Ubiquiti AF11FX User Manual

11 GHz FDD
Backhaul Radio

Models: AF‑11FX‑H, AF‑11FX‑L

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Ubiquiti Networks® airFiber®
AF-11FX. This Quick Start Guide is designed to guide you
through installation.

Package Contents

airFiber AF-11FX Duplexer

airFiber Gigabit PoE

(50V, 1.2A)

1. High-band Duplexer (AF-11FX-H) or low-band Duplexer (AF-11FX-L)

TERMS OF USE: Ubiquiti radio devices must be professionally installed. Shielded Ethernet
cable and earth grounding must be used as conditions of product warranty. TOUGHCable
is designed for outdoor installations. It is the customer’s responsibility to follow local country
regulations, including operation within legal frequency channels, output power, and Dynamic
Frequency Selection (DFS) requirements.

1

Cable Ties

(Qty. 2)

11 GHz FDD
Backhaul Radio

Models: AF-11FX-H, AF-11FX-L

Power Cord Quick Start Guide

™

Antenna Compatibility

The airFiber AF-11FX radio is designed for use with the
following airFiber X antenna models:

• AF-11G36

1

Installation Requirements

• Clear line of sight between airFiber radios

• Vertical mounting orientation

• Mounting point:

• At least 1 m below the highest point on the structure

• For tower installations, at least 3 m below the top of

thetower

• Ground wires – min. 10 AWG (5 mm2) and max. length:

1m. Asa safety precaution, ground the airFiber radio to

grounded masts, poles, towers, or grounding bars.

WARNING: Failure to properly ground your

airFiber radio will void your warranty.

• (Recommended) 2 Outdoor Gigabit PoE surge protectors

Note: For guidelines about grounding and lightning

protection, follow your local electrical regulatory
codes.

• (Optional) DC power source (if not using PoE)

• Outdoor, shielded Category 6 (or above) cabling and
shielded RJ-45 connectors are required for all wired Ethernet
connections.

² Check your local/regional regulations for the maximum antenna gain

allowed for your application.

Hardware Overview

CH0 Port:

Connects to

AF-11G36

Antenna

Duplexer

Shroud

LED

Panel

Port Cover

CH1 Port

(Under Cap)

Ports

Management

Port

Management Port 10/100 Mbps, secured Ethernet port for

configuration. In-Band Management is enabled by default
in the airFiber Configuration Interface. When In-Band
Management is disabled, the MGMT port is the only port that
can monitor, configure, and/or update firmware.

Reset Button To reset to factory defaults, press and hold the

Reset button for more than 10 seconds while the device is

already poweredon.

Data Port Gigabit PoE port for handling all user traffic and

powering the device.

VDC The VDC terminal block, labeled (+) and (-), is used to

power the AF-11FX using 50VDC instead of PoE.

Reset

Button

Data

Port

VDC

Duplexer Ports

AF-11FX

Radio

(Duplexer

Shroud

removed)

TX0

RX0

TX0, RX0 Transmit and Receive SMA ports for low-band

Duplexer (SISO mode) or high-band Duplexer (MIMO mode).

RX1, TX1 Receive and Transmit SMA ports for high-band

Duplexer (MIMO mode only).

RX1

TX1

Duplexer

N Connector

SMA Port SMA Port

N Connector Female N-type connector into which the

antenna cable is plugged.

SMA Port High-band and low-band channel SMA ports.

LEDs

Signal LEDs

Signal 4 LED will light blue when on.

Signal 3 LED will light green when on.

Signal 2 LED will light yellow when on.

Signal 1 LED will light red when on.

Bootup to airOS When powering on, the Power, MIMO, LINK,

and Signal 1-4 LEDs light on. Once the CPU code takes over, the
MIMO, LINK, and Signal 1-3 LEDs turn off. Signal 4 LED remains

on to indicate the boot sequence is underway.

Initializing airFiber Software When the airFiber application

begins to boot under airOS, the Signal 4 LED goes from solidly
on to a 2.5 Hz flash. This continues until the AF-11FX is fully
booted.

Signal Level Once fully booted, the Signal 1-4 LEDs act as a

bar graph showing how close the AF-11FX is to ideal aiming.
This is auto-scaled based on the link range, the antenna gains,
and the configured TX power of the remote AF-11FX. Each

Signal LED has three possible states: On, Flashing, and Off. All
Signal LEDs would be solidly on in an ideal link. If the link has a
1 dB loss, the Signal4 LED will flash; a 2 dB loss and the Signal
4 LED will turn off. The full bar graph LED states are shown

below.

dB

0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13

loss

1 F 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 1 F 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 1 1 1 F F 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 F F F 0

0 = Off, 1 = On, F = Flashing

Additional LEDs

LED State Status

Off RF Off

Short Flash* Syncing

Normal Flash* Beaconing

LINK

Long Flash* Registering

On Operational

Off Radio configured in SISO mode

MIMO

On Radio configured in MIMO mode

Off No Ethernet Link

MGMT

On Ethernet Link Established

Random Flashing Ethernet Activity

Off No Ethernet Link

DATA

On Ethernet Link Established

Random Flashing Ethernet Activity

Off No Power

On Powered On

* Short Flash (1:3 on/off cycle)
Normal Flash (1:1 on/off cycle)

Long Flash (3:1 on/off cycle)

Installation Overview

We recommend that you configure your paired AF-11FX radios
before site installation. The overview below summarizes the
installation procedure, and the subsequent sections provide
detailed installation information.

• Install the Duplexer(s) in the AF-11FX radio.

• Connect power (PoE or DC) to the AF-11FX and connect your
computer to the MGMTport.

• Configure the AF-11FX.

• Install a ground wire and mount the AF-11FX on the
airFiber AF-11G36 antenna (or a compatible antenna).

• At the installation site, install the antenna with the mounted
AF-11FX radio (see the antenna’s Quick Start Guide for
installation instructions).

• Establish and optimize the RF link.

Installing the Duplexer

Install the included Duplexer as follows:

1. Loosen the screw on top of the Duplexer Shroud and

remove the Duplexer Shroud.

2. Insert the TX and RX ports of the Duplexer into the TX0 and

RX0 ports of the AF-11FX radio.

3. If you will be using the AF-11FX in SISO mode, go to step 5.

4. To use the AF-11FX in MIMO mode:

a. Attach the second Duplexer (not included) to the

AF-11FX radio’s TX1 and RX1 ports.

Note: The Duplexers must be installed in reverse order

on opposite sides of the link.

b. Remove the cap on the top right side of the AF-11FX.

5. Re-attach the Duplexer Shroud to the AF-11FX radio.