radiocomms asia-pacific mar/apr 2012

http://auriawireless.com

http://www.pspc.harris.com

March/April 2012 - RADIO COMMS 3www.radiocomms.com.au

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Radio Comms Asia-PacificMarch/April 2012

on the cover 4

on your wavelength 6

radio head 10 The future of radio

12 Understanding the hidden power rating of antennas

24 Wireless standards for the future

34 A look to the future of global navigation satellite systems

42 radio@work Malaysian defence

radio network

Many might believe that the humble

antenna has a lesser part to play as we

move into the digital realm. Any noise

or fuzz will prompt a complaint, but in

the end all radios need a form of antenna

to get their signals out.

During the 2011 Queensland floods,

large antenna towers played an impor-

tant role, linking networks together

while the state was in chaos. Backup

communication centres were used to

provide support services where needed

and men risked their lives to inspect

all radio equipment for damage.

In this issue we feature an article

on the peak instantaneous power (PIP)

rating of antennas and how it can

determine your antenna selection. PIP

ratings have become more relevant with

emerging digital modulation technolo-

gies, since we are no longer dealing

with modulation peak-to-average ratios

of 0 dB. The higher modulation peak-

to-average ratios of TETRA and P25

phase II cause higher PIP levels. Flip

to page 12 to find out more.

Mobile magnetic HF loop antennas

are featured at work on page 42. They

have been provided to the Malaysian

Civil Defence Department (MCDD) as

part of its high frequency network. The

operations of the department required

workers to be mobile, so loop antennas

were installed as they can provide a

10-14 dB gain in efficiency over mobile

whip antennas.

I hope you enjoy your read and

please let me know what you think at

[email protected] or phone

(02) 9487 2700. For those of you

who social-networking savvy, look

me up on Twitter @wf_radiocomms

and LinkedIn.

Kylie Rhodes, Editor

[email protected]

4 RADIO COMMS - March/April 2012 www.radiocomms.com.au

on the cover

F

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Subscriptions: For unregistered readers, price on application

or many years, P25 has been recognised as the stalwart in emergency serv ice

communication networks. The development of the P25 standard commenced in the mid-1990s and it is still evolving to meet user needs.

Besides being a very robust and reliable platform, P25 has specified a number of open interfaces that are designed to allow third-party products and applications to connect to any standards-compliant network.

The proven performance of P25 and these open interfaces has prompted users outside the emergency services community to take strong interest in P25. With the upcoming replacement of many aging analog networks, potential users of P25 are looking for more than just a digital replacement. Utilities and the mining industry in Australia have a keen interest in P25 but investment in new technologies today must show greater business returns for companies than just a digital version of the older voice radio network.

A good example of this has been Ergon Energy’s approach to the upgrade of its analog radio network. Investment in a new technology had to bring about demonstrable business benefits. The business drivers were clear and Auria Wireless focused on how these could be delivered using the open standards base of P25 and leveraging the core IP technology that P25 is built on.

The result has been a new product called the Local Operations Console (LOC). The LOC is

a PC-based tool that provides a LAN-based voice terminal and a location services application that enable operations staff to see the location of resources and be able to direct the most appropriate field crews to the correct locations.

The location services component of the LOC is based on Google Earth. This is an accepted business tool in many organisations and so presents a user interface that is familiar to many people. The use of the software enables the

vehicle location data - data that is derived from onboard GPS enabled P25 radios - to be updated on the user’s screen in real time. Business data is displayed on the same screen and provides a very simple integration between the P25 rad io network and a c o m p a n y ’ s e x i s t i n g GIS applications.

The front cover shows the real innovation of this product. Using the PC’s mouse to click

on a radio unit, the LOC operator can instantly talk to that user, inquire about the status of the user or send a short message to that user. In addition to the business benefits, the safety of field staff is greatly enhanced since the LOC can show emergency calls and zoom to the location of the radio.

To allow further flexibility, staff can monitor the conversations for up to six groups simultaneously and transmit voice back to one or more selected groups.

This shows the real business benefits that can be available with the advances to P25 technology.

Auria Wireless Pty Ltdwww.auriawireless.com

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C4i opens in Singapore

C4i has opened its Singapore branch office, responsible for addressing the growing

markets in Asia.The opening of the office is the latest step

in a long-term commitment to the region, allowing rapid response to the needs of users. The opening coincides with the successful commissioning of the company’s air traffic control voice system at Seletar Airport, Singapore.

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The branch is the second permanent office to be established for the company outside of Australia since it opened its US subsidiary C4i Inc in 2001. Over the last four years it has exported a number of national and tactical SwitchplusIP defence and public safety systems to the region and intends to continue this trend.

“C4i understands that providing real-time response to user requests is a necessity to doing business in this very competitive and global market. The opening of this office allows us to better respond to our network of representatives in the area, along with supporting our existing customers in six different Asian countries. The office will be headed up by Andrew Heath, C4i’s regional international business development manager. Our IP-based technology has been well received in the region and we see this branch office as a key growth strategy for our business,” said Peter Harrison, C4i managing director.

Over the last five years, the company has on average derived greater than 40% of revenues from exports and expects this percentage to increase over the coming the years as different vertical and geographic markets are influenced by the global economy.

TETRA partnership for Chinese market

Tait provides reporting service to Victorian Government

Sepura and Eastcom have s igned a memorandum of understanding under which

both parties will collaborate by sharing their respective skills, insights and market experience relating to the manufacture and distribution and service of TETRA radio products.

The companies will work collaboratively in promoting TETRA in China. TETRA technolgy is said to be suitable for mission-critical communications, providing robust, reliable and uncompromised transmission for voice and data.

Gordon Watling, CEO for Sepura, said: “Eastcom is one of China’s leading TETRA systems and equipment design, development and manufacturing enterprises. It has a long history of achievement in the country’s mobile

communication industry and is an influential player in wireless trunking: Eastcom developed the eTRA, a digital communication system, supporting both TETRA and the police digital hybrid network. This agreement enables Sepura to participate in China’s growing adoption of the TETRA standard and the mission-critical communication products that operate on this standard.”

“We look forward to a close partnership with Sepura,” said Wang Zhongxiong, president of Eastcom. “We are confident that as two industry leaders working together like this, we will bring greater value to our common customers and generally enhance the quality of applications for the wider TETRA market.”

Tait Radio Communications will provide a web-based reporting application to the

Victorian Government radio network.The Telstra Hosted Online Reporting

(THOR) application will provide state agencies in Victoria with the ability to generate custom, secure, web-based reports from the StateNet mobile radio and Fleetcoms networks’ call data records.

Public safety, utility organisations and other state agencies will be equipped with the information they need to improve operation efficiency. The tool will allow users greater visibility of network data against key performance indicators, such as fleet traffic volumes and call statistics, while enabling them to identify potential areas to improve communications efficiency and generate customer-specific audit reports, from a central and secure web-based platform.

Key Telstra users will receive customised access to their call data records via the application. Secure web-based access for the tool was chosen in order to reduce overheads for users and allow flexible accessibility.

Network data will be housed locally in Melbourne on Tait servers, providing high-level resilience and load balancing to meet requirements.

THOR is planned to be rolled out to Victorian agencies before the end of 2011.


CommScope supplies active antennas to 4G network trial

CommScope has supplied the first active antennas in use in an LTE network field trial.

The active antennas, part of the company’s expanding portfolio of solutions for 4G wireless networks, are installed as part of a multisite LTE trial being conducted by a North American wireless network operator.

Active antennas are considered the next stage in the evolution of cellular site architecture, in which the radio is integrated into the antenna and the radio functionality is distributed across the antenna elements. This digital architecture reduces the need for certain cell site equipment, which can reduce energy consumption, site maintenance and leasing costs.

“We believe this trial is a significant step toward the eventual widespread deployment of active antenna solutions in LTE networks,” said Kevin Linehan, vice president and chief technology officer for base station antennas, CommScope. “Through our 10-plus years of pioneering research and development on active antenna systems, combined with our vast experience in designing and developing advanced antenna and remote radio head systems for global operators, we think CommScope is uniquely positioned to help wireless operators experience the many benefits of the world’s first digital, antenna-integrated radio system.”

The antennas, featuring antenna-embedded radio technology developed with technology partner Ubidyne, are designed to enable mobile operators to deliver optimal wireless coverage and quality of service to subscribers while reducing capital expense and operating expense. The antennas feature modular digital circuits that attach directly to individual antenna radiators,

with electronic beam-forming features that increase network capacity.

Previous testing in operator networks shows that active antennas deliver the highest level of integration possible and can offer significant savings in total cost of ownership, in addition to enhancing service performance.

The active antennas deployed in the network trial have undergone rigorous testing for radio performance, safety and reliability at the company’s advanced antenna testing centres.

The company has a dynamic fibre-optic transmission line solution for active antenna site architectures. Remote Fiber Feeder cable combines power conductors and fibre into a single high-performance cable that delivers efficiency, capacity and savings for next-generation networks. It is offered in singlemode or multimode configuration, with two to six fibres per component, offering built-in redundancy.

DMR Association welcomes Harris as member

The DMR Association has added Harris Corporation (US) as a Category 1 member.

“With Harris’s membership confirmed it is further testament to the growing worldwide market appeal of DMR technology. With over one million DMR radios sold worldwide, I am confident that the present success will soon be followed by others and that our association will keep on growing stronger. Our goal is to reinforce DMR’s position as the most widely supported 21st-century digital radio standard for business and a growing membership helps us do that,” said Mario Micheli, chair of the DMR Association.

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving

Scholarship awarded at ARCIA NSW dinner

Twenty-one-year-old James Duncombe received the Sir Angus Tait Memorial

Scholarship at the 2012 ARCIA NSW Industry Dinner.

Duncombe has been working for Mastercom for about three years and has one more year as an apprentice at the company. He has been attending TAFE at Ultimo, Sydney, studying electronics and communications. He has another six months to complete his certificate three.

He is hoping to continue with Mastercom after his apprenticeship has finished.

government and commercial markets in more than 150 countries.

Headquartered in Florida, the company has about US$6 billion of annual revenue and about 17,000 employees - including nearly 7000 engineers and scientists.

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Daniels Electronics to supply public safety radio systems to Canada

Daniels Electronics has been awarded a $10.4 million multiyear contract with the

Canadian government for the supply of digital public safety radio systems.

The contract will provide government public safety agencies with digital public safety radios using the company’s latest generation of firmware-based digital radio technology.

The contract will be used by a number of Canadian government agencies over the next five years to expand and upgrade their government’s radio networks to provide digital communications for the first line public safety responders.

“Daniels is pleased to be awarded this substantial contract with the Canadian government and to be able to provide advanced digital communications in support of public safety in our country,” says Robert Small, president and chief operating officer of Daniels Electronics. “It shows we are developing the right public safety products to meet the needs of the public safety community here in Canada.”


Radio repeaters pass acceptance testing in Taiwan

Sepura provides TETRA radios to KazakhstanARCIA NSW Industry Dinner

Industry leaders from across the country came together in Sydney for their first

networking event in 2012. Both members and non-members were invited to ARCIA’s NSW Industry Dinner and Networking Event, which was held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on 9 February.

As attendees enjoyed a three-course meal overlooking Darling Harbour, Christian Kelly welcomed the diners and talked about making the regional dinners into annual events, so

radio professionals can keep in touch, update each other on latest product innovations and greet newcomers into the radio family.

Neale Joseph, from Motorola Solutions, spoke about the future of the radio communications sector and how it compares to other industries, including cosmetics, that need to evolve to stay current in today’s fast-paced world. He mentioned that the industry is suffering an “image crisis” and needs to encourage young people to get into the field to keep it alive. He also commented that there are three main components that need to be strongly looked at: product innovation, service innovation and spectrum requirements.

Chris Kelly also talked about encouraging students into the field and announced that four scholarships will be awarded to exceptional apprentices and workers per year. A Sir Angus Tait Memorial Scholarship was awarded on the night to James Duncombe from Mastercom.

Lindsay Nolland from Kenwood was generous enough to award an audio system as a lucky door prize.

