OCTOPUS H9K8Y6Q8 4G LTE Signal Meter User Guide

: June 4, 2024
: OCTOPUS

Table of Contents

Before You Start
Starting Up
Scanning and Sorting
Choosing Your Base Station
Antenna Alignment
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

OCTOPUS H9K8Y6Q8 4G LTE Signal Meter

Before You Start

Unpack and completely charge up your Octopus using the supplied power transformer and charging dock. Be sure unit is seated firmly in the charging dock so that charging LED atop unit is lit. The mini-USB port loctated on the side of unit can be used for trickle charge and firmware updates. Check with BVS support for latest firmware and updating instructions. Be sure to only use provided multiband antenna or other antenna authorized by BVS support. This will ensure that unit properly scans all bands, carriers and frequencies at maximum sensitivity.

Starting Up

Before powering up, connect the antenna. Power up Octopus by pressing the white button below the touchscreen. This same button is the only physical button on the unit and also powers down the unit by holding it in for a few seconds. Octopus will immediately begin scanning all nearby base stations. After about 10 seconds of a startup screen, Octopus will display the main screen of carrier choices (Octopus scans all U.S. regional carriers (over 60) but only displays those on the carrier list screen which appears next) while continuing to scan for all nearby signals. Choose your carrier of choice or all 4G. Allow at least 30 seconds for full scan to complete. Three small dots in the lower right corner of the screen indicate scanning is still in progress. Tap on the gear icon (settings menu) at any time to adjust the vibrating and audible alerts as well as check your current firmware and unit serial number. See next page of this user guide for all screens and their paths.

Scanning and Sorting

Once Octopus has finished completely scanning, you may sort all base station signals by either carrier, frequency or signal strength. 4G signal strength is measured in RSRQ (dB) and RSRP (dBm). Tapping the CARRIER, FREQ or RSRQ/RSRP buttons will sort the list by any of those choices. If Octopus identifies more than 6 unique base stations, a PAGE down button appears for additional pages of base stations to search through. PAGE up button appears on the next page allowing users to move through all pages. Touch the freeze button (lower left) anytime to freeze the screen(s) to view measurements across all pages, take notes or snap a quick pic with your smartphone. This mode also saves measurement data for download to PC (see user manual). Push the same button again to resume real time measurements.

Choosing Your Base Station

Once you have located the base station of interest, touch it to take you to the active signal carrier measurement screen. From this screen you can view the channel number and realtime signal strength as you move around and also to align external antennas to nearby base stations. Single measurement screen allows users to toggle between RSRP and RSSI measurments in dBm as well as view RSRQ without having to leave this screen. A thin watermark line above the vertical signal strength bar indicates peak measurement observed during the entire session. Tap the CID button to view more information about this particular base station.

Antenna Alignment

Disconnect your included omni directional SMA antenna and connect directly to your mounted (or soon to be mounted) antenna fixture while viewing the single carrier screen. Begin with broad sweeps and then turn your antenna slower to fine tune adjustment so that it is pointing directly to the base station you want off in the distance. Once your signal strength is at maximum, install and tighten your permanent antenna and connect it directly to your cell booster. You can now move on to scan more base stations and install more cell boosters if needed.