5.2.2 Mounting and Installation of a Longwave Antenna
The careful selection of the antenna location should be at the beginning of each antenna installation. It deter-
mines the reception quality and therefore the availability of the DCF77 reception signal decisively. In principle,
a DCF77 reception within buildings is possible, however, the DCF77 reception may deteriorate due to metallic
objects (e.g. reinforced concrete walls, metal facades, heat protection glazing etc.) that shield or attenuate the
reception.
For this reason we always recommend to mount the antenna outside of buildings. This has the advantage
that the signal interference distance to electronic devices in buildings is usually enhances and the reliability
of the synchronisation is thus significantly increased.
Proper installation of an antenna for DCF77, MSF, or WWVB is illustrated in the figure below:
DCF Antenna
Antenna aligned to the transmitter
Cable slot
N-Norm female
N-Norm male
N-Norm male
N-Norm female
Ground lead to PE rail
(Protective Earth)
Cable ca. 1,5 mm Ø
fastened at the surge protector
N-Norm female
N-Norm male
Meinberg DCF
N-Norm male
female
or BNC male
female
as short as possible
Figure: Longwave antenna mounted on a wall. The optional surge protector keeps high voltage strikes through
the antenna cable away from the receiver.
24
Date: 2nd July 2020
IMS - LANTIME M1000
