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

Fiber optics in the countryside – is Europe neglecting this sector?

In its annual report presented at the end of May, the FTTH Council Europe presented a number of statistics and analyses related to the implementation of fibre optic infrastructure in individual European countries. Predictions were also presented regarding the development of this sector for the next 5 years.

This year, the FTTH Council devoted a separate report to European non-urbanized areas. It reveals that, by September 2021, only 30% of rural residents could benefit from the opportunities offered by full fiber connectivity (compared to an average of 49% of European households in the EU27 + UK region that are covered by FTTH/B networks. The five countries with the highest FTTH/B coverage in rural areas are Denmark (76%), Latvia (74%), Spain (66%), Romania (62%) and Luxembourg (55%). This is no coincidence – each of these 5 countries is also in the top 10 ranking for overall fiber infrastructure coverage.

The report stresses that immediate action should be taken towards rural regions to eliminate the "white spots". Active promotion and intensified support (grants, public-private partnerships, etc.) of rural deployments should be provided to reach every European area with high-speed fiber broadband. Is it really that bad? The same report directly shows that the annual growth of fiber connections in rural areas was respectively: 6% in 2019 and 2020, while the growth of all connections regardless of region was for those years: 5% and 4%. However, decision makers focus on a simple conclusion – since only 1/3 of households in rural areas are connected to the fiber network, and nearly 1/3 are completely without broadband access – efforts in these areas should be increased. This should set the stage for more years of prosperity for companies manufacturing passive equipment and providing services in the fiber optic installation sector.

Summer Photo Contest.

Take part in the 21th edition of our “Engagingly about Antennas” contest. Once again we encourage photography lovers to present their works, which will be judged by Pawel Zechenter, by a well-known photographer and filmmaker from Krakow.

In this edition, we have prepared very attractive prizes: an electric scooter and the latest generation of WiFi routers. Distinction winners will receive a mug from DIPOL's collection. You can learn more about the contest and the rules here.

Headend – Signal T2-MINI decoders.

The change of the digital terrestrial TV broadcasting standard from DVB-T/H.264 to DVB-T-2/HEVC requires compatibility of the receivers with the new standard. Not all TVs meet this criterion. The problem mainly concerns boarding houses, hotels and hospitals, which are equipped with a large number of TV sets. Their owners face a difficult decision, whether to choose expensive replacement of TV sets or look for alternative solutions.

iBeeQ undertook to upgrade a TV system in one of the hospitals whose TV sets were not adjusted to the new DVB-T2/HEVC standard. The hospital did not have the budget for TVs replacement, and due to the specifics of the place, installation of decoders at each TV set was not an option. The only solution was to find some area for the server room and installing a makeshift headend.

///The contractor decided on a solution based on an encoder-modulator with 24 HDMI inputs. The encoder occupies only 1U in the 19" rack. Decoders that do not take up much space were needed. The choice was made for the Signal T2-MINI A99313 decoder model. The decoders were installed in a 19" blanking rack so as to ensure good cooling and easy access to the devices. The power supply is provided by two 12 A USB power supplies, so the number of power cables was minimized. iBeeQ has already installed hundreds of Signal T2-MINI A99313 decoders in many hotels, but previous installations involved the decoders directly at the TV sets. The decoders are stable and trouble-free devices. The advantage of the devices is a 5 V USB power supply, which does not require an additional 230 VAC supply.

New DVB-T/T2 TERRA channel amplifiers – advanced devices with extremely simple configuration.

DIPOL offers 2 TERRA channel amplifiers: PA420P R82516 PA321TP R82513. The first one has 2 VHF/UHF inputs, 1 UHF input, FM input, and built-in power supply. The second one has 2 VHF/UHF inputs and FM input, and is powered from an external power supply so it has a compact design and can be easily installed in cramped TV cabinets.

Designing the above equipment, TERRA has focused on two aspects: top specs in the processing of TV signals and quick and intuitive configuration via an application installed on a cell phone or PC.

A three-stage amplification circuit connected to the AGC circuit automatically adjusts the signal gain at selected frequencies to the set output level. This gain can reach up to 63 dB, assuming a maximum output level setting (113 dBμV) and a minimum input level of 50 dBμV. The range of acceptable levels for the input signal is wide, 50-100 dBμV. This means that the amplifier can be used in amplifying both, weak and strong signals directly from the antenna, as well as used at the output of other active devices as additional amplification element. Moreover, the AGC circuit is capable of compensating signal fluctuations at the input of the amplifier within the range of up to 46 dB.

The PA R82516 and R82513 series channel amplifiers are really competitively priced. So they win not only in technical terms, but also in the cost of installation.

TERRA channel amplifiers, due to their specifications and setup, can be used in virtually any type of antenna system, by any installer, a beginner or a pro, also by those who are afraid of technical innovations and have been using the same solutions for years, not always to the benefit of the customer.

Diagram of video door entry system for one-family house with an additional IP camera.

When building a modern video intercom system you need to take into account that the video intercom can control the gate and entrance. An application installed on a smartphone can be used for this purpose. When installing a door station, the view from the built-in camera focuses on the caller. If the camera has a very wide viewing angle, it is possible to observe the area in front of the gate, but even if the door station covers such an area, it is usually insufficient.

