Synchronized transmission on shared channel
Simultaneous transmission on a shared channel by a plurality of collocated radios is provided herein. The two or more radios are collocated with one another and are communicating with two far radios over a pair of long range wireless links. The two or more radios are configured to transmit and receive in synchronization with one another on a same channel. An off-axis response for each of the two or more radios is reduced compared to their on-axis response for improved signal to noise ratio, and the on-axis response the two or more radios are substantially equal to one another.
1. A system comprising:
two or more radios collocated with one another, the two or more radios communicating with two far radios over a pair of long range wireless links, the two or more radios being configured to transmit and receive in synchronization with one another on a same channel, wherein an off-axis response for each of the two or more radios is reduced compared to their on-axis response for improved signal to noise ratio, the on-axis response for a radio occurring along a main axis between the two or more radios and the two far radios, and an off-axis response occurring when interference is experienced based on overlapping signals generated between any of the two or more radios and the two far radios, the on-axis response of each of the two or more radios being approximately equal to one another;
a cloud controller that monitors interference by determining any of the two or more radios that are not operating in synchronization with one another and selectively controls the two or more radios over a network; and
a spectral scanner that is configured to sense asynchronous broadcast periods.
2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the two or more radios are time division duplex radios.
3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the off-axis response compared with the on-axis response is within a signal to noise ratio of approximately 6 dBm.
4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the two or more radios are synchronized by GPS modules in each of the two or more radios.
5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein one of the two or more radios comprises a GPS module and the one radio is coupled to the other of the two or more radios with a wired link to share GPS information allowing the two or more radios to synchronize.
6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the two or more radios comprises a shroud that provides side lobe rejection to prevent signal overlap there between.
7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each of the two or more radios are synchronized over the network.
8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the on-axis response of each of the two or more radios is selectively adjusted by adjusting an antenna gain of the each of the two or more radios.
9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein an antenna gain of each of the two far radios is selectively adjustable to allow the on-axis response of each of the two or more radios to be substantially equal to one another.
10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the on axes of the two or more radios are spaced apart from one another to reduce the off-axis response of each of the two or more radios.
11. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the cloud controller is in communication with each of the two or more radios, the cloud controller being configured to balance the on-axis response the two or more radios relative to one another.
12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the cloud controller is further configured to detect additional radios in proximity to the two or more radios, the additional radios producing interference relative to the two or more radios.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud controller is configured to detect when the two or more radios are interfering with one another by detecting non-synchronized broadcast time periods of multiple radios.
14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud controller is configured to inform the owners of any of the two or more radios that are not operating in synchronization with one another, that synchronization will improve network performance.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cloud controller is configured to synchronize the two or more radios in their channel usage and their operational timing.
16. A method, comprising:
transmitting signals on a same channel by two or more collocated radios, the two or more collocated radios communicating with two far radios over a pair of long range wireless links, by:
monitoring interference by determining any of the two or more collocated radios that are not operating in synchronization with one another;
selectively controlling the two or more collocated radios over a network;
sensing asynchronous broadcast periods of the two or more collocated radios;
synchronizing transmit and receive time periods of the two or more collocated radios such that the two or more collocated radios transmit at a same time and receive at the same time as one another;
reducing an off-axis response for each of the two or more collocated radios relative to their on-axis response; and
balancing the on-axis response for each of the two or more collocated radios such that they are approximately equivalent to one another, the on-axis response for a radio occurring along a main axis between the two or more collocated radios and the two far radios.
17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein reducing an off-axis response for each of the two or more collocated radios relative to their on-axis response comprises optimizing angular separation between the two or more collocated radios.
18. The method according to claim 16 , further comprising receiving GPS information in order to synchronize the transmit and receive time periods.
19. The method according to claim 16 , further comprising detecting interference between the two or more collocated radios prior to synchronizing the two or more collocated radios.
20. The method according to claim 16 , wherein the two or more collocated radios are each owned by different entities.
21. A method of communication synchronization between two or more radios, the two or more radios having angular separation or physical characteristics that optimize their on-axis responses, the two or more radios configured to communicate with two far radios over a pair of long range wireless links, the method comprising:
selecting a shared channel for the two or more radios;
monitoring interference by determining any of the two or more radios that are not operating in synchronization with one another;
selectively controlling the two or more radios over a network;
sensing asynchronous broadcast periods of the two or more radios;
synchronizing transmit and receive time periods of the two or more radios such that the two or more radios transmit at a same time and receive at the same time as one another on the shared channel; and
balancing an on-axis response for each of the two or more radios such that they are approximately equivalent to one another wherein the on-axis response for a radio occurs along a main axis between the two or more radios and the two far radios.
22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein the physical characteristics comprise radio shrouds with side lobe rejection.
23. The method according to claim 21 , wherein synchronizing transmit and receive time periods comprises:
receiving at one of the two or more radios, GPS information; and
providing the GPS information to the other of the two or more radios over a wired link or a network connection, wherein the GPS information is used to synchronize the two or more radios.