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12/9/2016

HUBER+SUHNER: SENCITY rail antenna

HUBER+SUHNER, an international manufacturer of components and systems for optical and electrical connectivity products, is extending its portfolio of roof-top antennas with the new five port SENCITY^® Rail MIMO, which enables system integrators and rail vehicle manufacturers to upgrade their vehicles to 4G/LTE and WiFi MIMO with minimal installation effort required, company officials said.

The platform provides five antenna elements in one housing. The new product features two antenna elements to connect to a cellular 2x2 MIMO modem and two additional Wi-Fi antenna elements. This allows the direct connection to a Wi-Fi radio without using an RF diplexer to split the two different signals from a broad band antenna. It also saves the cost of the diplexer and the installation of it.

"The five ports allow system integrators to upgrade vehicles to MIMO technology even more efficiently and easily than before," said Bernd Heidtmann, product manager RF at HUBER+SUHNER.

The omni-directional antenna works on non-metallic surfaces. It supports the frequency range from 698 MHz to 6 GHz for all mobile communication networks worldwide.

"The product is particularly interesting for system integrators and rail vehicle manufacturers who are seeking to establish high-data-rate applications, such as on-board internet, CCTV or repeater systems in the train," added Heidtmann.

With the new SENCITY Rail MIMO, customers "can achieve a far higher data rate compared to standard antennas," he said.

The rugged design of the SENCITY Rail MIMO antenna ensures it is fire retardant, meeting the railway standards for environmental requirements. The antenna RF ports are protected against high voltage and high current impacts, so if a broken catenary line destroys the antenna, a high voltage is connected to the radiator which will in turn short-cut the current to the ground.

All antennas can be purchased as kits with RF cable assemblies from HUBER+SUHNER.