DSPbR EDGE
Series User’s Manual
Asia Pacific | EMEA | Americas
6
1. General Description
The RF Industries DSPbR® (Digital Signal Processor based Repeater)
EDGE is designed as a stand-alone, multi-channel, multi-band expandable
rebroadcast repeater for extending and enhancement of RF coverage in
either outdoor or numerous types of indoor or below ground applications.
DSPbR EDGE supports analogue and digital wireless technologies across
a range of FDMA and TDMA protocols.
The DSP EDGE allows for up to eight (8) bi-directional channels in a
single chassis. These channels may be user-programmed within the
duplexer/filtering and module-specific bandwidths of the modules fitted.
The frequency agility capability of the DSPbR
allows for either “off-air”
rebroadcast of the incoming frequencies (i.e. ‘non-translating’), od for the
translation of the incoming frequencies to a different set of rebroadcast
frequencies
(‘translating’) - that may be in the same frequency subband as
the off-air channels, or even different frequency band if required.
Digital Signal Processing technology, replacing traditional fixed
hardware used in IF filtering, gain, channel bandwidth, automatic gain
control and receive signal gating operations, with software defined
digital filtering providing flexibility and optimisation for future technology
migrations, feature enhancements, and other upgrades.
In most applications the DSPbR EDGE rebroadcasts RF carriers without demodulating the signal, providing modulation
transparency, therefore not interfering with the rebroadcast signal’s modulation integrity. The DSPbR Edge’s RF-transparent
operation is secure and compatible with most analogue and digital technologies and its selective channel bandwidth adaptability
ensures spectrally clean transmissions, with network features like encryption and over-the-air-rekeying being passed unchanged.
The DSPbR
EDGE is also available using RFI’s Trunking Extender (TRex) option. Trunking Extender provides an innovative
solution to the rebroadcasting of P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 networks. TRex transcodes the rebroadcast P25 network donor si
te’s
Control Channel. The DSPbR EDGE-provided coverage footprint is frequency-translated to a different set of frequencies to those
of the donor network site, and the transcoded Control Channel data content passing through the DSPbR makes subscriber
terminals see the DSPbR
as ‘another’ network site. The use of frequency-translation prevents the occurrence of simulcast overlap
between the coverage provided by the network donor site and the DSPbR. It also facilitates achieving the intra-system RF isolation
required at a rebroadcast site to prevent the performance degradation that may otherwise occur if identical frequencies were used
for both the uplink and downlink RF signal paths (i.e. RF feedback). The transcoding process allows subscriber terminals to hand-
over to and from the rebroadcast site coverage as they would between network sites themselves. TRex can also be configured to
broadcast specific Adjacent Control Channels to enhance subscriber terminals’ mobility through the network and rebroadcast
coverage areas.
Digital Signal Processing technology controls per-channel parameters; including adjustable gain, RF gain and output power,
frequency, channel bandwidth and receive signal gating configurability, enabling the DSPbR EDGE to be configurable, versatile
and adaptable for almost any RF network coverage scenario. The
“on-board” GUI (Graphical User Interface) provides user-friendly
access to the configuration, status and alarming pages of the DSPbR without the need for additional software, and comprehensive
system performance and equipment hardware monitoring and alarm notification is provided via SNMP, SMTP (email) and dry relay
contacts.
The DSPbR EDGE is built into an IP-rated diecast aluminium housing that may be wall, pole or 19in equipment rack mounted to
suit different deployment requirements, and a convenient m
ounting bracket ‘hanger’ concept facilitates convenient handling and
installation practices on site. Digital Signal Processing technology, replacing traditional fixed hardware used in IF filtering, gain,
channel bandwidth, automatic gain control and receive signal gating operations, with software defined digital filtering providing
flexibility and optimisation for future technology migrations, feature enhancements, and other upgrades.
The DSPbR EDGE is an ideal solution platform to provide cost effectiv
e enhancement of an RF network’s own coverage boundary,
reducing the need for large-scale BTS site developments with dedicated backhauls to be used for coverage in-fill applications (i.e.
in-building, in-tunnel, mining, transportable repeaters, etc) that enhance the core networks own coverage.