Future ARCIA regional industry dinners will be held in Brisbane in April, Perth in June and Adelaide in September. The Annual Industry Gala Dinner will be held in Melbourne in December.

For more information, please visit the ARCIA website.

partner Harbinger Technology, which will oversee the system design, installation and life cycle maintenance.

“For such a critical application as the backbone of this national emergency response radio network, we knew that Daniels products would meet the requirements of the CDCC and NFA and ensure years of trouble-free operation in all conditions,” said Alan Teoh, managing director of Harbinger Technology Corporation.

The entire network is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2012.

Daniels Electronics has passed acceptance testing for radio systems being provided to

the Taiwanese Civil Defence Command Center (CDCC).

A comprehensive nationwide radio network to coordinate response efforts is important with the increasing number of severe typhoons that Taiwan experiences annually.

The orders for Daniels MT-4E P25 digital radio repeaters will be used by both the CDCC and the Taiwanese National Fire Agency (NFA) to expand the country’s nationwide emergency communications warning and response network.

The CDCC is responsible for using the national civil defence alerting system to warn the country’s citizens in the event of national emergencies ensuring the safety of property and life. The NFA is responsible for firefighting, ambulance services and emergency response in the event of a natural disaster.

The company is providing the radios through its local system integration and engineering

Sepura has completed the delivery of TETRA radios to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) of the

Republic of Kazakhstan.The radios will help police forces across the

country to maintain contact, share information and coordinate activities across wide distances.

As well as about 1000 desktop and vehicle SRG3900 radios, including gateways and repeaters, the police in Kazakhstan will also be equipped with about 8300 robust STP8000 hand-portable TETRA radios.

As required by the MoI’s technical specifications, all radios will incorporate bespoke online applications developed using Sepura’s short data applications.

The radios provide good communication against high levels of background noise and are suitable in mission-critical operations. They

incorporate security and safety features, such as GPS positioning, a single-press emergency button and motion sensing technology to generate automatic man-down alerts. The radios will be able to operate in extreme weather conditions found in many areas of Kazakhstan.

The contract follows the migration of the Republic’s radio network from analog to digital, with the adoption of the digital trunked TETRA standard. The network, deployed by infrastructure supplier Thales, builds on existing elements of communications and radio systems in the area’s provincial towns, including the main cities of Astana and Almaty.

Sepura radios were distributed locally by Sepura’s partner Wellcomm. ”We’re delighted that we were able to work with Sepura to deliver this high-profile and large project as promptly as the customer demanded. We can say with confidence that Sepura radios perfectly meet the MoI’s communications and security requirements,” said Wellcomm’s general director, Aleksey Tyan.

Kasper Barfoed, regional director North Europe for Sepura, said, “Over the last few years we have supplied equipment for Kazakhstan’s radio network as well as TETRA terminals for the police force in the capital of Almaty. This contract marks our continuing relationship with governments in the region. We are also continuing to work closely with public safety services in Russia and Ukraine, the two largest member countries in Central and Eastern Europe.”

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http://www.agilent.com.au/find/mmwave_PXA

http://www.agilent.com.au/find/mmwave_PXA


Ranjan Bhagat is Zetron Australasia’s general manager and vice president, based in Brisbane, Australia. He has over 20 years’ experience in the mission-critical communications industry and began his career at Zetron in Redmond, USA, in 2001. Prior to joining Zetron, he held senior technology and business leadership positions in organisations focused on voice and data networking and telecommunica-tion systems. He has a BSEE degree and an MSEE degree from Washington State University, USA.

“P25 open standards are here to stay,

allowing users ‘choice’ to mix and

match vendors for their mission-critical

communication requirements.”

P25 wireline standards - a level playing fieldWhen one thinks of APCO Project 25 (P25), the first thing that usually comes to mind is a digital, narrowband, wireless network used primarily for public safety communications. While that is the case, P25 networks are also being widely adopted by other vertical markets such as utilities, transportation and the resources industry. One of the reasons behind this is the growth of open standards.

It is important to note that P25 is a ‘living’ standard, whose features grow over time as new requirements are identified. Thus, it is characterised by ‘phases’. Further, in most P25 systems, the fixed network equipment (FNE or other RF subsystem equipment) is inter-connected together via a wireline IP network. Unlike many other digital wireless technolo-gies in the LMR/PMR market, P25 standards not only define over-the-air wireless protocol, but also wireline standards; which is one reason that P25 standards have taken longer to develop than some of the other digital LMR/PMR standards.

There are three identified wireline interfaces within the P25 model as described below: fixed station interface (FSI); console subsystem interface (CSSI); inter subsystem interface (ISSI).

FSI is an interface between conventional fixed stations (base stations or repeaters), and a ‘host’, which can either be a P25 RF subsystem (RFSS) or a P25 console subsystem (CSS). This interface can either be implemented as an analog FSI (AFSI) or a digital FSI (DFSI) using an IP circuit. It is important to note that AFSI and DFSI both support analog and digital over-the-air modes with or without over-the-air encryption.

CSSI is an interface between an RFSS and a CSS and is generally used for P25 trunked sys-tems. This interface uses an IP network and is designed to allow console systems to simultane-ously monitor multiple P25 talk groups and supports the ability to access most over-the-air features (including radio inhibit, monitor, check, emergency and unit ID).

ISSI interface between RF subsystems allows wireline interoperability over IP between P25 systems. It is interesting to note that the ISSI and CSSI share the same P25 standards documents; the only difference being that the CSSI uses a few additional messages not required for a pure ISSI implementation.

Each wireline interface is defined by a suite of TIA documents: an overview, a pro-cedures document, and conformance and interoperability test documents. Presently, ISSI has a complete set of published documents, while FSI and CSSI are almost there; barring some test documents which should be published by 2013. Revisions to current documents are also in the works to add support for packet data (including OTAR) and P25 phase II TDMA trunking. However, it is important to note that since sufficient core documents exist today for all of the interfaces; many manufacturers have already brought product to market.

Zetron has actively invested in R&D to ensure P25 compliance for our command and control dispatch consoles. As open standards provide the user real interoperability and vendor choice, we have publicly advocated and conducted successful testing with P25 manufacturers who have brought CSSI to market.

P25 open standards are here to stay, allowing users ‘choice’ to mix and match vendors for their mission-critical communication requirements; more importantly, reducing depend-ence on any single vendor’s proprietary solutions.

http://www.agilent.com.au/find/160_PXA


Understanding the hidden power rating of antennas

There are a number of antenna specifications that determine the selection of an appropriate antenna for a particular application. These may include bandwidth, directivity, gain, pattern stability and, due to the growing recognition of the intermodulation problems that may be associated with transmitter antennas serving multicarrier combiners, the Passive Intermodulation specification (or PIM rating).

The power rating of the antenna, in particular when used in a multicar-

rier transmitter combiner application, is a specification that must also be considered. This specification has traditionally been limited to the maximum continuous pow-er that can be handled by the antenna. Incidentally, this power rating should be referenced to an acceptable temperature rise above ambient of critical antenna elements (when subjected to the speci-fied maximum continuous power). This is a crucial specification since the continu-ous presence of maximum power at the antenna causes significant internal heating at susceptible elements (such as harness junctions, input cabling and cable termina-tions), the consequences of which will be drastic if the antenna is not capable of handling this power continuously.

However, there is another power-related specification which needs to be considered in today’s high-powered multicarrier transmitter combiner ap-plications. This is the Peak Instantaneous Power (PIP) rating and, although its inclu-sion as an important specification is novel, its relevance has always been important in legacy systems, particularly when selecting suitable lightning protectors for

multicarrier transmitter combiner applica-tions. In fact, the dimensioning of suitable lightning protectors in these applications has traditionally remained somewhat of a mysterious art - perhaps due to a lack of understanding of the physics behind the resultant voltage waveform envelope in multicarrier environments.

PIP ratings become even more relevant with emerging digital modulation technol-ogies, since we are no longer dealing with modulation peak-to-average ratios of 0 dB that have been prevalent in, for exam-ple, analog FM and P25 (phase 1) digital modulation schemes. The higher modula-tion peak-to-average ratios of the latest generation of digital modulation schemes, such as TETRA and P25 (phase 2), cause higher PIP levels, which will be illustrated and mathematically treated further.

The PIP rating is actually a little mis-leading in terms of understanding its rel-evance as an antenna specification. While we talk of peak instantaneous power, these ‘peaks’ are, as the specification al-ludes to, instantaneous and not continuous in nature. The generalised heating effect of the power peaks is a lot less significant than that of the continuous power rating with which we are all familiar.

What is significant nonetheless is the peak instantaneous voltage associated with the PIP rating. These are the peak voltages that occur when the individual voltage waveform peaks in a multicarrier environment, align in phase with each other periodically and sum to give rise to significant peak voltage occurrences.

These voltage peaks can be high enough to initiate arcing across vital junc-tions within certain antenna elements. The ensuing carbonisation and/or localised heating will cause component breakdowns at these junctions resulting in premature antenna failure.

A variety of tests were performed us-ing a multicarrier signal generator operat-ing into an attenuator as a load. Carrier power levels, the number of carriers, channel spacing and modulation schemes were all varied in order to obtain a broad spectrum of results.

Figure 1 shows 8 x CW (unmodu-lated) carriers centred at 410 MHz, with an even carrier spacing of 100 kHz. The waveform is analysed after passing the carriers through an attenuator with a VSWR of 1.1:1. The power level of the carriers into the spectrum analyser is -30 dBm (1 µW), as shown.


antennas

Figure 2 shows the resultant voltage waveform envelope of the CW carriers shown in Figure 1, measured into a 50 Ω digital storage oscilloscope port. Note that the peak voltage occurrences are easily identified and are spaced at exactly the period representing the even channel spacing (that is, given the chan-nel spacing is 100 kHz, the voltage peak period is 1/100 kHz or 10 µs).

The waveform in Figure 2 shows that for 8 x CW carriers at a power level of -30 dBm into a 50 Ω load with a VSWR of 1.1:1, the resultant peak to peak envelope voltage is 167.5 mV, or more importantly the peak envelope voltage is 83.8 mV.

The channel spacing was then increased to 500 kHz, keeping all other parameters constant. The resultant voltage waveform envelope is shown in Figure 3.

The voltage waveform envelope has the same peak amplitude as that for the 100 kHz spaced carriers; however, the period has decreased to 2 µs, as expect-ed. The number of carriers was then re-duced to four, keeping the power of the individual carrier levels at -30 dBm and the channel spacing was again reduced to 100 kHz. Figure 4 shows the resultant voltage waveform.

It is evident that in this case, the re-sultant peak to peak envelope voltage has reduced and in fact is 85.0 mV, hence the peak envelope voltage is 42.5 mV.

Note that when compared to the 8-carrier result shown in Figure 2, bear-ing in mind that the only variable that changed between the two configurations was the number of carriers, the energy in the peaks for the 4-carrier configuration is spread over a longer period of time, al-beit the peak value is considerably lower.

The final CW test was carried out us-ing 8 x carriers, at 100 kHz spacing, but in this case the power level was raised to -20 dBm (10 µW) per carrier. The result-ant voltage waveform envelope is shown in Figure 5.

Not surprisingly, the peak to peak envelope voltage has risen sharply to 525 mV, hence the peak envelope voltage is 262.5 mV. Note that the period of the voltage peaks remains constant (10 µs).

The carriers were then modulated with standard analog frequency modula-tion, digital P25 (phase 1) modulation and TETRA modulation schemes. Analog FM and P25 (phase 1) modulation schemes have modulation peak-to-average ratios of 0 dB; hence, as mentioned earlier in

the preamble, it is expected that the amplitude of the voltage peaks remains the same as those measured in the CW carrier tests.

Figure 6 shows the voltage waveform created by 8 x carriers at -30 dBm power levels, but in this case each carrier is modulated using standard analog FM set-tings. Carrier spacing remained at 100 kHz.

As expected, the peak to peak enve-lope voltage has remained the same as that for the unmodulated carrier scenario. That is, the peak to peak envelope volt-age is 167.5 mV, hence the peak envelope voltage is 83.8 mV. Note also that the period of the peaks remains unchanged (10 µs).

