PMR
Distance and diversity A
lso present at the show was the Tetra infra- structure manufacturer 3T Communica-
tions, once a part of Frequentis but owned since last May by Sepura, and now appearing for the fi rst time under its new branding. “We off er Tetra infrastructure – base stations
for small systems like this solo one, or bigger ones with up to eight carriers for airports, or whatever”, said Erich Pfaff elmayer, of 3T. “We do networks starting from single site up to multi-site with hun- dreds of base stations. We are strong in the com- mercial market, especially, for example, in power utilities. We have a lot of off shore projects; we do local government, including public transport, and a lot in industry like oil and gas, with intrinsically- safe radios. T is is one of the common cases where we can use the Sepura terminals.”
A speciality of the company is its skill in exploit-
ing some of the lesser-known features of Tetra. For example, it off ers long-distance Tetra, for uses such as air-to-ground communication with rescue helicopters. “T is means that we can communicate further than about 50–60 km, which is normally the limit due to the Tetra coded signals”, Mr Pfaf- felmayer said. “We did, for example, tests in Ice- land with a distance of about 115 km – provided there is line of sight, of course! It’s reducing the header to allow longer distances.” Another special feature he highlighted is the
digital equalizer built into 3T’s Tetra base stations, which enables them to deliver good reception even amid problems with signal refl ections. “Normally if there are refl ections, the signal is phase-shifted – and if you add two signals which are phase-shifted,
A compact Tetra base station from 3T, now a member of the Sepura group. The acquisition enables Sepura to offer full Tetra packages
you lose quality. But with an equalizer you can arrange that the shifted signals are synchronized, and then you gain a better output. I think our base station is the one and only in the market using an equalizer on top of diversity. It is an improvement – 2 dB or something like that on top of diversity and sometimes every decibel counts.”
• Information:
www.sepura.com
Sepura adds a new touch to Tetra L
atest Tetra handheld radio from Sepura, the STP9000, embodies a series of in- novations – of which the most striking is its haptics (touch sensation) feature. The aim is to provide better keypad feedback for users – especially those in public safety who frequently wear gloves. “We’re taking some of the technologies that have been introduced into mobile phones and PDAs and moving that on to PMR radios, specifi - cally with functionality that meets demands and requirements of our users”, explained Kasper Barfoed. “Secondly, this radio is IP67 classifi ed, so basically you can take it under water, one metre down, and leave it there for about fi ve minutes. I wouldn’t be very worried if you left it there for, let’s say, an hour, and it would probably still work. So it really is com- pletely waterproof, and it has the highest IP classifi cation of any handheld Tetra radio in the market today – including Atex radios.” Furthermore, he went on, in the STP9000 Sepura has introduced a choice of three con- trasting user interfaces. While the company had remained true to the traditional PMR user interface with a ‘fl at’ menu structure, devices such as PDAs and smartphones had now familiarized users with more complex menu structures where they would expect to dig deep to fi nd some of the functions they needed. By altering the installation options, the user can choose from three user inter- faces, including a familiar mobile phone-like confi guration.
20
Kasper Barfoed, of Sepura, with the colour-screen STP9000 handportable
“Not only are we offering this choice but we let the administrator of the fl eet decide whether they choose what interface to give the individual user, or whether the user can choose by himself”, Mr Barfoed said. “The important thing here is that, irrespective of what user interface is chosen, the function- ality stays exactly the same. And the way the radio operates in the network, which is something which is very much key for any operator of a secure network, it doesn’t change its behaviour, it doesn’t change what capacity load it places on the network.”
More Atex Another new Tetra terminal announced by the company was a full keypad version of
its intrinsically-safe handheld radio, sup- plementing the simplifi ed keypad version which has been available since March. “We are getting very close to having shipped about 10 000 of these things”, commented Mr Barfoed.”These radios are certifi ed to the very latest Atex standard, which is called Version 6 of the Atex standard. And there’s not another product that is certifi ed to that – which, incidentally, includes any accessory that we put on to the radio. It needs to be certifi ed with the radio, so when you walk into these hazardous environments, you can be sure that everything you’ve got is certifi ed – which wasn’t required before. “It’s going to mean an additional invest- ment for customers because everything has to be certifi ed and everything has to be Atex, but it does add security and it does have implications regarding insurance.” Also featured on the stand was STProtect, an indoor location product developed by Sepura for lone workers. Designed for use in environments such as prisons or mines where GPS location is not available, it relies on compact radio beacons installed at key points. Coverage range of the beacons can be adjusted from 10–20 metres down to very short distances, to deliver the required positioning accuracy. The system supports defi ned routes and checkpoints for security guards, access control for gates and doors, and man-down features.
• Information:
www.sepura.com LAND mobile January 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36