The long-haul microwave transformation is almost complete!

The demand for long distance, high capacity, microwave links continues with advances in radio technology allowing more data to be transmitted over even longer distances.

As you’ll have seen from our product releases over the past 12 months, CommScope has demonstrated its commitment to long haul microwave with an update of our long-haul antennas.

CLICK TO TWEET: Jim Syme explains how new antennas will meet the long haul needs of any customer to expand and improve their networks.

With the upcoming release of the 12ft (3.7m) antennas, the transformation of this product range will be complete…there is now a whole new family of high and ultra-high performance antennas available from the 1.2m (4ft) Sentinel antennas right through to the 3.7m (12ft) ValuLine HX and Sentinel USX giants.

Gone are the rectangular J-hook feeds with asymmetric patterns – say hello to modern “cassegrain” feed technology. Developed from patented technology used on the very successful ValuLine and Sentinel antenna range for many years, the feeds have been further enhanced to provide the performance demanded of these new antennas.

These antennas have taken the best of all the legacy products in terms of RF performance and gone a step further. With interference and spectrum availability being critical issues for the microwave industry, these industry-leading radiation patterns, many of which are compliant to ETSI Class 4, allow denser microwave networks and more traffic to be transmitted over links.

Mechanically, the antennas use proven design concepts and material combinations for antenna durability and simplified installation. We’ve then subjected these antennas to the equivalent of a lifetime of use through our qualification program to prove that these new antennas are every bit as robust as the older models they replace.

The ability to upgrade these antennas to 250km/h survival windspeed with a low-cost high windload kit rather than purchasing and deploying more expensive “extreme environment” antennas is also a huge benefit that can be realized in short lead times rather than the 3 months that used to be the norm.

From a “total cost of ownership” perspective, shipping dimensions were a major factor for the engineers to consider in the project scope. By considering container dimensions when designing the packaging, maximum use is made of container capacity with less “fresh air” being shipped at a high cost.

Customer feedback on the antennas already released has been extremely positive with many hundreds already deployed around the world. Link planning has become easier, costs have come down, networks have become denser, and interference scenarios have reduced.

So, when the 3.7m HX12 and USX12 antennas are released to the market, the transformation will be complete and CommScope will have the first complete range of modern antennas designed to meet the long haul needs of any customer as they expand and improve their networks.

Check out the new HX and USX antennas.

About the Author

Jim Syme

Jim Syme is product line manager for CommScope’s Microwave Systems division, responsible for business development in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions with additional global management responsibility for several major OEM customers. Jim began his 27-year career with Andrew Corporation in the microwave antenna design engineering group and is a regular participant at conferences on all matters related to microwave antenna systems. Prior to joining Andrew Corporation, Jim was a design engineer for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.