The same can be said for an identical set-up with the exception of changing the modulation to digital P25 (phase 1). This is shown in Figure 7.

The final test was to use the same set-up but this time using TETRA modulated carriers. The modulation peak-to-average ratio of TETRA modulation is 3.4 dB, and hence the peak envelope voltage is expected to increase due to this. Figure 8 shows the resultant voltage waveform envelope.

Figure 1 8 x CW (unmodulated) carriers (Centred at 410 MHz, 100 kHz spacing)

Figure 6 Frequency Modulation (8 x -30 dBm carriers, 100 kHz spacing)

Figure 2 No modulation (CW) (8 x -30 dBm carriers, 100 kHz spacing)





antennas

The TETRA modulation has clearly increased the peak envelope voltage. The highest peak to peak envelope volt-age in the waveform depicted in Figure 8 is 251.3 mV; hence the peak envelope voltage is 125.6 mV.

Note that the waveform peaks are not constant in level; this is a charac-teristic of the modulation so care needs to be taken to ensure that the recur-rent maximum peak is captured in the measurements. However, the waveform peaks still occur at the period repre-sented by the channel spacing (10 µs).

A formula will be derived, which we won’t go into detail about here, to cal-culate the PIP at the antenna, and the corresponding peak voltage associated with this PIP level. The analysis assumes that in a multicarrier environment, all carriers are equal in level and that the same modulation scheme is used for each carrier in the analysis.

We start by defining some variables:Z ≡ System impedance (50 Ω)PIP ≡ Peak Instantaneous Power at

the antenna with modulated carriers (watts)

VSWR ≡ Voltage Standing Wave Ratio at the antenna

ρ ≡ Reflection coefficient magnitude at the antenna

Vpip ≡ Maximum peak voltage at the antenna due to the PIP and VSWR

We begin by calculating the peak instantaneous power at the antenna, and then derive the peak voltage at the antenna based on the peak instantane-ous power, which will include the effect of the modulation scheme and antenna VSWR.

The forward and reflected power components that arise due to non-ideal matching at the antenna or indeed with-in the electrical structure of the antenna itself will affect the peak voltage present within the antenna elements. A volt-age peak maximum will occur when the peak voltages of the forward and re-flected power components add in phase. In this case, this will equal the forward voltage peak multiplied by (1+ρ).

We can now simply state the worst case maximum peak voltage within the antenna elements associated with the peak instantaneous power occurrence, including the effect of the antenna’s VSWR, as:

That is, for a 50 Ω network:

Correlation between lab results and theory The following table summarises the results of the laboratory measure-ments against the theoretical values of Vpip calculated using the mathematical

equation derived herein. The VSWR is 1.1:1 in all cases.

The tabled values demonstrate a high degree of correlation between the meas-ured results and theory. We can now confidently apply the formulas to typical radio networks to obtain figures for the peak instantaneous power and maximum peak voltages that will be generated in the antenna.

Consider the following site scenario:•12 channels combined•100 W Tx power/channel•P25 (P1) modulation•3 dB combiner/feeder loss•1.3:1 antenna VSWRWe obtain:•PIP = 14.4 kW•Vpip = 960 VThe same scenario, but with P25 (P2)

modulation (M = 2.6 dB), yields:•PIP = 26.3 kW•Vpip = 1295 VAnd finally, the same scenario but with

TETRA modulation (M = 3.4 dB), yields:•PIP = 31.6 kW•Vpip = 1420 VThese three scenarios clearly illustrate

the significance of the emerging digital modulation schemes in relation to the resultant PIP and Vpip levels.

The significance of the Peak Instanta-neous Power rating of antennas cannot be underestimated. The peak voltages that are generated in multicarrier net-works can be in the order of kilovolts, and with typical channel spacing ranging between 300 and 500 kHz, the interval between successive voltage peaks will range from 3.3 µs down to 2 µs respec-tively.

Internal antenna elements, such as phasing harness junctions, cable termi-nations and the like, need to be ap-propriately dimensioned and treated to handle the voltage peaks in a variety of atmospheric environments; otherwise the periodic arcing that occurs will lead to premature antenna and, therefore, network failure.

The continuous power rating specifi-cation of an antenna is well understood and remains absolutely critical. However, its PIP rating will undoubtedly gain indus-try acceptance as an equally important specification. The advent and use of today’s new digital modulation schemes has increased the significance of the ap-propriate choice of PIP-rated antennas for mission-critical networks.

RF Industries Pty Ltd

Contact info and more items like this at wf.net.au/M666

No. carriers Power Modulation ratio (M) in dB

Vpip lab result (mV)

Vpip theory (mV)

8 1 µW 0 (CW) 83.8 83.8

4 1 µW 0 (CW) 42.5 41.9

8 10 µW 0 (CW) 262.5 265.0

8 1 µW 0 (P25 P1) 83.8 83.8

8 1 µW 3.4 (TETRA) 125.6 124.0

Figure 8 TETRA modulation (8 x -30 dBm carriers, 100 kHz spacing)

Figure 7 P25 (phase 1) modulation (8 x -30 dBm carriers, 100 kHz spacing)

Laboratory measurements of Vpip compared to the theoretical values. The VSWR is 1.1:1 in all cases.

Vpip = PIP x 50 x (1+ ( VSWR –1 ) VSWR+1√

Vpip = PIP x Z x (1+ρ)√


newproducts

Bluetooth 4.0 reference platform

Bluegiga Technologies has released a reference implementation of its BLE112 Bluetooth 4.0 singlemode, low-energy platform allowing com-panies to quickly create Bluetooth 4.0 accessories compatible with Apple’s iPhone 4S.

The company has devel-oped a reference platform for OEMs to develop and deploy Bluetooth 4.0 ap-plications. It consists of the BLE112 Bluetooth 4.0 singlemode development kit, Bluetooth 4.0 software development kit and refer-ence application for iOS5.

The platform also pro-vides example applica-tions for accessories such as proximity tags, heart rate sensors and ther-mometers.

The development kit consists of a singlemode development board with integrated accelerometer, display, temperature, po-tentiometer and battery sensor. The kit will allow OEMs to quickly prototype Bluetooth 4.0 hardware and gives software devel-opers a platform to rapidly develop applications.

The software develop-ment kit includes tools for creating Bluetooth 4.0 profiles with simple XML schema and stand-alone Bluetooth 4.0 applica-tions using the process-ing power of the BLE112 singlemode module.

The company also has available the heart rate reference application for Apple’s iOS5.

Glyn Ltd


Wideband 3G antennas

The range of wideband antennas from Powertec Telecommunica-tions is suitable on all range of 3G frequencies in Australia. The antennas are also suitable in remote areas where coverage is at a minimum and where voice and data applications are critical.

The Yagi directional-type antennas are suitable for mobile broadband routers that enable data transmission over the mobile network.

The company also has a wideband range of antennas for marine applications where obtaining information like weather forecasts is required. The range is suitable at mine sites, oil rigs and remote accommodation.

Powertec Telecommunications Pty Ltd


http://www.rohde-schwarz.com/ad/fsw


newproducts

Digital radio management system

The DX-Altus digital radio management system is built on Omnitronics’ IPR technology.

The system includes features such as the ability to connect multiple radio protocols such as DMR, P25, Tetra and PMR on the one radio network. The enhanced functionality that some of these protocols provide (text messaging, individual call-ing and emergency management) is also included.

The modular server architecture of the system is said to remove many of the problems associated with using PC servers and allows soft-degradation, improving system reliability.

The Alto customisable dispatch console in-cludes touch-screen functionality, contact lists and filtering.

Omnitronics Pty Ltd


Mini coax connectors

Canare has announced a range of mini 75 Ω coax connectors des igned to DIN 1.0/2.3 standard.

The small size makes the connectors suitable for routers or switchers where space is at a premium and reliability is critical.

The design also features a ball lock mecha-nism to smooth connection with the recepta-cle and ensure the connector remains firmly locked in place.

Amber Technology Limited


Panel antenna

The PN series antenna is designed for long-distance directional com-munication among wire-less links. The 16 dBi gain and 23° horizontal, 23° vertical directivity are said to be superior to a typical Yagi.

The sleek package is rugged, making it equal-ly suitable for indoor or outdoor applications. Each antenna includes comple te mount ing hardware for standard masts.

S p e c i f i c a t i o n s i n -clude: centre frequency 2.45 GHz; bandwidth 83 MHz (2400-2483); polar isat ion vert ical ; VSWR ≤1.5 typ at centre; 50 Ω impedance; gain 16 dBi; beamwidth 23° horizontal, 23° vertical; max power 100 W; con-nector N-style female; mounting bracket with U-bolts, 40-50 mm mast; weight 1.5 kg.

Clarke & Severn Electronics

Contact info and more items like this at wf.net.au/P260

http://www.happen.biz


newproducts

MIMO dish antenna

The Ubiquiti Rocket Dish RD-5G34 is a carrier-class, dual-polarity 5 GHz direc-tional antenna.

The antenna is suitable for high performance, point-to-point links up to 50 km. It is designed to operate with the RocketM5 TDMA dual-chain ethernet radio, giving aggregate du-plex TCP/IP data rates up to 150 Mbps.

The dish has 3° beam widths (horizontal and vertical), -42 dB of F/B isolation and comes with rugged mounts giving it 200 kph wind survivability.

Wireless Data Solutions Pty Ltd


Portable radio

The Simoco SRP series of portable, handheld radios is suitable for the needs of public safety and everyday security users.

Featuring the flexibility of Xmode that enables simple mode switching between analog, MPT trunking, P25 conventional and P25 trunking, the multimode capabilities provide a migration solution.

Complying with TIA P25 digital transceiver performance standards, the radios have all been recognised under the P25 Compliance Assessment Program, ensuring interoperability with other vendors.

Features include: ful l Xmode capability including: PMR, TMR, P25 Trunked, P25 Conventional, data, messaging, signalling, scanning and voting; compact form factor; ruggedised, robust construction for demanding field use; intrinsically

safe model available for use in hazardous environments; IP67 model available offering protection against dust and water; DES-OFB and AES Digital encryption supported; programmable numeric keypad; safety and emergency functions such as lone worker, stun, GPS/man down and emergency alarm; multivendor compatible acces-sory connector supports current generation or legacy accessories; P25 CAP compliant; available in all VHF and UHF bands; supplied with a high-capacity 2300 or 3000 mAh battery.

ComGroup Australia Pty Ltd


http://www.icom.net.au


newproducts

Digital radio test set

Aeroflex has upgraded its 3920 radio test set to support P25 Phase II TDMA test functions. It has also added features for the development, manufacturing and field test of both analog and digital PMR radios and base stations used around the world.

The test set offers users the ability to test PMR analog and digital radio standards within one single test system and using Aeroflex Auto-Test II scripts, it also supports automated testing and alignment of TETRA, P25, DMR, dPMR, NXDN, as well as many analog legacy radio systems.

The portable tester is used for advanced professional analog and digital radio communications testing of portable, handheld and mobile radios and base stations.

Key features of the set include: P25 Phase II TDMA operation support; analog duplex - IF and audio filters; support for DMR systems such as MOTOTRBO; dPMR and NXDN standards with analog FM tests; enhanced Auto-Test II support for Motorola APX Series, XTS-5000 and other autotest scripts.

Vicom Australia Pty Ltd


Marine VHF deck-mount antenna

The ZCG Scalar CM162AIS marine deck-mount antenna is factory-tuned for the automatic identification system (AIS) that operates in the VHF frequency range of 161.9 to 162.1 MHz.

A single 1.4 m white fibreglass radome antenna delivers 2.1 dBi gain while 300 mm of white RG58 low loss cable that exits from the ferrule is fitted with an n-type male connector, allowing for easy installation.

The marine AIS VHF radio broadcast system transfers packet data via a VHF data link, enabling AIS-equipped vessels to con-nect with shore-based stations and send and receive identifica-tion information. This can be displayed on an electronic chart, computer display or compatible radar - improving situational awareness and assisting in collision avoidance. It can also be used to aid navigation by giving location information as well as providing information on buoys and lights.

