DIPOL Weekly Review – TV and SAT TV, CCTV, WLAN

Bill Gates invests in satellite dishes.

The co-founder of Microsoft has once again financially supported Kymeta. This American company is involved in creating solutions for continuous and reliable access to the Internet regardless of location and whether the user is stationary or in motion. This time, one of the richest busines figures has spent almost USD 80 million on further development of the company's key product, i.e. Kymet u8 satellite dishes. They provide access to the Internet via a hybrid connection: through satellite and the LTE cellular network. Most importantly, the dishes alone have no moving parts and automatically tune themselves in to receive signals from different satellites.

The antenna can use both, satellites on the geostationary orbit, and on the low orbit around the Earth, which makes the reception possible virtually anywhere, regardless of latitude or proximity to trees. The legacy solutions relied solely on the geostationary orbit satellites, which caused issues at low latitudes, where the connection can be disrupted by sharp angle relative to the satellite.

The Kymet u7 dish is the size of a road sign.
The next, 8th generation, is to be much smaller.

The dishes are panel-shaped, the u7 generation is the size of a road sign, while the u8 is expected to be much smaller. They use TFT thin-film transistors, used to build LCD monitors. The signal pattern is shaped electrically by semiconductor surface structures and other electronics. This means that the dish does not have to be aimed at specific points, but adapts itself to the reception and transmission of the signal.

View of the u7 dish on a vehicle roof.

The antenna is the heart of the system, but a complete hybrid (satellite and cellular) connectivity system, called Kymeta Connect, is also available. The equipment, technical support, and data packages start at $ 995 per month. The connection alone is based on the SD-WAN architecture, thus ensuring smart selection of the transmission medium, as well as fast and safe routing of connections. This offering is intended mainly for government institutions: military, medical services or police, and other vehicles moving in places where the coverage of cellular networks is weak, e.g. boats, yachts, buses and campers. The manufacturer has high hopes for driverless cars which require constant and reliable network access.

Connectors in devices for measuring the attenuation of optical paths.

Few installers realise that the type of ferrule cuts in data sheets for fiber optic meters is specified by sellers with some exaggeration. It is partly due to ignorance and partly to avoid unwanted questions from buyers about the type connector involved.

Meanwhile, the type of ferrule cut, i.e. whether it is cut at an angle (APC connector type) or straight (PC connector type) is important only for light sources, as they actually have such a ferrule. Therefore, the connector plugged into them must have the type of cut appropriate for the meter used (usually it is a PC straight cut). The meters are equipped with photo detectors illuminated by light (signal) coming directly from the connector plugged into the device. Without a ferrule in the connector, it does not matter whether an APC or a PC connector is plugged into the meter.

Measuring attenuation of a 30 m long fiber optic patch cable terminated with SC/PC and SC/APC plugs with a TM102N-SM L5819 light source and TM503N L5816 optical power meter is shown in the above example.--- The measurement results vary significantly depending on the device to which the connector is plugged. For a correct connection (light source – PC blue connector required, meter – any type of connector, APC in this case), the result of -5.89 dBm is obtained which, taking into account the power of the source 5 dBm, represents the patch cable attenuation of 0.89 dB. Swapping the connectors upside down means that the green APC plug is incorrectly connected to the light source. This significantly affects the measurement result which in this case is -9.40 dBm (patch cable attenuation 4.40 dB).///

Basic knowledge of the construction of measuring devices can not only help installers in interpreting the results obtained while building the system, but also save time and expenses, for example on an unnecessary SC/APC-SC/PC patch cable which is to enable connection of a meter with the declared SP/PC type connector to the optical path terminated with an SC/APC connector.

Redundant power supply for TERRA devices.

Redundant power supply systems are used to ensure reliability in selected applications. They provide a secondary, independent power source that is activated on the failure of the primary one.

