A 4-page technical brief from RF engineering specialist Bird Technologies explains the proper use of directional couplers in an in-building distributed antenna system (DAS).
"When facing the question of cable connections in a DAS, many designers or installers choose the easy answer of using standard two-way splitters for every cable and antenna junction," begins the document. "The splitters are relatively inexpensive, and there is no thinking required."
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The brief goes on to contend, "However, except for the simplest systems with very small coverage area and few antennas, the use of splitters will have a seriously negative impact on the system performance."
Illustrated schematic examples follow. The technical brief is the first in a 2-part series of articles from Bird describing "How to Properly Design an In-Building DAS."
View/Download the technical brief.
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Matt Vincent
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Matt Vincent is a B2B technology journalist, editor and content producer with over 15 years of experience, specializing in the full range of media content production and management, as well as SEO and social media engagement best practices, for both Cabling Installation & Maintenance magazine and its website CablingInstall.com. He currently provides trade show, company, executive and field technology trend coverage for the ICT structured cabling, telecommunications networking, data center, IP physical security, and professional AV vertical market segments. Email: [email protected]