The AIS Class A is mandatory for vessels over 300 gross tonnage while the Class B has been developed for work- and pleasure-craft and has limited functionality.

The antenna is tuned to operate both with both Class A and B systems and there are two models to choose from, depending on the vessel’s requirements.

The CM162AIS is the standard model with a white delrin ferrule and the MM1 folding deck mount is constructed from toughened plastic. The base folds down in two directions and also swivels in the opposite plane by loos-ening the stainless steel pivot bolt. This allows the antenna to be mounted in a variety of positions on any flat surface and at any angle.

The CM162AIS-SS is said to have greater durability and strength with a chromed brass ferrule and an MM2 stainless folding desk mount.

ZCG Scalar Pty Ltd


http://www.arcia.org.au


When a promise is made,

Polar Delivers.

TEL: (03) 9555 2500 • FAX: (03) 9555 1515 • TOLL FREE 1800 33 56339-15 Friars Rd, Moorabbin, VIC, 3189 AUSTRALIA • Web: www.polarelec.com.au

30475

POLAR ELECTRONIC INDUSTRIES Pty Ltd

Australian manufacturers of

Communication equipmentin the 2-2900 MHz range.

� Base antennas� Multicouplers� Diplexers� Cavity filters� Mobile antennas� Marine antennas� Power dividers/Accessories

Australian distributors forKabelwerk Eupen AG

QualityEndorsedCompany

� Corrugated coaxial cables� Braided coaxial cables� Radiating cables� Connectors & Accessories

ISO 9001 : 1994

Lic : QEC 1789

newproducts

Radio headset

The Wireless Pacific TempleTalker provides situational awareness for users requiring a radio headset solu-tion.

The headset in-corporates receive transducers that al-low wearers to hear all radio transmissions while keeping the ears

free to listen to environment and team communication.Lightweight and suitable to wear under head protec-

tion, the headset is available for most radios including the latest digital models.

The headset has a wireless PTT option for use when all hands are occupied. The Boom microphone is ad-justable for comfort and fit and provides crisp transmit audio. It has been designed to operate with DECT-Com 11 full-duplex digital radios for environmental and bio-suit applications.

Pacific Wireless Communications Pty Ltd


Magnetic loop HF antenna

The Barrett 2018 Mobile magnetic loop HF antenna is an autotuning antenna consisting of a hinged arm (the loop) mounted to an aluminum vehicle roof rack. The magnetic loop, when correctly tuned, is capable of achiev-ing a 10-14 dB gain in efficiency over a mobile whip.

The antenna is fundamentally a parallel tuned LC resonant circuit with the radio attached to a feed-point in the inductive arm from the circuit. The capacitive component is variable and driven by a stepper motor under microprocessor control. Tuning is performed by identifying peak antenna current followed by a VSWR minimisation algorithm.

Together with a high Q, the antenna has low angle nulls towards the sides, which helps to reduce noise from adjacent sources of interference. As the dominant radiation pattern is directed towards the ionosphere and is fundamentally near vertical incidence sky wave, it overcomes the dead zones, a common limitation of a typical mobile whip antenna. Due to its high efficiency, the antenna is effective over short distances.

RF and DC power is supplied through the transceiver working from the vehicle battery.

Barrett Communications Pty Ltd



This year, CeBIT will showcase innovative ICT solutions and features a comprehensive conference program.

The exhibition provides a way for regional and global companies to market themselves and meet existing and prospective custom-ers. Visitors and delegates can talk to vendors, service providers, practitioners and subject matter experts on the exhibition floor or at one of the theatres set up in the area. Product demonstrations and service catalogues are also on display.

The exhibition hall will feature more than 600 exhibitors, ranging from start-ups to multinationals. The hall will be divided into 25 sections, including wireless/networks, unified communications, geospa-tial and research and development.

More than 30,000 professionals are expected to visit CeBIT to meet and do business with exhibitors (from start-ups to globals) from all over Australia, Asia Pacific and the world. Networking events will allow business leaders, strategists, researchers, opera-tional managers and ICT professionals to meet, mingle, share ideas and get to know each other.

At the conference, individuals, companies and governments can source information, hear about the latest thinking, listen to what others are doing and share insights. With more conference sessions

and workshops this year, attendees will have plenty of intel to choose from.

Produced in partner-ship with CSIRO, NICTA and DSTO, AusInnovate connects research, indus-try and government com-munities, and discusses what<0x2019>s required to foster innovation and optimise productivity.

The eGovernment Forum looks at the ways technology is changing how governments de-liver services. The e-health conference brings together policy makers, healthcare providers, decision makers and end users to exchange

information and examine case studies in the health sector.The event will also feature conferences covering cloud comput-

ing, social media, online retail and mobility.Register at www.cebit.com.au.

CeBIT Australiawww.cebit.com.au

CeBIT Australia

2012Register at www.cebit.com.au

22-24 May 2012Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour

http://www.techrentals.com.au


Test mobile

Aeroflex has an-nounced that the TM500 LTE Test Mobile now sup-ports carrier aggre-gation for LTE-Ad-vanced. This feature allows multiple car-riers comprising ei-ther contiguous or

non-contiguous spectrum to be added together, which is said to allow wider channel bandwidths and faster data rates to be achieved.

The test mobile now supports all of the carrier aggre-gation scenarios specified in 3GPP Release 10 and is also ready for all those currently proposed for Release 11. The company has been working with network infrastructure vendors to enable them to develop and demonstrate a LTE data ‘pipe’ that combines the capacity of different frequency bands while maximising the benefits of the propagation capability in the lower frequency band.

Aeroflex Asia Ltd


Digital portable radio

Motorola Solutions has released the SL series portable radio as the latest addi-tion to its Mototrbo professional digital communicat ions range.

The digital two-way radio series provides good voice quality, extended battery l i fe and come with features that are designed for increased pro-

ductivity and enhanced worker safety.The radio is suitable for organisations that need a

customisable, business-critical communication solution. It is thin, light and designed to meet the communication needs of users in industries such as hospitality, services, security and airlines.

The series has a rugged, high-resolution colour display with a built-in photo sensor that automatically detects ambient lighting and adjusts the display brightness for optimal viewing in all lighting conditions. It has three programmable option buttons that allow up to nine favorite features to be programmed for easy access.

Motorola Australia Pty Ltd


newproducts

www.powerbox.com.au


Wireless access point

Moxa has released the AWK-3131 wireless access point, equipped with M12 connectors to protect wired connections from the wear and tear of vibration, mois-ture and dust. It is a ba-sic indoor wireless access point/client/bridge, built to the 802.11n standard, mak-ing it backwards compliant with 802.11a/b/g.

The entire device is housed in an IP30, full-metal casing and features Power over Ethernet+, re-dundant power jacks and Turbo Roaming to provide a wireless connection that can reach data transfers of

300 Mbps and roaming handoffs of 50 ms when paired with other Moxa hardware.

Other features include: M12 antivibration connectors, MIMO technology increases data throughput and range, and -40 to 75°C operating range (T models).

Madison Technologies


newproducts

Waterproof radio

Icom Australia has released the IC-41W UHF CB, with dust-proof and water-proof construction (IP67).

The waterproof de-sign provides flexibil-ity in terms of oper-ating environments. It is waterproof to a 1 m depth for 30 min and can be used in situations such as farming and irrigation, canoeing and rafting, and trek-king through rough terrain.

As the device is based on a com-mercial radio, it has

all 80 CB channels preprogrammed and ready to use. It is also capable of sending and receiving transmissions to/from older 40 channel UHF radios.

The radio has a die-cast aluminium chassis and is supplied with a waterproof, 2300 mAh lithium-ion re-chargeable battery, giving about 15 h of typical use per charge (typical use is determined as: TX:RX:Standby = 5:5:90). A charger is also included which can recharge the battery in 3 h.

CTCSS, DTCS and Selcall are available. The repeater scan function allows the user to listen to all repeaters available, while a PTT hold function provides semihands-free operation. Selectable squelch levels are suitable when interference may be an issue and the device can also alert the user when other Icom units are in range.

A waterproof speaker/microphone is also optionally available.

Icom Australia Pty Ltd


Wireless I/O device

ZigSense model ZS-P2P-001 is a wireless I/O device designed to transfer I/O data between two remote locations using license-free radio frequencies.

High-speed communications and full duplex data transfer enable digital and analog I/O signals to be transferred over short, medium or long distances.

Analog signals such as tank level, temperature, flow and pressure or digital conditions such as pump, motor ON/OFF can be transferred directly to a remote PLC or between PLC stations, eliminating the need for expensive cables, conduits and trenching.

The wireless peer-to-peer nodes are said to produce savings in both material and installation costs.

Conlab Pty Ltd


http://www.emctech.com.au


SYDNEY (02) 9879 8888 MELBOURNE (03) 9798 0988 BRISBANE (07) 3278 6444

PERTH (08) 9455 5744 ADELAIDE (08) 8234 2633 AUCKLAND (09) 274 0955

[email protected]

newproducts

BNC connectors

Canare has re-leased a range of 75 Ω BNC con-nectors designed to of fer good 3 GHz per for-mance.

T h e B C P - B series BNCs ex-ceed the 3 Gbps HD-SDI require-ments specified in SMPTE424M and are designed spe-cifically to achieve

performance-optimising cable matching.The design features an elongated sleeve, rugged die-

cast body to reduce both weight and cost, gold-plated centre pin with snap-lock and an alignment mark on the shell to allow simple visual confirmation that the connector is correctly in place.

Amber Technology Limited


Scope waveform option

An arbitrary wave-form generator has been added to the 3000 X-series oscil-loscopes. Agilent is including this free software upgrade - which is used with the integrated Wave-Gen 20 MHz func-tion generator option.

The generator provides standard stimulus output wave-forms to a device under test as well as user-definable frequencies, amplitudes, offset, and pulse widths and arbitrary waveform capability. WaveGen's output is routed to a BNC on the front panel of the oscilloscope below the display.

With the upgraded software, users can capture wave-forms with their oscilloscopes and convert them to stimulus files - and edit the captured waveforms using the built-in waveform editor within the scope.

Agilent Technologies Australia Pty Ltd



Wireless standards for the future

It’s no secret that wireless communications standards continue evolving to provide ever-increasing data throughput capabilities. The boost in data rates is largely accomplished through enhancements in the physical layers of the protocols. These enhancements often take years to develop - allowing us to envision both the communications systems of tomorrow and the changes in RF test needs. Today, two main wireless standards are IEEE 802.11ac in wireless-local-area-network (WLAN) products and 3GPP LTE Advanced in cellular communications.

IEEE 802.11ac is designed for higher-throughput wireless connectivity. It fea-

tures more multiple-output (MIMO) chan-nels, wider bandwidths and higher-order modulation types than today’s generation Wi-Fi products based on IEEE 802.11a/g/n. Some key IEEE 802.11ac specifications are the use of 8x8 multiple-input, MIMO an-tenna techniques, 160 MHz channel band-width, and 256-state quadrature amplitude modulation (256 QAM).

Similarly, LTE Advanced is an evolution of the 3GPP LTE specifications - with a range of enhancements that also include more spatial streams and carrier aggrega-tion. While the latest LTE networks are based on the 3GPP release 8 specifica-tions, LTE Advanced is based on the 3GPP release 10 specification - and its enhancements will likely come as future upgrades to existing LTE networks. Key LTE Advanced details include its use of 8x8 MIMO technology and carrier aggregation to use as much as 100 MHz of channel bandwidth.

This article will cover the physical layer characteristics of both standards and explain how higher data rates are achieved; more specifically, how features such as more spatial streams, carrier ag-gregation and higher-order modulation schemes directly correspond to higher data throughput. It will also cover how evolu-

tions in the physical layer for each standard create new test challenges for today’s RF engineer.

It has been over half a decade since the first wireless communications standards introduced MIMO antenna technology as a mechanism to increase data rates. Until MIMO, the Shannon-Hartley theorem was generally regarded as the model of theo-retical data throughput for a given digital communications channel.