Failure of a TV reception system, although it is not disastrous for the human life or health, may cause great inconvenience. Power supply failures can significantly increase the system maintenance cost, and signal failures may cause user dissatisfaction. To ensure the best performance of TV systems, DIPOL has introduced a high-quality UP413 12V/4.5A R82533 power supply dedicated to supplying TERRA modular devices.

HDMI signal extension.

The Signal HDMI H3601 converter/extender allows for transmission of HDMI signal over longer distances via minimum Cat. 5 twisted pair cable. An IR remote control extension is also provided. The packaged includes the transmitter and receiver units.

Advantages of using the H3601 HDMI converter/extender:

• possibility of utilizing ready-to-use structured cabling,
• cost effectiveness (the cost of HDMI cable and HDMI repeater is higher),
• ease if installation (due to thinner and more flexible cable),
• low cost of the left cable in the case of temporary installations where the cable cannot be taken away.

Key features:

• Transmission via a +++single Cat. 5/5e/6 cable,
• Transmission speed up to 10.2 Gbps,
• Support for 1080p,
• Maximum range (Cat. 5): 80 m,
• Maximum range (Cat. 5e): 100 m,
• Maximum range (Cat. 6): 120 m,
• IR remote control extender

Application diagram

How the lens brightness affects the camera image

The iris is the part of the lens through which light reaches the camera's sensor. The larger its aperture, the more light can reach the light-sensitive components. This allows for the image to be captured even in reduced lighting conditions. The size of the aperture is given by a figure expressed as f/x or Fx (x is the shutter number).

CCTV cameras are usually equipped with F1.0, F1.4, or F2.0 lenses. F1.0 responds to the largest aperture, F1.4 – half of it, and F2.0 – four times smaller.

Why, then, is F1.0 not used across the board? The manufacturing costs of F1.0 are higher than those of the most common F1.4. But that is not all: another important parameter is the depth of field (DOF), which defines the distance range, within which object are in sharp focus in the image (i.e. have clear, not blurry contours). The higher the f-number, the smaller the opening through which the light filters in and the greater the DOF. In ColorVu cameras, the depth of field is smaller than in cameras with the F1.4 lens.

An F1.0 lens admits the greatest amount of light and is used in Hikvision products from the ColorVu line as part of the TurboHD 5.0 offer. ColorVu cameras stand out for their high sensitivity (0.0005 lx), and can generate a color image even in low-light conditions: all they need is light from street lamps or the moon.

IP Villa 2 gen. video intercom system for 4 houses.

The Hikvision system shown below has been installed in a housing estate with four single-family homes, all surrounded by a common fence, with access through one gateway. The system is based on the DS-KV8413-WME1 G73636 four-button gate/door station Hikvision and four DS-KH6320-WTE1/EU G74001 7" touch screen monitors. These components are powered with the 8 x PoE N29982 Ultipower switch. The system is connected to the Internet via the TP-Link C6 N3255 router. The gate is controlled with the use of the Bira ES1-001 G74210 electric door strike with steel keeper/latch with 4 mm adjustment range. This model of electric strike can be energized with 12 VAC or VDC. In the system the supply voltage is provided by the G74321 power supply. The electric strike is controlled via a relay located in the gate station.

Block diagram and components of the IP video intercom system for 4 single-family homes

When a button is pressed at the gate/door station, the corresponding monitor in the selected apartment starts ringing. After answering the call by the resident, two-way audio/video communication is established, and the resident can release the gate/door strike. In the absence of the resident(s) in the apartment, the call can be redirected to a smartphone, and its user may open the gate remotely. The built-in 128 MB memory in each of the monitors allows for recording photos, messages, as well as for leaving information in the absence of residents. The system supports intercom communication so that homeowners can communicate one with another for free, using a video intercom. The application Hik-Connect is dedicated for a smartphone control. For configuration and operation with a PC, the client application iVMS-4200 (v3). is available.

How to connect two optical fibers? - quick connectors Optical quick connectors are modern, low-cost solution for connecting (terminating) optical fibers and patch cables. Their main advantage over the use of adhesives or heating is the lower cost and no need for sterile installation conditions...>>>more

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