Five port roof-top antenna enables rail vehicles a 4G upgrade

The platform provides five antenna elements in one housing. The product features two antenna elements to connect to a cellular 2x2 MIMO modem and two additional WiFi antenna elements. This allows the direct connection to a WiFi radio without using an RF diplexer to split the two different signals from a broadband 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. “Our customers who have already installed the SENCITY Rail antenna have seen the benefits of such an intelligent solution and so we are excited to be able to offer an upgraded product.”

This omni-directional antenna works on non-metallic surfaces. It supports the frequency range from 698MHz to 6GHz 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. “Thanks to the SENCITY Rail MIMO, they can achieve a far higher data rate compared to standard antennas.”

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. HUBER+SUHNER application engineers are on hand to help customers worldwide select the right product and position the antenna, thus ensuring successful deployment of the products.