According to the theorem, data rates through a particular channel can be increased by affecting either channel bandwidth or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, the design of MIMO systems with multiple spatial streams allowed a departure from the theorem. In a 2x2 MIMO system, the use of two independent spatial streams in the same physical chan-nel effectively doubles the data rates over what one might expect from a traditional single-input, single-output (SISO) system. Accordingly, a 4x4 MIMO channel would enable 4x data rates, and an 8x8 MIMO channel would enable 8x data rates.

Next-generation wireless communica-tions standards such as IEEE 802.11ac and LTE Advanced continue to use more spatial streams as a mechanism to increase data throughput. For example, while the previous incarnation of Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11n, uses MIMO configurations as

complex as 4x4, next-generation 802.11ac uses MIMO configurations to 8x8. The evolution in cellular communications from LTE to LTE Advanced brings a similar change. While the latest LTE specifica-tions allow for a 4x4 MIMO downlink channel, LTE Advanced allows as large as 8x8 MIMO in the downlink. Beyond, IEEE 802.11ac and LTE Advanced, it’s possible that this trend will continue. Research is al-ready being done on 16x16 MIMO systems and - depending on the outcome - 16x16 systems may be created in the future.

For engineers testing next-generation MIMO-based communications systems, synchronisation requirements for multiport, MIMO measurements were historically difficult, if not impossible, to meet with traditional instrumentation. Today, the mod-ularity and software-defined architecture of PXI instrumentation provides engineers with the flexibility needed to test next-gen-eration wireless standards. For example, in a typical PXI system, a 4-channel RF signal analyser can be upgraded to an 8-channel RF signal analyser simply by adding more PXI downconverters and digitisers to the same mainframe.

As the Shannon-Hartley theorem might suggest, increasing the bandwidth of a digital communications channel is a second mechanism to increase channel bandwidth. Historically, in the cellular world, when

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© iStockphoto.com/Oleksiy Mark

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wireless standards

Wireless standards for the future

GSM/EDGE progressed to UMTS, channel bandwidth was increased simply by increas-ing the symbol rate of a digitally modulated signal. However, it’s widely recognised that using wideband signals in a single-carrier communications system introduces inherent physical hardware challenges. In addition, because systems with higher symbol rates yield shorter symbol periods, other com-mon wireless challenges such as multipath fading become increasingly problematic in wideband single-carrier communications system.

Next-generation wireless communi-cations channels use a combination of orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplex (OFDM) techniques and carrier aggrega-tion to increase the effective symbol rate - all while avoiding the classic challenges of wideband single-carrier communica-tions systems. OFDM is one such common technique used in IEEE 802.11a/g/n and LTE to divide a channel into orthogonal and lower symbol rate subcarriers, enabling higher effective symbol rates while mitigat-ing the multipath problem. For standards such as IEEE 802.11ac and LTE Advanced, the increase in data rates via an increase in channel bandwidth comes through their use of two mechanisms: more subcarriers and carrier aggregation.

While the IEEE 802.11g standard was designed for a single 20 MHz OFDM channel, IEEE 802.11n added carrier ag-gregation by allowing devices as much as two 20 MHz channels for 40 MHz total bandwidth. By contrast, IEEE 802.11ac supports 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz channel bandwidth options. In the 40 and 80 MHz modes of IEEE 802.11ac, wider bandwidth is achieved through the use of more subcarriers. Thus, while the 20 MHz mode uses 64 subcarriers, the 40 MHz mode employs 128 subcarriers, the 80 MHz mode uses 256 subcarriers and the 160 mode operates with 512 subcarri-ers. By contrast, the 80+80 MHz mode of IEEE 802.11ac will use a slightly different scheme. In this mode, a carrier aggregation scheme will employ two unique 80 MHz OFDM channels (256 subcarriers each) simultaneously by means of an access point. Figure 1 compares and contrasts the various modulation types, MIMO schemes and channel bandwidths of various com-mon IEEE 802.11 standards.

Similar to IEEE 802.11ac, LTE advanced also employs a carrier aggregation scheme to increase data throughput. While the original LTE specifications from 3GPP release 8 allowed for a scalable band-width from 1.4 to 20 MHz, LTE Advanced expands channel bandwidth through carrier aggregation as well. In the next-generation

specification, LTE Advanced allows for the use of up to five contiguous 20 MHz carri-ers for as much as 100 MHz total channel bandwidth. Many questions remain regard-ing exactly how much bandwidth tomor-row’s LTE Advanced devices will actually use. With the astronomical cost of wireless spectrum, it’s likely that few devices will actually use the full 100 MHz of available channel bandwidth.

From a test point of view, the wider bandwidths of these wireless standards will introduce significant challenges. For example, while IEEE 802.11ac will support a mode that uses as much as 160 MHz, RF signal analysers generally have instanta-neous bandwidth of only 100 MHz or less. When testing devices that use wideband carrier aggregation, the bandwidth require-ments alone will require engineers to assemble test systems based on multiple RF signal generators and analysers. In these scenarios, the modularity of PXI produces significant benefits, since multiple signal generators and analysers can be configured and software-controlled in a single PXI system.

A third mechanism that wireless communications system designers use to increase data rates is higher-order modula-tion types. As suggested by the Shannon-Hartley theorem, an increase in SNR cor-responds to an increase in data throughput.

For digital communications systems, higher data rates can be accomplished through use of higher-order modulation types. For systems using quadrature amplitude modu-lation (QAM), the throughput of the physi-cal channel is directly related to the QAM ‘order’. For example, a 4-QAM channel is capable of two bits per symbol, since two is the maximum number of bits that can be represented by four unique symbols [log2(4) = 2] . Similarly, a 16-QAM chan-nel yields 4 bits per symbol and a 64-QAM channel yields 6 bits per symbol.

The IEEE 802.11ac specification is one of the first consumer wireless standards to allow to 256 QAM. The 256 QAM format yields 8 b per symbol and [log2(256) = 8], thus enabling a 33% higher throughput than a system using 64-QAM. Of course, the capability of a digital communications channel to use a higher-order modulation type such as 256 QAM requires that a sufficiently high SNR can be sustained. For years, wireless communications systems have used adaptive modulation types - enabling the use of more robust schemes such as QPSK in low SNR environments. As an example, consider Figure 2, which illustrates the constellation diagram of a 16-QAM signal under varying SNR condi-tions.

In these diagrams, an SNR of 44 dB is sufficiently large to demodulate a 16-QAM

802.11a/g 802.11n 802.11ac

Antenna configuration

1x1 SISO Up to 4x4 MIMO Up to 8x8 MIMO

Highest order modulation

BPSK to 64-QAM BPSK to 64-QAM BPSK to 256-QAM

Channel bandwidth

20 MHz20 MHz and 20+20 MHz

20, 40, 80, 80 + 80, and 160 MHz

Year introduced

1999 (802.11a) 2003 (802.11g)

2009 (draft) 2012 (estimated)

Figure 1: Physical layer characteristics of various WLAN standards.

Figure 2: 16QAM under various SNR conditions.


wireless standards

signal without bit errors. By contrast, an environment with an SNR of 30 dB or less, using a 16-QAM modulation type, would result in significant bit errors. In this scenario, a lower-order modulation type such as QPSK would be more appropri-ate. Given these considerations, one might correctly assume that IEEE 802.11ac will only use the 256-QAM modulation type in scenarios where SNR is reasonably high.

From an instrumentation perspective, the addition of new modulation types is almost purely a software change. In modular, software-defined platforms such as PXI, each wireless standard or modula-

tion type is merely a waveform, allowing engineers to evolve their test equipment along with the evolution in communica-tions standards. As a result, adding support for the 256-QAM modulation type in IEEE 802.11ac - and possibly future standards as well - will likely come through simple software updates.

Looking at next-generation wireless communications standards, continued trends of using more spatial streams, wider channel bandwidths and higher-order mod-ulation types to increase data throughput are seen with IEEE 802.11ac. This trend results in the use of 8x8 MIMO, as much as 160 MHz bandwidth, and 256 QAM. With LTE Advanced, support for 8x8 MIMO configurations and the implementa-tion of carrier aggregation to support for as much as 100 MHz channel bandwidth are seen. As such, it should also be noted that existing 2G and 3G cellular standards continue to evolve and add these fea-tures as well. For example, even the next evolution of the ‘2.5G’ EDGE standard will make use of carrier aggregation as well. Moreover, in UMTS, HSPA+ is a some-

what recent addition that adds 64 QAM to the downlink. Going forward, HSPA+ Advanced will add two- and four-carrier aggregation to increase throughput in exist-ing 3G cellular communications networks.

While next-generation wireless stand-ards produce benefits to users in the form of higher data rates, design and test of IEEE 802.11ac and LTE Advanced radios produce significant challenges. From build-ing transceivers capable of handling wider bandwidth to packing more antennas on a single mobile device, next-generation standards come with substantially more difficult hardware requirements. As a result, the measurements and instrumenta-tion required for next-generation wireless standards are more challenging as well. Fortunately, the modularity and software-defined architecture of PXI test equipment makes it a compelling alternative to tradi-tional instrumentation for testing emerging standards such as IEEE 802.11ac and LTE Advanced.National Instruments AustraliaContact info and more items like this at wf.net.au/

“Looking at next-generation wireless

communications standards, continued

trends of using more spatial streams,

wider channel bandwidths and higher-

order modulation types to increase data

throughput are seen with IEEE 802.11ac.”

http://www.glyn.com.au


newproducts

Power saving software

MiMOMax has released Power on Demand (M-PoD), a power saving optional software as part of its narrowband wire-less linking solutions. The feature only turns on the remote end of a radio transmitter when there is ‘demand’ for traffic (for example, when there is data ready to be transmit-ted between radio units).

It is suitable for re-mote sites where power consumption is an issue and also supports cas-caded links. The feature automatically turns on the transmitter by keying it up from idle mode in about 80 ms to enable over-the-link data trans-mission.

Once it is completed, the feature ensures that the transmitter will stay active for a programma-ble time period between 1 and 255 s. During this time, the M-PoD confirms that all data is processed before auto-matically deactivating the transmitter. The standby power consumption in idle mode is typically 8 W. MiMOMax also of-fers low power options for links that have to run continuously on shorter paths, thereby further reducing the power con-sumption to less than 55 W @ +26 dBm and less than 40 W @ +23 dBm power output.

MiMOMax Wireless Ltd


Long-life batteries

The power-charge Endurogel series is said to deliver a full life at 30°C. It includes a Catalyst life extender in the head space of the Endurox-Cel (AGM) and Endurogel VRLA batteries resulting in longer operational life while low mainte-nance and inherent safety features are retained.

In normal operation, hydrogen and oxygen gases build up in the head space of a cell (between the plates and the cap). Oxygen reacts with the plates while hydrogen, which has the smaller molecule, is released out of the battery. Effectively this water loss in time causes ‘dry out’ and is accelerated at higher temperatures.

The Catalyst facilitates the recombination of hydrogen and oxygen and returns them to the cell as water. The benefits of this include lower float current requirements, less oxida-tion, lower thermal generation and longer life.Regal Electro


http://www.ptp-group.net


newproducts

now available online!

NEW White Papers

For these and more White Paper downloads, visit www.radiocomms.com.au/white_papers

Networking voice communication and control systemsFacing the challenge of networking voice communications and

control systems in a mission-critical environment requires careful

planning, product selection and implementation. This paper steps

through a real-life case study which culminated in a hybrid voice

communication and control system (VCCS).

Virtualisation and cloud computing: optimised power, cooling and management maximises benefitsIT virtualisation, the engine behind cloud computing, can have

significant consequences on the data centre physical infrastructure

(DCPI). This white paper discusses the effects and possible

solutions for dealing with them.

Top 5 things you need in a virtualisation management solutionFor any size data centre, having a proper management solution is

critical for ensuring an orderly and problem-free environment. In this

white paper we look at the top five areas you should look at when

choosing a management solution for your virtual environment.

Comparing fixed wireless ethernet to terrestrial networksCopper and fibre-based underground wired networks have their

benefits but are not suitable for every job. Fixed wireless networks,

based on directional antennas, provide a cost-effective and flexible

way of enabling data communications. This white paper provides

an overview of the technology and business benefits of fixed

wireless ethernet.

