background image

 

 

Real Freedom | Fiber Antenna Extender Product Manual 

7 of 28 

Installation and configuration 

This chapter contains the installation and configuration instructions for the Real Freedom Fiber Antenna 
Extender (fiber base and fiber remote units). 

Overview 

The main installation and configuration steps for a Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender are as follows: 

1.  Optionally, pole mount the base and remote units. 

2.  Connect a Real Freedom Downconverter to the remote unit. 

To remotely control up to six Real Freedom Camera Back Transmitters and to provide camera control of 
most brands of broadcast camera, connect a Real Freedom Data Transmitter to one of the 
downconverters. 

3.  Connect the base unit to the remote unit using a fiber cable. 

4.  Connect the RF outputs from the base unit to a Real Freedom Receiver either directly or via an active 

UHF splitter. 

5.  From the receiver, monitor fiber optic signal levels, voltages, and currents of connected equipment, which 

can help to alert you when RF performance is affected. If RF levels are low, use the receiver to 
introduces extra gain into the system. 

Preparation 

When planning the installation locations for the fiber base and remote units, you should take note of the 
following points: 

 

In general, you should install the base and remote units in areas where they can be accessed easily by 
support technicians. This area should also be out of reach or inaccessible to anyone that does not need 
to gain access, such as fans at a sporting event or attendees at a conference. 

 

Install the fiber base unit close to the receiver to minimize the loss of RF signal strength. 

 

Install the antenna close to the downconverter using the shortest cable length as possible to minimize 
cable loss. 

 

Locate the remote unit as close as possible to the downconverter to minimize RF cable loss. 

Environmental requirements 

The following table summarizes the environmental requirements for the operation and storage of a Real 
Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender. 

Table 1: Environmental requirements 

Specification 

Details 

Humidity 

95% non-condensing 

Operating and storage temperature 

14° to 149°F / -10° to +65°C  

Summary of Contents for Real Freedom

Page 1: ...ited States Tel 1 410 564 2600 Email BSI SALES BSINTL COM INTERNATIONAL Broadcast Sports International Axis 3 Rhodes Way Watford Hertfordshire WD24 4YW United Kingdom Tel 44 0 1923 233406 Email BSI INTLSALES BSINTL COM Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender Product Manual Revision A ...

Page 2: ...g to avoid damage to the system IMPORTANT Indicates important information that you should read before installing configuring or using the system NOTE Used to draw your attention to additional important information TIP Indicates information that may make procedures easier WARNING Indicates a potentially hazardous situation Warranty information All products are warranted to be free from defects in m...

Page 3: ...m Fiber Antenna Extender for your information and safety Base unit Remote unit About this manual This manual contains safety information and information for installing configuring and operating a Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender It applies to the following products IFB 3211 Real Freedom Fiber Base Unit IFR 3211 Real Freedom Fiber Remote Unit ...

Page 4: ... remote unit 8 Precautions 8 Temporary installation 9 Permanent installation 9 Installation using 20 UNC mounts 9 Surface mount a fiber base or fiber remote unit 9 Connections 10 Fiber base unit 10 Fiber remote unit 11 Connect a downconverter to a fiber remote unit 12 Connect a fiber remote unit to a fiber base unit 12 Connect a fiber base unit to a receiver 13 Configure a fiber antenna extender 1...

Page 5: ...aning 20 Storage 20 A Technical data 21 Fiber base unit dimensions 21 Fiber remote unit dimensions 23 Connector pinout assignments 25 AUX connector 25 DC power input connector 25 RF input output connector 26 SDI input output connector 26 B Safety and regulatory compliance 27 Safety notice 27 Hazard warning labels 27 Electromagnetic compatibility Class A 27 Compliance statement United States 27 Dis...

Page 6: ...al Freedom Downconverters and Data Transmitters over hybrid fiber cable the system supports multiple RF cameras with a single SMPTE cable The system s intelligent connectivity notifies the Real Freedom Receiver of the presence of the Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender within the network including the status and control of any attached Real Freedom Data Transmitters and Downconverters Fiber optic ...

