Wireless: Can I remotely locate WBS antennas 500 feet from the base station?
Question: We have issues with our wireless comms receiving/transmitting in our lobby and some of the back stage hallways. We are looking at options for adding antennas in these areas and were wondering what is needed for this (distributers, boosters, etc). We have two WBS-680s rebanded to the 500 - 700 MHz range, they are tied together in the rack.The base stations are located in the back of the auditorium, approximately 500 feet from stage area.
Answer: It is difficult to remote the antennason the WBS-680 systems over 100 feet with a passive remote antenna system, the UHF RFsignal loss of a premium coaxial cable (LMR-400) at 100 ft can be a bit more than 3db, which in real terms means approximately ½ the signal strength. That can be made up with high gain passive directional antennas but about 100feet is about the practical limit for a passive antenna / splitter system for the WBS system which operates between 518 MHz and 686 MHz. Below is a diagram of a simple remote antenna system using some standard directional antennas and splitters (which also introduce approximately 3db of loss), these items are available from various wireless intercom manufacturers. Line amplifiers can be used to increase the signal gain on a longer run but at this point you are probably looking at a custom antenna system designed by an expert in this discipline and they can be quite expensive to properly design / install depending on the end users requirements. I would try to relocate the WBS base stations closer to where the beltpack users are normally located during a show and route the wired intercom (IC) audio back across the required distance. There is very little loss of audio level on a 500 foot cable run of IC audio using standard microphone cable.
Answer: It is difficult to remote the antennason the WBS-680 systems over 100 feet with a passive remote antenna system, the UHF RFsignal loss of a premium coaxial cable (LMR-400) at 100 ft can be a bit more than 3db, which in real terms means approximately ½ the signal strength. That can be made up with high gain passive directional antennas but about 100feet is about the practical limit for a passive antenna / splitter system for the WBS system which operates between 518 MHz and 686 MHz. Below is a diagram of a simple remote antenna system using some standard directional antennas and splitters (which also introduce approximately 3db of loss), these items are available from various wireless intercom manufacturers. Line amplifiers can be used to increase the signal gain on a longer run but at this point you are probably looking at a custom antenna system designed by an expert in this discipline and they can be quite expensive to properly design / install depending on the end users requirements. I would try to relocate the WBS base stations closer to where the beltpack users are normally located during a show and route the wired intercom (IC) audio back across the required distance. There is very little loss of audio level on a 500 foot cable run of IC audio using standard microphone cable.
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