Technical Manual

Technical Manual RF Mono
General RF and EAS issues v1.4 Page 7 of 47
3 General RF and EAS issues
This chapter covers the various issues related to Radio Frequency and Electronic Article
Surveillance systems in general, like:
 Noise sources
 Installation guidelines
3.1 Noise sources
Listed below are various noise sources that might affect the performance of any EAS
system. It is strongly advised to either eliminate these noise sources (as far as possible)
or maintain the largest possible distance to these noise sources.
The following devices can create or absorb RF noise signals which can reduce the
performance of an EAS system:
 An active laptop. The back light in the screen can create a lot of noise which is
detected by the EAS system and can reduce the performance dramatically. Make
sure to keep laptop computers at least 3 meters away from the antennas.
 Other EAS systems installed nearby (within 20 meters) and operating at the
same frequency.
 (Moving) Objects containing metal, like sliding and revolving doors, elevators,
escalators, roller shutters, frames, etc.
 Electronic devices, like computers, screens, cash registers, engines,
transformers, etc.
 Vertically positioned power cables, both low voltage and high voltage.
 Lights (flashing, fluorescent, halogen, gas-de-charge, LED, etc.).
 Lightning
3.2 Installation guidelines
Listed below are EAS installation guidelines to ensure a properly installed and functioning
system. Not following these guidelines might result in less performance of the EAS
system.
1. Check the shop entrance/exit carefully for possible noise sources prior to
installation. If potential noise sources are found then try to eliminate these
sources or pick the best position for the EAS system where the influence of
these noise sources will be minimized.
2. If possible, connect one or more antennas and put them in the required position
in the entrance/exit prior to drilling holes in the floor and bolting the antennas
down. Switch the system on and test the performance. In this way the noise
level and system sensitivity can be determined and if necessary (in case of high
noise or poor sensitivity) the system can be moved to a better position.
3. Install the power supply for the EAS system at least 1m away from the antennas.
If the power supply needs to be installed further away from the system make
sure to extend the secondary power cable using a proper cable with the same
dimensions (3 x 1mm
2
) and specifications as the original cable (preferably the
exact same cable). Extending the power cable with a cable with different
dimensions and specifications might result in less performance of the RF mono
system.