Question:  I am trying to determine if I have a good powerline level on my HelixNet HBP-2X beltpack.  What visual indicators on the beltpack can I use to determine the quality of the powerline signal on the beltpack string? 

Answer:  There are a couple of ways to see if the HBP-2X beltpack has a good powerline signal.  The first visual indicator is the beltpack LCD display, in the lower left hand corner the user will see up to five vertical bars which are a visual indicator of the powerline signal. 





5 bars: Both RX and TX bandwidth above 130 mbps
4 bars: Both RX and TX bandwidth above 100 mbps
3 bars: Both RX and TX bandwidth above 70 mbps
2 bars: Both RX and TX bandwidth above 40 mbps (minimum required for good comms)
1 bars: Both RX and TX bandwidth above 15 mbps
0 bars: Both RX and TX bandwidth below 15 mbps
The BP should connect even with 1 bar and the connection could be reliable. It really depends on the number of beltpacks on the line and how many talkers they have on the line.

However, with 0 bars, it is very unlikely that you will get any reliable connection between the beltpack and the main station. You should see the Beltpack connecting and losing the connection to the main station. It would be very unreliable.
Clear-Com typically recommends that the user should see 2 bars (40Mbps minimum) for reliable operation with multiple beltpacks, speaker stations or remote stations on the line. 

The second indicator of powerline quality of service is the beltpack menu / diagnostic / powerline screen.  From this screen the user can get:
Status , Rx Rate, , T x Rate , Volts:  



If the Rx and Tx rates are above the minimum standard the beltpack should connect to the HMS-4X main station and work properly. 
Both RX and TX bandwidth above 40 mbps (minimum required for good comms)