQ Equivalents are automatically calculated based on the applicable TIA standard (Telecommunications Systems Bulletin 88.1-E, Annex A Table A1, November 2018).

Using COMPASS RED and the WAVE PRO App to incorporate DAQ Equivalent calculations in your site tests allows you to generate Site Survey Report in the WAVE Portal which includes this data. Combining these powerful tools will streamline successful acceptance testing. Please refer to the WAVE Portal version 1.5 Release Notes for additional information on this new feature of the Cel-Fi WAVE System.

Critical Areas on Floorplans

The WAVE System now supports Critical Area designation on floorplans. A Test Area can be set as a Critical Area in the WAVE Portal. The WAVE PRO App will mark each Critical Area on a selected floor with a yellow triangle icon containing an exclamation point.

Using the COMPASS and COMPASS RED to collect data in a Critical Area is the same as any other Test Area. However, scan results within a Critical Area have additional implications on the overall Site Survey Report generated by the WAVE Portal. For more information, please review the WAVE Portal version 1.5 Release Notes.

Other Improvements

Both the Full Signal Report and its CSV export now include the following metrics: eNodeB ID, Cell ID, and Bandwidth.
Unknown carriers are now listed by MNC_MCC at the bottom of scan results.
It is now possible to select and delete from the app a Site Survey Package and Talk Out Test Package. Deleting the package from the local device does not remove it from the WAVE Portal.
SOLO RED now includes the capability to switch from Class A to Class B. When requesting to make this change, the user must confirm that the corresponding product label has been applied to the Cel-Fi SOLO RED BDA case.
The app will display an error message when attempting to configure a Cel-Fi RED system with an Installation Package that exceeds the target device’s maximum number of channels. For instance, SOLO RED supports up to 64 channels in Class A configuration, and QUATRA RED supports 56; therefore, an Installation Package containing 60 channels can only be installed on SOLO RED.
The WAVE Pro app now returns to the BT Search page when the device disconnects from the BT.
SIM Card settings have been moved from the general Settings page to the Operator Signal page.
Icons were updated on the “Select Your Device” and “Installation Packages” pages to make selection and navigation more intuitive.

Issues Resolved

The app will no longer become unresponsive if the user cancels a WAVE Portal authentication without attempting to log in.
Resolved an issue which caused the same event to result in multiple alarms displayed in the app under certain conditions.
Resolved an issue that cause the App to hang when attempting to Stop Test during a Full Signal Report.
Resolved an issue that prevented use of the Back button after completing a measurement on the Grid Test.
Resolved an issue that caused the grid to no longer be displayed when the user, rather than changing the floor, selects the current floor from the floor dropdown.

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