TETRA Antenna Combiner

User Guide

RSI
Kingswear House
High Street
Cranbrook
Kent TN17 3EW
Tel: 0208 123 0028
Fax: 08707 051196
Email: sales@rsi-uk.com
www.rsi-uk.com
Issue 4.0
17th June 2009

Copyright 2009 Radio Systems Information Ltd. All Rights Reserved

Neither the whole, nor any part of the information contained in this manual may be adapted or
reproduced in any material form except with the prior written approval of RSI.
Gemini is a trademark of Radio Systems Information Ltd.

TETRA Antenna Combiner

CONTENTS
DISCLAIMER ....................................................................................................................3
WARNING.........................................................................................................................3
1

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................4
1.1

GENERAL ......................................................................................................................... 4

COMBINER DESIGN ..................................................................................................6

2.1 OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 Blocking.................................................................................................................... 6
2.1.2 Wideband noise ....................................................................................................... 6
2.1.3 Intermodulation products .......................................................................................... 6
2.1.4 Blocking from out-of-band transmitters..................................................................... 7

SPECIFICATION.........................................................................................................8

MAINTENANCE ..........................................................................................................9

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

Disclaimer
Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation and publication of this document, errors in
content, typographical or otherwise, may occur. If you have queries regarding its accuracy
please contact RSI at the address shown on the title page.
With a policy of continual improvement RSI reserves the right to alter specification without
notice.

Warning

WARNING
On NO account should a TETRA terminal be connected to the
th
Receive Only 5 Port as serious damage WILL occur.

WARNING
The 5 dB attenuator switches should not be operated while the
TETRA units are active as damage may occur

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

Introduction

1.1

General
The TETRA Antenna Combiner is designed to work with the Gemini survey tool allowing up to
four TETRA class 3 (3W) radio terminals to be connected to a single antenna whilst meeting all
ETSI requirements for isolation between radio terminals so that each may be operated
independently with no degradation in performance caused by the other terminals.

The TETRA Antenna Combiner is available in two models:

Model A with utra-linear power amplifier allowing 2 of the 4 TETRA terminals to be combined
with 0dB loss in the transmit path. The remaining 2 terminals have 11dB loss in the transmit
path.
Model B passive design with all terminals having 11dB loss in the transmit path.
Note that 11dB is the difference (as proposed by PITO) normally applied to degrade a vehicle
antenna to give the same performance as the antenna on a body-worn handportable radio
terminal.
The Model A contains a front panel mounted fan for forced air cooling of the RF power amplifier
with the vent being on the side of the case. Both the front and the side of the case must
therefore not be obstructed.
Both models include individual switches for each terminal to include a further 5dB loss in the
transmit path to simulate the difference in transmit power level between a class 3 (3W) vehicle
radio and a class 4 (1W) hand-held radio.
Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

The combiner also includes a RECEIVE ONLY port with 0dB loss to the antenna. This is suitable
for connecting to a measuring / monitoring receiver or similar and MUST NOT be attached to a
TETRA terminal.
The following diagram shows how the TETRA Antenna Combiner is connected:
Antenna

12V DC Power

Measuring / monitoring receiver

TETRA radio terminals

Combiner Configuration

When using class 3 (3W) radio terminals, the combiner will simulate the following:

Port 1

Port 2

Port 3

Port 4

Model A
(5dB switches in
for ports 3 & 4)

Class 3 Vehicle
Radio

Class 3 Vehicle
Radio

Class 4
Handportable
Radio

Class 4
Handportable
Radio

Model B
(5dB switches in
for all ports)

Class 4
Handportable
Radio

Class 4
Handportable
Radio

Class 4
Handportable
Radio

Class 4
Handportable
Radio

External attenuators may be added between the radio terminal and the combiner to simulate
building attenuation.

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

Combiner Design

2.1

Overview
When operating TETRA radio terminals in close proximity there are several mechanisms by
which one terminal can affect the performance of another terminal. Although the TETRA system
utilises Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) there is a possibility that one of the radio units
may transmit at the same time as another co-located unit is attempting to receive. The 4 main
mechanisms that can cause problems are:

2.1.1 Blocking
This occurs when a transmitter is operating close to a receiver although they may be several
MHz apart in frequency, the transmitter saturates the receiver front-end and causes desensitisation.
The ETSI required specification is for a signal more than 500kHz from the received signal to be
no greater than 25 dBm when measured at the receiver port. (en 300 392-2 para. 6.5.1.2)
The output from the transmitter is 3 W i.e +34 dBm, therefore at least 59 dB isolation is required
between the ports at the transmit frequency is required to avoid desensitisation
The combiner typically achieves a figure of around 64 dB or better attenuation.