Page 7: ... can help to alert you when RF performance is affected If RF levels are low use the receiver to introduces extra gain into the system Preparation When planning the installation locations for the fiber base and remote units you should take note of the following points In general you should install the base and remote units in areas where they can be accessed easily by support technicians This area ...

Page 8: ...o the Real Freedom Team Additional items required for installation To install the Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender you will require the following additional items 9 36 V DC power supplies with XLR 4 male connector The other components of your Real Freedom installation which may include one or more receivers downconverters data transmitters camera back transmitters and cameras and active UHF spl...

Page 9: ...n using 20 UNC mounts Mount a fiber base or fiber remote unit on a standard Manfrotto lighting stand camera mount repro arm magic arm clamp or Dado kit using a 20 camera mount screw NOTE Fiber units are usually supplied with a Manfrotto to 5 8 adaptor part number 195 to go from the 20 mount to a Manfrotto super clamp part number 035C 1 If not already attached attach the mounting bracket to the bac...

Page 10: ...it is black to match the receiver Figure 2 Fiber base unit connectors and status LEDs A Side B Top C Bottom Key Component Description 1 AUX Use for programming and firmware updates 2 FTX Indicates the state of the optical transmitter 3 ATTN Indicates whether remote attenuation is activated 4 SDI Indicates whether a valid SDI input has been detected 5 SDI IN SDI ASI input Use to connect an SDI or A...

Page 11: ...ates whether the base unit is powered and has detected a fiber remote unit 11 FRX Indicates the state of the RF1 and RF2 optical receive levels 12 RX2 Indicates whether the base unit has a comms link with the receiver RF2 13 10 36 VDC DC input to power the unit Connector XLR 4 M Fiber remote unit Refer to the following drawing which shows the locations of the connectors on the fiber remote unit No...

Page 12: ...cted a fiber base unit 11 FTX Indicates the state of the optical fiber transmitters 12 DC2 Indicates whether the downconverter on RF2 has power and a comms link with the remote unit 13 10 36 VDC DC input to power the unit Note that if you are using SMPTE fiber then the remote unit does not require DC power Connector XLR 4 M Connect a downconverter to a fiber remote unit Connect downconverters to a...

Page 13: ...mal pedestal mode When operated in dual pedestal single stream mode the connections from the fiber base to the receiver must be RF2 RF4 or RF6 RF8 When an incorrect connection is made the receiver s Connection Map will not populate correctly and the RX1 and RX2 blue LEDs on the fiber base unit will flash to indicate that correct communication has not been established between the fiber base and rec...

Page 14: ...perating correctly FTX The FTX LED indicates the state of the optical transmitter Table 3 Base unit FTX LED indications Condition Description SOLID AMBER NORMAL STATE SDI ASI fiber Tx ON The optical transmitter used to send camera control and SDI ASI data over the fiber link is ON FLASHING AMBER ERROR STATE SDI ASI fiber Tx Alarm Optical transmitter has an alarm OFF ERROR STATE SDI ASI fiber Tx OF...

Page 15: ...s PWR The PWR LED indicates whether the base unit is powered and has detected a fiber remote unit Table 7 Base unit PWR LED indications Condition Description SOLID GREEN NORMAL STATE Power OK remote detected SLOW FLASHING GREEN ERROR STATE Power OK remote not detected SOLID RED ERROR STATE Power alarm remote detected SLOW FLASHING RED ERROR STATE Power alarm remote not detected OFF ERROR STATE No ...

Page 16: ... Condition Description SOLID AMBER SDI ASI fiber Tx ON FLASHING AMBER SDI ASI fiber Tx Alarm OFF SDI ASI fiber Tx OFF ATTN The ATTN LED indicates whether remote attenuation is activated Table 10 Remote unit ATTN LED indications Condition Description GREEN Remote attenuation OFF 0 dB RED Remote attenuation ON 15 dB SDI The SDI LED indicates whether a valid SDI signal is being output Table 11 Remote...