Handheld analysers

Enhancements have been introduced for the MT8212E/MT8213E C e l l M a s t e r a n d MS2712E/MS2713E Spectrum Master hand-held analysers providing improved measurement capabilities and overall performance to address the rollout of 4G technologies, including TD-LTE.

The Cell Master base station analysers now have 20 MHz demodulation bandwidth as standard which is offered as an option on the Spectrum Master.

They have wider bandwidth, improved displayed aver-age noise level to -162dBm (typical) in 1 Hz RBW and dynamic range extending to >102 dB in 1 Hz RBW and additional 1 Hz and 3 Hz RBW filters.

Options are now also available for the Cell Master that allow users to conduct RF measurements, modulation measurements and over-the-air (OTA) measurements on TD-LTE signals.

The Cell Master handheld multifunction base station analysers are small and light, suitable for base station testing during installation and commissioning and for maintenance and troubleshooting.

The analysers combine the functionality and the capabilities of a cable and antenna analyser, spectrum analyser, interference analyser, signal analyser, backhaul analyser and a power meter.

The Spectrum Master analysers allow users to monitor, locate, identify and analyse a broad range of cellular, 2G/3G/4G, land mobile radio, Wi-Fi and broadcast signals.

Both models provide one-button measurements for field strength, channel power, occupied bandwidth, adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR), carrier-to-interference (C/I) ratio and AM/FM/SSB demodulator.

Anritsu Pty Ltd


Flexible printed circuits

A flexible PCB 1200 mm long has been formed into an aerial that is a long zigzag meander of copper winding, rolled inside a tube with wires soldered onto the ends.

The device is on 0.035 mm copper on 0.1 mm polyimide laminate.

The long flexible board is made as a composite of images in register with each other on a long roll of laminate. It is etched continuously on a reel to reel winder and the resist stripped the same way.

Photoetch Industries Ltd



Waterproof compact antenna

The WCO (Waterproof Compact Omni) plat-form from EAD is a range of antenna products designed for permanent outdoor deployment.

With a UV-resistant and flame-retardant ABS sheath, the antennas are suitable for terminal-mounting, permanent- or bracket-mount de-ployments.

With a variety of mod-els covering a number of frequencies including cellular, GSM, 3G, 2.4 GHz, ISM and beyond, the WCO is suitable for a wide range of devices including routers, gateways, access devices as well telematics, metering and telemetry terminals.

A wide variety of connector options are possible, includ-ing SMA, TNC, N for terminal or bulkhead mounting.

Glyn Ltd


newproducts

At Omnitronics our purpose is “to promote safe and efficient operations through electronic solutions.” By choosing DX-Altus as your dispatch system, you can go a long way to improving your efficiency in a number of ways.

Operators can quickly complete their dispatch tasks using the user-friendly, easy to navigate, Alto dispatch console, reducing response times.

Production times can also be improved by providing fewer interruptions using digital radio features such as text messaging for non-urgent communications and individual calling.

Furthermore, multiple dispatch locations can easily be connected to the centralised DX-Altus system. This means that dispatch operators can be in the most convenient location and work can be shared or taken over as required. In addition, features such as hot swapping and soft degradation ensure no operator downtime.

Finally, diagnostics and reporting through protocols such as SNMP provide system managers and network administrators with real time system status, ensuring that the system operates at peak efficiency at all times.

Contact our sales team today to learn more.

Challenging Communications Boundaries

omn_

1562

7

East Coast Sales: +61 7 3369 5733West Coast Sales: +61 8 9445 2633

[email protected]

IMPROVE EFFICIENCY WITH THE DX-ALTUS

Portable deployment kit

The GO-PACK pro series rapid deployable transit case for XTS and XPR series portable radios from Wireless Pacific have been designed to provide flexibility for mission critical users, mo-bile teams, rental and event managers.

Incorporating a smart, six port rapid charger, the case series allows the fast deployment of six radios, accessories and charging facilities from either 12 VDC or 240 VAC for field operations.

We igh ing l e s s than 6.5 kg and integrated into a

rugged pelican 1520 housing, the series features custom moulding for radio protection and an accessories holder for microphones and spare batteries.

The series is available for most professional radios.




newproducts

18 GHz EMI receiver

Narda Safety Test Solutions has released the EMI receiver unit PMM 9180 which extends the frequency range of the digital EMI receiver PMM 9010 up to 18 GHz for measurements of EMC emissions in full compliance to CISPR and MIL-STD standards.

The receiver features modularity that allows the main unit (10 Hz - 30 MHz) to be extended in frequency to 3 GHz (PMM 9030), 6 GHz (PMM9060) and to 18 GHz with the recently released model PMM 9180 by simply adding one of these external modules.

All these modules are EMI receivers, fully compliant to CISPR and MIL-STD standards. Small-sized and lightweight, these modules can be easily installed inside the anechoic or shielded chamber, directly connected to the measuring antenna and fixed to the mast by means of an adapter. The connection with the main unit PMM 9010 - which remains in the instru-ments room - is made by high-speed digital link via fibre-optic cable. Up to four hours of continuous in-room operation are provided by the plug-in, rechargeable Li-ion battery.

Additional features include: elimination of signal loss due to the coaxial cable and to the connections; improvement of the receiver dynamic range without needing preamplifiers; improvement of the overall uncertainty; elimination of interfering signals that may be picked up along the coaxial cable path; elimination of scattering phenomena due to the coaxial cable; calibrations of the coaxial cables are not needed; in comparison with the coaxial cables, the unpaired flexibility of fibre-optic allows for easier installation even in the same path of power cables and reaches long distances (up to 100 m).

The PMM Emission Suite software is supplied with the receiver and allows for complete control of the tests, including mast and turntable functions.

Narda Safety Test Solutions GmbH


P25 internet connectivity

PWC has released Merlan P25TM, used for law enforcement to create wide-area AES/DES encrypted P25 radio communications networks.

Using private or public internet, the system connects infrastructure with 'end to end' secure voice integrity. It is fully transparent to frequency band, encryption key or algorithm, allowing users to digitally connect existing consoles, fixed or temporary repeaters, local base/control stations, or to tap into other agency networks for joint operations.



http://www.trbearcom.com.au


www.danelec.com 800.664.4066 or 250.382.8268 [email protected]

Daniels transportable repeater systems provide a complete temporary radio site. Set up in just minutes!

You’re here. Ready to respond?

1. Collapsible Antenna Tripod Mast

2. Transportable Repeater

3. 60 Watt Solar Panel

4. 35 Ahr Battery Kit

5. Solar Case & Regulator

> Long operational battery life

> Rapid deployment

> Full P25 encryption

> Stealth & Tactical Packaging

> Supports all frequency bands + crossbanding

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newproducts

Antenna combiners

MiMOMax ha s released a range of compact wide-band , r ugged , T-sty le antenna combiners to its wireless linking so-lutions. The UHF

antenna combiner enables compact high-gain antenna solutions to be built without the use of bulky frequency selective phasing harnesses.

The combiners are designed specifically with Mi-MOMax antennas in mind; however, they can also be used to combine antennas from any other manufacturer.

The initial antenna combiner covers 390-500 MHz frequency range and combines two 50 Ω antenna feeds. With a continuous power rating of 100 W (average) and a return loss of greater than 20 dB and forward loss of less than 0.1 dB, the antenna combiner has a good impedance match over the whole band, thereby ensuring optimum transmitter and receiver performance. With amplitude balance better than 0.1 dB and phase balance less than 3°, the antenna combiner provides a suitable antenna combining solution.

The antenna combiner allows multiple antennas to work with medium diameter cables fitted with type N connectors. It is waterproof, provided the associated connectors and cables are adequately sealed.



Automotive dead reckoning GPS receivers

The NEO-6V GPS module and UBX-G6010-SA-DR single-chip GPS receiver have been released by u-blox.

ADR enables highly accurate positioning in areas of weak or no GPS satellite reception such as within tunnels and park houses. The products are suitable for first-mount as well as after-market navigation systems. Automotive- and standard-grade versions are supported.

The ADR component can be used in many sensor combinations such as inputs from two front, two rear, or all four wheels. Both gyro and wheel tick operation are supported.

When GPS satellites are out of sight such as within tunnels, the receiver extrapolates position based on distance and angle information provided by vehicle sensors. This results in accurate positioning even when the GPS signal is impaired or absent. It allows full coverage in indoor car parks, tunnels and underpasses and eliminates the impact of multipath effects in urban canyon environments.

Braemac Pty Ltd



newproducts

Power analyser

The WT1800 precision power analyser is the latest ad-dition to Yokogawa's range of digital power measuring instruments.

Replacing the WT1600, the WT1800 offers measurement functions that benefit engineers with electrical power and efficiency measurements in a range of industries from inverter and drive design to alternative energy systems.

The analyser can perform up to six power input meas-urements, which makes it possible to perform efficiency tests between the input and output of products such as inverters.

With its high-resolution 8.4″ XGA display, the instrument is simple to set up and can display up to 12 different pages of measurement items in formats such as numeric, waveforms and trends. A vector display is available for voltage and current phase analysis.

It has a power measurement bandwidth from DC and 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz. Basic power measurement accuracy is 0.1% of reading plus 0.05% of range.

Yokogawa Australia Pty Ltd


FREE SUBSCRIPTION!Radio Comms Asia-Pacific is FREE to qualified ICT industry professionals in Australia & New Zealand.

To continue receiving your free copy you will be asked to register every three years.

Quick registration @ www.RadioComms.com.au/subscribe

Land mobile transceiver

Icom Australia has released the IC-F8100 HF land mobile transceiver, designed for long-distance communications, for people travelling or working in remote areas.

The transceiver has a rugged, fanless, enclosed struc-ture to protect it from sand, dust and water intrusion (IP54 rated - dustproof and water-resistant) and also features a myriad of controller setup options: a standard version which has the controller fixed to the main unit, a detached remote controller and a remote controller-microphone option.

It features 125 W output power, operates in the SSB, AM and CW modes and can also be used to transmit and receive data (when connected to a HF data modem). The radio also features a 500 kHz-29.999 MHz general coverage receiver (transmit: 1.6-29.999 MHz) and has a GPS receiver connection to allow position, time and altitude information to be sent.

Also included is ALE (automatic link establishment), which selects the most suitable channel and establishes a communications link. Selcall functions are also avail-able, allowing selective calling, phone call, message call, position call and emergency call. Ease-of-use functions include a clear talk function, mute functions and a digital signal processor, all of which are designed to allow users with limited experience use HF radio without difficulty.

A simple user interface further creates user-friendly operation and an optional junction box (AD119) provides the user with various connectivity options.



http://www.cebit.com.au/reg


global navigation

A look to the future of global navigation satellite systems‘Global Navigation Satellite System,’ or ‘GNSS’ is a generic term used for a constellation of satellites with worldwide coverage that function to send positioning and timing signals to receivers located on Earth. It is this technology that allows us to perform simple applications from determining location and finding addresses to more sensitive asset tracking and military operations.

The most mature system is the GPS, developed and maintained by the US.

As the need for GNSS grew, different nations including Russia, Europe and China started developing their own systems. Cur-rently, in addition to the popular GPS, oth-er systems such as GLONASS, GALILEO and COMPASS are under construction and are expected to mature in the next decade. It is crucial for module providers and device manufacturers to recognise these changes and develop next generation products that will satisfy demands in differ-ent markets.

The first ever satellite navigation system created was 'Transit,' introduced in the 1960s by the US military. It was primar-ily used by the navy to provide accurate information for its submarines and ships. Since then, researchers have been develop-ing and testing a more stable system with increased location accuracy for both civilian and military use. The relentless search for new technology finally gave birth to the GPS in 1993. As telecommunication tech-nology matured, hand-in-hand, the number of GPS users reached an exploding number in the beginning of the 21st century. With this, other nations decided to develop their own GNSS and to obtain independency from the American system. The following is a brief introduction to the systems that are currently functional or under construction:

GPSDeveloped and operated by the US De-partment of Defense, the GPS (also known as NAVSTAR-GPS: NAVigation System

with Timing And Ranging Global Position-ing System) has been fully functional since 1993. Currently, there are 24 satellites out of the planned 32 in orbit at an altitude of 20, 180 km around the Earth. These satellites are organised on six orbital planes at an inclination of 55° to the equator, ensuring that at least four satellites are in radio communication with any point on Earth. Signals from individual satellites are encoded and distinguished using Code Divi-sion Multiple Access (CDMA) and broad-cast on L1 and L2 bands.

