User's Manual

objects. They can be reflected and/or stopped by metallic objects such as structural beams,
safety doors, lighting equipment and truss, bodies of water, and so on.
Under ideal conditions, the maximum range between an FS II beltpack and a
transceiver/antenna is 500 metres. Typical distances are between approximately 50 metres
(about 160 feet) and 150 metres (about 485 feet), depending on the particular environment.
As the transceiver/antenna requirements for a particular installation are being determined,
keep in mind both the number of beltpack users who will be working in a particular area
(based on the five-beltpack capacity of each transceiver/antenna), and the layout and
potential RF attenuating and reflecting items in the location. Be conservative in distance
estimates to make sure that enough transceiver/antennas are included to provide the
necessary coverage for the installation. Remember that additional transceiver/antennas may
be added to a Base station, up to a maximum of 10.
9.1.6 Transceiver/antenna setup rules and tips
Keep the following general rules and tips in mind:
• Keep antennas high (typically, though lower placements away from interfering objects
can at times be beneficial) and line-of-sight.
• Keep them away from larger metallic objects and surfaces, and from lighting truss.
• Antenna coverage is circular so put the transceiver/antennas in the center of the area
in which coverage is required.
• When overlapping the coverage zones of transceiver/antennas to create larger
continuous coverage areas, test the in-between areas with a beltpack for potential
areas of low RF signal; adjust the positioning of the antennas as needed.
• Because of potential body shielding during movement, it is useful to place two
transceiver/antennas in different locations within larger working areas to minimize
low-level signals and potential signal dropouts.
• Going between a larger area and a corridor via a door, especially a heavy or shielded
one, or where the walls are thick, place a second antenna in the corridor near the
doorway to assure continuous coverage.
9.2 Transceiver/antenna splitter (PD2203)
The PD2203 antenna splitter is the device that connects multiple transceiver/antennas to the
FS II Base station. It has an RJ-45 connector that carries the data between a Base station
transceiver port and the splitter, and five RJ-45 connectors to feed that information to and
from up to five antennas. The splitter must be locally powered via the supplied external in-line
universal power supply.
Note: You must power on the splitter before you power on the Base station, otherwise the Base
station might power the splitter. In this case there might be insufficient power.
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FreeSpeak II User Guide