An additional IP camera can be connected to the Hikvision IP video intercom system to cover the area of the entrance gate or the entrance gate and wicket. During or after answering the call, you can change the view from the main gate station to the additional IP camera and view the area in front of the gate. Thanks to remote operation via a smartphone, it is possible to open and verify remotely at any time, regardless of whether the entrance gate is open or closed.

The diagram of an IP video intercom system for a single-family house is shown below. The system is based on the one-subscriber IP Villa DS-KV8113-WME1(B) G73639 door station with a built-in camera and two relays for control of the gate and wicket. The DS-KH6320-WTE1 G74001 monitor equipped with Wi-Fi interface has been installed inside the building. The area at the gate can be viewed with the Hikvision DS-2CD1023G0E-I(C) K17662 IP camera. The Ultipower N299781 switch with 4 PoE ports (802.3af/at) is used to power the gateway station, monitor, and IP camera. The system is connected to the Internet via the Mercusys AC12G N2933 router. The wicket is controlled with the use of the Bira S12U G74220 electric door strike with steel keeper/latch with 4 mm adjustment range, suitable for 12 V AC or DC power supply. It is supplied with the 12 V DC M1820 power supply.

5G antenna

. The frequencies used in cellular networks are: 800, 900, 1800, 2100 and 2600 MHz. The choice of operating frequency, e.g. for LTE, is determined by a number of factors, among others related to physical properties of propagation of radio waves.

Lower frequencies, due to good propagation properties, are called the range or coverage frequencies. They pass through obstacles quite well, which ensures coverage in places quite distant from base stations. Unfortunately, due to narrow transmission channels used in this band, the possibility of offering high bitrates and network capacity (the number of connectable devices) are strongly limited.

Higher frequencies, such as 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, or 2600 MHz, due to relatively wide channels (tens of MHz each), are typically capacitive. It is planned to use three, so-called pioneer frequency bands for 5G networks. These bands are conventionally defined as: 700 MHz (694-790 MHz); 3.6 GHz (3.4-3.8 GHz) and 26 GHz (24.25-27.5 GHz). It should also be noted that these bands are subject to harmonization throughout Europe.

The antenna working in the 698-3800 MHz band is ATK-LOG ALP 5G MIMO A7064_5 Installation of this model guarantees that, regardless of the band chosen by the operator in a given location, it will be able to correctly and successfully provide bi-directional transmission in 5G technology.

How to connect IP camera with PoE to a coaxial cabling?

Many buildings have an infrastructure based on coaxial cable, which is the primary transmission medium for analog CVBS signals and newer analogHD systems such as: HD-CVI, HD-TVI or AHD. However, if the investor requires PoE IP cameras, and the replacement of the cabling is impossible or uneconomical, one can use signal converters. An interesting solution is the active ATTE Power XCOAX3 J2840 signal converter. It enables transmission of network signals (e.g. audio-video streams from IP cameras) and power supply in different standards – 802.3af or PoE PASSIVE.

The xCOAX3-SW module is powered from any PoE switch (RJ45 port). Power supply to the xCOAX3-CAM module and bidirectional data transmission is via coaxial cable. The maximum length of the coaxial cable is 500 m. A camera or other PoE receiver can be connected to the RJ45 port of the xCOAX-CAM module at the end of the line.

Does Signal Fire AI-9 make good splices? - Test.

For many installers, the value of attenuation of splices is the key issue when choosing a splicer. The market for splicers is broad and the opinions that can be found on the Internet about a particular model of splicer can be extremely varied. In addition to a number of performance issues, the quality of the splices that a particular splicer makes should be the crucial factor in determining whether it is good or bad. The quality of the splice is determined by its durability and attenuation.

The engineers of DIPOL Technical Department have conducted a test of attenuation of splices made with Signal Fire splicers. The so-called transmission method with a reference measurement was used to do so. For the test, special boxes have been designed that contain about 120 m of G.652D standard optical fiber, terminated with SC/APC connectors on one side. The other end of the fiber remains free – it can be freely unwound and repeatedly alternately spliced and broken. In addition, the boxes are equipped with a splice tray.

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The tests showed an average splice attenuation for a wavelength 1550 nm to be 0.04 to 0.05 dB. The generally accepted standard is to allow splices with attenuation not exceeding 0.1 dB. However, there are factory standards and European standards that allow 0.15 dB or even 0.3 dB of attenuation. For the 1310 nm wavelength, the indications were lower and ranged from 0.00 dB - 0.03 dB.

More photos of the measurement and a detailed description and results of the test procedure are available here.

Arranging camera points in CCTV systems. When cameras have to be installed on a pole they have to be powered and their signal has to be delivered to the surveillance center. To do this, the cameras have to be provided with PoE switches that are powered by 230 VAC and connected to the surveillance center via fiber optic cable Of course, these elements should be placed in a dedicated cabinet. SIGNAL CCTV 210/230/145 mm sealed box is R90601 designed for mounting on a pole or wall. Inside, there is a mounting plate which can be easily removed, and two DIN rails for easy installation of components such as switches, power supplies, media converters or mini fiber optic distribution frames. Additionally, the box has protective wires which can be connected to active devices...>>>more