Page 17: ...nit SOLID RED ERROR STATE DC power alarm although the remote unit has detected the fiber base unit SLOW FLASHING RED ERROR STATE DC power alarm and the remote unit has not detected the fiber base unit OFF ERROR STATE No DC power present on 10 36 V DC input or from SMPTE fiber connection FTX The FTX LED indicates the state of the optical fiber transmitters Table 14 Remote unit FTX LED indications C...

Page 18: ...e glass tip Reconnect and verify the signal No fiber signal Fiber incorrectly connected or faulty fiber cable Check that fiber is connected to the correct ports S to S and D to D Turn off power to the receiver s RF ports carrying fiber Change the fiber cable RF issues Use the information in the following table to help you troubleshoot RF issues when using a Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender Tabl...

Page 19: ...nconverter and transmitter antennas should match your band of operations Check downconverters are powered Poor or no fiber signal from the remote unit to the base unit Check that all fiber connectors are securely fastened Remove the fiber connections and clean the glass tip Reconnect and verify the signal Check that fiber is connected to the correct ports on both the fiber remote and fiber base un...

Page 20: ... environments and use periodically inspect the fiber antenna extender components for signs of damage dirt or corrosion Check that all markings and warning labels are in good condition Cleaning If necessary use low pressure compressed air cleaning to remove small particles and debris from the surface of the fiber antenna extender components Clean connector surfaces with a cotton swab moistened with...

Page 21: ...pinouts for the Real Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender Fiber base unit dimensions The following drawings show the dimensions of the Real Freedom Fiber Base unit and the positions of the holes used to pole mount the unit Figure 4 Fiber base unit Figure 5 Fiber base unit top view Figure 6 Fiber base unit bottom view ...

Page 22: ...al Freedom Fiber Antenna Extender Product Manual 22 of 28 Figure 7 Fiber base unit mounting bracket Figure 8 Fiber base unit mounting bracket right side Figure 9 Fiber base unit mounting bracket left side ...

Page 23: ...remote unit dimensions The following drawings show the dimensions of the Real Freedom Fiber Remote unit and the positions of the holes used to pole mount the unit Figure 10 Fiber remote unit Figure 11 Fiber remote unit top view Figure 12 Fiber remote unit bottom view ...

Page 24: ...eedom Fiber Antenna Extender Product Manual 24 of 28 Figure 13 Fiber remote unit mounting bracket Figure 14 Fiber remote unit mounting bracket right side Figure 15 Fiber remote unit mounting bracket left side ...

Page 25: ...ctor Use for programming and firmware updates Connector LEMO 0K 4 Pin CLL 0K 304 CLLP Figure 16 Front face of LEMO AUX connector Pin Purpose 1 RS 232 RXD 2 RS 232 TXD 3 9 to 36 V DC 4 Return 5 Shield DC power input connector DC input to power the unit Connector XLR 4 male Figure 17 Front face of DC power connector Pin Purpose 1 Ground 2 No connection 3 No connection 4 10 to 36 V DC Case Shield 5 ...

Page 26: ...nnector BNC female 75 Ohm Figure 18 Front face of BNC F connector Pin Purpose 1 RF input output 2 Ground Shield SDI input output connector Use to connect an SDI or ASI source input to the fiber base unit to send over the fiber link to the fiber remote unit and provide an SDI ASI output if an SDI ASI source has been connected to the fiber base unit Connector BNC female 75 Ohm Figure 19 Front face o...

Page 27: ...es Operation is subject to the following two conditions however set forth in Section 15 5 of the FCC Rules 1 this device may not cause harmful interference and 2 this device must accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rul...

Page 28: ...d your national law This product should be handed over to a designated collection point or to an authorized collection site for recycling waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment EEE Improper handling of this type of waste could have a possible negative impact on the environment and human health due to potentially hazardous substance that are generally associated with EEE and products of this typ...

Reviews: