Microlab, part of the Wireless Telecom Group, has expanded the portfolio of products using its innovative, patent-pending SMART (System Monitor, Alarm, Report Technology) capabilities. The first Microlab SMART product, the SMART Coupler, won the 2020 Connected Real Estate Tech Award for Best In-Building Public Safety Solution. That same technology and capability are now being deployed in two new SMART couplers. Along with the new SMART couplers, Microlab is introducing a series of DC Pass Tappers that enable network designers to more cost-effectively and flexibly deploy SMART technology.
The new SMART couplers are narrowband devices (380 MHz – 520 MHz and 700 MHz – 960 MHz), that provide the same functionality as the original SMART couplers but are now public-safety-band specific and more economical for larger deployments where a greater number of couplers are required. The DC Pass tappers cover 137 MHz – 960 MHz. Combined with the existing portfolio of SMART Couplers and the head-end SMART Gateway, the new SMART Couplers and DC Pass Tappers provide active diagnostic tools for system monitoring with failure detection and isolation capabilities, ensuring Public Safety DAS owners can depend on the operation of their critical communication systems.
Tom McCabe, Public Safety Business Development Manager stated that since the introduction of the SMART Passives System in 2019, Microlab has provided this unique monitoring and diagnostic solution to system designers and integrators working on new construction and retrofits of critical public safety infrastructure. Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) are developing fire codes and safety requirements calling out the need to specifically monitor components in a Public Safety DAS, and Microlab is well positioned with its expanded line of SMART passives to provide an economic method to monitor, alarm, and report necessary system diagnostics to get buildings into compliance.
The SMART Passives System is made up of a SMART Gateway at the head-end and SMART Couplers deployed in the DAS. Each coupler reports the Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) at each port based on a calibrated CW tone generated by the gateway. By storing and comparing the VSWR at each port over time, the SMART Passives System can report network degradation and failures, such as an open or short circuit. The gateway then communicates the alarm via e-mail, SMS, or SNMP and pinpoints the location where the failure occurred. SMART Couplers are designed to replace the required tappers and couplers already used in a passive DAS network and require no additional hardware, special tools, power, or Ethernet connectivity. Power for the SMART Coupler and all communications back and forth with the SMART Gateway is done over an existing RF coaxial cable.
Click here to learn more about the SMART Coupler and DC Pass Tappers from Microlab.