GLONASSCurrently, the only other fully functional GNSS, GLONASS, was developed and is maintained by the Russian government. It was created in 1976 and has undergone various transformations and restorations since. In late 2011, the system was re-stored to its complete capacity of 24 satel-lites, which are located on 3 orbital planes with an inclination of 48° from the equator. The Russian government has been promot-ing the civilian use of GLONASS, requiring the production of GLONASS-compatible vehicles by car manufacturers starting from early 2011. Like GPS, GLONASS transmits on L1 and L2 bands, however, it uses Fre-quency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) to distinguish between satellite signals.

GALILEOGALILEO is the GNSS currently being developed by the European Union. When complete, it will consist of 30 satellites located on three orbital paths around the

Earth with an inclination of 56°. One of its main objectives is to provide a system that European nations can depend on, separate from GPS and GLONASS, which can be disabled for commercial users in times of international conflict. The system was set to become operational in 2012, but due to political and financial reasons, has been delayed until 2014. When functional, GALI-LEO will signal on L1, E5, and E6 bands, using CDMA techniques to differentiate satellite signals.

COMPASSThe Compass Navigation Satellite System (or otherwise known as Beidou-2) is a second generation navigation system being developed by China. This second genera-tion system is a completely new system, different from Beidou-1, which only had regional coverage. When complete, it will have a total of 35 satellites with signals based on the CDMA protocol, transmitting through E1, E2, E5B and E6 bands. The system’s tenth satellite was launched at the end of 2011 and is set to start services in Asia-Pacific in 2012.

In general, all satellite systems work the same way. It involves a complete system that consists of three parts: a network of satellites in space, a control station on Earth that manages the satellites and devices with receivers set to detect and accept signals from the satellites.

So, how does it work? Each satellite constantly sends out signals in the form of radio waves to the Earth. Each signal carries with it all the information about the satellite it came from and a time-stamp

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global navigation

record of when it left the satellite. Receiv-ers located on Earth pick up these signals and use their information to calculate location. For the receiver to calculate a 2D position (latitude and longitude) it must be locked to a minimum of three satellites. Four satellites or more are required for calculating 3D positions (latitude, longitude and altitude).

The ability of GNSS technology to calculate location information becomes extremely valuable when applied to the business process. It allows organisations to have greater control over business trans-actions, improving both productivity and efficiency while decreasing costs. Three recognisable GNSS applications - location based services, tracking and turn-by-turn navigation - are explored in the remainder of the section.

A location-based service, or LBS, is a mobile application that provides infor-mation services to users based on their geographical location. These services can range from finding popular landmarks such as service stations and banks, to locating specific people or places. In order for LBS to work, mobile devices with position-ing capabilities must be hooked onto a communications network, in addition to the presence of service and data content providers.

The adoption of LBS by businesses has the following benefits:1. Location services - LBS is helpful in situ-

ations where employees are unfamiliar with the region they are in and are try-ing to search for a particular service.

2. Informed decision making - The ap-plication filters vast amounts of material available on the internet into relevant information for the user’s current con-text. Users can see important informa-tion, enabling them to make informed decisions on the spot; for example, locating and choosing the nearest ser-vice station.

3. Access to new information - By making relevant information available to users, LBS not only supports timely presenta-tion of data, it highlights information that users may not normally be aware of, such as traffic congestion and bad weather.

4. Reduce manual operation - LBS can automatically obtain location information and related data, reducing the need for manual data entry when users need to gain access to a certain service.One of the original uses of GNSS

technology in the field was to provide real-time tracking, which allowed vehicles to periodically report their location over a wide area network. Typically, these systems

include a map-based interface where the backend or dispatch office can view vehicle location and condition. Some systems also provide more advanced features such as Geofencing, which enables the backend to be alerted when the vehicle disobeys pre-determined routes. With real-time track-ing, not only is the transportation process made transparent, but vehicle security is also enhanced.

Investing in a tracking system is benefi-cial because it helps to:1. Reduce fuel costs - A GNSS-enabled

tracking system helps businesses monitor fuel consumption by identifying vehicles with excess fuel consumption caused by speeding and idling.

2. Improve customer service - By locating the exact location of company vehicles, businesses can estimate more precisely when a driver will arrive at a user’s location. The backend or dispatch of-fice is able to dispatch vehicles near a customer’s location rather than vehicles located further away which, in turn, saves time, fuel costs and improves service efficiency.

3. Reduce overtime - By identifying inefficient routes and unscheduled and unauthorised stops, business can reduce the number of reported hours on time sheets, as well reduced work hours due to enhanced productivity.

4. Increase employee accountability - Busi-nesses can eliminate the possibility of employees using company vehicles to conduct personal errands. When driv-ers know that their driving behaviour, routes taken and time spent is being monitored, they are more likely to be accountable for their actions.

5. Increase driver safety - A GNSS-enabled tracking system allows the backend to monitor speeding, which allows unsafe driving behaviours to be identified be-fore an accident occurs.One of the most popular applications of

GNSS technology is the ability to receive 'turn-by-turn' driving directions in real time. In-vehicle navigation systems use GNSS to calculate the user’s current position and then use navigation algorithms to com-pute the best route for the user’s planned destination. The system provides driving directions, which take the form of voice instructions and visual screen display.

Advantages of GNSS enabled navigation include:1. Reduced costs - Unnecessary mileage,

caused by inaccurate driving directions, can be reduced, saving both time and money for the organisation.

2. Improved performance - The abil-ity to navigate in unfamiliar locations decreases the possibility of getting lost or following inefficient routes. This, in turn, translates into improved on-time performance for businesses.

3. Enhanced efficiency - GNSS navigation allows businesses to reduce travel between stops or activities, which can enable more stops per driver, per day.The integration of GNSS technology

into everyday business operations can no doubt bring about tremendous benefits. Not only does it increase visibility of the supply chain, but it also assists in the deci-sion making process, allowing businesses to reduce associated costs. Hence, devices with GNSS receivers have become popu-lar in the industry, especially where fleet and asset management is concerned.

IEIMobile’s in-vehicle computers use a GNSS receiver module that supports GPS and GALILEO systems. However, with the maturation of the GLONASS system and the regulations drawn out by the Russian government, the demand for GLONASS-support devices has greatly increased, especially for aftermarket automotive products. In response to Russia’s growing demand, the company is currently work-ing with GNSS receiver module provider Ublox to develop devices that will support the system. Ublox’s latest LEA 6H module will be integrated into the company's devices and offered to the Russian market in early 2012.

As the market has received affirmation from early adopters, GNSS technologies are geared for a prosperous growth over the next few decades. However, with the maturity of such technologies and the development of separate systems by dif-ferent nations, the market will, no doubt, go through a period of change. Compared to the previous era, dominated by the American GPS, different markets must now search for solutions that will sup-port their respective navigation systems. It is critical for module providers and device manufacturers to realise this impact on the development of next generation products.

IEI Mobile products are distributed in Australia by Tekdis.TekdisContact info and more items like this at wf.net.au/M741

“[GNSS technology] allows organisations

to have greater control over business

transactions, improving both productivity

and efficiency while decreasing costs.”


newproducts

Signal generator

The HP/Agilent 8648D-1E5 4GHz signal generator (9 kHz to 4 GHz) supports AM/FM/phase modulation with ±1 dB accuracy up to 2.5 GHz.

The device has 300 storage registers with the sequence and register numbers displayed. Up to 10 sequences are available with 30 registers each.

It features: optional 1E5 high-stability timebase ( < ± 0.1 ppm/yr ), 0.001 Hz resolution, output range from +10 to -136 dBm and weighs 8.5 kg.

TechRentals


P25 simulcast system

Daniels Electronics has introduced its latest P25 simulcast solution. Building on the P25 Voter, the solution allows a single P25 signal to be simultaneously broadcast using two or more geographically separated radio transmitters.

For extended or improved coverage, multiple receiv-ers can be installed on the same frequency. When the subscriber unit transmits, many (and possibly all) of the receivers may hear the transmission depending on the location of the subscriber unit. The voter will then de-termine and select the ‘best’ received signal from all the signals received and then it is rebroadcast simultaneously from the base station transmitters, allowing improved talk-back capability between mobiles in the field.

The system is based on the MT-4E conventional radio system and requires no changes to existing MT-4E radios. It is also supported in all the P25 frequency bands (VHF, UHF, T-Band, 700 and 800 MHz).

Each receiver site consists of a Daniels subrack along with the voter. An industrial PC then receives all the voted received signals and sends the result to the transmitter sites.

Daniels Electronics Ltd


Network radio

The Pathmaker Network radio provides ad hoc, wireless communications for those who require the ability to com-municate when there is no infrastruc-ture or when current infrastructure has been damaged or overloaded.

The radio is a handheld device capable of mobile, ad hoc mesh networking. Users can send voice, data and video to other radios within the Pathmaker network and can communicate privately (one-to-one), as a group (one-to-many) and have multiple private and group sessions.

Information can be sent to other networks or to users out of range, such as a command centre, via multi-ple gateways for the radios: SATCOM Gateway for satellite communications; UHF/VHF gateway for interoperability with existing and legacy radio systems; IP Gateway to connect to the private/public internet; and GSM Gateway to talk with cellular and landline phones.

The radios work in a variety of situations and are suit-able for use by: military and paramilitary; emergency first responders and disaster relief; law enforcement, border patrol and drug interdiction; forest service, national parks and monuments; and commercial and private industry.

General Dynamics C4 Systems


http://www.zcg.com.au


Handheld radio for hazardous environments

The handheld STP8X radio can be used in potentially explosive gas and dust environments, providing workers with critical communication in hazardous workplaces as varied as petrochemical plants, firegrounds and remote gas pipelines.

The highly sensitive, integrated GPS receiver provides the ability to

accurately locate and monitor the movements of person-nel via the radio, thereby said to improve user safety and resource management.

Safety is also enhanced by the automatic ‘man-down’ alarm, which is integrated into the GPS receiver. It provides an immediate alarm to the control room and, audibly, to anyone in the immediate vicinity if the user falls or becomes immobile.

The simplified keypad with large button surfaces makes the radio suitable to be used while wearing heavy gloves.

Sepura PLC


newproducts

Narrowband voice P25/LTE solution

Etherstack has released its narrowband voice P25 over LTE solution, said to provide a missing link in the mi-gration of narrowband to broadband solutions and a key component in hybrid LTE and APCO P25 networks.

Called LTE25TM, it consists of the Etherstack LTE25 Softswitch residing in the LTE evolved packet core (EPC) and a native P25 PTT-over-cellular (PoC) client applica-tion running on LTE handsets. The system uses the same APCO P25 mobile software that is provided on a traditional P25 handset with an enhanced graphical user interface to allow end-to-end encryption of calls between the LTE handset and a radio on a traditional APCO P25 network.

The softswitch supports both the ISSI and CSSI inter-faces allowing the LTE network and users to be con-nected seamlessly to traditional APCO P25 networks. This allows users on both networks to communicate during emergencies and for dispatch operators in the P25 network to communicate with users on the LTE network via the CSSI.

Auria Wireless Pty Ltd


http://www.rfi.com.au


newproducts

Measurement suite for WLAN 802.11ac devices

Aeroflex is adding 802.11ac sup-port to its PXI 3000 series test system to facilitate the worldwide growth of 802.11ac wireless lo-cal area network (WLAN) mobile devices.

Devices using the standard are believed to have a six times increase in network speed over 802.11n, as they use a less con-gested portion of the spectrum, have a wider bandwidth and use different digital modulation techniques.

The series supports transmitter and receiver testing within one

compact PXI modular RF test system, and is designed for use by silicon vendors, WLAN board integrators, consumer electronics device manufacturers and contract manufacturers who need to perform RF parametric tests on devices during manufacturing.