2.1.2 Wideband noise

TETRA transmitter will normally have wideband noise extending for several MHz into the receive
band. Therefore a co-located receiver will receive in-band noise.
The ETSI specified level greater than 5 MHz away from the carrier is less than 100 dBc which
equates to 66 dBm for a 3W transmitter. (en 300 392-2 para. 6.4.2.3)
The maximum usable sensitivity of the receiver is about 110 dBm for 10-2 BER which with 18dB
S/N ratio for TETRA requires a maximum interfering signal of 128 dBm. Therefore at least
62dB isolation is required between the ports at the receive frequency.
The combiner easily achieves 70dB attenuation of wideband noise with figures often being much
greater.

2.1.3 Intermodulation products

Two or more TETRA transmitters can combine and produce intermodulation products that can
be in the transmit band and cause interference to a base station, or in the receive band and
cause interference to a third receiving TETRA terminal.
There should be at least 60dB isolation between one terminal and another in the transmit band
to ensure any intermodulation products are negligible.
Similarly, there should be at least 60dB isolation from the antenna port back to the terminals to
prevent signals from other nearby radio terminals creating intermodulation products.
The combiner typically manages 80dB isolation for the Model A and 60dB for the Model B.
Overall, this ensures that any intermodulation products are at least -60dBc.

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

2.1.4 Blocking from out-of-band transmitters
Broadcast transmitters for radio around 100MHz and TV starting at 480MHz with power levels in
the megawatts have the potential to overload the combiner receiver and cause blocking even
though they are operating far from the TETRA frequency.
The combiner includes a spectrum defining filter to provide at least 20dB attenuation to external
signals below 300MHz and above 470MHz.

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

Specification
Frequency:

Tx 380-385MHz, Rx 390-395MHz

Tx Insertion Loss:

Model A:
Model B:

Ports 1 & 2:
Ports 3 & 4:
All Ports:

0dB
11dB
11dB

Rx Gain:

Configured to be identical to Tx path loss for each port

Port to Port isolation (Tx Band):

>60dB

Port to Port isolation (Rx Band):

>65dB

Antenna to Port isolation (Tx Band): >60dB

PA 3rd order intercept (2 x 3 watt):

>+58dBm

Blocking:
(1dB change in 80dBm wanted
interferer 1MHz away)

-30dBm

LNA noise figure:

3dB at 2dB gain

VSWR:

1.5:1

Antenna & Port Connectors:

BNC

th
Receiver Only 5 Port:

TNC

Power Supply:

Model A:
Model B:

Dimensions:

6u 19 rack (266 x 483 x 470)

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

11-15V @ 15A
11-15V @ 1A

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TETRA Antenna Combiner

Maintenance
The Antenna Combiner should be fully re-calibrated every 12 months.
It is recommended that every 3 months or more often if the Combiner has been used in a
vehicle a lot that the top cover should be removed and all RF connectors should be carefully
tightened by hand (do NOT use a tool to over-tighten the connectors).
It is recommended that the following functional checks are made every week:
1) With the combiner installed in a survey vehicle and connected to the Gemini survey tool,
park the survey vehicle in an open area away from any buildings and at least 250m from
any TETRA base transmitters.
2) Put each TETRA radio into engineering mode so that the RSSI is displayed.
3) Connect the survey antenna direct to the TETRA radio antenna. Make a note of the RSSI
and the serving base LAC
4) Connect the survey antenna to the Combiner antenna port, connect the TETRA radio to
the relevant port connector and make a note of the RSSI, ensuring that the serving base
LAC is the same as before.
5) Confirm that the difference between the two RSSI measurements is within +/- 2dB of the
expected loss for each port.
Note that the above functional test can produce misleading results if the survey antenna is not
correctly tuned (i.e. it is not a good 50ohm impedance).

Radio Systems Information Ltd.

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