Diversity instr

DESCRIPTION

Our Video Senders are designed to transmit high quality pictures and sound from a camera to a monitor using a legal, licence free 2.4 GHz microwave link.

The new Diversity Receiver will work with ANY existing Video Sender Transmitter made by Black Box Video (ie, the standard or High Power 5 Channel Transmitters, the High Power 16 Channel Transmitter, or even The Stamp Miniature Transmitter) but it is especially good with our High Power 16 Channel unit.

The Diversity Receiver unit is housed in a rugged, lightweight all-metal case and has:

	a recessed panel with optional cover for channel select controls and display
	digital channel display
	two large push buttons to change channels without the need for tools
	channel memory

The Diversity Aerial Array connects via a standard SMA cable (so, just this one cable carried RF, power and switching information)

The Diversity Receiver unit can be used either with the Diversity Aerial Array, or with any standard non-diversity aerial.

With our Diversity Receiver and Aerial Array all four aerials are constantly searching for the best signal. The Receiver can choose the aerial that is giving the best reception at any point in time.

The Diversity System is ideal for Video Village type applications.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

General

The Diversity Receiver and Aerial Array provides superior reception compared to single aerial systems because it has a choice of four aerials and automatically selects the best aerial at any point in time. Note that only one aerial is ever in use at a time, the are not all connected together. The Receiver controls the Aerial Array by sending control pulses down the SMA lead to select the required aerial.

The Diversity Video Sender Receiver connects to the Aerial Array unit by a single SMA cable.

Connect the two units using the supplied SMA lead. This single SMA lead connects RF, power and switching control all together.

Connect an 8 - 16 volt power supply to the HRS4F socket.

Connect video out to your monitor via the BNC socket and sound, if required, to the phono socket.

Switch the Receiver on and the blue LED on the back panel should light. The channel selector indicator should also light on the front panel.

Aerials

The Aerial Array should be positioned with the aerials vertical, as high up as possible and in free space away from metalwork.

The four red LEDs on the Array front panel indicate which aerial is currently in use. If all four LEDs are lit together it indicates there is no signal, either the Transmitter or the Receiver are not on the same channel or you are out of range.

Channels

Channels can be changed by pressing the yellow button to step up a channel and the red button to step down a channel.

Set the channel to the same as the Transmitter.

Note that the channel display is all numeric on the Receiver, ie channels 1 to 16. On our High Power 16 Channel Transmitter the channels are numbered in hexadecimal format so channel 10 = A, 11 = B, 16 = F. A list of channel frequencies is supplied with the unit. Note that the lowest frequency is channel 8 and the highest is channel 7, this is to preserve channel compatibility with our standard 5 channel units. Please check our Frequency Chart (or the TX/RX Specifications Comparison) for more information.

If you are having trouble with interference from other 2.4 GHz devices like Bluetooth, Wireless LAN or remote lens control systems, try a lower frequency channel, such as channel 8, to eliminate the interference.

Even when the Receiver is powered down it remembers the last channel selected so you don't need to step through the channels again every time power is reconnected.

Operation

The Receiver constantly monitors the received signal and can switch to a different aerial should the signal fall below an acceptable level. If the Transmitter moves with respect to the Receiver or objects move between the Transmitter and the Receiver, the Receiver will switch to a better aerial if required. In the unlikely event that none of the four aerials are receiving a satisfactory signal, the unit will keep trying all the aerials repeatedly until it finds a good signal and locks onto it.

It is possible to use the Receiver with a standard aerial rather than the Diversity Aerial Array if required, but then obviously diversity reception will not be obtained.

Note that diversity reception does not guarantee perfect reception. Ultimately you will eventually run out of range as the Transmitter and Receiver get further apart, even diversity cannot give you indefinite range!

Also, bear in mind it takes a finite amount of time to select another aerial, so during this switching period the reception will break up until the replacement aerial is connected. The switching time is very fast and generally only causes a very quick glitch. If you are lucky enough for this to occur in the flyback period you won't see it at all.

PROBLEM SOLVING

If you experience interference or bad picture break-up try another channel, as it is likely there is another unit on the same frequency. Don't forget, the Transmitter and the Receiver must be on the same channel. As mentioned already mentioned above, please check our Frequency Chart (or the TX/RX Specifications Comparison) for more information.

The Transmitter has an omni-directional aerial which radiates in all directions. It is very important that the aerial tip is free of space with no objects or wires near it.

When using the Sender indoors reflections from girders, wiring, etc, will cause occasional flashes on the received picture when cancellation occurs. This will only happen when the Transmitter or Receiver is moving relative to each other or when objects are moved between the Transmitter or Receiver.

When used outside line of sight these problems largely don't arise and the signal is much more stable. Using the standard omni-direction aerials, a maximum range of about 300 metres should be obtained outside, line of sight. Indoors a range of around 30 metres should generally be expected. Using higher gain aerials will obviously provide extended ranges.