The modules support wideband signal analysis and generation for frequencies up to 6 GHz, covering the bandwidth and frequency requirements of 802.11ac. Modulation schemes are supported, from BPSK to 256QAM. Testing 256QAM demands lower error vector magnitude within the test equipment.

The PXI Studio application software provides a graphical user interface to generate and analyse 802.11a,b,g,n and AC signals. IQCreator application software provides a graphical user interface to create WLAN 802.11a,b,g,n,ac arbitrary waveforms for use in PXI 3000 modular instruments.

The same analysis and waveform generation application software can be expanded to support a range of other communication standards on the same system hardware includ-ing WiMAX, Bluetooth BR/EDR/LE, ZigBee, FM and all 2G, 3G and 4G cellular standards. Remote programming user interfaces are available to support integration into automated test systems.

Vicom Australia Pty Ltd


Hand portable radio

The STP8000 from Sepura is a rugged hand-portable radio designed to be worn on the belt, but flexible enough to be worn else-where.

The device has been designed to perform in challenging environments including poor weather, dust and dirt, providing continued operation even if it undergoes knocks and drops.

The RF power is ful-ly customisable up to 1.8 W in TMO, DMO and, as a DM repeater, has extended coverage. It has a large front-facing loud-speaker that provides clear audio and alerts even in the noisiest environments.

Sepura PLC


http://www.icsindustries.com.au


newproducts

Industrial wireless access point

The latest industrial wireless access point from Quat-ech, the AirborneAPT APXG-Q5420, enables M2M equipment to become the centre of a self-sufficient Wi-Fi network.

The access point allows easy access to serial data and network resources from Wi-Fi enabled devices, including laptops, tablets and handhelds powered by Android, iOS or Windows.

It includes a 10/100 ethernet interface and two se-rial ports and has flexible port configuration options. The ethernet interface can be placed in bridge mode allowing wireless devices to connect to an existing wired network. Alternatively, the ethernet interface can be set to wireless router mode, enabling direct con-nection to wide area networks including the internet using a cellular modem.

In router mode, the access point provides secure authentication using WPA2 (AES-CCMP) and a fully functional DHCP server to provide unique addresses for each authenticated client.

In addition, the built-in serial device server allows the wireless clients to use the serial interfaces to re-motely access serial data. The serial interfaces provide compatibility with RS232/422/485 devices and allow simultaneous use of both ports in any serial data configuration.

The access point can be powered by a wide-range 5-36 VDC power source and provides both terminal block and barrel jack power connections. It can be configured using a remote web browser or by using the Airborne Management Centre software-based administration utility. Both methods provide straight-forward installation and set-up of the devices.

Interworld Electronics & Computer Industries


Call-taking system

Zetron has announced that its Max Call-Taking system is now available.

As one of the company’s Max Solutions family of products, the system provides a full range of features and functionality suitable to emergency centres. Com-bining call-taking with the dispatch system provides a comprehensive and advanced communications solution.

Features and functionality include its user interface, next generation i3 capabilities and advanced call handling. In addition, the server core’s ‘green’ design is said to consume 5% of the power of conventional servers, which reduces energy costs and increases reliability.

Zetron Australasia


http://www.simoco.com.au


newproducts

INDUSTRY TALKING

Christian KellyPresidentAustralian Radio Communications Industry Association

NSW regional dinnerThe association’s planning day was well attended by all members of the executive committee and state subcommittees. There is a growing interest in involvement with the association with many new committee members volunteering to assist. The focus for the year is again on promoting the industry by increasing

membership and adding value with a renewed accreditation program a n d n e t w o r k i n g events, attracting new talent to the industry through education and training programs and protecting the radio environment through spectrum management and standards.

There are subcommittees in place to handle membership, accreditation, promotions, regional events and technical matters. There will also be increased activity in firming up the various state subcommittees. Your involvement in developing the radio industry through the association’s committee activities is welcomed and encouraged. Being on a committee is your chance to add to the voice of the industry, so visit the ARCIA website (www.arcia.org.au) to see how to become involved.

The Sydney Regional Event was held at the Sydney Convention Centre and saw almost 150 attendees, which was a great effort from the NSW team. Presentations were made to Telstra for achieving accreditation and to James Duncombe who received the Sir Angus Tait Scholarship, jointly sponsored by Tait Communications, Westwick-Farrow RadioComms Connect, Omnitronics and ARCIA. Neale Joseph from Motorola Solutions entertained the audience with an interesting view of the industry.

RFI hosted the 23rd annual Spurious Challenge and this year was quite exciting with the ARCIA crew on a particularly fast yacht that came from second-last place on handicap up to fifth. Well done to Martin McLeod (ARCIA vice-president) and his Gencom crew for taking out first place.

The next regional event is Friday 20 April at the Victoria Park Golf Club in Brisbane, so please check the ARCIA website for details and registrations. The regional events are an excellent way to network with industry members and serve to add to the association’s efforts in promoting the industry.

Signal analyser software package expanded

Anritsu and AWR have announced the expansion of the AWR Connected for Anritsu package.

The initial package that consisted of Microwave Office software and VectorStar vector signal network analysers now includes MS269xA/MS2830A signal analyser series and MS269xA-002/MS2830A-02x vector signal generator option (SA/VSG) hardware with visual system simulator (VSS) communications system design software.

The VSS software is a block-diagram based system simula-tor targeted at radar and communications system design. Complex, digitally modulated test signals (LTE, WiMAX, GSM/Edge, etc) used to drive end hardware test via Anritsu’s SA/VSG are now the same as those used throughout the design cycle within the VSS software.

Anritsu Pty Ltd


Measurement suite for WLAN 802.11ac devices

Aeroflex has announced that it is adding 802.11ac support to its PXI 3000 series test system to facilitate the worldwide growth of 802.11ac wireless local area network (WLAN) mobile devices.

It is said that wireless devices using the 802.11ac stand-ard will have 6x increase in network speed over 802.11n and that they are faster because they use a less congested portion of the RF spectrum, have wider bandwidth and use more advanced digital modulation techniques.

Aeroflex offers both transmitter and receiver testing for 802.11ac.

Aeroflex Asia Ltd


Digital radios for 900 MHz band

MiMOMax has released sub 1 GHz IP radios.They feature: 806-960 MHz; 12.5 and 25 kHz narrow

band channels in 6.25 and 5 kHz steps (50 kHz in future); dual 10/100 Base-T ethernet switch that supports auto negotiation; improved frequency reference with enhanced spectral performance supports greater signal sensitivity and better path performance; low-cost and lightweight antennas offering a 14 dBi nominal gain.

The low-visual impact antennas come with fully enclosed radome making them suitable for harsh weather condi-tions; internal band pass duplexer instead of notch-type duplexer assists to mitigate on-site interference from other equipment; a new digital processing system that will result in increased performance of the CPU, memory, micropro-cessors and clock.




newproducts

GPS stub antenna

The GPS-Stubby is an active GPS stub anten-na designed for mobile terminals requiring an external GPS antenna.

The antenna provides a compact alternative for applications where a traditional patch antenna with a cable is unsuitable or where the cable will get in the way.

With effective gain of approx 26 dB due to an integrated LNA, the antenna operates in compact dimensions of 67 mm in height and 18.5 mm in diameter.

It is housed in a robust sheath and can be supplied with an SMA-Male straight or SMA-Male right-angle connector.

Glyn Ltd


Control software system

Icom Australia is releasing the IDAS dPMR Mode 3, jointly developed by Icom and Fylde Micro as a means to upgrade existing trunked MPT1327 networks to digital.

The system offers a fully scalable solution, from peer-to-peer com-munications right up to trunked networks of up to 1000 sites. By connecting communications sys-tems over IP, this gives organisa-tions worldwide communications coverage.

The system is provided with a Fylde MultiLingo controller so communications systems can be upgraded one radio at a time. The controller acts as an interpreter between different protocols.

With the control software, terminals can be set up to only connect to the network at certain times and includes features such as automatic vehicle location (AVL).

The system will be available in mid-2012.



http://www.gedigitalenergy.com/communications


RADIO@w

ork

The Malaysian Civil Defence Depart-ment (MCDD) is responsible for

public safety and disaster management in Malaysia. Prior to 2009, MCDD had used conventional VHF on a point-to-point and stand-alone repeater system.

For short-range communications in mountainous terrain, the traditional mo-bile whip antenna was less effective due to its low radiation angles. The nature of MCDD’s operations required them to be constantly on the move, which results in the radiation angle changing and difficulties in receiving.

In 2009, the Malaysian Government launched the Government Integrated Radio Network (GIRN) based on a TETRA system, which was introduced across 13 government agencies, including MCDD. It was identified that although GIRN meets the communication needs for most populated areas, an HF radio system would complement the GIRN in the rugged interior and provide consist-ent and reliable communications across the entire country.

The Barrett 2018 Mobile magnetic loop HF antenna was identified as be-ing more suitable for the purpose. The magnetic loop, when correctly tuned, is capable of achieving a 10-14 dB gain in efficiency over a mobile whip. It is an autotuning antenna consisting of a hinged arm (the loop) mounted to an aluminum vehicle roof rack, which pro-vides an efficient ground plane for the system. RF and DC power is supplied through the transceiver working from the vehicle battery.

The antenna is fundamentally a parallel tuned LC resonant circuit with the radio

attached to a feed-point in the inductive arm from the circuit. The capacitive component is variable and driven by a stepper motor under microprocessor control. Tuning is performed by identify-ing peak antenna current followed by a VSWR minimisation algorithm.

Together with a high Q, the antenna has low-angle nulls towards the sides, which helps to reduce noise from adjacent sources of interference, eg, the vehicle itself and power lines in its vicinity. As the dominant radiation pattern is directed towards the ionosphere and is fundamen-tally near vertical incidence sky wave, it overcomes the dead zones, a com-mon limitation of a typical mobile whip antenna. Due to its high efficiency this antenna is effective over short distances. For the search and rescue operations of MCDD, typically the distance between the base and a ‘disaster site’ is around 50 km and is in mountainous terrain.

Currently, MCDD has 64 manpack radios spread countrywide, supported by 20 mobile vehicle stations installed with the Barrett 2018 antenna and 22 fixed base stations, using the Barrett 912 multiwire broadband antennas. At some base stations the HF is also interfaced to the GIRN via a switch to allow inter-operability, so an operator can talk to GIRN and relay to HF and vice versa.

Managing director Mr Zakaria Dahili said that “the integration of a reliable HF system for MCDD has been significant. HF is MCDD’s backup to GIRN during remote search and rescue operations.”

Tactical Communications provided local sales, training, maintenance and support to the defence department.

“The nature of

MCDD’s operations

required them to be

constantly on the

move, which results

in the radiation

angle changing

and difficulties in

receiving.”

Barrett Communications Pty Ltd

Contact info and more items like this at wf.net.au/N096

Project: Malaysian defence radio network Application: HF system

In conjunction with the ARCIA Industry Gala Dinner

4–5 December 2012Melbourne Convention Centre, Australia

Call for PapersThe 6th annual RadioComms Connect conference invites submissions for papers, workshops and panel sessions. If you are able to share your story you will be contributing to an exciting industry that is currently thriving and keen to learn from your experiences.

RadioComms Connect 2011 saw more than 700 participants — end users, dealers, consultants, manufacturers and their staff — gather for two days during the conference and exhibition, to learn, to network and importantly, to share.

If you have a contribution you would like make, or to initially discuss further, that will educate and inform and promote best practice within the industry, we would like to hear from you.

In the first instance, please contact Lisa Crossley on 02 9487 2700 or [email protected] or visit www.radiocommsconnect.com.au to submit your paper online.

The 2012 conference theme is: The Future of Professional Mobile Radio

Key themes will include:

• Interoperability • Spectrum use and allocation • SCADA/M2M • Mobile broadband and PMR users • Cost-effective solutions for the business user

We also welcome suggestions you may have. Please contact us to discuss possible papers and topics.

2012

((( www.radiocommsconnect.com.au )))

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http://crsaccessories.com.au

radiocomms asia-pacific mar/apr 2012

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