I visited the RF Technologies booth yesterday afternoon, and learned the company is releasing a new low RFR SFNstar broadband slot antenna. It has up to 7 channels (42 MHz) of bandwidth at 700 MHz, and is designed for use with upper and lower 700 MHz mobile TV networks, as well as mobile video and DTV transmissions. Probably what a broadcaster would find most handy about the antenna is that its bandwidth is wide enough to handle multiple 700 MHZ transmissions. Also, because of its low RFR performance, it is possible to place it on rooftops and short towers and not run afoul of radiation safety thresholds.
A typical 10-bay broadband SFNstar antenna with a 50 kW ERP and mounted with a center of radiation of 22 feet above ground or rooftop will produce less than 50% of the maximum general public RFR limits. This gives broadcasters looking to deploy an SFN network as part of a mobile TV network much more flexibility in terms of where they can mount the antennas.
RF Technologies is offering the Broadband SFNstar antennas with input power ratings from 7.5 to 50 kW, allowing several DTV or mobile TV transmissions from a single antenna. The antenna also uses circular polarization technology, so no matter what direction an end user turns his or her mobile device receiver, the coverage remains the same.
